"This is my attempt to become a legitimate wordsmith," explains 22-year-old poet Kaile H. Glick to Metro Toronto's Liz Grainger: "Glick is furiously pounding on her 1950's Smith Corona Skyriter. Slowly but surely, a small crowd gathers around her modest set-up which includes a folding chair, a small table, an upside-down hat and a homemade sign that reads, 'The Spontaneous Prose Store.' Glick looks up at her curious audience and asks them: 'Topic, title or first line?'" Does she earn a living at her ingenious and innovative entrepreneurial venture? You tell me.
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Hamilton's a Happening & Happy Place! "She's coming! She's coming!" Indeed, she — The Queen of Literature, none other than Dame Margaret Atwood herself — will "absolutely" take up The Hamilton Spectator's "Dear Margaret" invitation to visit Coots Paradise and Dundurn Castle as well as to give an exclusive reading from her brand-new book, In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination — Hrmm . . . Did "In Other Words" influence her choice of title? Just nosey :) — at the Central Library in SteelTown four days following her 72th birthday come November 22nd (which happens to coincide with the anniversary of that dark day in Dallas, TX 1963), primarily because Hamilton's "made a great effort to change itself and make itself interesting and rejuvenate itself. Hamilton Harbour — I mean, that's a model." (It has. It is. In fact, poet's poet and travelogueist Hamilton-born David W. McFadden recently tied the knot there with Merlin Summerhayes while his father, among others, attending the small but classy ceremony, beamingly looked upon the happy couple. IMO, it's a joyful match made in Heaven. Congratulations to the newlyweds!)
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Dear Canada Post: The United States Postal Service recently unveiled 10 new first-class postage stamps with a poetry theme for its 2012 "Forever" series, this time focussing on notable American poets of the twentieth century including Joseph Brodsky (1940-1996), Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000), William Carlos Williams (1883-1963), Robert Hayden (1913-1980), Sylvia Plath (1932-1963), Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979), Wallace Stevens (1879-1955), Denise Levertov (1923-1997), E. E. Cummings (1894-1962) and Theodore Roethke (1908-1963). MmmffmffmmM . . . Canada Post . . . Layton, Birney, Livesay, Purdy, Pratt, MacEwen, Scott, Service, Black, Nelligan . . . FmmFmmmMffF . . . :). By the way, the USPS also plans to issue a special commemorative stamp in its Literary Arts Series celebrating the 150th anniversary of O. Henry's birth. (Ditto.)
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FYI: Book now! A few coveted spaces remain for Wine, Writers & Words, a workshop for experienced and aspiring writers headed up by Marty Gervais, Dorothy Mahoney, Paul Vasey and Nancy Belgue from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22nd in Kingsville, ON . . . Because Linda Rogers's three-year stint as Victoria, BC's literary ambassador and "people's poet" comes to a close, the city seeks nominations from Greater-Victoria residents for her successor. Prospective applicants should boast at least two full-length volumes of verse by recognized and reputable publishers (read: vanity-published poets need not apply) under their belts, verse written in a style "that demonstrates poetry's richness and flexibility." . . . Poetry enthusiasts are invited to a evening of verse featuring Toronto poet, novelist, publisher and teacher Jenny Sampirisi (flanked by Kingston poet Bob MacKenzie and Prince Edward County's Roz Bound) sponsored by Poetry'z Own Live in Port Hope, ON this evening commencing at 7:00 @ the Dreamers Cafe (2 Queen Street) . . . Starting @ 7:00 a.m. this past Saturday, the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, MA began its annual marathon recitation at the Dickinson Homestead of all 1,789 of the beloved poet's brief works by volunteers who did not stop for breath(s) but whom, according to one enraptured participant, wound down the annual event around 11 p.m.
p.s. To the individual who kindly (?) up-signed yours truly for Twitter in your addictive and obsessive zeal, I appreciate the gesture but TNT!