Friday, April 29, 2022

Septets for the End of Time ~ Why do the people? by Roger Moore

 

1

Divide and Conquer

They divided us into houses, Spartans and Trojans,
and encouraged us to compete with each other,
single combat, and then team against team,
house against house, eternal, internal civil war.

We divided ourselves into Cavaliers and Roundheads,
Monarchists and Parliamentarians, Protestants and Catholics,
and we continued those uncivil wars that marred the monarchy,
brought down the crown, and executed the Lord’s anointed.

We fought bitterly, tribe against tribe, religion against religion,
circumcised against uncircumcised, dorm against dorm,
class against class, territorial warfare. We defended our bounds,
bonding against all outsiders to guard each chosen ground.

With it came the denigration of the other. Not our class.
Scholarship boy. Wrong end of town. Wrong accent.
We don’t talk like that here. Speak the Queen’s English, you…
and here … we inserted the appropriate word of vilification.

Our wars never ended. We carried them from prep school
to junior school, to senior school, sometimes changing
sides as we changed schools or houses, always clinging
grimly to our best friends, protectors, and those we knew best.

After school, all those prejudices continued to hold us down,
haunted us through university, red-brick or inspired spires,
Trinity Oxford, Trinity Cambridge, or Trinity Dublin,
each gilded with the white sniff of snobbery that gelded us.

Alas, we carried them, piled in our intellectual rucksacks,
through university, into grad school, out into the wide world,
infinitely small minds based on prejudice and pride, continuing
our tribal warfare, unable to understand anything at all,
other than us or them, shoulder to shoulder, divide and conquer.

 

2

Rage, rage …

Sometimes you wake up in the morning
and you realize that you can do no more.
What is it about family split-ups, the ugliness
of a disputed divorce, the glue coming
unstuck in an already unstable marriage,
a financial settlement that satisfies nobody
and impoverishes both sides of a divide?

And how do you bridge that divide
when you are friends with father, mother, children
and the wounds are so deep that everyone wants out,
whatever the costs and whatever it takes?
And what is it about the deliberate wounding
of each by the others, leaving permanent scars
that will never heal over, no matter how hard one tries?

And what is it about lawyers, when too many guests
gather around the Thanksgiving turkey and knives
are out for everyone to take the choicest cuts
leaving nothing but a skeletal carcass,
no flesh on the bones, and the guests all hungry
and their empty bellies rumbling for more, more, more.

 

3

Reconciliation

Rant, I say, rant and rage away, rage, rage against
the death of friendship, and loathing built now
on what was once holy oath and undying love.
This is a blood sport where even the spectators
are spattered with the refined frenzy of friends
turned into fiends and foes, and this is a protest,
a rant against love that doesn’t last, that doesn’t stand
the test of time, against families that break up,
against a society that breaks them up, driving wedges
and knives between people once bound
by the puppet strings of love, against relationships
that can no longer continue, against the rattling
of dead white bones in empty cupboards where skeletons
dance their way into legal daylight and the spectators
 call for more: more blood, more money, more blood money,
and the engagement diamond is a blood diamond now,
a tarnished garnet, and where is the Little Old Lady
of Threadneedle Street, that spire inspired needle
that will stitch their world back together,
and stitch you back together when you’ve been shocked
out of your own ruby-sweet rose-tinted world
and torn into little bits in their oh-so-bitter one,
the biters bitten and those bitten biting back in return,
 a new world this world of snapping turtles,
turtles standing on the back of turtles, and turtle after turtle
all the way down until this carnival world puts down
its dead clown mask and turns turtle in its turn.

 

Roger Moore is an award-winning poet and short-story writer. Born in the same town as Dylan Thomas, he emigrated from Wales to Canada in 1966. An award-winning author, CBC short story finalist (1987 and 2010), WFNB Bailey award (poetry, 1989 & 1993), WFNB Richards award (prose, 2020), he has published 5 books of prose and 25 books and chapbooks of poetry.

Over 150 of his poems and short stories have appeared in 30 Canadian magazines and literary reviews, including ArcArielThe Antigonish Reviewthe Fiddlehead, the Nashwaak Review, Poetry TorontoPoetry Canada Review, the Pottersfield Portfolio and The Wild East.  He and his beloved, Clare, live in Island View, New Brunswick, with their cat, Princess Squiffy, but they live on the far side of the hill from the St. John River, with the result that there is not an island in view from their windows in Island View. Visit Roger’s website here.

See Brian Henry’s upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and weekend retreats here.

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

New literary agent Lisa Highton at Scottish agency Jenny Brown Associates seeks authors

The House Between Tides by Sarah Maine
represented by Jenny Brown Associates

Jenny Brown Associates

31 Marchmont Road
Edinburgh, UK  EH9 1Hu

http://www.jennybrownassociates.com/

Don't ever miss what’s happening with Quick Brown Fox. If you’re not yet on my newsletter, send me an email, including your locale to:  brianhenry@sympatico.ca   ~Brian

Founded in 2002, Jenny Brown Associates is the leading literary agency in Scotland and one of the foremost independent literary agencies in the UK. They represent literary fiction, crime writing, women’s fiction, narrative nonfiction and writing for children, from picture books to Young Adult. Currently, just one of the three agents on the team is open for submissions.

Lisa Highton joined the agency as an Associate Agent in 2022. Like all new agents, she needs authors. Most recently, Lisa was Publisher of Two Roads, an imprint of John Murray Press/Hachette where she published authors including Kirsty Wark, Sally Magnusson, Monty Don, Ruth Hogan, Janet Skeslien Charles, Guinevere Glasfurd, Janet Ellis, Sarah Haywood, Susan Calman and Wendy Cope. 

Over a long career in publishing both in the UK and Australia where she was publishing director of Doubleday, HarperCollins and then Hodder, Lisa has published many bestsellers. Her passions are distinctive storytelling, finding those hidden stories with emotional heart and then connecting those stories with readers.

“As a new agent and former publisher, I am open for submissions,” says Lisa. “I am interested in a wide variety of narrative fiction (not YA or fantasy) and nonfiction, those distinctive stories from natural storytellers. I love books that have emotional resonance, a sense of place and purpose. As a publisher, I was always looking for books that readers would love and recommend to each other, my agenting criteria will be the same.

Query Lisa at: submissions@jennybrownassociates.com

For fiction, attach the first three chapters (about 50 pages) and a synopsis, both in a single document, with a covering letter.

For nonfiction attach a proposal and a couple of sample chapters.

See full submission guidelines here.

Literary agent Barbara Berson

If you’re interested in meeting an agent and in getting published, don’t miss our online How to Get Published workshop Sunday, June 12, with Barbara Berson of the Helen Heller agency. Details here.

Beyond that, Brian’s schedule continues to take shape….

Workshops:

Online: How to Build Your Novel, Saturday, May 7, with guest speaker author Laurie Elizabeth Flynn. Details here.

Online: Beginning Right: How to Start Your Novel,  Sunday, May 15. Details here.

Weekly classes:

Online: Exploring Creative Writing, Wednesday mornings, 10 a.m. – 12 noon; July 6 – August 24. Details here.

Online: Writing Personal Stories, Thursday afternoons, 2 p.m. – 4 p.m., July 7 – Aug 25. Details here

Writing retreats:

Algonquin Park: Writing Retreat at Arowhon Pines Resort, June 3 – June 6, 2022. Details here. (The June retreat is probably full.) 

Summer in Algonquin: Writing Retreat at Arowhon Pines  Resort, July 8 – July 11, 2022. Join us for a weekend of creativity and fine dining in the midst of the Algonquin wilderness. Details here. (Still one or two spaces)

Muskoka Writing Retreat at Sherwood Inn, Friday, Oct 14 – Monday Oct 17, 2022. Details hereMark your calendars and reserve early before it fills up! 

Navigation tips: Always check out the Labels underneath a post; they’ll lead you to various distinct collections of postings. If you're searching for more interviews with literary agents or a literary agent who represents a particular type of book, check out this post.

Tuesday, April 26, 2022

Summer Writing Retreat at Arowhon Pines Resort in Algonquin Park, July 8 – July 11

 

Summer in Algonquin Writing Retreat

Friday, July 8 – Monday, July 11, 2022
Arowhon Pines Resort
Arowhon Pines Road
Little Joe Lake, Algonquin Park
Ontario, Canada

Give yourself a long weekend of writing time  a weekend of instruction, inspiration and creativity. Award yourself with time away from distractions, with no dishes to do and wonderful food at every meal, as you sit with your feet up and write in the most beautiful wilderness setting in Ontario. This is where the Group of Seven got its inspiration (Tom Thompson is buried just a couple of lakes over); it’s a wonderful place for you to find your inspiration, too.

The retreat will feature both instruction and guided writing exercises, plus one-on-one critiquing and coaching from Brian.  You’ll also have lots of time to relax, rejuvenate, and reconnect with your creativity. 

All writing levels welcome. Whether you are just beginning or have a novel in progress, please join us. 

This year, the retreat will be limited to ten or eleven participants to allow for physical distancing. As a bonus, this will mean more one-on-one time with the instructor.

The setting: Arowhon Pines is a peaceful, quiet resort nestled in the woods on Little Joe Lake inside Algonquin Park. There are no motorboats on the lake, except for the resort’s own pontoon boat which takes guests on occasional wildlife tours.

The resort is without TV and is far from the roar of traffic. The cry of a loon is the loudest noise you’re likely to hear all day.

Rates include charming accommodation (cabins have a mix of queen beds for one person or couples or twin beds for two people rooming together; rooms also have private bathrooms and each cabin has a lounge with fireplace to share with your fellow writers). 

Three all-you-can-eat gourmet meals per day are provided, featuring an abundance of fresh food prepared by master chefs and an inspired kitchen staff. (Bring your own wine or beer!) 

All activities included. When you’re not writing, or for spouses who accompany you, there is plenty to do: canoe or kayak a series of lakes or hike trails to see wildlife (moose, loons, beaver, turtles, fox, deer), swim in the lake, sail, stand up paddleboard, play tennis, relax. For indoor activities there is a games room with table tennis, shuffleboard, books, board games. Your stay also includes access to all Algonquin Park programs and activities including a car pass for you to fully enjoy the park.

Check-in isn’t until 3 p.m., but guests can arrive in the morning to fully take advantage of the facilities (though the meals included in your package don’t begin until after check-in time, so lunch on Friday is extra if you arrive early). Each guest can borrow a day pass for Algonquin Park. The formal retreat will begin late Friday afternoon. On Monday, we'll have our last formal get-together at 11 a.m., ending at 12 noon. Check out time is at 1 p.m.  Most guests have lunch while the bellhops load the car. But once you’ve had lunch, don’t feel you have to rush off!

Participants are welcome to bring spouses, partners or friends, as there will be plenty to do while you’re writing – canoeing, kayaking or sailing, swimming if warm enough, tennis, reading and just plain resting and unwinding, enjoying the wilderness.

Read about a stay at Arowhon Pines here.

Instructor Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He publishes Quick Brown Fox, Canada’s most popular blog for writers, teaches creative writing at Ryerson University and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Saint John. But his proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get their first book published and launch their careers as authors.

Read reviews of previous writing retreats at Arowhon Pines here (and scroll down). 
To see more reviews of Brian’s weekly courses and Saturday workshops, see 
here

Seminar fee:

For the full 4-day, 3-night retreat: $203.54 plus hst = $230

Accommodation fee (including accommodation and food, plus use of all the resort’s facilities):

$380 per person per night double occupancy ($760 per couple) OR $475 per night single occupancy, plus 15% service charge (in lieu of tipping), then plus 13% HST. 

Book early – space is strictly limited! Full receipts issued.

For more information or to register, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

If you have questions or need more information about the accommodations,
phone the resort: 1-866-633-5661

Note: At this point, we’re assuming that there won't be any new Covid-19 restrictions, but this retreat will be restricted to a maximum of twelve participants, though in addition, non-participating spouses, partners, or friends are also welcome. If there should there be some unforeseen setback in the battle against Covid-19 and we’re forced to cancel, we’ll endeavor to move the retreat to a later weekend.

Who can attend the retreat?

Everyone interested in developing their writing skills is welcome to attend, whether you're aspiring writer or an accomplished author or simply enjoy writing as a hobby. There is no requirement for you to have been previously published or even to have an intention to publish.

I'm a poet / playwright / other writer. Is this retreat for me?

The retreat is open to anyone who enjoys writing. Instruction will focus on narrative writing; i.e., stories, whether fiction or memoir. But if you’re an essayist or poet or whatever, you’re entirely welcome.  

Should I bring my work in progress?

Yes! If you have an on-going writing project, bring it with you. Bring more than you expect to get to; you'll have lots of time for writing. Besides, you may want to switch projects or share a project that’s just started or one that’s all done, except for reading it to a small, appreciative audience. If you’re not currently working on anything, don’t worry, we’ll get you writing.

Should I bring my laptop?

Yes, if you prefer to work on your laptop. If you prefer to work on paper bring that. Or go crazy and bring both your laptop and your notebook.

Can you cater to specific dietary requirements?

Yes, just let the staff at Arowhon Pines know beforehand about your needs.

I want to stay longer or arrive early. Is that possible?

If you want to stay longer, that’s fine. Just arrange it with the resort. I don’t Arriving early isn't possible, though, as our retreat is scheduled for their opening weekend. There is plenty to see and do in the park, and Arowhon Pines is a lovely base from which to explore. Arowhon will keep the same rate throughout your stay.

Is there cell phone reception and WIFI?

Arowhon Pines is an island of luxury, but in the midst of wilderness, so no cell phone reception and no WIFI, though there are landlines and there’s access to the resort’s Internet connection. (Contact the resort for details.) But be sure to have your writing projects on your laptop when you come, not stored in the Cloud.

How about alcohol?

Arowhon does not serve alcohol, but guests are welcome to bring their own wine, beer or whatever to have with meals or back at your cabin or wherever. (Though do note that Hemingway’s advice to write drunk, mostly produces drivel.)

Can I bring my spouse?

Certainly. Just let them know you’ll be spending most of your time writing, (though you will have some free time every day), and make sure they enjoy superb food, beautiful wilderness, and relaxing on the deck or the dock or out on a canoe as they glide past a moose munching on water lilies.

For more information about the resort, visit their website here.

For more information or to register, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca 

See all of Brian’s upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and weekend retreats here.


Monday, April 25, 2022

“A moment” by Catharine Steel-Ewart

 

I had a moment yesterday afternoon that C.S. Lewis would have described as being surprised by joy. I was sitting on my back step trying to enjoy the sunshine on my face, but the noise of my neighbourhood was agitating me. Car doors slamming; drilling and hammering from the renovation being done across the street; a yapping dog; loud adults talking over their screaming children.

Instead of grumbling and grumping and going back into the house, I closed my eyes and slowed down my breath and searched for the sounds underneath the cacophony of the street. Here I heard doves cooing, seagulls calling from high above the earth, small birds chattering. Slowing and going deeper, the street sounds retreated further away until I only heard the soughing of the wind through the upper branches of the red pine trees that sit at the edge of my small backyard.

It was then I opened my eyes, looked up, and there she was in the bright blue sky, a daytime moon, halfway to being full, and a hawk soaring silent, hunting the backyard bird feeders.  And there I sat with the moon and the hawk until the hawk soared away and the sounds of the street once again made itself known.

***

Catharine Steel-Ewart lives in St. Catharines, Ontario, with her husband, her dog Sadie, and one very needy cat named Stoker. Connecting with nature is as important to her as breathing, and besides rambling Niagara’s wooded trails, she looks for the wilderness that is present but often hidden within the city.

See Brian Henry’s upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and weekend retreats here.