Someday really I will put my database-savvy husband on uploading my too-many-megs d-x archives. Really. But meanwhile I will just have to tell you that in the summer of 2004, people may remember, I attended a seriously amazing week-long workshop at the Humber School for Writers.
And that I wanted to be in Francesca Lia Block’s group but in their wisdom the administrators sorted me into a group led by Alistair Macleod, and that the first night, sitting waiting for the GO train and reading everyone’s book excerpts, I cried, because I felt that I had been understood and properly sorted into my rightful literary house. Of course I still have not finished said novel.
But I finally tuned into the literary scene (as someone who is not actively writing literary stuff I have this love-hate relationship with it) to find that one of the members of that workship, David Chariandy, not only got his, Soucouyant, published, but has been short-listed for the Governor General’s awards, which are the definite highest Canadian honour. And he so deserves it and everyone should go get this book, if Arsenal Press can keep up. I’ve ordered mine myself and can’t wait to compare it to the dog eared pages I still have.
Even so I must peep: wtf have I been doing with myself? Oh right, having a baby, getting a job. Still, there has been an element of self-sabotage here. Maybe my competitive spirit will emerge about this one. And then I can joke with David that ha ha ha at least we didn’t end up nominated in the same year. Right? Right?
A girl can dream. Anyways, go buy his book, if you live in Canada. In the US you probably won’t have to wait that long. It really was stunning.
