tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.comments2023-04-20T23:11:40.628-07:00If not now, when?Ruth Seeleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14358190110434047903noreply@blogger.comBlogger127125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-16874091716922601292013-12-14T05:38:24.108-08:002013-12-14T05:38:24.108-08:00Ruth, I was both moved and entertained by this sto...Ruth, I was both moved and entertained by this story of your father's poetry. When I read the phrase about his paying you to stop sending poetry, I had to smile. Even if poetry wasn't his cup of tea, it would appear that your work pleased him enough that he wished to reciprocate. We are following each other on Twitter. I will look forward to your next "chirp". Gwen Tuinmanhttp://www.gwentuinman.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-62789012119566861402013-06-10T07:07:01.191-07:002013-06-10T07:07:01.191-07:00Peter (must be you, although you got trapped in th...Peter (must be you, although you got trapped in the spam filter). Thank you! You've only given the stats on poets and non-fiction writers though - not fiction writers! And - not to be argumentative - but does five years statistically qualify as 'a much shorter life'? I was anticipating a 20-year gap, I guess because when I studied Modern American Lit I was struck by how many 20thC American poets - Berryman, Sexton, Lowell - had died (or killed themselves) long before hitting their 60s. In fact, it seemed at one point that everyone but William Carlos Williams of that generation of American poets had died relatively young.Ruth Seeleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14358190110434047903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-63496231893511081412013-05-17T14:54:57.935-07:002013-05-17T14:54:57.935-07:00Re: my "questionable source." I am happ...Re: my "questionable source." I am happy to provide it to you. From the Globe & Mail: "James Kaufman, an associate professor of psychology at California State University, looked up the birth and death dates of 1987 deceased writers from four cultures: North American, Chinese, Turkish and East European. He found that poets died youngest, averaging 62.2 years. Non-fiction writers were the longest-lived of the writers, surviving to a ripe 67.9 years." The Globe and Mail cites: November issue of Death Studies, The Chronicle of Higher Education. The original article, "The cost of the muse," appeared in 2003, Death Studies 27, pg 813-822.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-69653382929229000802012-02-21T07:18:44.137-08:002012-02-21T07:18:44.137-08:00Have you checked the O'Henry Prize stories? Th...Have you checked the O'Henry Prize stories? The Pushcart prize stories? I'm glad I found your blog. I also love the literary genre and reading short stories.Julia Honeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08497316179340178624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-8662114368919117412011-11-16T23:14:50.802-08:002011-11-16T23:14:50.802-08:00I was of two minds whether to write about my dad o...I was of two minds whether to write about my dad or not today, but the fact that it's been 20 years made me want to mark the occasion. Even though this writing therapy schtuff is as upsetting as it is cathartic! <a href="http://bikergear.co.uk/" rel="nofollow">vcan helmets</a>Cheap Motorcycle Helmetshttp://bikergear.co.uk/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-41518245195248159712011-10-08T15:37:11.480-07:002011-10-08T15:37:11.480-07:00I'm glad you enjoyed it; I'm just glad it ...I'm glad you enjoyed it; I'm just glad it was a mercifully quick read. ;)Ruth Seeleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14358190110434047903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-27082722690527251312011-09-22T15:09:05.131-07:002011-09-22T15:09:05.131-07:00As a fellow Indo-Canadian woman, I had my reservat...As a fellow Indo-Canadian woman, I had my reservations about this book before I began it, because it looked like a typical fish out of water story and I thought it would just reinforce commonly held stereotypes. But I read it and was pleasantly suprised. It was personal, witty and very well done. People should read it for themselves and make up their own mind. It's so much better than Gurjinder Basran's recently released Everything was Goodbye.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-83840792743246075942011-08-02T12:49:33.836-07:002011-08-02T12:49:33.836-07:00Certes. Je suis d'accord avec tout plus haut p...Certes. Je suis d'accord avec tout plus haut par dit. Nous examinerons cette question.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-66852093521902136042011-07-27T09:43:54.105-07:002011-07-27T09:43:54.105-07:00Marshall - thanks for reading and commenting. I wa...Marshall - thanks for reading and commenting. I was fighting with software for the most of the afternoon it took me to transcribe my (sometimes cryptic) notes. :)<br /><br />One of the other things that wasn't discussed - and should have been - is the huge difference in ebook sales between (and within countries). According to the latest figures I've seen, as of mid-2011 ebooks represent 9% of US book sales but only 3% of English-language Canadian book sales. That figure apparently drops to 1% of French-language Canadian book sales. Whether this is due to the fact that Kindle wouldn't let Canadians buy their device until after Kobo came out with theirs I don't know. But it was very frustrating and has, I think, some bearing on the difference in the sales figures (which are really quite huge - three times the percentage sales when the market is also ten times larger is ginormous).Ruth Seeleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14358190110434047903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-69070556391852047342011-07-26T22:02:41.018-07:002011-07-26T22:02:41.018-07:00Summary and comments much appreciated, thanks. Am...Summary and comments much appreciated, thanks. Am doing a survey of the field for a talk, as an outsider, and the international perspective is interesting and useful. Also helpful to be helped in imagining the emotion thanks to the format of your notes :)Marshall Kirkpatrickhttp://marshallk.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-46368998037222718212011-07-22T06:26:16.475-07:002011-07-22T06:26:16.475-07:00Thanks, Treena - it was a great session and after ...Thanks, Treena - it was a great session and after the WiFi failure I'm pleased to discover I can actually participate in a discussion and still take decent notes (not to mention still read my own handwriting). ;)Ruth Seeleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14358190110434047903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-59608073372890468582011-07-21T23:06:00.961-07:002011-07-21T23:06:00.961-07:00this is a great summary. thanks ruth.this is a great summary. thanks ruth.treena & kootenayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08669418370713830368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-8098815618811047842011-06-27T11:47:34.746-07:002011-06-27T11:47:34.746-07:00Thanks so much for commenting and for providing a ...Thanks so much for commenting and for providing a different perspective on growing up as part of a small ethnic minority in K-W.Ruth Seeleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14358190110434047903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-53491232408001532752011-05-05T11:20:47.190-07:002011-05-05T11:20:47.190-07:00I was looking forward to reading this book and was...I was looking forward to reading this book and was disappointed early on. Quotes like "I grew up in a town whiter than snow", "only two other Indians in our primary school" "In high school there were a few other Indian kids at my school. They all hung out together" and "didn't understand why I couldn't have it all."<br /><br />These quotes are extremely exaggerated. Growing up Indian at Grand River Collegiate in Kitchener in the early 1990s was not all that bad. Sure there were comments about facial hair and those who did not understand some of the rules at our Indian homes, but our teachers were amazing and helped us learn about North American culture and helped our "white" friends learn a lot about us as well. As an aside, there were many other "colours" at our school as well, including at least a dozen Indian families.<br /><br />I did not have any Indian friends either, but felt like I had a full experience within my own culture. I don't want to be who I am not, and while just like Rupinder I went to Disney as my first vacation from my full time professional job, I much preferred the family time growing up together, living within our means, having money for rich life experiences you can only have when you are a child. <br /><br />Things are not always better on the inside, and now that my family is gone, I would much rather be outside looking Indian with them, then without them!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-63900331983646574452011-04-19T13:28:17.640-07:002011-04-19T13:28:17.640-07:00It's too bad - I wanted to like it and it was ...It's too bad - I wanted to like it and it was certainly a quick read - I didn't get bogged down in it and it wasn't so much that I wished it would end as that I kept hoping it would improve. Sadly, it didn't.Ruth Seeleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14358190110434047903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-56425973067074821772011-04-17T09:00:21.380-07:002011-04-17T09:00:21.380-07:00Thanks for the warning Ruth; I won't waste my ...Thanks for the warning Ruth; I won't waste my time on this one! This weekend's mini-review in the Globe was amazingly neutral and unrevealing, so I'm glad I saw yours.jeannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02675668246959819495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-49755027051457889042011-03-01T13:19:13.300-08:002011-03-01T13:19:13.300-08:00Thanks, Vicki. Of course there are always things o...Thanks, Vicki. Of course there are always things one wishes one had actually said to a loved one. I know my dad knew how I much I appreciated him both as a child and as an adult, because we really did manage to make the transition to friends, even though I was never as explicit as I was in this post. Not getting to say goodbye to him has made me more conscientious about honouring people while they <b>are</b> still able to accept the tribute.Ruth Seeleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14358190110434047903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-60299783882755042612011-03-01T13:09:34.657-08:002011-03-01T13:09:34.657-08:00Ruth, this piece is touching and inspiring on so m...Ruth, this piece is touching and inspiring on so many levels. Thank you for sharing it and allowing others to benefit from and be warmed by it.VickiZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05814727912505906131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-82459484707898212782011-02-17T07:24:44.656-08:002011-02-17T07:24:44.656-08:00Thanks so much, Magnus. I'm beginning to wish ...Thanks so much, Magnus. I'm beginning to wish I'd read more Gibran - a few years ago I came across a poem of his that would have helped me so much with my troubled relationship with my mother if I had found it sooner.Ruth Seeleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14358190110434047903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-49607521145385600442011-02-15T12:16:39.747-08:002011-02-15T12:16:39.747-08:00Wonderful and moving. Thank you very much for this...Wonderful and moving. Thank you very much for this. I often think of Kahlil Gibran's phrase "work is love made visible" as a definition of good parenting. Your account describes that idea beautifully.Magnus Ramagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18405481292821369074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-36812496588424613862011-02-14T13:26:09.367-08:002011-02-14T13:26:09.367-08:00Thank you, Carol. I was of two minds whether to wr...Thank you, Carol. I was of two minds whether to write about my dad or not today, but the fact that it's been 20 years made me want to mark the occasion. Even though this writing therapy schtuff is as upsetting as it is cathartic!Ruth Seeleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14358190110434047903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-36726815902371402042011-02-14T12:25:43.656-08:002011-02-14T12:25:43.656-08:00What a beautiful tribute, Ruth. I truly enjoyed re...What a beautiful tribute, Ruth. I truly enjoyed reading this.Carol Weekeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05363515804198093165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-20591883475061582112011-02-08T12:05:07.577-08:002011-02-08T12:05:07.577-08:00Let me put it this way, John. I've held Essex ...Let me put it this way, John. I've held <i>Essex County</i> in my hand in the bookstore. I've been appalled by its price tag (it's $39.95 in paperless hardcover, which is the edition the one and only bookstore in my city had). It's the book I'm least likely to read anyway - not because I've got anything against graphic novels, but because I'm not a fan of comic books or of animation. Sara's job - in a minute or less - was to tell people what this book was about and why they should read it, not to defend graphic novels as an art form or to attack the other panelists because they're too old to be 'into' graphic novels. I got a better idea of what <i>Essex County</i> was about from the things Cardinal and Ghomeshi said than I did from what Sara, its supposed defender, said about it. Frankly, having now listened to the second day's debates, I'm impressed by her passion for <i>Unless</i> - perhaps that's the book she should have chosen to defend.Ruth Seeleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14358190110434047903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-7584568761166431462011-02-08T06:10:10.993-08:002011-02-08T06:10:10.993-08:00Hi Ruth: Great recap. But I too have to disagree w...Hi Ruth: Great recap. But I too have to disagree with your thoughts on Quin's offense. I think she hit the nail on the head at the end when she said most of the panelists came into the debates yesterday knowing exactly who was going to be eliminated and nothing was going to sway them. Most of the show was spent recapping the books, the panelists, and the authors. Unlike the other books who will now get more discussion time, Sara wasn't really given the opportunity to expand. Which is fine and fair, but if you think she did a bad job you heard a different program than I!John Mutfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08730205221787092204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29579744.post-76072585624236129862011-02-07T12:46:15.726-08:002011-02-07T12:46:15.726-08:00Hi Dixie, thanks for commenting. I'm not biase...Hi Dixie, thanks for commenting. I'm not biased against Sara - I believe her strategy was misguided and that she hadn't done her research (while Georges Laraque obviously had). She had nothing to say to counter his claim that Jeff Lemire described the book he'd written as a cartoon, and she wasted valuable and limited time defending all graphic novels rather that demonstrating that <i>Essex Country</i> was a book with universal appeal, which all the other panelists managed to do. We're talking about the book all Canadians should read in 2011 in this contest - she somehow didn't quite seem to realize that.Ruth Seeleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14358190110434047903noreply@blogger.com