I know, faithful reader, that you've been wondering why posts on the blog have slowed in the last few months, and have all but ground to a halt in recent weeks. Well, you see, things have been kind of hectic around here. But a good hectic, and a hectic you can be a part of, as you'll see.
Good, Hectic Thing #1: Late in 2013 I was asked to judge the Dorothy Livesay Prize as part of the BC Book Prizes, and I was honoured to accept. I'd judged a few read-a-stack-o-poems prizes and contests in the past, but never a read-two-boxes-o-books prize. It was a seismic shift, to say the least. And while the experience was incredibly rewarding, it required such intense focus for a couple months there that it threw a lot of the rest of my life out of whack.
I was partnered with Kate Braid and Sarah de Leeuw on the jury - two wonderful women who were a pleasure to work with - and I think we came up with an excellent shortlist and winner (you can see the results here). The books were quite diverse, but united in their attempt to approach difficult subjects somehow slantwise - be that through experimental form, or humour, or thematic conceit, or, or or... These five found ways to unlock their particular subject matter where others in the past have struggled or failed to do the same. I hope many readers pick up copies of these books and give them a read.
So I'm very happy to say that you have an opportunity to hear four of the five finalists read together (no Russell Thornton, sadly), and maybe buy a book or two, on Monday, June 9th at the Vancouver Public Library. The details:
Good, Hectic Thing #2: Around the time I took on the Dorothy Livesay judging, I was also hired to a one-year term as poetry editor at PRISM international. I began training in earnest with outgoing poetry editor Zach Matteson, and in the beginning of May I "officially" took over the position. True to my roots as a blogger, though, it didn't feel official until today, when a Q+A announcing my editorship went up on the PRISM website. You can read that here:
Meet the Editors: Rob Taylor, Poetry Editor
I've dreamed of working at PRISM for many, many years. The opportunity to do so was a motivating factor in my choosing to enrol in UBC's Creative Writing Program. That it's happening is a great thrill for me, even if the work has kept me from some of my other passions (including working on my own writing, and keeping the tumbleweeds away from this blog).
So how can you participate in this part of my busy-ness? Submit! Submit! Help me make the content of the next four issues of PRISM spectacular!
And please bear with me if the blog stays quiet for a while. Not too long though - new interviews with Christopher Levenson and andrea bennett are coming soon.
I was partnered with Kate Braid and Sarah de Leeuw on the jury - two wonderful women who were a pleasure to work with - and I think we came up with an excellent shortlist and winner (you can see the results here). The books were quite diverse, but united in their attempt to approach difficult subjects somehow slantwise - be that through experimental form, or humour, or thematic conceit, or, or or... These five found ways to unlock their particular subject matter where others in the past have struggled or failed to do the same. I hope many readers pick up copies of these books and give them a read.
So I'm very happy to say that you have an opportunity to hear four of the five finalists read together (no Russell Thornton, sadly), and maybe buy a book or two, on Monday, June 9th at the Vancouver Public Library. The details:
A Gathering of Poets - Readings by BC Book Prize Finalists
Monday, June 9th, 2014, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level
Central Library
350 West Georgia Street, Vancouver
Free!
Meet the Editors: Rob Taylor, Poetry Editor
I've dreamed of working at PRISM for many, many years. The opportunity to do so was a motivating factor in my choosing to enrol in UBC's Creative Writing Program. That it's happening is a great thrill for me, even if the work has kept me from some of my other passions (including working on my own writing, and keeping the tumbleweeds away from this blog).
So how can you participate in this part of my busy-ness? Submit! Submit! Help me make the content of the next four issues of PRISM spectacular!
And please bear with me if the blog stays quiet for a while. Not too long though - new interviews with Christopher Levenson and andrea bennett are coming soon.
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