Q. How long have you been in Ottawa, and what brought you here?
You could say World War Two brought me here. My father, his PhD newly minted by McGill, took a job at NRC during wartime, when his thesis supervisor was named head of the council. Here he met my Ottawa-born mother. That’s how I happened, and here is where I have stayed except for a short stint in Kingston Ontario, practically a suburb.
Having grown up in a city routinely derided as grey and funless, I delight in seeing rob mclennan’s insistence on debunking those myths. For years I just said, “I don’t know any better; I like it here.”
Q. How did you first get involved in writing, and subsequently, the writing community here?
For too many years I did no literary writing. From school days, I had loved it — descriptions, stories and occasional lousy poems. Writing was central throughout my paid employment. But what with full time work — in later years all-consuming — two kids, a dog and 2-3 cats, a house and a cottage, time for literary writing was scarce. In my last year of work, I yearned for something creative to do. Tipped by a friend, I signed up for a short story workshop at Carleton, led by Tom Henighan. It lasted only three months, but by the end I was hooked and I haven’t unhooked since. When I retired, I knew something I wanted to spend my time on.
Years later, to recharge my stale imagination, I attended a poetry workshop led by Stephen Brockwell. It seemed to neophyte me that a who’s who of Ottawa poetry had signed up, so many that Stephen had to run two sessions. That workshop hooked me on poetry. It also provided me with my first exposure to public readings, two of which were arranged as part of the workshop, and the pleasure of seeing and hearing other poets.
When I was invited to join the longstanding Ruby Tuesdays poetry group, I found an intimate community of writers as committed to writing and meeting as I was. I have concentrated on poetry for almost ten years now.
Q. How did being in a community of writers shift your thinking about writing, if at all?
It gave me stimulation and emotional support, without which I probably would have given up. I would certainly not have learned as well or as fast. In Ruby Tuesdays, I have watched us all grow in our art, as we prompt each other to read more widely, try new forms, take advantage of short-term workshops, and find new outlets for publication.
I am grateful for the many Ottawans who have organized reading series in this city. We lost some series over the past few years, but encouragingly, new ones are popping up to engage a new range of performers and audiences. Tree, the granddaddy and still, I hope, thriving, offered me exposure to unfamiliar poets and their work as well as workshops to hone skills. My first reading at an open mic was at Tree, and I read many times to try out poems while they were fresh. It’s frightening how flaws emerge as I’m reading before an audience!
The Sawdust Reading series (thank you Jennifer Pederson, Natalie Hanna and Liam Burke), during its rich and regrettably short life, offered the unique notion of a “poem-off” competition, with judging from the previous invited reader. A lucky win at that (thank you David O’Meara) gave me my chance to present poems from my first manuscript in a way that let them work together. The reading led directly to publication of three poems in Arc (thank you Rhonda Douglas) and ultimately to publication of Building on River (thank you Cormorant.)
And of course, VERSfest offers a rich annual buffet of readings by poets from here, across the country, and abroad, with readings in both French and English.
Ottawa benefits from being home to literary publications – bywords.ca, Arc, and more recently Canthius. These offer opportunities to learn about the publication process by volunteering, as well as outlets for poetic work. In addition, bywords.ca, through its rolling literary calendar, offers us all the chance to know what’s going on.
We are very lucky to have these institutional resources, each the result of sustained volunteer effort.
Q. What do you see happening here that you don’t see anywhere else? What does Ottawa provide or allow?
I am poorly equipped to talk of what distinguishes Ottawa. But I understand from talking to non-Ottawa poets, that the VERSfest model, of local literary institutions sharing in the creation of each season, may be unique. It is a good way to ensure inclusion of work that reflects varying literary tastes.
As a lifer in Ottawa, I benefit from knowing what lies behind or beneath what I see as I pass down a street — what used to be there, who used to live there. So many places steeped in memory and history.
I also benefit from our rich cultural scene, both local and national. I recall once dragging myself, tired and drained, to hear the National Arts Centre orchestra. As the music enfolded me, I could feel my energy and creativity replenishing.
Q. Have any of your projects responded directly to your engagements here? How have the city and its community, if at all, changed the way you approached your work?
My first book drew inspiration from the city’s early days, when lumber built the private economy as Ottawa was becoming a national capital. Historic sites around the city and remains of historical structures along the Ottawa River sparked my imagination, and I unearthed vague memories of my mother talking about J. R. Booth. A desire to bring that era to life triggered poems, and details I learned of Booth’s life provided a narrative arc.
Q. What are you working on now?
A
manuscript tentatively titled Nuclear
Family (begun before my first one was accepted for publication) is now
entering the serious edit phase. This one is a poetic memoir of growing up at
the beginning of the nuclear age with a father whose work fed into the
Manhattan Project. There are spies in it!
