I’ve been marking for days, weeks, even. Hell, I’ve been marking for years. My dining room table is covered with snowdrifts of midterm essays circled by coffee rings. At this time of year the task of marking hangs over everything, clouding my vision, sometimes even making me disconsolate. It leaks into all the rooms…
How I love a good theme party! The Oscars and our chosen theme film, The Artist, provided an excuse for elegant black and white attire and black and white food, on the last Sunday in February. I made white bean dip with blue corn nachos, pumpernickel rounds with goat cheese, tapenade with baguette, and…
Every so often, writers pretend to be rock stars and go on tour. Our federal arts granting agency, Canada Council, funds the plane fare for book tours (though not much else). So, for the last ten days I gave lectures and did readings of my new-ish book Feeling Canadian: Television, Nationalism and Affect, in…