tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75038583438345903022024-03-19T00:04:56.796-04:00Literary Thunder BayPublishing Thunder Bay's Writers
Send submissions: short fiction, poetry, reviews, creative non-fiction. literary events to jbaril@tbaytel.netJoan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.comBlogger1435125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-50162356436447910072021-08-05T10:08:00.002-04:002021-08-05T10:17:09.311-04:00
Mr. John Ellis. Creative non fictionBy Joan M. Baril
“Is it over?” I asked my father when he walked in the house after work. It wasApril 23, 1953 and I was 18 years old, teaching Grade 2 at Oliver Road School and
living at home.
“Shh,” my mother whispered to me. “Be quiet. Of course, it’s over. It was on
the radio.”
My father’s face was Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-25663303803133328202020-11-12T21:13:00.000-05:002020-11-12T21:13:01.624-05:00The Last Post Dear Readers: This is the last post for this blog. Over the past weeks I have worked hard to use the new format mandated by the Google blog people and tried to make it work for a literary blog but no go. I have tried out many many ideas and suggestions but all were complicated, time consuming and close to useless. Google has closed the comments (complaints) about their new format and no Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-29833176062406830582020-10-17T14:38:00.006-04:002020-10-17T14:42:52.414-04:00A letter from Mckenzie Fisk of Mischievous Press. Behind every great story on Canadian Shorts II is a fantastic author. We'd like you to meet them. Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-27646115418708583532020-10-16T10:08:00.004-04:002020-10-16T10:29:18.378-04:00READING IN A TIME OF COVID What are You Reading? I would love to know. Email me at jbaril@tbaytel.net. What am I reading? Here is the usual eclectic list running from mysteries to poetry to a deep dark memoir from a British spy in the Russian Revolution.Books I have enjoyed lately.The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson. In 1940, the relentless Nazi bombing of England killed 45,000 people. Everyone Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-63518470666834889062020-10-14T08:40:00.003-04:002020-10-15T14:01:15.159-04:00GILLER PRIZE SHORT LIST How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham ThammavongsaThe authors named to the 2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist are:Gil Adamson, for her novel Ridgerunner, published by House of Anansi PressDavid Bergen, for his short story collection Here The Dark, published by BiblioasisShani Mootoo, for her novel Polar Vortex, published by Book*hug PressEmily St. John Mandel, Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-80812173642450883632020-10-13T09:01:00.001-04:002020-10-13T09:01:48.347-04:00Autumn Poems from the Chinese, by Li Hai-Ku, Qing Dynasty Autumn (photo Marion Agnew)AUTUMN by Li Hai-Ku, Qing DynastyHoar frost is fallingAnd the water of the river runs clear.The moon has not yet risen,But there are many stars.I hear the watch dogs In the near-by village.On the opposite bankAutumn lamps are burning in the windows.I am sick,Sick with all the illnesses there are.I can bear this cold no longer.THE JEWEL STAIRS GRIEVANCE Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-45984383063320616942020-10-12T21:30:00.004-04:002020-10-12T21:30:50.664-04:00How Cool Is This? My Canadian Shorts II sweat shirt. Love the Moose. Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-83834026028785576962020-10-12T21:20:00.001-04:002020-10-12T21:20:53.967-04:00 CANADIAN SHORTS II MAKES ITS DEBUT.NW Ontario publisher encourages authors to defy chaos ..... and deliver excellence in Canadian Shorts II, a Collection of Short Stories.In the midst of a global pandemic, Mischievous Books, owned by author-publisher Brenda Fisk of Atikokan, has gathered compelling stories from across the country for Canadian Shorts II, a collection of short stories Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-57731216289033208062020-10-12T11:49:00.000-04:002020-10-12T11:49:11.916-04:00 Not Dead YetFor the past month or so I have been working and cursing, unable to post a Word doc on this blog. This is crucial because submissions (poetry, fiction etc) come to me via Word and I paste them into the blog. When I write my own posts, I use Word with its many sophisticated features. I am a bit dyslexic but I can often catch my mistakes by checking my document Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-56135986196508259932020-09-23T22:33:00.001-04:002020-09-23T22:33:11.976-04:00 Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-90748733486433653002020-09-23T21:06:00.010-04:002020-09-23T22:35:12.275-04:00Giller Prize Short List I am trying to read or at least sample, as many of these as possible. So far I was impressed with the first story in David Bergan's collection called Here the Dark. Many familiar names here, all excellent writer such as Thomas King, Lynn Coady, Emma Donoghue, Annabel Lyon and Seth. Many names are new to me and I look forward to making their acquaintance. The fourteen titlesJoan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-55002124226574652292020-09-02T10:03:00.005-04:002020-09-02T10:44:53.923-04:00Susan Olding - Author Reading and Workshops Zooming In!Meet NOWW’s 2020 eWriter: Susan Olding.
The evening will include readings by Susan and several
NOWW members who participated in this year's eWriter
program.Susan Olding is the author of Pathologies: A Life in
Essays, winner of the Creative Nonfiction Collective's
Readers' Choice Award, and selected by 49th
Shelf and Amazon.ca as one of 100 Canadian books
to read in a lifetime.Thursday, September Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-56601503544129176852020-08-29T00:39:00.000-04:002020-08-29T00:39:04.189-04:00Short Story Writers - Take Note and Weep I am reading the memoir of Fanny Hurst, a popular novelist and short story writer who was published in many magazines from the twenties to the fifties. She writes: “ At that time, (1920’s) The Post was paying me twelve hundred dollars for a short story, The Metropolitan fourteen hundred, and Ray Long (Cosmopolitan Magazine) topped them both, advancing in due time to five thousand and Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-37119696681074587822020-08-26T21:13:00.009-04:002020-08-26T21:17:48.558-04:00NOWW : Flash Fiction Contest.Dear Joan, Announcing our 3rd Annual NOWW Flash Fiction Writing Contest! It’s a great way to kick off the fall – and to get you back into writing mode again after a long, hot summer. What: Short-short story – 500 words maxWhen: Deadline is September 20, 2020Who: NOWW members (though new members are welcome to join, so forward this email to any friends who may be interested) Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-32755419395647135982020-08-26T21:04:00.004-04:002020-08-26T21:04:48.006-04:00A letter to members of Northwest Ontario Writers' Workshop (or NOWW) Dear NOWW Members,Our fall season will be starting soon. We will have readings starting in September. Due to the ongoing pandemic we will be hosting readings via the online platform ZOOM until otherwise notified.The first Reading is appropriately themed: The Virus, Yesterday, Today and, Tomorrow. We need readers. So if you are interested in Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-10635341970180799182020-08-21T10:16:00.005-04:002020-08-21T10:37:47.564-04:00Best of News. The library is coming to life again. Library Service & COVID-19No contact holds pick up and returns services will resume on Monday, August 24, 2020.No contact holds pick upPick up your holds Monday to Friday from 10 am to 4 pm at two of our locations: Mary J.L. Black and Waverley.How will no contact holds pick up work? We will phone patrons to let them know their hold is available and to Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-62830003795719984092020-08-06T21:58:00.005-04:002020-08-06T21:58:45.470-04:00Just got the Raven Dance: Stories of Northwestern Ontario today. I was struck by the cover, a blurry raven sitting on a winter branch, bluish snow in the background. Okay snow is white but if you live in northern Ontario, you know that the shadows on the snow are often blue.John Pringle is a gifted short story writer who has published three other books of short stories and won many awards for hisJoan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-33465443393445057482020-07-29T16:27:00.004-04:002020-07-29T16:35:17.238-04:00Booker Prize Long List 2020
Short list will be announced in September. If Hilary Mantel wins she will make history as a three time winner. Nine of the long list are women and eight are American citizens.
The full longlist is:
Diane Cook, “The New Wilderness”
Tsitsi Dangarembga, “This Mournable Body”
Avni Doshi, “Burnt Sugar”
Gabriel Krauze, “Who They Was”
Hilary Mantel, “The Mirror and the Light”
Colum Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-47563348287535795582020-07-25T20:37:00.003-04:002020-10-12T11:54:42.348-04:00Blasto, short fiction by Deborah de Bakker
Jeeves, the poodle is very sick and Jeeve's owners have different ideas what to do about it. Blasto, Deborah de Bakker's prize winning story, was published in 2019 in Twenty Years of Snowshoes: Winning Stories from the Northwestern Ontario Writers Workshop, edited by Rosalind Maki and Deborah de Bakker.
The book is a dynamite collection of good fiction featuring the best of ourJoan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-36619697320374727502020-07-23T10:29:00.004-04:002020-07-23T10:41:29.414-04:00John Pringle's Latest
John Pringle is an award-winning short story writer. His stories are varied, often humourous, always true to the crazy dance we call life in the north, and so readable, you'll read them again and again.
John writes: Dear Joan,
Just an update on where the book is sold in Thunder Bay. The Book Shelf has it on the shelf today. Chapters will have it available "soon". It is being "Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-74299620141043257302020-07-20T21:20:00.003-04:002020-07-20T21:29:14.961-04:00An inspiring true story by Peter Lang.
Just thought you might be interested in something reasonable, positive, organic, local, personal, and inspiring -- in contrast to the constant barrage of bad news we've been receiving in the media.
AN ANGEL FROM THE TOWNSHIP
Today, just as I finished widening my driveway-hill-entrance (because a neighbour slipped off the edge and got stuck while plowing snow), an angel from the township Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-82391793127163585412020-07-19T07:28:00.001-04:002020-07-19T07:30:10.502-04:00Letter from the Library with Good News. !!!
Hello Joan,
The Thunder Bay Public Library has been planning for a phasing in of library service to the community. We are taking a deliberately slow and safe approach for the health and safety of Library staff and the public.
There are seven phases in the plan - we are planning to move to phase four as ofJuly 20th. In phase four, we will start no contact holds pick up at the Waverley Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-51826727024201090102020-07-17T09:47:00.001-04:002020-07-17T09:49:03.871-04:00
For 100 days of Covid, poet Sue Blott had given us a haiku to lift. our our souls. This is number 100.Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-71430821592686174012020-07-12T23:55:00.002-04:002020-07-12T23:55:53.974-04:00Summer Poems
Why I Love Her
by Ulrich Wendt
She builds trails that go nowhere in particular.
They meander and wander through the brush along the river
As do the sinews of the heart
Or the way the mind finds comfort in ambiguity
And though I'm sometimes caught up in the logic of pure reason,
My line running straight and purposeful
Like wolves on a savage hunt,
She remains my persuasion.
Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503858343834590302.post-33219017092871900692020-07-11T08:36:00.001-04:002020-07-11T08:41:34.069-04:00
Canadian Shorts II
Happy to see Canadian Shorts II, a complilation of short stories, will be published by the indomitable Mischievous Press from Atikokan. The first Canadian Shorts book brought us many gems. I am thrilled that my story The Sisterhood was chosen to be in the second book. Dynamite cover of a moose is all I have seen so far. Check out Mischievous Joan Barilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296515910763045250noreply@blogger.com0