Today is Canada's 148th birthday. And this year our flag turns 50! I'm celebrating by reposting my poem "Flag," written a few years ago. One of Vancouver's downtown hotels sported a gigantic Canadian flag during the 2010 Olympics. It helped foster the Canadian spirit which infected the streets of Vancouver during those fabulous weeks. (Photo… Continue reading “Flag” on Canada Day
Threaten to Undo Us by Rose Seiler Scott My rating: 5 of 5 stars When Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin meet in Yalta in 1945 to carve up the WWII German-conquered lands, someone suggests that German-occupied Prussia and Pomerania should be part of the new Poland. While Churchill demurs, fearing that this will lead to more… Continue reading Threaten to Undo Us (review)
Our poetry group is part of the Abbotsford Arts Council meet and mingle event at Mill Lake Park on Saturday afternoon. We'll even be giving a short poetry reading. Because Canada Day is just around the corner I was reminded of and have decided to read a couple of Canadian poems that I wrote a… Continue reading Canadian Rivers
Road to Nowhere by Paul Robertson My rating: 5 of 5 stars Genre: Literary, contemporary murder mystery. Worldview: Christian. Plot in brief: A proposed highway connecting tony Gold Valley to petrified Wardsville galvanizes Jefferson County residents and has everyone taking sides for and against. Who’s really behind it? How will it impact Wardsville’s quaint image… Continue reading Road to Nowhere (review)
Sidetracked by Brandilyn Collins My rating: 5 of 5 stars Driving home from Clara’s shower after everyone else has left, 34-year-old Delanie spots a suspicious-looking character in a dark hoodie, and then a body lying on the sidewalk. Right from the first chapter of Brandilyn Collins’ Sidetracked, we’re alerted as to what kind of story… Continue reading Sidetracked (review)
Poet Maureen Doallas tagged me this morning in a poetry-writing meme. Her poem, "Learning to Jump Rope," is based on Lisa Hesselgrave's painting Jump Rope Pink Room. I took my inspiration for the poem below from these lines in Maureen's poem: “your wrists will begin to ache / at a quarter to three…” As I… Continue reading Learning to Skate
Sorry I'm Not Sorry: An Honest Look at Bullying from the Bully by Nancy Rue My rating: 5 of 5 stars When twelve-year-old Kylie, the leader of a posse of bullies, is summoned to the principal’s office of Gold Country Middle School one morning in June (along with her parents, her friends, and their parents),… Continue reading Sorry—I’m Not Sorry (review)
Hiding in the Light: Why I Risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus by Rifqa Bary My rating: 5 of 5 stars A face marred by an accident at six, a strict Muslim upbringing, and cruel treatment by her parents fed a deep longing within Rifqa Bary for love and acceptance. It was her… Continue reading Hiding in the Light (review)
Glynn Young's insightful blog post "Poetry At Work: The Poetry of Retirement" reminded me of when I went through some of the same things he and any new retiree faces—wondering who I would be now, what activities would my life consist of, would I find new purpose and direction? The poem below came out of… Continue reading Beware Retirement
This is the season of runs and marathons. It seems like every week there's another one happening around here. I believe this weekend several of my family will be running in the Annual Saskatchewan Marathon (a Boston Marathon Qualifier race—not that they have designs on that). Then on August 22nd, my sister is running in… Continue reading To runners true
Violet Nesdoly 