Month: May 2015

Jen Amos’s Writing Space

This week we asked Jen Amos, author of “On Bridges” in Issue 134, to share her writing space with us. Here’s what she had to say.

Jen Amos Writing Space

I try to write here in my office instead of taking over the living room. You may note my computer is missing from the desk, because it is, in fact, in the living room at present. When I’m not camped out on the couch, the three things I cannot write without are:

1. A cat or two – that’s Little Ron Howard (I take no credit for the name).

2. The company of Canadian Literary Legends – currently manifested as one of my prize secondhand bookstore finds, a 1981 Macleans from Ed’s Books & More in Sydney, NS. It celebrates “Fiction’s Brightest Season”, and serves as inspiration. It is also a reminder that the party was in full swing before I got here. It takes the pressure off.

3. A typewriter – I had this idea that it would be really fun and inspiring to write with, but had no clue how hard you had to bang on those keys. It now keeps me company in my little nostalgia corner…along with a rolodex that my partner keeps trying to put out with the trash, and I keep dragging back into the house.

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Isabel Huggan’s Writing Space

This is part of my study at Mas Blanc.

Wherever I’ve lived, I’ve always had “a room of my own” (including a corner of the laundry room at one low point). I can’t concentrate at the kitchen table or in a café (other than writing in a journal). I need to be in my own nest, feathered with various proofs of my identity – photos and bits of memorabilia, books and notes to turn to and, on the board currently, song lyrics and poetry and quotations that remind me who I am or who I wish to emulate.

This room I’ve had since 1998: these bookshelves contain mostly Canadian books except for the top shelf devoted to African, and those at arm-level jammed with writing-related texts, dictionaries and files.

Isabel Huggan writing helperA few years ago, the novelist Richard Wright came for lunch, and when our conversation turned to the embarrassing truth that I am not a prolific writer, he asked to see where I work.  At the doorway he declared, “I can see why you don’t get a lot done!” Perhaps this clutter is evidence of my growing preference for reality over fiction – even in my private space I am immersed in my life.

Now I cannot write without having to hand the little wooden peccary that was a gift from Alberto Manguel, whose belief in my work has sustained me, even through long droughts. I often hold it as I am thinking… the wooden equivalent of a smooth shell or stone, of which I have many that served the same purpose until this little fellow came along.

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Leona Theis’s Writing Space

This week we asked Leona Theis, author of “Pathologies of the Heart” in Issue 134, to share her writing space… What a beautiful view!

Leona Theis Writing View

I can work almost anywhere if I have a laptop or a pen and paper, but I do have favourite routines. I often write at The Roastery, a coffee shop about ten minutes’ walk from my home in Saskatoon. When I’m not doing other work, I’ll often write in the morning, at The Roastery and/or my office at home, and then walk for an hour just after lunch, north along the riverbank, across University Bridge, south along the riverbank, and across Broadway Bridge. This “walk around the bridges,” as we say in my neighborhood, is important. Writing puzzles will solve themselves in the course of it. The photo shows a view from Broadway Bridge in Saskatoon, one of my important “writing spaces”.

The things I can’t write without change from day to day. Coffee’s important, hence the coffee shop. Sometimes I need noise around me—again, the coffee shop. When I write longhand, as I sometimes do for early drafts, I have a favourite pen, a gift from my son’s girlfriend. When I’m having trouble getting down to it I’ll often read the work of someone I admire, and within minutes this will trigger something that sends me to my own work.

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Alice Zorn’s Writing Space

This week we asked Alice Zorn, author of “With Deepest Regards” in Issue 134, to share her Writing Space with us. Here’s what she had to share!

 

My study faces the two-story brick row houses and cornices across the street. My desk is a recycled oak boardroom table. On top of the desk I have a homemade shelving unit where I can keep sections of a novel, stories, and research material separate. Since my back complains when I sit too long, I decided to try standing while I’m typing. I wasn’t sure I’d feel comfortable standing and decided to give it a try with my ironing board. It works very well, is cheaper than an ergonomically certified standing table, and can be put away when not in use. Here’s a picture of my room when I finished painting it last winter. Before that, it was white.

What do I need to write?

To be alone.

Silence.

To start early in the morning.

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Introducing TNQ’s New Circulation Assistant!

Alida Allemano

Hi, I’m Alida, and I’m excited to be starting my new position here at The New Quarterly! A few facts about me: I love reading, knitting, and smelling freshly-printed books.

I am finishing up my MA in English at Wilfrid Laurier and as a part of my practicum requirement I was given the exciting opportunity to work at The New Quarterly. I am really looking forward to learning more about the publishing industry and the behind-the-scenes creation of our issues. I am excited to work for a magazine that promotes CanLit and emerging artists.

I started at TNQ at an interesting time, in the midst of a chaotic move. My first week here and I’ve already learned so much: how to process submissions, how to update the website, and I have definitely already excelled at unpacking and organizing our HUGE collection of archival editions.

Perhaps my favorite part of the position so far is getting to participate in the spring reading period for fiction submissions. It has been a great experience reading all of the skilled pieces that come through our office. I am so lucky to be working in such a creative and thought-provoking environment.

I am looking forward to learning more over the next six weeks! Nice meeting you!

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