Find out more about my memoir No Letter in Your Pocket
It was a joy to be back in person teaching at Powell River Digital Film School in early February. Spent two days with the grade 12 students analyzing and discussing short documentaries and learning how to write and conceptualize them. Also did a day of hands-on SoulCollage(R) exercises and learning. Thoroughly enjoyed the students’ level…
It was a delight to profile Jessica Silvey, who’s shíshálh and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) with the ancestral name Kwahama Kwatleematt, and has been weaving cedar baskets, hats, and décor for more than 30 years. I profiled her, the owner of Red Cedar Woman studio, as the cover story for the winter 2021 issue of…
Guess what? Kids can interact and learn in a fun, new way with my picture book Six Stinky Feet and a Sasquatch. By using the Simbi web platform, they can see and hear me read the book and follow along, page by page. Then, they can record themselves reading aloud, at their own pace, and…
I am delighted to have worked as an editor on a new series of interpretive signs for the Community Health Trail on Mt. Elphinstone on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast. As part of an initiative by Elphinstone Logging Focus (ELF), the signs highlight the importance of old-growth forests and their flora and fauna. With himus (Calvin…
In case you missed my Sept. 19 Spoken INK reading on Zoom, you can watch it here on the Burnaby Writers’ Society YouTube channel. About 20 minutes long, it features excerpts from three sources: my essay “A Slow Goodbye,” about love and loss; my romantic visit to the Taj Mahal, from my memoir No Letter…
Want to join a supportive group of committed writers in a class that focuses on content feedback? Still spaces left in my Mon. night program at Kyle Centre, Port Moody. Sept. 27-Dec. 6, 5:30 to 8 pm. Many students have published books and/or contribute regularly to publications. All genres and levels welcome. Participants find in-class…
I’m offering a two-hour online workshop Wild Mind: Freeing the Writer Within on April 10 from 1 to 3 pm. Designed to cure writer’s block and access your deepest writing self. For all skill levels. Contact the Royal City Literary Arts Society to register.
It was fun presenting my new picture book, Six Stinky Feet and a Sasquatch, to an audience of young and old Dec. 7 at Sechelt Public Library. Andy Johnson, storyteller for the shishalh Nation, shared a sasquatch song he composed and told a sasquatch story. I’m honoured to know that he plans to read my…
Did you know that some residents of Churchill, Manitoba consider Thanadelthur, an early 1700s Chipewyan guide and peace negotiator, the founder of their town? That is one of the many fascinating historical facts I learned while writing profiles of accomplished Métis, Indigenous, and Inuit people for Canadian Encyclopedia. I discovered the many achievements of politicians…
Some people could never imagine offering comfort as a bedside companion to a stranger who is dying. Or sitting in an all-night vigil for someone’s final hours. In hospice training, we learn that compassion, deep listening, acceptance, and non-judgment are core traits needed to remain truly present with those who are dying or grieving a…
Want to hear compelling personal stories and learn more about what literary nonfiction is? Come out to Sechelt Public Library on Thursday, March 30 and hear three Sunshine Coast, BC authors, including Heather Conn, read from their book manuscripts. Heather, Sheila Cameron, and Claire Finlayson will each present excerpts from their respective works-in-progress. Sheila will present heartwarming…
I’ll be teaching “Writing Short Documentaries” and helping students brainstorm a group documentary project from Feb. 27 to March 2 in Powell River. This is an annual appearance I make as an instructor at Powell River Digital Film School. Every year, the content varies, depending on the wishes of school founder and director Tony Papa….
I enjoyed introducing SoulCollage® Jan. 27 to a group of job placement students at M. Magas and Associates, an employment agency in Sechelt, BC. We did a guided visualization, identified their respective dream job, and discussed accountability, victimhood and what archetypal influences might resonate with them. I appreciated their openness and willingness to share what…
I was delighted to receive one-day training in Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) on Dec. 6, 2016 in Sechelt, BC. Roughly a dozen of us attended, including local teachers and providers of an after-school teen drop-in program. The event’s co-facilitators were Wayne Spychka, my boss as an SCCSS gender violence prevention worker, and Keely Halward, Wayne’s boss. Both are experienced MVP mentors and…
Italians and other Europeans have used plants and lichens for centuries to die fabric and fibres. More recently, they have begun to use mushrooms as natural dyes. In the fall of 2016, I attended the 17th International Fungi & Fibre Symposium on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast. It was fascinating to meet spinners, knitters, and weavers…
I was honoured to organize and host Canada’s first Mentors in Violence Prevention program in Sechelt, BC on May 5. Here’s a story that I wrote for the local media: A former B.C. Lions player, open discussions and hands-on scenarios recently helped about 40 local high school students learn what words and actions can…
I was honoured to organize and host an April 15 screening of the documentary Salam Neighbor in Sechelt, BC. This by-donation event, held at St. Hilda’s Church, raised $887, which will go to the Syrian Refugee Sponsorship Committee and two other groups on the Lower Sunshine Coast working to bring Syrian refugee families to this…
What can happen to a nonfiction story when you add a fictional narrator? Discover the pitfalls and benefits of this approach while viewing the 20-minute documentary A New Way: An Organic Garden Changes Lives. I’ll be hosting a 1.5-hour seminar April 23 at the Banff Centre in Banff, Alta. It’s part of the 2016 conference…
Most Canadians consider Sir John A. Macdonald, the nation’s first prime minister, as “the Father of Confederation.” But this crusty politician, an ancestor of mine on my mother’s side, might well be called “father of residential schools.” Want to learn how his policies launched aboriginal children into decades of forced assimilation and abuse? Read my opinion piece “Macdonald’s legacy not…