Fundraiser!! Please Sponsor me! Scleroderma Sister

I have three sisters. Teresa is the oldest (43), then there’s me (41), Nadia is number three (39), and Silvia is the baby (33). In this picture, we happen to be in order from oldest to youngest (left to right). About ten years ago Silvia was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Scleroderma. None of […]

Inertia

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word "inertia" means" Definition of inertia in English: NOUN A tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged.   As the spring season starts to settle in, so does the need for my own inner growth and renewal. My awareness for change is heightened and opportunities seem to …

Celebrating National Poetry Month 2017 with Cats

I'm going to let the cat out of the bag...I'm a crazy-cat-lady! I love all creatures, but I have a particular fondness for cats. As it turns out, I'm in good company. Many famous writers and poets have a cat obsession. Check it out here. Renowned poet T.S. Eliot wrote this book: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00GQDKBOA/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 One of …

Scleroderma Sister

I have three sisters. Teresa is the oldest (43), then there's me (41), Nadia is number three (39), and Silvia is the baby (33). In this picture, we happen to be in order from oldest to youngest (left to right). About ten years ago Silvia was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Scleroderma. None of …

Culture and the Creative Cure

I noticed something about my musings that I never really appreciated, until now, as being part of who I am as a writer. Time and time again, I find my Italian heritage creeping up into my work. I don't tap into it consciously, yet somehow it manages to appear in so much of what I …

Nostalgia and the Cognitive Itch

I am not a blogger...or I never used to be. I only started blogging for this Digital Communications course that I'm enrolled in at the University of Toronto's School of Continuing Studies. I chose to write about poetry because it's a topic that I am passionate about, but I noticed that a significant part of creating …

4 Canadian Poets who have Inspired Me

Part 4: Pat Lowther 1935-1975 My pick for today's discussion: Wanting Wanting to be broken utterly split apart with a mighty tearing like an apple broken to unfold the delicate open veined petal pattern inside the fruit . I am arrogant knowing what I can do for a man . I am arrogant for fear …

4 Canadian Poets who have Inspired Me

Part 3: Dorothy Livesay, 1909-1996 "In addition to her literary contributions, Dorothy Livesay has been a passionate advocate of women’s rights, social justice and peace. She is a highly original thinker and educator." (from The Order of British Columbia) In his introduction, Gary Geddes wrote, "Livesay has always been concerned about the role of women …