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Ruth Daniell

~ poet, writer, editor, teacher

Ruth Daniell

Tag Archives: Laura Ritland

Looking back and looking forward

31 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by Ruth Daniell in The Writing Life

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2016, 2017, American Goldfinches, arts grant, birds, Boobs: Women Explore What it Means to Have Breasts, Caitlin Press, Canada Council for the Arts, Four Portraits, gratitude, JackPine Press, Laura Ritland, New Year, Swoon, Swoon: A Reading Series on Love and Desire, The New Quarterly

2016 has been a pretty rough year for a lot of reasons and for a lot of people. It’s hard to stay hopeful and grateful when there is so much to be genuinely sorry about, but I am trying. I have a lot to be grateful about this past year. The publication of Boobs: Women Explore What it Means to Have Breasts with Caitlin Press, who have been incredibly supportive, and the amazing strength and intelligence of everyone who submitted writing and contributed to the conversation. The publication of Four Portraits (co-authored/illustrated with Laura Ritland) with the generous JackPine Press. The support of many literary journals, including The Antigonish Review, Event Magazine, and The New Quarterly. All of the writers and readers and audience members of Swoon. The Canada Council for the Arts, for the grant that’s enabled me to spend my time looking at, thinking about, and writing poems about birds. The many conversations I’ve enjoyed with fellow artists and nature lovers about art and creativity and making the world a better place. My students. My colleagues. My friends. My family. I know a lot of fierce, wonderful, smart people who give the world more love and care and who give me hope that we can make a difference.

I’ll be posting more in the New Year about forthcoming publications and projects, but for now I’ll leave you with this photograph of the flock of American Goldfinches who have been hanging out in the park nearest my new home. Their plumages are not as vibrant as they are during the summer (mating) months, but to my eye (and mind and heart) they are still cheery and lovely.

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Boobs Anthology Reading at UBC Vancouver was empowering

13 Wednesday Jul 2016

Posted by Ruth Daniell in Boobs, Events & Appearances, Reading

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Canlit, Dina Del Bucchia, Esther Griffin, Francine Cunningham, Laura Ritland, Miranda Pearson, Nancy Lee, Sara Graefe, UBC Alumni, UBC Creative Writing Alumni Association, UBC Creative Writing Program, UBC Vancouver Point Grey Campus

What a fantastic turn-out to the Boobs celebration at UBC! Thank you to Caitlin Press, for believing in the book right away. Thank you to Sara Graefe and Nancy Lee of the UBC Creative Writing Department for helping to organize this, and for Francine Cunningham and the UBC Alumni Association for collaborating.

A huge thank you to the UBC-affiliated Boobs contributors who came out and shared their pieces with us: Sara Graefe, Miranda Pearson, Francine Cunningham, Laura Ritland, Dina Del Bucchia, Esther Griffin, and Nancy Lee. We also had a lively and empowering panel discussion about what it means to have breasts. I felt so moved to be part of a community of such strong writers and strong individuals, and buoyed by the fantastic thoughtfulness of the audience, too. Thanks for making this a wonderful, memorable event.

Boobs UBC July 13 2016

The writers with their copies of Boobs: Women Explore What it Means to Have Breasts (Caitlin Press, 2016)

 

 

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Boobs Anthology Reading July 13th at UBC Vancouver

05 Tuesday Jul 2016

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anthology, anthology reading, Boobs: Women Explore What it Means to Have Breasts, Caitlin Press, Dina Del Bucchia, Francine Cunningham, Laura Ritland, Miranda Pearson, Nancy Lee, Non-fiction/Memoir, poetry, reading, Sara Graefe, UBC Bookstore, UBC Creative Writing Alumni Association, UBC Creative Writing Program, UBC Vancouver Point Grey Campus, Vancouver, Vancouver literary event

Boobs UBC reading

Posted by Ruth Daniell | Filed under Boobs, Events & Appearances, Reading

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Two Poets with Four Portraits in Saskatoon

28 Tuesday Jun 2016

Posted by Ruth Daniell in Events & Appearances, Poetry, Publications, Visual Art

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Canlit, chapbook publication, collaboration, cruffin, Elise Marcella Godfrey, Four Portraits, here are circles, ice cream, JackPine Press, James Pepler, Laura Ritland, Lisa Johnson, Little Bird Patisserie & Cafe, McNally Robinson Saskatoon, pelicans, poetry, poetry chapbook, publication, Saskatchewan River, Saskatoon, Terry Ann Carter, Tom Boyko, Vancouver poets, Visual Art, Wendy Donawa

Once upon a time Laura Ritland and I co-wrote and co-illustrated Four Portraits, a chapbook of poems and drawings. Then—with support from the wonderful folk of JackPine Press—we spent hours and hours making the 75 limited edition chapbooks by hand. This process involved a lot of gluing and folding, and scoring and folding, and cutting out of a lot of circles. Here are some pictures of that process.

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With finished chapbooks in our luggage, we hopped onto a plane to Saskatoon. On Saturday, June 25, we gathered at The Woods Alehouse for the JackPine Press launch. James Pepler (poet) and Tom Boyko (artist) launched their video game-inspired chapbook, Side Quest. Wendy Donawa (poet) and Terry Ann Carter (paper expert and book designer) launched their book, The Gorge. Lovely people, all! And, of course, Laura and I read from our book, too. You can find copies of the book through the JackPine Press website. Our thanks to the JackPine Press collective, for their support through the book-making process, and to Lisa Johnson, for welcoming us so wholeheartedly to the city (and making sure we found the ice cream stand that’s run out of an old British double-decker bus).

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Laura Ritland & I pose with the Saskatchewan River & copies of our chapbook, Four Portraits 

Laura and I had an amazing time exploring Saskatoon. We admired, especially, the white pelicans fishing by the weir, as well as the many songbirds we saw beside the river. We similarly were delighted by all the delicious things we ate, but none more than the raspberry creme cruffins we discovered at Little Bird Patisserie & Cafe. We are true cruffin believers.

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We also had a wonderful time (read: an entire afternoon) browsing and buying books at McNally Robinson, where I was pleased to find copies of Boobs on the shelves, and where Laura and I posed with the JackPine Press poster for the chapbook launch because we could. We are so grateful to everyone who supported us as we pursued this project, and are completely charmed by Saskatoon.

One more special thank you to Elise Marcella Godfrey, a dear friend and poet who returned to the West Coast this year but who spent the previous six years in Saskatoon and graciously provided us with a “to do and eat in Saskatoon” list that we may or may not have followed exactly. Poets like plans!

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Be sure to visit the JackPine Press website to learn more about Four Portraits and get your copy of our handmade book!

 

 

21 Tuesday Jun 2016

Posted by Ruth Daniell in Announcements & News, Poetry, Publications, Uncategorized, Visual Art

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chapbook, chapbook publication, collaboration, Four Portraits, handmade book, illustration, JackPine Press, Laura Ritland, limited edition, poetry, poetry chapbook, Saskatoon, Visual Art

I’m thrilled to finally announce that together with my amazingly talented collaborator Laura Ritland I have a chapbook coming out with JackPine Press. We’re launching the limited edition chapbook at the JackPine launch next weekend in Saskatoon. Come say hello! (Click on the poster to take you to the event listing on Facebook.)

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Four Portraits is a suite of co-written poems and pen and ink drawings, bound accordion-style and wrapped with a windowed cut-out cover.  The project began as a kind of conversation—”Hey, we could write something together!”—and ended with a lot of scoring, folding, gluing, and cutting windows into gorgeous cardstock. Our thanks to JackPine Press for the opportunity to hand-make these books. It’s been a true joy.

See you soon, Saskatoon!

Boobs launch packed the Heartwood Cafe

02 Monday May 2016

Posted by Ruth Daniell in Boobs, Events & Appearances, Publications, Reading

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Authors for Indies, Authors for Indies 2016, Bonnie Nish, Boobs, Boobs: Women Explore What it Means to Have Breasts, Book Warehouse, Book Warehouse Broadway, Caitlin Press, Canlit, Christina Myers, Emily Davidson, Emily Wight, Fiona Tinwei Lam, Heartwood Café, Heartwood Community Cafe, Jónína Kirton, Kate Braid, Laura Ritland, Lynn Easton, Maggie Wojtarowicz, Matthew Walsh, Michael Despotovic, Plenitude Magazine, Pulp Fiction, ROOM Magazine, Sara Graefe, Sierra Skye Gemma, Taryn Hubbard, Terri Braudmueller, Vancouver, Vici Johnstone, Zuri Scrivens

Thanks so much to everyone who made it out to Heartwood Community Cafe on Friday night and joined me and many of the contributors for a fantastic Vancouver launch of Boobs: Women Explore What it Means to Have Breasts. (If you missed it, or just want more Boobs events in your future, don’t worry: more events are coming soon.) It was an unforgettable night, with an incredibly warm and supportive audience. I enjoyed chatting to everyone who came up to me to ask about the book or tell me what it means to them. I feel so privileged to be a part of bringing these stories and poems to a wider audience.

We had a terrific line-up of authors who read from their work in the book: Kate Braid, Maggie Wojtarowicz, Sara Graefe, Fiona Tinwei Lam, Sierra Skye Gemma, Emily Davidson, Emily Wight, Taryn Hubbard, and Laura Ritland.

Thanks to Heartwood for hosting the launch of Boobs: Women Explore What it Means to Have Breasts. I was so excited to see our packed house!
Thanks to Heartwood for hosting the launch of Boobs: Women Explore What it Means to Have Breasts. I was so excited to see our packed house!
Kate Braid read her two poems from the book: "Always Keep Your Tools Sharp" and "Breasts."
Kate Braid read her two poems from the book: “Always Keep Your Tools Sharp” and “Breasts.”
Maggie Wojtarowicz wowed the audience with her moving performance of "Reclaiming my Thorns"
Maggie Wojtarowicz wowed the audience with her moving performance of “Reclaiming my Thorns”
Sara Graefe read from her shining, intelligent story, "Variety Pack"
Sara Graefe read from her shining, intelligent story, “Variety Pack”
Fiona Tinwei Lam made us all giggle with her thoughts on nipples
Fiona Tinwei Lam made us all giggle with her thoughts on nipples
Sierra Skye Gemma read from her powerful story, "So Big Men Can't Help Themselves"
Sierra Skye Gemma read from her powerful story, “So Big Men Can’t Help Themselves”
Yours truly addressing the amazing crowd at Heartwood Cafe. Photo by Caitlin Press.
Yours truly addressing the amazing crowd at Heartwood Cafe. Photo by Caitlin Press.
Emily Wight had us all in stitches with her hilarious story "Celebrate Your Curves with Free Shipping"
Emily Wight had us all in stitches with her hilarious story “Celebrate Your Curves with Free Shipping”
Emily Davidson read from her story of female friendship, "The Exhibitionist"
Emily Davidson read from her story of female friendship, “The Exhibitionist”
Taryn Hubbard entertained us with an excerpt from "Pinches," her story about confidence, bras, and adolescent media
Taryn Hubbard entertained us with an excerpt from “Pinches,” her story about confidence, bras, and adolescent media
Laura Ritland closed off the evening with her gorgeous poem, "Your Body is Growing"
Laura Ritland closed off the evening with her gorgeous poem, “Your Body is Growing”

I wish I’d thought to get photos of the many other wonderful people who were there, including Matthew Walsh from Plentitude; Terri Brandmueller, Bonnie Nish, and Jónína Kirton from Room Magazine; and Anita who came from Pulp Fiction to sell copies of the book! Thank you so much for coming out and supporting the launch! And of course a huge thank you to Heartwood Cafe for hosting us. Thank you to Vici Johnstone, publisher of Caitlin Press, for believing in the project right from the beginning, and to Michael Despotovic who helped plan this party!

Boobs copies at launch

Photo by Matthew Walsh @croonjuice

I was also completely warmed to see Zuri Scrivens, Christina Myers, and Lynn Easton at the launch, who also have work in the anthology. Please keep watching the Caitlin Press website for info on future Boobs events and come out to hear them read from their own stories. Every single piece in the book is incredibly important. I can’t stress enough how proud I am that I get to be a part of a project that helps these important stories and poems get heard.

For more about the book, check out the information on the Caitlin Press catalogue for Boobs. And for more information about future events, check out the Boobs, the Anthology: Canada Tour listings.

Thanks also to everyone who dropped by Book Warehouse Broadway on Saturday between noon and 1pm to buy books and chat with me! I had a lot of fun participating in Authors for Indies. Thanks to Caitlin and everyone at Book Warehouse Broadway for having me!

Ruth Daniell: Honourary Bookseller
Ruth Daniell: Honourary Bookseller
Authors for Indies 2016 at Book Warehouse Broadway
Authors for Indies 2016 at Book Warehouse Broadway

Boobs, The Anthology: Vancouver Book Launch

14 Thursday Apr 2016

Posted by Ruth Daniell in Boobs, Events & Appearances, Non-fiction/Memoir, Poetry, Reading, Uncategorized

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Boobs, Boobs book launch, Boobs: Women Explore What it Means to Have Breasts, book launch, Caitlin Press, Emily Davidson, Emily Wight, Heartwood Café, Heartwood Community Cafe, Kate Braid, Laura Ritland, Maggie Wojtarowicz, Plenitude Magazine, ROOM Magazine, Ruth Daniell, Sara Graefe, Sierra Skye Gemma, Taryn Hubbard, Vancouver, Vancouver literary event

Please RSVP to the Vancouver launch of Boobs here.

Boobs Book launch - vertical

You’re invited to the launch of Boobs: Women Explore What It Means to Have Breasts at the Heartwood Community Cafe at 317 East Broadway, Vancouver. Join the editor—that’s me!—and many contributors for multiple readings of true stories and poetry. Books will be available for sale and signing. It’s going to be a really fun night. At the launch party, we’ll be joined by the good folks at Room, Canada’s oldest literary journal by and for women, and also Plenitude, Canada’s queer literary magazine. Such good company!

The event is being graciously hosted by Heartwood Community Cafe! Delicious snacks AND literature! What could be more fun on a Friday evening?

Given that space is limited, please RSVP for free admission. We are expecting a full house so RSVP soon!

Upcoming Swoon Reading on November 14

03 Tuesday Nov 2015

Posted by Ruth Daniell in Swoon

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Elise Marcella Godfrey, fiction, Francine Cunningham, Josh Massey, Laura Ritland, Maureen Medved, poetry, prose, Sierra Skye Gemma, Swoon, Swoon Fall 2015

The next literary evening of love, sex, and chocolate is less than two weeks away! Check out the amazing author line-up that Sierra Skye Gemma and I are excited to share with you! These are some really lovely people, and they’re going to treat us to some really amazing work! Click the poster below to RSVP to the event on Facebook, and read on for a sneak peek at what to expect from this swoontastic line-up.

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Francine Cunningham is a long-time Swoon supporter and an excellent writer who will be sharing some nonfiction with us. Winner of SubTerrain‘s Lush Award for Poetry 2015, Elise Marcella Godfrey spent the last five years in Saskatoon; she’s originally from Vancouver Island and excited to be back on the West Coast to share some of her gorgeous poetry with us.  Josh Massey is a poet and fiction writer who also currently lives in Terrace, BC, where he works as a reporter for the Terrace Standard; he’ll be treating us with an excerpt from his new novel, The Plotline Bomber of Innisfree. Acclaimed fiction writer and screenwriter Maureen Medved will be reading new work from her working novel manuscript. Laura Ritland, 2014 winner of The Malahat Review’s Far Horizon Award for Poetry, will be sharing new poems for us.

I hope you’ll join us to hear from these amazing writers. It’s going to be a lovely time!

Review for Maisonneuve: Melissa Bull’s Rue and Talya Rubin’s Leaving the Island

23 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by Ruth Daniell in Publications, Reviews & Articles

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Laura Ritland, Leaving the Island, Maisonneuve, Melissa Bull, review, Rue, Talya Rubin

I had the privilege of spending time with two poetry debuts and with friend and colleague Laura Ritland, and the result is our co-authored review that’s now featured on the Maisonneuve website. Check it out (and also check out the two books Laura and I discuss)!

MelissaBullRue

Leaving the Island

Summer and poetry in Vancouver (& beyond)

02 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by Ruth Daniell in Events & Appearances, Poetry, Publications

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(parenthetical), Alessandra Naccarato, April 17:, Arc, Arc Poetry Magazine, Birkenstocks, Darius Kinney, Dina Del Bucchia, Emily Chou, Emily Davidson, Frog Hollow Press, Laura Ritland, Megan Jones, Michael Prior, photos, Qwerty, rosé, Sean Cranbury, Shaun Robinson, Shazia Hafiz Ramji, Sorrow Halved, Sugar le Fae, You're living in a big city now

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Photo credit: Matthew Pixton

I had an absolutely amazing time on Monday (June 29) at the Frog Hollow Press launch of City Series: Number One – Vancouver. The launch was held at the Vancouver Art Gallery Café, and it may have been the most beautiful location for a poetry reading within which I’ve yet had the pleasure of performing. I can’t think of a better way of spending a late June Monday evening—hanging out in a sunny patio, drinking rosé, and listening to poetry! Thank you to everyone who came out and supported me and my fellow Vancouver poets!

For those who missed it, it was a magical evening. Almost all of the contributors to the anthology were able to be in town and make it out to the launch; we missed the presences of Darius Kinney, Alessandra Naccarato, and Sugar le Fae—not to mention Michael Prior, our editor—but we enjoyed performances by Emily Davidson, Shazia Hafiz Ramji, Laura Ritland, Megan Jones, Shaun Robinson, and Emily Chou. If you haven’t done so yet, you can still order one of the limited edition chapbooks by visiting the Frog Hollow Press website.IMG_9785 (1)

The evening was hosted by the hilarious and fashionable Dina Del Bucchia and the charismatic, lemonade-loving Sean Cranbury. Dina introduced me as a “fierce, sensual Disney princess.” I must admit my outfit that evening was quite appropriate for that label—although you may notice that I’m wearing very un-princess-like Birkenstocks. For a literary collision of fairy tales and Birkenstocks, check out my poem “Swans,” which is forthcoming in Qwerty. I performed “Swans” for the lovely audience at the Vancouver Art Gallery Café, in addition to my two poems in the Frog Hollow chapbook: “You’re living in a big city now” and “April 17:“.

Dead Poets Reading SeriesMy next performance will be on July 12, as part of the Dead Poets Reading Series, a smart Vancouver series that celebrates the work of poets who’ve graced the world. The event goes from 3-5 PM at the Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library! I’ll be reading poems by P. K. Page, and some other really wonderful deceased poets will be represented, including e.e. cummings and John Keats! I hope to see you there.

You can also watch for some new work by me this summer! The summer issue of Arc with my poem “Sorrow Halved” is hitting shelves right now and I can’t wait to get my hands on my contributor’s copy—I’m just thrilled! And the kind folks at (parenthetical) have just announced the contributors of their next issue, which launches in two weeks—and I’m pleased to count myself among them! Look for some new magical (mermaid!) fiction by me available online and in print on July 16!

(Pssssst! Also check out this exciting news in children’s literature.)

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Boobs (anthology)

Boobs: Women Explore What It Means to Have Breasts

Four Portraits (chapbook)

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