Memorable characters

“It’s told from the point of view of a horse,” my daughter, Claire, told me when she started reading Black Beauty. “I don’t know if I want to read it.” She finished the book today, and concluded that it was a great read, and Black Beauty was a character she wouldn’t ever forget. When Claire asked me to name some memorable characters from books…

Writers who passed away in 2012

“Don’t talk about it; write.” – Bradbury, 1976 I recently read a list of writers who passed away in 2012. Donald J. Sobol, writer of the Encyclopedia Brown series, passed away in July. Leroy, aka Encyclopedia Brown, is a boy detective who used his intelligence to solve neighbourhood mysteries. Some of my fondest childhood memories in Canada include going to the public library where I…

“toenails twinkle”

I was riding the subway when a group of teenagers were reading and talking about the poem wedged between two ads. For over ten years, Poetry on the Way, has been placing short poems on TTC subways, cars, and streetcars in Toronto. “Poetry is what gets lost in translation,” said one of the kids quoting, Dylan Thomas. I was most impressed! Ever since I first…

Creative confidence

I watched a great TEDtalks video entitled, “How to build your creative confidence.” David Kelly provides some interesting insights on developing creative confidence, overcoming phobias and achieving self-efficacy (the belief that we can deal with any challenges that life presents us). I especially appreciated his comment that we are all “naturally creative” in our own unique way. Unfortunately, that belief is too often quashed…