seven long weeks now

Wonderful response to the True to Life chapter! I will post another tmw or later today. And also, soon, a few paragraphs from the new memoir, which is still working its slow sweet way into the world. Stay tuned.

Taught two classes yesterday. Last term's U of T class has continued to meet and asked me to come back periodically to critique, so there were five of them in the afternoon, and then last night, seven of my longterm writers. Zoom works extraordinarily well. Not the same as being in the same room, but still, we're together. Grateful for that.

Otherwise, a very tough time is drawing to a close and I hope will be resolved by this time next week. I have been living in a near-constant state of tension for two weeks. We never know what surprises will be coming down the pike, do we? And we never know who will support us and who will not. Thank heavens for surprises, so we always have stuff to write about.

It has been seven weeks since the lockdown; my last public event was the home class here, Thursday March 12. And then the door slammed shut. I wonder what we will take from this experience. A woman wrote in the Star today that she can't wait to go shopping for new clothes again, shopping is her hobby and her drug, and my heart sank. Surely, I've been thinking, we now realize how stupid and wasteful all that is. Who cares what fashion dictates? Surely that industry will have to slow down. Surely cruise ships are dead in the water, and if nothing else, we've realized we need vast improvements in animal management and the care of the elderly and health care generally.

Maybe not. Humans have short memories. But I can't believe we won't carry the effects, the memory of this crisis for a very long time.

But here's joy: it's spring, and the varieties of green in the garden are astounding. Canadian poet Lorna Crozier titled a book, The garden going on without us, and she certainly does. Long may she thrive.

For anyone who loves the theatre, or just enjoys a really good series, CBC Gem is showing the fabulous Slings and Arrows. I can't wait.
https://gem.cbc.ca/season/slings-arrows/season-1/30d4351b-f5af-4b8e-a313-a84ec02e96bf

And more cheer for today, here are two of my favourite men, a tall one and a famous one. The tall one is closely connected to me.

One of my favourite pictures of this complicated brilliant man.