I'm home, taking a little breather between Blue Met events. I did another student writing workshop this morning and this afternoon at five, I'm on a CBC panel called "The Human Face ofGenocide."
Last night's spaghetti dinner, in case you're wondering, was super fun. The Cree students didn't come in the end; the stars of the evening were Mary, Simon and Annie, who live in Akulivik in Nunavik. There were many special moments; one happened after dinner, when Simon said a little prayer for us in Inuktittut and Mary and Annie translated it into English.
This morning, I worked with students from Escuminac in the Gaspe, from Baie-Comeau, as well as other students from the Montreal area. What made today's workshop extra-special for me was that I had the feeling everyone in the room really cared about writing. There's a special magic when that happens. During one exercise, I asked the students to remember a place from their childhood -- a student named Jeff wrote about his grandmother's house and I have the feeling he's got a story to tell that may just start in that house.
We also had a young poet with us named David -- David's been volunteering at Blue Met and he decided to join our workshop, too. I told David and the others how I lead a pretty humdrum life, but that I go a little crazy in my stories. That reminded David of a quote from French author Gustave Flaubert, who said: "Be regular and orderly in your life so you can be violent and original in your work." Hmmm... that gives me lots to think about; what about you?