Just Do It

At an airport again, Vancouver this time, heading home. I'd almost forgotten how much I love this city and  its metallic rainy pavement scent. Walking around, I kept having the prickly sense that I was about to run into myself. The ghost of my younger self. I lived here for five years as a student . . . which wasn't all that long ago, was it? Come on. 

I had fun doing a few radio and podcast interviews here. The drinking was not quite as hearty as it was on the Toronto leg of the book tour, though publicist Trish and I had some lovely wine (I think I need to start another blog, which will just be a record of my drinks). The big event was last night at the Vancouver Public Library, hosted by the excellent Hal Wake of the Vancouver Writers' Fest. I was lucky to read with John Vaillant and Marianne Apostolides, both of whom are brilliant writers and readers, qualities that don't always go together! It was exciting to hear John's very tense passage from The Jaguar's Children, and Marianne's beautiful, sinuous Sophrosyne. I can't wait to read more for myself. Our books are so different, but are all in the first person; we had a good discussion about anxieties related to taking on others' voices, and how to get over that. Our answer seemed to be that you have to just do it, to coin a phrase.

I did sing! Even in the presence of my rowdy and supportive family members who came out for the evening, having offered me fashion advice first, and some old friends who were there too.  Didn't Ted Hughes say something about family being a conspiracy to keep you the same all your life? Well, my family accepted me talking in Daniel Boone's voice without too much complaint, although one sister did remark afterwards that I sound more "Kelowna" than I used to. I'm sure she meant more "Kentucky."

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Book-signing after the reading and Q&A, with John Vaillant and Marianne Apostolides.