Sunday: Windsor! Monday: Toronto!

Great day in Toronto yesterday. Luncheon for the Trillium Awards, where Mansfield poet Peter Norman was shortlisted for the poetry prize for his At the Gates of the Theme Park. Well, he didn't win, but the prize went to another great poet with a great first book, Jeff Latosik author of Tiny, Frantic, Stronger. Dani Couture was also on the short list with her fantastic second collection, Sweet. Meanwhile, over in the main prize, buddy Paul Vermeersch was shortlisted for his mighty fine fourth poetry collection, The Reinvention of the Human Hand, but the prize went to another friend, the sublime Rabindranath Maharaj, for his novel The Amazing Absorbing Boy. Robin read from that book in my Real Resident Reading Series at Queen's this past fall and it was a brilliant reading. I'm real happy for him.

Last night was the launch of the latest issue of Taddle Creek, which is packed with great writers, and I was happy to join the festivities at Jet Fuel, where I got to see lots of great friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in ages.

Tomorrow morning, hitting the road (well, the railroad tracks, actually) for Windsor, for the first stop in the five-city tour I'm doing with Mansfield authors Robert Earl Stewart and Marko Sijan.



And then on Monday, we're piling into Bob's four wheels and heading to Toronto for the Mansfield launch, which'll also feature readings by Amy Lavender Harris and Peter Norman. This'll be the only tour stop where I'm not launching Snowball, Dragonfly, Jew, because I already launched it in Toronto last month. I'll be hosting, though. Road trip!



Over and out.