some recent substack posts: reading in the margins + the genealogy book,

I’ve been working a couple of threads over at my incredibly clever substack over the past few months, most of which has been my ongoing genealogical non-fiction project, “the genealogy book,” exploring new genealogical threads as well as seeking further details along previously known genealogical threads, working my family histories in multiple directions, now that I’m aware of the biological threads of my adopted-self (here's a recent example). I’ve been working this particular manuscript since June of last year, and have been finding out some really fascinating details and connections, and the comparisons between my previously-known self (McLennan/Campbell/Aird/Page/Swain/Friend and other lineages throughout) against the newly-explored biological threads (Adams, etcetera) I’m finding pretty interesting. The biological lines have been over here far longer, for example, including numerous United Empire Loyalist lines (which I haven’t had before this), leaning into some pretty neat stories, connections and lengthy histories across Dundas County, the War of 1812, New England and the American Revolution, none of which I thought I had any connection to.

My other ongoing thread is a series of short essays on fiction writers, “reading in the margins: a writing diary,” with the most recent piece is on London, Ontario writer Jean McKay, focusing on her 1983 “autobiographical novel” Gone to Grass (Coach House Books). Naturally, this is a book I highly recommend, if you can find a copy. Previously posted pieces across this same series include write-ups on Gail Scott, Joy Williams, Ernest Hemingway, Bobbie Louise Hawkins and Kristjana Gunnars. I’m slowly (very slowly, it might seem) working on further pieces, on Dany Laferrière, LM Montgomery and Sheila Heti, among others. We shall see how far it goes.

I’ve also been posting the occasional short story (here's a good one), from a manuscript I’ve been slowly carving over the past few years, a follow-up to this fall’s On Beauty (University of Alberta Press), a book already on pre-order, I might add. I’ve also been sprinkling through some small bits of flash fiction, a manuscript nearly a decade in-progress (an example, here), furthering The Uncertainty Principle: stories, (Chaudiere Books, 2014), a book still available through Invisible Publishing.

Prior to that, I’m sure you saw all the excerpts from the “Lecture for an Empty Room” non-fiction project, focusing on reading, literature and community (here's my piece on John Cage, for example, as part of such), “A river runs through it: a writing diary,” my lengthy essay on collaborating with Denver poet Julie Carr and the lengthy essay (posted in two parts: one and two) on the thirtieth anniversary/history of above/ground press! There’s also been a piece or two on “the blue year,” a writing journal/diary from 2019-2020 that I have yet to rework (an example, here), a hefty manuscript from a period of father illness (als), my weekends attending care and his eventual death, new half-sibling discoveries, Christine’s health crises and eventual pandemic (there was a lot to process during that period, honestly). I’m hoping to get into that again at some point, once the genealogical project is further along. Also, I’m hoping to get back into the novel I began in 2021, one that furthers some threads from On Beauty, so once I’m there I’ll start posting those as well. There are other threads too, but I'll let you figure that out on your own. Beyond that, who knows? Really, this whole substack process I deliberately began to push me further into a couple of prose directions, assisting to get pieces furthered, furthered and finished. Having the weekly slot does provide a good impetus for getting a piece done.

Right now I’m attempting to post weekly (although recently I accidentally posted two pieces recently on the same day, oops), with every third or fourth piece for paying subscribers only. I mean, I’m attempting to treat this like a weekly column, in a certain way, but it would be nice to have a few dollars in my pocket also, along the way. And can you believe I'm only 9,750 away from ten thousand subscribers?