I’m a writer in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. I’m taller than I look.
Friday, July 31, 2026
“But to target Canada? I wouldn’t personally poke the eye of my best friend. Diplomacy doesn’t have to become insulting. Negotiations are only cranky if you make them cranky.”— Robert Restaino Robert Restaino is the… Read More
Thursday, July 30, 2026
Two years ago today was the last day of my dad’s life. Bill Gushue died in his home on July 30, 2024. It was not a shock: he was 95, and he had spent his… Read More
Wednesday, July 29, 2026
It’s not the most glamorous drink, but it’s been a go-to thing for me for the better part of a year. Earlier this month, I wrote about my big, ugly fibre-packed bowl of breakfast, and… Read More
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
“I’m least challenged or inspired by [Hollywood] stories… I’ve gravitated towards independent cinema because you have to work harder in studio scripts to flesh out characters, particularly female ones. They are not as sharply edged,… Read More
Monday, July 27, 2026
Several times this year alone, I’ve spoken with people who have had to deal with an issue that can be a defining moment in a family: surrendering a driver’s licence. Driving can get more complicated… Read More
Saturday, July 25, 2026
Like a lot of people, I didn’t think that much of George Michael at the outset. Wham! was a huge pop act in the early and mid-Eighties, and were hard to escape. Nothing really against… Read More
Friday, July 17, 2026
Martha and I were in Toronto in early June, just before FIFA launched the World Cup matches in cities across North America. Toronto was clearly expecting some hoopla — and not just in anticipatory (actually,… Read More
Thursday, July 16, 2026
For many years, I’ve delighted in telling people about a library in St. John’s that most folks have never seen — nor even heard of. I’ve written an article for the summer issue of NQ,… Read More
Thursday, July 23, 2026
“Ideas brush past fleeting and insubstantial as moths. But I let them go, I don’t want them. What I want is a voice.”— Joyce Carol Oates Having turned 88 last month, the American author Joyce… Read More
Monday, July 13, 2026
“The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it emotionally.”— Flannery O’Connor You won’t find photos of the American author Flannery O’Connor as an old woman, nor even really of a middle-aged… Read More
Wednesday, June 24, 2026
“I began to understand that self-esteem isn’t everything; it’s just that there’s nothing without it.”— Gloria Steinem Self-esteem has been on my mind a bit lately, for a variety of reasons. One thing that has… Read More
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
“I believe the climax of our troubles will be reached within the next few days, (after which the day of peace will quickly draw near), though they will undoubtedly bring trouble to many. Jim and… Read More
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
“No good opera plot can be sensible, for people do not sing when they are feeling sensible.”— W.H. Auden So wrote the British poet W.H. Auden, during a period of his life after he had… Read More
Saturday, July 18, 2026
In November 1986, I went to see New Order at the Congress Centre in Ottawa. Peter Gabriel was playing that same night in an arena across town; instead of a nosebleed seat there, I went… Read More
Thursday, July 2, 2026
On Wednesday, Martha and I stopped for a pint and caught the final stretch of the England-Congo match at the World Cup. Congo was leading 1-0, and then — boom. Harry Kane scored not one… Read More
Thursday, May 21, 2026
“Never apologize, never explain — didn’t we always say that? Well, I haven’t and I don’t.”— Marianne Faithfull Those words appear in the first of Marianne Faithfull’s memoirs, Faithfull: An Autobiography, which was published in… Read More
Thursday, January 15, 2026
I’ve been making a full-time living as a writer since 1985, when I moved to Ottawa to work as a reporter. I was in my early 20s, and I was hooked. I continued to work… Read More