The views expressed in the Writer-in-Residence blogs are those held by the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Open Book: Toronto.
The Questionless Books Interview: Poet Dani Couture
Submitted by gmurray on June 24, 2011 - 10:10am
In The Questionless Books Interview, I get a whole bunch of books people (from authors to editors to publishers to sales/publicity/production people, booksellers, designers, librarians, readers, etc) to "answer" a series of unspoken "questions". The results highlight a delightful mix of the opportunities and challenges facing our sector: from doom and gloom to sunshine and rainbows, and every irony in between.
Dani Couture is writer who lives in Toronto. Her most recent collection of poetry, Sweet, was nominated for the Trillium Book Award for Poetry. Her novel, Algoma, is forthcoming from Invisible Publishing in Fall 2011.
I am port wine-stained.
I am known to walk the beach at night.
I do this in my hoodie and sneakers.
I do this because I need to look at uninterrupted space at least once a day.
I do this when I need to focus.
The way I do this is without headphones.
At his/her core, a Writer is a badger.
As opposed to an Author, who is a ferret.
A Writer is responsible for digging.
As opposed to an Author, who is responsible for hunting.
At its core, Publishing is white coat.
As opposed to Editing, which is black art.
A Publisher should always stand behind its editors.
As opposed to an Editor, who should always stand behind its writers.
A Manuscript that's ready to be read by others is the first lap.
As opposed to a Book that's ready to be ready by others, which is the end of a marathon.
A Manuscript should always remain unbound.
As opposed to a Book, which should always be clipped, sewed, or glued.
At its core, Bookselling is experience by referral.
As opposed to Book Marketing, which is sending balloons skyward.
The smallest unit of narrative is a cough.
The biggest reason to anticipate the future is the additional minutes.
The biggest reason to be scared of the future is the additional hours.
In the future we will all worry about the days we lost.
At his/her core, a Reader is willing.
However, the ideal Reader is hellbent on complete abandonment.
