O’ love is the crooked thing,
There is nobody wise enough
To find out all that is in it, – W. B. Yeats
For fans of Alice Munro and Carol Shields comes an emotional and hopeful collection of short stories that delve into the tragedies that befall each of us in the search for goodness and meaning.
The English poet, William Blake said, “joy and woe are woven fine.” So it is in The Crooked Thing. A collection of intense and emotional stories, there are traumas and betrayals, loves and losses, missed opportunities and discoveries, and above all, hope. In tales delicate and steely, a troubled young ferryman finds himself with an unexpected passenger, a songbird finds its voice, a mother learns to let go of her son and, after a chance encounter, an aging ballerina dances again. Read more at Caitlin Press.
Mary MacDonald is a poet and writer and holds a PhD from the University of British Columbia. She has written poetry for ballet, public art, and libretto. Her fiction has appeared in Room magazine and nonfiction in Pique newsmagazine. Her chapbook, Going in Now, was published in 2014 by NIB Publishing.
She is a member of the Whistler, BC writing group, The Vicious Circle, sits on the board of the Whistler Writers Festival where she serves as curator and moderator for the poetry division of the festival.
Robert Frost said, “Poetry begins with a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness.” Everyone of my stories begins this way. With something like a stone in my walking boots. The thing you can’t ignore. How do each of us live a life with love, compassion, forgiveness, and purpose?