My very short stay

...on Facebook was eye-opening. I was invited by a writer who knows lots of writers. And those writers know lots of writers. As I clicked around, looking at familiar faces and names, the sheer size of the Canlit community sunk in. Wow. At the time I had just finished my first reading of Ontological Necessities by Priscila Uppal, one of the books on the 2007 Griffin Poetry Prize shortlist. The judges' citation jives perfectly with my response to the book. It both surprised and delighted me. I couldn't put it down. When I finally finished the book, I began to wonder what surprises I'm missing out on. Even though I read everything I can get my hands on and even though Uppal has a number of books under her belt, this is the first time that I've read her work. I thought about that as I looked at the faces on Facebook, many of the faces gracing covers of books that I haven't yet read, books likely containing surprises that I'd like to experience.