Members Blog

Come blog with us

Are you a CNFC member? Have you got some writing to share? We are currently seeking pitches for our blog. The CNFC has a modest budget to pay for blog entries. We can offer $50 honoraria for select original content pieces. Please get in touch if you’d like to contribute! Ideas for post content include the following: – Reporting on CNFC events near or far from you – Issues of craft in CNF – Issues of living the writerly life…

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Poetry: Pure Fiction, or Nonfiction in Its Purest Form?

CNFC workshop at Loft 112 in Calgary on Sunday, April 19, 2015 Photos & blog by Dale Lee Kwong Can poetry constitute creative nonfiction? The question is one I had never considered. When I did, I discovered I’ve unconsciously never given my poetry the same respect as my essays. For me, nonfiction held more interest than fiction and I categorized poetry as less valid. After attending a workshop featuring South African author and editor, Helen Moffett, I now feel excitement…

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News from the World of CNF

  As we gear up to our annual CNFC Conference (this time in Victoria), only a couple of weeks away, the world of CNF is fluttering with activity. So, here’s our news: carte blanche has announced our CNF contest shortlist! You can find the shortlist here. Second, our members continue to write and update their blogs: Dennis Malone writes in “What I Learned from Cancer”: Nurses are like sound men at rock concerts: there they are to ensure that all…

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Members Blog: What’s So Scary about Words Like “Religion,” “Spirituality” and “Mysticism”?

Reflections on Writing my Memoir, Into the Mystic: My Years with Olga (Inanna Publications, 2014)  Susan McCaslin The word “religion” can sometimes generate hostility or fear. People mistrustful of religion notice how many of the major religions have been and continue to be tied to empire-building, rigid belief systems, gender inequalities, corporate capitalism, wars, and the exploitation of the “have nots.” The word “spirituality” seems a gentler, more inclusive term, less indicative of rigid belief systems. Yet it too remains…

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