Marion Agnew

I'm thrilled that my essay "Words" came second* in Room magazine's writing contest! It will be published in issue 36.2, due out in the summer of 2013. For more about the contest and a full list of winners, click here . I'm especially pleased that this essay received recognition and will be published, because it (also) relates to my mother's Alzheimer's disease. I'm also excited that my essay will appear with this one, " Loving Benjamin ," so brave and honest! I'm sure the rest of the issue will blow my socks off, too. Thanks, Room , for sponsoring the contest every year and for all you do to support women's writing! *Did you hear that? "Came second" is a Canadian construction, much like "I had to be there for 8 a.m." vs. "I had to be there at 8 a.m." Am I...morphing?

A couple of weeks ago, I bought strawberries. From that experience, I learned a couple of things. 1. Don't hoard. Use what you have. Because the strawberries are getting expensive, now that their season is done, I was saving them, doling them out a few at a time instead of just eating them daily for breakfast. (I know. Doesn't make sense. My parents were big on "saving" things as "treats," so at least I come by it honestly.) Anyway, the strawberries: they got furry. I wish I had just eaten them, savoring them as I went along. When I'm writing, I sometimes resist an urge to include an image. "I'll just have to take it out later," I think. "It's too many ideas," I think. And maybe I'm right. Maybe I will have to take it out later. But that's not what I'm doing -- I'm not revising. I'm writing. Maybe it won't fit -- but maybe it will inspire the image that does fit, perfectly, the element t...

While I was gone last month, I caught up on a couple of podcasts. One in particular has had me thinking ever since. CBC's Under the Influence is about advertising, marketing, business, communication, and even some history of those general topics. I like this program, and its predecessor The Age of Persuasion, because they help me, the fish, stop and think about the water I'm swimming around in. I haven't listened beyond this episode, It's the Little Things , because I'm not done thinking about it yet. Late in the show, host Terry O'Reilly quotes Isadore Sharp, the founder, chair, and CEO of the Four Seasons Hotel Chain: "We are only what we do, not what we say we are." Of course we've all heard "show don't tell." Show the antagonist kicking the cat. In the movie Titanic , the bad guy grabs a kid so he can get near a lifeboat. (Not subtle, but what about that movie is?) Still, I think it's true: we really *are* what we d...

I'm part of an informal group that's working through Julia Cameron's Walking in this World , or as I like to call it, Walk Like an Artist (because then I get to do the Bangles Egyptian hand). We are part of a private Facebook group and check in periodically. I'm not even sure we're on the same chapter -- which doesn't matter in our universe. A long time ago -- wow, at least 15 years -- I was part of a more structured, facilitated group that worked through The Artist's Way . I uncovered a lot of desires and fears during that process, many of which poked, prodded, and finally kicked me into pursuing the life I now live. Walking like an artist has been a gentler journey for me, but still oh-so-valuable. What I'm discovering likely won't upend my life (I hope; I like my life a lot), but even in a life that's essentially supportive and rewarding, it's good to take stock. Through the exercises, I am remembering various interests from other...