Joyful Persistence: My Talk for the UBC School of Creative Writing Graduation

three pillars of a contented artist’s life: a regular creative practice, taking in lots of art and experiences, and community.

My path as a writer became much more smooth when I learned, when things aren’t going well, to regard my struggles as curious, not tragic. So, How do we get through this puzzle? That’s funny, I thought I could write this book and I can’t, instead of, I have to drink a bottle of gin before eleven to numb myself at how horrifying this is. You could al