April 14, 2006

I get a visit from a midge

Zoe Williams quite rightly on misogynistic slang. Although she admits that “It is incredibly unfashionable to object to language and ideas that denigrate women. I’m almost embarrassed; I feel like I’ve left the house wearing something fluorescent.” The marketability of anti-feminism is really quite phenomenal. Incredibly, the Environment Minister censors an Environment Canada scientist from talking about his novel on climate change- though perhaps the problem was his attempt to use his official position to market a work of fiction, but it’s disturbing all the same.

And I must get back to my essay, but first a story. I love it when school floods over into real life. Last night I was writing my paragraph about Annie Dillard’s affinity with insects, and the various way she connects them to writers in The Writing Life. And then suddenly, a tiny insect landed on my book. Something midge-like, as if it had just materialized from Tinker Creek. This is odd, as I really haven’t seen an insect anywhere for about six months. I greeted it familiarly, and watched it flap its wings for a while. There was no “Yeah, flap flap, isn’t it?” but still, for an instant, there was indeed “a glimmer of companionship”. And then it flew away. And perhaps the point of this after all is that we need new window screens, but I am glad it happened all the same.

Now for Easter Weekend. For a secular fundamentalist such as myself, Easter Weekend involves chocolate (but not chocolate bunnies if I can help it, because of Miffy) and visits with family. And we’ve got plenty of family coming round in the next few days- in-laws and… outlaws (?)

And please, run, don’t walk, down to your local book dispenser and pick up Mean Boy by Lynn Coady. If you’ve ever taken a creative writing class, you will especially find particularly hilarious. It’s hilarious and a bit heartwrenching. And who doesn’t like having their heart wrenched?

And now back to the feral nature of the written word.