Archives -
January, 2010
There is Comfort in Independence – January 22, 2010
The Canadian magazine industry has just
lost a large amount of government funding.
With the reorganization of two
support programs, the rules have changed and the very large magazines won’t get
as much money while the very small ones – mostly literary titles – will not
receive any. Some of the latter, which have tiny numbers of subscribers and no
advertising, will probably have to shut down. I can’t shed any tears for the
former, since I’m not sure why taxpayers are supporting consumer magazines
anyway. As for us, we’re fine because we don’t seek nor received any government
funding. We couldn’t get it if we wanted it, since we serve an international
audience and don’t fit the government’s “Canadian content” guidelines. But we
value our independence too much to accept subsidies and prefer to sink or swim
on the quality of information we provide to our readers. It’s the hard way to do
things, but it’s worked for us for 34 years now.
Posted: 2010/01/22 3:35PM
A Sad Loss – January 21, 2010
This has been a sad week.
We have all been trying to get our heads around the enormity of the tragedy in
Haiti. And, as well as the horrific deaths of hundreds of thousands of people
there, the world lost two great Canadian artists
to cancer. One was a few years young than I and the other a few years older. On Tuesday, singer/songwriter Kate McGarrigle died
at age 63. I first discovered the music of Kate and Anna McGarrigle in the late 1970s and it spoke to me on many levels...as a woman and young mother, as a Canadian, as a lover of folk music and harmonies.
Here is an obit in case you do not know their work.
Then, two days later, musician, writer and author Paul Quarrington died
at age 56.
Posted: 2010/01/21 10:10PM
Integration, Not Balance – January 3, 2009
Work/life balance. Work/family balance. This is the time of
year when people are resolving to get their lives together and become happier.
I’m receiving a lot of emails and tweets and other advice – not to mention
queries seeking advice – about how to create this mysterious state of being. At
one time in my life, I thought balance was a worthwhile goal. I even advised
women with home businesses about how to achieve it. But in those days, I didn’t
really think about what the word meant. I guess I was talking about stability or
at least equilibrium. But these days, I see balance as suggesting competing or
opposing forces, and I am not willing to see my family and my work as
competing...nor to do work that is not a passionate part of my life. I realize
now that what I had – and what I wanted to share –
all those years ago was not balance but integration. My life and my work were
(and still are) parts of an integrated whole. Sometimes I worked long hours to
meet a publishing deadline; other times, the scale tipped in the other direction
and I was able to give more attention to my family and home. As a mom with
a small home-based business, all the parts of my life were always gathered
around me (and, yes, sometimes threatened to smother me). The balance I
thought I was seeking was only obtainable for fleeting moments at the best, and
my need for it was unrealistic. What I probably really wanted was control, which
is, of course, just as elusive as balance. But now I know that what I valued was
what I had: a wholistic life within which the various elements cooperated rather
than competed. Then, as now, I had a life that was a relatively seamless
integration of work, family, leisure. My work has always been my
passion and feels like play more than a chore; new ideas intersect with old
traditions; work colleagues often become my friends; family life has nurtured my
work and vice versa. And for that I’m extremely grateful.
Posted: 2010/01/03 8:15PM
