Writing With a Broken Tusk
Writing With a Broken Tusk began in 2006 as a blog about overlapping geographies, personal and real-world, and writing books for children. Since March 2024, Jen Breach (writer, VCFA graduate, and former student) has helped me curate and manage guest posts and Process Talk pieces on this blog.
The blog name refers to the mythical pact between the poet Vyaasa and the Hindu elephant headed god Ganesha who was his scribe during the composition of the epic narrative, the Mahabharata. It also refers to my second published book, edited by the generous and brilliant Diantha Thorpe of Linnet Books/The Shoe String Press, published in 1996, acquired and republished by August House, now part of Reading Is Fundamental, and still miraculously in print.
Posts on this site reflect personal opinion and commentary protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
Process Talk with Jen: Caroline Kusin Pritchard and Sidura Ludwig on Tender Jewish Family Traditions
[Posted by Jen Breach]
[Jen] When I saw that Caroline Kusin Pritchard and Sidura Ludwig, two generous and insightful writers, had books coming out within months of each other, I pounced at the chance to turn an interview post into a conversation.
Caroline, Where is Poppy? (illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte) is based on your beloved grandfather, who has passed, and his Passover seder table. And Sidura, you make challah every week for Shabbat, just like the characters in Rising (illustrated by Sophia Vincent Guy). How did you turn these tender family traditions into picture books that intertwine family and religion?