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: Karthika Naïr and Joëlle Jolivet on Electric Birds of Pothakudi
Electric Birds of Pothakudi is a picture book based on the true story of a villager in south India who took extraordinary action to protect a pair of nesting birds. It’s a strikingly illustrated book, in a bold mix of manual and digital work, with a palette that ranges from brooding to brilliant. I’m continuing my conversation with author Karthika Naïr, and also, I’m happy to add, looping in illustrator Joëlle Jolivet. Karthika kindly sent me several page scans scans from the French edition of the book, which I’m happy to include here as well. It’s always wonderful when a book finds expression in more than one language.