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.
Guest Post: Megan Pomper on What Makes a Bird?
I met Megan Pomper when our books were both shortlisted for the City of Victoria Children’s Book Prize. Megan’s book, What Makes a Bird? follows a child asking that singular question. It follows a child’s curiosity. In seeking to define a bird, the book accomplishes many things at once.
It shows us the amazing range of birdlife while serving as an introduction to sameness and difference, categories and criteria. It teases apart feathers, flight, songs, nesting, eggs, and migration, showing how shape, habit, and habitat combine to make each bird species distinct, yet part of a larger avian family. Maia Hoekstra’s full page and spot illustrations will help children connect observation to understanding and encourage backyard investigations. Flat colour contrasts with white line-work that depicts bird silhouettes, bubbles, shoreline, and the light in the sky.