“My own background in physics has taught me wonder. As a poet, we deal mostly in metaphors and a metaphor says that this is that - that's what equations do too. Equations say that mass is energy. Just being able to throw yourself at the universe and find out everything you can is a great background for a scientist or for an artist.”

In this episode, Erin Bow discusses the lightning bolt of inspiration and balancing writing, teaching and science translation. She discusses:

• 1:57 | Her advice for young writers
• 2:56 | Writing the books that “young me really needed to read,” including her Governor General’s Award-winning book Stand on the Sky
• 7:06 | Drawing lines about which stories to write
• 8:56 | Getting kids on their feet during school visits
• 12:51 | How studying physics has enriched her artistic practice…and the mystery of where gold comes from

Guest Bio: 

Erin Bow is an award-winning poet and novelist, whose honors include the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, the CBC Literary Award for poetry, and a Governor General’s Award. Though trained as a physicist, Erin Bow is now a poet and children’s writer, working out of her garden shed in Kitchener, Ontario. 

She is the author of five novels for young adults: The fantasies Plain Kate and Sorrow’s Knot, and the genre-bending duology, The Scorpion Rules, and The Swan Riders, and Stand on the Sky. All her books will make you cry on the bus.

About the Podcast:

Parallel Careers is a monthly podcast about the dual lives of writers who teach. Few writers make their living from publication alone; many fill the gaps with teaching in both academic and community settings. Much of the work is precarious, and there are few opportunities for professional development.

Parallel Careers features writers with diverse practices and points of view—writers who are at the top of their game in both craft and pedagogy. Tune in to hear the big ideas and practical tips they take into their classrooms. Take their insights into your own class or craft.

Credits:

Parallel Careers is produced by Claire Tacon, in partnership with The New Quarterly Magazine. Erin MacIndoe Sproule is our Technical Producer and Story Editor. Music composed by Amadeo Ventura. Financial and in-kind support provided by the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund, St. Jerome’s University, and the Government of Canada.

Access more free writing and teaching tips from Erin Bow at:

tnq.ca/parallel