QWF Writes

Author: john@qwf.org

  • Chronicling the Days – Anita Anand

    Chronicling the Days – Anita Anand

    In April 2020, we invited writers in Quebec to submit a story of a single day during the strange, uneasy time of coronavirus and pandemic, of social distancing and self isolation, of lockdown and quarantine.

    We’re thrilled to announce that these stories have been gathered in Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic (Guernica Press). To learn more and buy the book, please visit https://www.guernicaeditions.com/title/9781771836579.

    Please also join us on the QWF FB Community page, and let the authors know if their words resonated.

    This piece is by Anita Anand, writing on 11 April 2020.

    Photo: Smithsonian Magazine

    I’m alarmed by everything everyone else is alarmed by, but I don’t mind working from home, because: introversion. I don’t miss commuting, dealing with difficult people, the tangible, physical pressure of groups of students. Feeling blessed: my husband’s home too, and rescues me from techno-bugs when I teach on-line.

    To read the rest of the story, please support our community and check out Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic

  • Chronicling the Days – Didi Gorman

    In April 2020, we invited writers in Quebec to submit a story of a single day during the strange, uneasy time of coronavirus and pandemic, of social distancing and self isolation, of lockdown and quarantine.

    We’re thrilled to announce that these stories have been gathered in Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic (Guernica Press). To learn more and buy the book, please visit https://www.guernicaeditions.com/title/9781771836579.

    Please also join us on the QWF FB Community page, and let the authors know if their words resonated.

    This piece is by Didi Gorman, writing on Tuesday, April 7, 2020.

    Trying to Work Here

    Is it morning yet? I open one eye and look at the clock. It’s 7:17 AM. Oh, well, I guess it’s time to get up. What day is it anyway?

    To read the rest of the story, please support our community and check out Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic

  • Chronicling the Days – Brenda Hartwell

    Chronicling the Days – Brenda Hartwell

    In April 2020, we invited writers in Quebec to submit a story of a single day during the strange, uneasy time of coronavirus and pandemic, of social distancing and self isolation, of lockdown and quarantine.

    We’re thrilled to announce that these stories have been gathered in Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic (Guernica Press). To learn more and buy the book, please visit https://www.guernicaeditions.com/title/9781771836579.

    Please also join us on the QWF FB Community page, and let the authors know if their words resonated.

    This piece is by Brenda Hartwell, writing on April 8, 2020.

    Photo: Brenda Hartwell

    As the sun breaches the horizon, the dawn chorus of chickadees, song sparrows, and robins greet the new day and my yearning ear. What day is it? So hard to keep track during this protracted period of isolation. What does it matter? There are no board meetings to attend, no workshops, no appointments, no luncheon dates. There is a certain freedom in this string of seemingly endless days.

    To read the rest of the story, please support our community and check out Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic

  • Chronicling the Days – Endre Farkas

    Chronicling the Days – Endre Farkas

    In April 2020, we invited writers in Quebec to submit a story of a single day during the strange, uneasy time of coronavirus and pandemic, of social distancing and self isolation, of lockdown and quarantine.

    We’re thrilled to announce that these stories have been gathered in Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic (Guernica Press). To learn more and buy the book, please visit https://www.guernicaeditions.com/title/9781771836579.

    Please also join us on the QWF FB Community page, and let the authors know if their words resonated.

    This piece is by Endre Farkas, writing in April 2020.

    photo: Rachel McCrum


    Wednesday, April 1, 2020 – Covid The Barbarians

    Invisible as the air

    they ride on our breath

    coughs, sneezes

    they are missiles

    targeting knobs, cogs, skin

    lungs, you name it.

    To read the rest of the story, please support our community and check out Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic

  • Chronicling the Days – Rana Bose

    Chronicling the Days – Rana Bose

    In April 2020, we invited writers in Quebec to submit a story of a single day during the strange, uneasy time of coronavirus and pandemic, of social distancing and self isolation, of lockdown and quarantine.

    We’re thrilled to announce that these stories have been gathered in Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic (Guernica Press). To learn more and buy the book, please visit https://www.guernicaeditions.com/title/9781771836579.

    Please also join us on the QWF FB Community page, and let the authors know if their words resonated.

    This piece is by Rana Bose, writing on April 13, 2020.

    Pandem Random Through One Way Glass.

    Who is this guy who steps out of a car called Crossfire, wearing a maroon baseball cap, noise cancelling headphones on, and carrying a large Coke bottle everyday at 1 PM?

    To read the rest of the story, please support our community and check out Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic

  • Chronicling the Days – Charlie Gedeon

    Chronicling the Days – Charlie Gedeon

    In April 2020, we invited writers in Quebec to submit a story of a single day during the strange, uneasy time of coronavirus and pandemic, of social distancing and self isolation, of lockdown and quarantine.

    We’re thrilled to announce that these stories have been gathered in Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic (Guernica Press). To learn more and buy the book, please visit https://www.guernicaeditions.com/title/9781771836579.

    Please also join us on the QWF FB Community page, and let the authors know if their words resonated.

    This piece is by Charlie Gedeon, writing in April, 2020.

    A scene from the parking lot at the end of the world.

    He looks up into the blazing sun. The cool wind across his face carries with it the memories of normalcy. Summer on the horizon always felt like hope and a fresh start, but the scene in front of him didn’t bode well.

    To read the rest of the story, please support our community and check out Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic

  • Chronicling the Days – Ilona Martonfi

    Chronicling the Days – Ilona Martonfi

    In April 2020, we invited writers in Quebec to submit a story of a single day during the strange, uneasy time of coronavirus and pandemic, of social distancing and self isolation, of lockdown and quarantine.

    We’re thrilled to announce that these stories have been gathered in Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic (Guernica Press). To learn more and buy the book, please visit https://www.guernicaeditions.com/title/9781771836579.

    Please also join us on the QWF FB Community page, and let the authors know if their words resonated.

    This piece is by Ilona Martonfi, writing in April, 2020.

    I meant to watch endless replays of you. Marisa. And so said: “How are you?” “Okay”. The cell phone pictures of a bus driving up streets, houses of greystone and brick. Schools, libraries, bookstores, restaurants, weddings, funerals, a city in lockdown. Quarantine. I am afraid for you.

    To read the rest of the story, please support our community and check out Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic

  • Chronicling the Days – Sophie Pagé

    Chronicling the Days – Sophie Pagé

    In April 2020, we invited writers in Quebec to submit a story of a single day during the strange, uneasy time of coronavirus and pandemic, of social distancing and self isolation, of lockdown and quarantine.

    We’re thrilled to announce that these stories have been gathered in Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic (Guernica Press). To learn more and buy the book, please visit https://www.guernicaeditions.com/title/9781771836579.

    Please also join us on the QWF FB Community page, and let the authors know if their words resonated.

    This piece is by Sophie Pagé, writing in April, 2020.

    photo: Sophie Pagé

    I’ve been working from home since mid-March and little has changed from my old routine except that my new co-worker is an orange ball of fluff named Calvin. I’ve had worse colleagues. The times when he’s quiet and affectionate make me think that my situation isn’t so bad, that I could get used to being stuck inside all day with no one to interact with besides a cat. But then there are times when I remember why I usually prefer working in an actual office with other human beings.

    To read the rest of the story, please support our community and check out Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic

  • Chronicling the Days – Carolynn Rafman

    Chronicling the Days – Carolynn Rafman

    In April 2020, we invited writers in Quebec to submit a story of a single day during the strange, uneasy time of coronavirus and pandemic, of social distancing and self isolation, of lockdown and quarantine.

    We’re thrilled to announce that these stories have been gathered in Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic (Guernica Press). To learn more and buy the book, please visit https://www.guernicaeditions.com/title/9781771836579.

    Please also join us on the QWF FB Community page, and let the authors know if their words resonated.

    This piece is by Carolynn Rafman, writing April 5, 2020.

    Notre Dame de Sept Douleurs, Montreal

    Haibun. A boy.

    My daughter parks in the empty lot. The big puppy leaps forward onto Thomas wagging her tail. He laughs Hi Nana Banana! No hugging. No kissing cheeks. He hops onto his small bicycle, fastens his helmet and speeds off to the water’s edge, suited up in neoprene, immune to the drizzle.

    To read the rest of the story, please support our community and check out Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic

  • Chronicling the Days – Joanne Gormley

    Chronicling the Days – Joanne Gormley

    In April 2020, we invited writers in Quebec to submit a story of a single day during the strange, uneasy time of coronavirus and pandemic, of social distancing and self isolation, of lockdown and quarantine.

    We’re thrilled to announce that these stories have been gathered in Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic (Guernica Press). To learn more and buy the book, please visit https://www.guernicaeditions.com/title/9781771836579.

    Please also join us on the QWF FB Community page, and let the authors know if their words resonated.

    This piece is by Joanne Gormley, writing on Wed April 8, 2020.

    John Prine

    On Wednesday morning I wake to the sad news that John Prine has died from complications due to the coronavirus. He was seventy-three, just three years older than I am now. My partner and I listen to him on u tube singing When I Get to Heaven ..I’ll shake God’s hand, then I’ll get me a cocktail…kiss a pretty girl on a tilt-a-whirl. I hope that he is.

    To read the rest of the story, please support our community and check out Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic