Colette Maitland, Right With a Click

In what many forecast will be the year of Alice, it was lovely to hear Karen Schindler invoke her when talking about one of our quiet gems from 2013. "Reading [Keeping the Peace]," Schindler writes in the latest Malahat, "it’s easy to be reminded of Alice Munro’s analogy of a short story being more like a house than a road, where you go inside and explore the rooms, 'wandering back and forth and settling where you like.' Munro’s story-as-house metaphor works well here. Maitland manages to create a 'what do I see?' momentum, rather than 'where is this going?'"

And as if THAT isn't a laurelled comparison, she also invokes Yeats' line about how a good poem will "come right with a click like a closing box," and suggests that Colette's best stories end with that exact type of precision. Thanks to Karen for the thoughtful work, congrats to Colette, and a very happy[/snowy/shatteringly cold] Epiphany to all.