This is a glimpse at some of my writing study decor, including a new-to-me painting (upper left) that I spotted at a thrift store on a weekend at the end of March.
It’s not a print — it’s an actual painting on canvas. Although done in 1999 by a mystery artist, it’s actually a copy of a 1918 painting by little known Swedish impressionist artist Gösta Sandels, who briefly studied in Paris and whose work was influenced by Matisse and Munch. Sadly, he would die a year later, in his 30s.
I absolutely love this piece!
Has any art spoken to you recently?
And speaking of art, I made sure to catch the “From Warhol to Banksy” exhibit at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria before it closed on April 27, and I was so glad I did. Here are just a few photos from my visit:
Or watch the reel here.
The Best News
Well, would you look at that!
In case you missed it, late March brought Best Seller status in four categories in Canada and the US. 🥇 Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I did part two of a live interview on April 1 (paperback release day!) with She Rises Studios, bright and early at 7:00 am Pacific Time. We chatted about Provenance Unknown, archives, and more! If you missed it, you can catch the replay on their Facebook and YouTube.
I hadn’t had my morning cup of tea yet, so forgive any stumbles 😆 .
Grab your copy on Amazon, or request that your favourite local bookstore or library bring it in. Thank you again for helping this story reach best seller status!
And in case you didn’t get enough of my awkwardness on video 🙈 , the book trailer, put together by the team at She Rises Studios, dropped on April 7.
It’s All Poetry to Me
Are you tired of seeing my face yet? Haha! Stripes Literary Magazine is doing a series of videos of authors and others reading poems from their various issues and chapbooks. So, here’s another one from me:
Want more of my poetry? Asleep/Awake is still available for free (via Stripes) or nearly free (via Amazon).
Author at the Archives!
I’m excited to announce I’ll be doing a signing event locally at Saanich Archives (inside the Saanich Centennial library branch) on May 15. It’ll be a meet-and-greet, with a dash of reading, and copies available for purchase.
Did you know the book includes glimpses of Victoria during WWII, the Tolmie family’s presence in the Cloverdale neighbourhood in the early settler days, and even Rutledge Park’s beloved pink elephant statue?
Get all the details, along with a bit of a media release.
Fan Girl Moment
I’m such a nerd 🤓. (But I’m not sorry!)
Packed house, meet and greet lineups … Pop star? Famous actor? No!
Hundreds of people, including me, came out on April 8 in Victoria to hear Philippe Villeneuve, Chief Architect responsible for the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, speak about this incredible project following the devastating fire six years ago.
An amazing opportunity organized and hosted by the Alliance Française de Victoria.
Donate to the ongoing restoration efforts
Place and Time
Not every day you find this type of awesome vintage book in a little free library. If you’d like me to look up a place name from 1888, leave it in the comments and I’ll reply with the entry, (or, if it’s not there, something geographically close or on the same page).
Les Bouquinistes
Poems of Paris, edited by Emily Fragos.
I learned of this book from the always wonderful Every Paris Book account on Instagram. My main question is, how have I never heard of it before? I mean, it has poetry. It has Paris. It’s basically the perfect book for me. It’s now on my birthday wish list.
A beautiful hardcover Pocket Poets anthology of poems from across the ages inspired by the City of Light.
Perhaps no other European city has so captured the poetic imagination as has Paris. Poems of Paris covers a wide range of time, from the Renaissance to the present, and includes not only the pantheon of classic French poets, from Ronsard to Baudelaire to Mallarmé, but also tributes by visitors to the city and famous expatriates from all over the world, including Pablo Neruda, Samuel Beckett, Rainer Maria Rilke, Vladimir Nabokov, Zelda Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Charles Bukowski, and many more. All the famous sights of Paris are touched on here, from Notre-Dame to the Eiffel Tower, as are such classic Parisian themes as food, drink, and love, and famous events from the Revolution to the Resistance.
As always, thanks for reading. Merci!
Sonia
Sonia Nicholson 
Wonderful ♥️
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Thank you!
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