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Margaret Lindsay Holton Podcast TTT Short Stories

Season 3 Episode 47: Margaret Lindsay Holton On Listening, Repeating, Inventing, Creating

‘Write because you must — respect your body and your brain. Listen carefully. Music helps. Repeat slowly. Then, riff. Invent. Create. Keep trying. Give and Take. Engage. Flow. Grow. And Go.’ Margaret Lindsay Holton

Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia.

Thank you for listening in. 

I am you host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you.

I am beyond thrilled that I am travelling virtually to the southern shore of Lake Ontario where I will meet up with Canadian Artist & Author: Margaret Lindsay Holton MLH) at her fabulous ‘open-loft’ 2-storey studio on the Lake Ontario waterfront

Lindsay is a self-taught, born and bred Canadian artist, author, and filmmaker from Southern Ontario. She was voted ‘Arts Person of the Year’ by City of Burlington’s BEST Committee in May 2017, and an ‘Alumni of Influence’ by the University of Toronto in 2018. 

Today, we will be discussing her recently published book of short stories, “Sticks and Stones: Ten Canadian Short Stories.”  I invite you to put the kettle on and add to this exciting conversation on Tea Toast & Trivia.

Thank you for sharing this moment with Lindsay and me on Tea Toast and Trivia.  And a very special thank you Lindsay for sharing our knowledge and experience. I want to end with these words from your introduction to Sticks & Stones:

It is my hope that these tales will stimulate greater interest in the reader’s own reading and thinking.  I am also sharing them to those in the middle of their love affair with thought and language in the hope that the stories will nurture their own developing thought processes and evolving perceptions.

Listeners, you can connect with Lindsay on Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and her blog canadadaPHOTOGRAPHY.  It is a place that welcomes profound and rewarding conversations.

Until next time we meet, dear friends, keep reading, keep safe and be well.

Margaret Lindsay Holton On Listening, Repeating, Inventing, Creating – Tea. Toast. & Trivia.

By Rebecca Budd

Blogger, Visual Storyteller, Podcaster, Traveler and Life-long Learner

29 replies on “Season 3 Episode 47: Margaret Lindsay Holton On Listening, Repeating, Inventing, Creating”

I was very excited to hear Margaret begin the conversation by discussing how she is a Canadian writer and what that means. I’ve been interested in exploring the Canadian literary tradition since doing some research on my research on my grandmother’s early life on a farm in Nova Scotia, her university education, and her subsequent training as a librarain in Toronto. I’ve just downloaded Sticks and Stones. I look forward to reading it!

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I am delighted that you enjoyed this conversation, Liz. Lindsay’s thoughts on having a Canadian perspective was enlightening, especially the way in which our landscape, geography and weather influence. When I lived in Northern Manitoba, summer days were almost 18 hours of light while some winter days would have 17 hours of night with bitterly cold temperatures. I am very interested in your research on your grandmother’s early life on a Nova Scotia farm.

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I am delighted that you enjoyed this conversation, Liz. Lindsay’s thoughts on having a Canadian perspective was enlightening, especially the way in which our landscape, geography and weather influence. When I lived in Northern Manitoba, summer days were almost 18 hours of light while some winter days would have 17 hours of night.

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Many great takeaways from this excellent conversation. Being a product of one’s country, mixing a practical business sense with a creative life, etc. And I appreciated the (brief) mention of W. Somerset Maugham — an extraordinary writer. Thank you to two multi-talented people: writer/painter/woodworker Margaret and podcaster/blogger/friend-to-many Rebecca.

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I am delighted that you listened in, Dave. I knew that you would appreciate the Canadian influence and perspective. My greatest takeaway from this conversation was that, however our life unfolds, whatever career path we come to, the love of words must remain within us. We all have a story/stories to tell. Lindsay reminded me that the words we use to convey our story/stories must be well-chosen.

As Mark Twain once wrote: “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter. ’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

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Many thanks, Teagan, for listening in to this conversation. I especially appreciated Lindsay’s thought on how creativity transitions and evolves with our life experiences – that we need to nurture and give honour to the stories we tell. And to remember to breathe, pause, reflect. Sending hugs and more hugs back on the wing with all swiftness.

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Thank you, Rebecca, for introducing Margaret Lindsay Holton, one of our very own Canadian authors, a writer of many excellent and published books. I am encouraged by her positive conversation with you and her words of encouragement to us; perhaps her self taught experience from very young is inspiration. Her instructions to persist, to keep trying is valuable. Her ‘writing box’ and her other methods might be valuable for fledging writers. I am look forward to enjoying her book Sticks and Stones, I am sure it will be rewarding, so off to enjoy a good read! .

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I am delighted that you enjoyed this conversation Frances. The idea of a “writing box” was very helpful for me because all of our ideas cannot be accomplished in the moment. Some ideas must have time to evolve and expand as our life experiences add the dramatic nuance to the narrative. I enjoyed my conversation with Lindsay and I look forward to her return to Tea Toast & Trivia.

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Hi Rebecca, Lindsay does seem familiar to me and I’m sure I’ve seen her out and about on social media. This was a lovely conversation and Lindsay did discuss some points that were of great interest to me. Her comments about being Canadian and writing about things Canadian resonated as I am feeling that way about South Africa. I have a trilogy of books with South African historical themes lined up in my head. I believe that we do our best writing when it comes from a source of our own experiences and lives. The idea of a writing box is also familiar to me. I have a computer file full of story ideas [you have no idea how many there are, many more than I have remaining writing hours in my life] and stories in various stages of completion.

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I am delighted that you listened in Robbie. You may have seen Lindsay in one of Sally’s Smorgasbord posts. The idea of writing being influenced by location, geography, history is something that I want to explore future. I would love to see your amazing “writing box” and am very interested in your trilogy of books based on South African historical themes. Sending hugs!

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Dear Rebecca. Please forgive me!!! I did not realize there was a comment section below the post of the recording. Just discovered it now! Ha! It’s so wonderful to hear the comments and your responses. A real reading/writing exchange between like-minded, or, at least the sympathetic! I did so enjoy our chat and look forward to reading from ‘The Gilded Beaver’ in the New Year. Right now, the Christmas ‘rush’ has started. It’s a bit of a scurry to get all the bits and bobs together. Well worth it though to be with family over the holidays, so, aiming for that!! – Very best Seasonal Greetings to you and Don, Rebecca and guests, with a very Merry Christmas to you too. Hugs, Lindsay 🙂 .

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I am delighted that we connected and look forward to the continuing journey in 2022. I just downloaded Trillium on Audible and am looking forward to hearing the narration by Jens Hansen. He had a fabulous voice and his ability to provide the perfect accents is truly remarkable. Looking forward to our next conversation. All the very best of this special season to you and yours. Sending hugs back your way!!

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