45-1, EVENT’s annual Notes on Writing issue, provides a rare inside glimpse at the lives of five notable Canadian writers. Kevin Spenst writes that in a modern world filled with distractions, ‘the blank page is [his] everyday oasis.’ Rahat Kurd’s essay explores reading as a way to belong, a way out of isolation. Kamal Al-Solaylee describes recalling old memories for his non-fiction as ‘part séance and part grave robbing,’ while David Scott Hamilton compares his work as a literary translator to that of a ‘a midwife who helps birth someone else’s baby.’ Nadia Bozak says, of finishing a piece of fiction: ‘I felt so lucky to be alive, to have written a story I cared about, made it all the way from beginning to end.’

Together, these essays present a multi-faceted view of writing—its sacrifices and rewards, its tricky and tangled connections to the writer’s life.

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