There’s an interesting piece on The Writer’s Almanac today, the anniversary of the patenting of the first typewriter. Remember typewriters? My first one was given to me by my mother-in-law and was already so ancient that it required great physical strength to pound the keys and great resourcefulness to find replacement ribbons. I never learned to touch…

Larry McMurtry, one of my most esteemed writers, is 79 today. There are  writers who are very full of themselves and indeed these days are encouraged to be  –  put yourself about, blow that trumpet  –  and then there are writers like Larry who never take themselves too seriously. My favourite McMurtry anecdote is the one…