I Didn’t Know
I wrote a poem about my dad. He has dementia. I couldn’t find another way to express my grief. This is the magic of poetry.
I love you, Daddy. Happy Father’s Day.
Kathryn Tse-Durham: Quench
This is my first blog post of the year, and I want to dedicate this piece to all wonderful storytellers around the world who help make life easier to endure when the going gets tough.
Kathryn Tse-Durham: Last Christmas
I was never a huge fan of George Michael. Back in the day when I first listened to Last Christmas by Wham!, I deemed it more than a tad cringe-worthy, the lyrics odd and too depressing for my taste. But now that I’m older (and hopefully a little wiser), I think I’ve attained a new appreciation for this iconic song.
Kathryn Tse-Durham: Falling Leaves – Musings on Dementia and the Power of Evocative Fiction
Dementia has been the subject of many great works of journalism and memoir, but ultimately we are left with questions that only good fiction can answer.
Kathryn Tse-Durham: Please, Enough of the Dragons! – My musings on Asian Representation in Media and Literature
There was a time when my love for art eclipsed my love for books. When I was studying at an international school in Hong Kong, I had a brilliant art teacher named Mr Buck in Grade 10. It’s true what Maya Angelou said: at the end of the day, people won’t remember so much for what you said or did, but they will remember you most for how you made them feel.
Kathryn Tse-Durham: Life is Like a Box of Chocolates…Preferably With Ganache
Forrest Gump is one of my favourite movies. I watched it as a teen with my high school friend Karen. I remember the tears streaking down my cheeks as I watched Tom Hanks’ face up close, his mentally-challenged but heartbreakingly endearing Forrest talking at Jenny’s grave and telling his childhood sweetheart how much he misses her. Some stories are timeless. No matter how old I get, I just don’t tire of them. Perhaps you remember the scene where Forrest sits on a bench next to a sweet elderly lady and offers up a box of chocolates.
Kathryn Tse-Durham: Boys and Girls, What Will Your Verse Be?
I write The Ellanor Chronicles to entertain and to inspire joy and hope and values of love and friendship and inclusion. I also write the story to inspire courage and resilience in girls, and to show that girls can be just as cool and interesting and dynamic as boys.
Online Book Launch of Ellanor and the Land of the Midnight Sun
Listen to the conversation between author Kathryn Tse-Durham and her friend Aaron Presley about her new released book Ellanor and the Land of the Midnight Sun.
Kathryn Tse-Durham: Silver Linings, Christmas Vibes, and a New Book
It’s been a seemingly interminable year that can best be described by an amalgamation of negative adjectives: surreal, awful, restrictive, shattering, frightening, worrying, and humbling. Personally for me, like for many around the world, 2020 has been really hard. But it has also been strangely and wondrously miraculous.
Kathryn Tse-Durham: My Journey with Ellanor
People often ask me what it’s like to write and get a novel published. There are those who assume it’s an uncomplicated process where you sit down and type out the whole story in one go, and there you have it. I can’t tell you how far this is from the truth.