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nancyforde.com
@nancyfjorde.bsky.social
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don't dream it's over • 🇨🇦-Irish mamaí (she/her) • Writer. Photographer. Settler. Kjipuktuk | SSHRC CGS-M Recipient • MA Photojournalism & Doc Photography ('21) • MFA Creative Nonfiction ('26) ✨noli timere✨ b.322ppm linktr.ee/nancyforde
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nancyfjorde.bsky.social
I'm delighted to announce my #photograph graces the cover (for a 3rd time) of the always surprising and engaging 'The New Quarterly: Canadian #Writers & #Writing. My thanks to TNQ! ✨🙏🏻

(Winter 2026 Issue, No. 177.)

Go follow them here:
@thenewquarterly.bsky.social.

To subscribe: tnq.ca/subscribe/
Cover of Winter 2026, Issue 177 of The New Quarterly, Canadian Writers & Writing. With a dark slate blue border at the top over a black and white photograph (that I made) called "Big Smoke." Title of this issue is "Nuance is Required" and description says "in which we manifest a sinkhole, make ink from cigar ash, discover a painting cat, and realize the politics of a poetry class. Three bullet points describe the following: - New Dispatches essays by Aaron Kreiter and Niya Matuk - New Day Jobs essay by Ben von Jaqow - New Spirit Ink writing by Trina Roache and Raymond Sewell. The photograph shows an urban street in Toronto on which the windshield is splashed with rain, blurring the city street in Tkaronto (Toronto) and the tops of buildings and skyscrapers are engulfed by fog. Traffic lights and the headlights of oncoming cars stand out in the gloom. A car pulls up to a stop sign at a side street on the right. The buildings on opposite sides in the forefront of the photograph are old architecture. Photo credit: Nancy Forde. Cover Design of TNQ.ca is by Joe Martz.
February 4, 2026 at 12:30 PM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
A photo I made. #AmWriting on bogs, bog bodies, and, photography, and preservation (current MFA.)

To celebrate #WorldWetlandsDay, here's Abbeyleix Bog Project in County Laois, Ireland. I had the honour of interviewing the brilliant Des Finnamore and Garry Luttrell. www.abbeyleixbog.ie
The sky reflected in an angled arrow of water banked by peat bog plants and reeds and sphagnum moss with trees in the distance beneath a pastel blue sky with cumulus clouds sailing overhead. Abbeyleix Bog Project is a community bog restoration project that was initially dismissed as worthwhile by experts but has since won awards and is thriving. October 2024. County Laois, Ireland. Photo credit: Nancy Forde. All rights reserved. nancyforde.com.
February 2, 2026 at 7:31 PM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
This is who runs this account (I am still blowing that raspberry):
Sepia toned film photo of me at around 3 years of age wearing a blue and white print dress with a collar and a pink knit cardigan. I am sitting on a wooden kind of bench somewhere in North Wales. Curly brown locks, giggling, and blowing a raspberry. I think this photo was made by my father in lates 60s. Me around age two standing on a beach near Kettle Point, Ontario wearing a Daniel Boone type black and white hat and a pink dress and a smile and squinty eyes. Photo credit: me Da. Late 1960s.
February 1, 2026 at 11:47 PM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
Always, Amber! Thank YOU! You are an absolute hero (as is everyone at @thenarwhal.ca) and every Wet'suwet'en Protector. 🙏🏻 Here's my kid from a solidarity march back when we lived in Waterloo, Ontario! We stand with you all. #PressFreedom
My kid (at age 9) holding up a sign in solitary with Wet'suwet'en First Nation protecting their lands and waters. The sign says "We stand with Wet'suwet'en and their UNCEDED territory. #Unist'ot'en #NoJusticeNoPeace." Solidarity March. Waterloo, Ontario. January 8, 2019. Photo credit: Nancy Forde. All rights reserved. nancyforde.com.
February 1, 2026 at 9:43 PM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
Lá Féile Bríd! A joyous #Imbolc this first day of February to all who celebrate! ✨

Sharing the slightly spooky road sign I always see en route to Dun Chaoin that now only ever reminds me of Noomi Rapace.

#LambingSeason #LáFéileBríd
A sign on the lonely single road from Dingle Town to Dun Chaoin in the Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland, that says "Hold a Baby Lamb." I'm sure some tourists in the area driving the road in summer succumb, but if you're a woman driving alone on this remote road, it's the point at which, while driving, you ensure the automatic locks to your car are actually in lock mode and there's no way in hell you will, out of sheer curiosity, stop and wander up to a remote barn in West Kerry. Like the first scene you see while watching a detective show or police special on the vital importance of forensic science in solving murders. Photo credit: Nancy Forde. September 2020. All rights reserved. nancyforde.com.
February 1, 2026 at 11:41 AM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
describe your Bluesky account in a single image...
Strange vintage monochrome photograph of shadowy figure standing in corner of room and you can only make out its eyes in photograph where sunlight streets through an urban window with buildings outside windows and books and lamp and corkboard in background of large white sheets lit by sun on a table. Photo credit: unknown- I saved it years ago. If anyone knows the photographer please kindly let me know! Thank you.
January 31, 2026 at 8:57 PM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
Canada reacts. 🍁🥅🏒
Mark Carney, the prime minister of Canada, wearing the fleece from the Canadian sensation TV series Heated Rivalry is hugged with a leg up by one of the show's leading stars, Hudson Williams. Carney is grasping Hudson's leg as they hug. They're both laughing and smiling. Hudson is wearing grey pants and a black leather jacket. Photo credit: unknown. (Possibly CTV news?)
January 30, 2026 at 4:07 AM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
Some poetic #Solidarity with everyone navigating record snowfall during this storm. Here's a favourite #poem of mine by American poet Billy Collins, published in Picnics, Lightning in 1998.

"Shoveling #Snow with Buddha." ❄️🤍❄️

A link for those who prefer one:
thedewdrop.org/2022/11/30/b...

#NSStorm
Page one image of "Shoveling Snow with Buddha" by poet Billy Collins, published in 1998. ___ In the usual iconography of the temple of the local Wok you would never see him doing such a thing, tossing the dry snow over a mountain of his bare, round shoulder, his hair tied in a knot, a model of concentration. Sitting is more his speed, if that is the word for what he does, or does not do. Even the season is wrong for him in all his manifestations, is it not warm or slightly humid? Is this not implied by his severe expression, that smile so wide it wraps itself around the waist of the universe? But here we are, working our way down my driveay, one shovel at a time. We toss the light powder into the clear air. We feel the cold mist on our faces. And with every heave we disappear and become lost to each other in these sudden clouds of our own making, these fountain-bursts of snow. This is so much better than a sermon in church, I say out loud, but Buddha keeps on shoveling. This is the true religion, the religion of snow, and sunlight and winter geese barking in the sky, I say, but he is too busy to hear me. ____ (End of text for Page one image of this poem. See Page Two for the remainder of the poem.) Credit: American poet Billy Collins. Page two image of "Shoveling Snow with Buddha" by poet Billy Collins, published in 1998 (continued from page one.) ___ He has thrown himself into shoveling snow as if it were the purpose of existence, as if the sign of a perfect life were a clear driveway you could back the car down easily and drive off into the vanities of the world with a broken heater fan and a song on the radio. All morning long we work side by side, me with my commentary and he inside his generous pocket of silence, until the hour is nearly noon and the snow is piled high all around us, then, I hear him speak. After this, he asks, can we go inside and play cards? Certainly, I reply, and I will heat some milk and bring cups of hot chocolate to the table while you shuffle the deck and our boots stand dripping by the door. Aaah, says the Buddha, lifting his eyes and leaning for a moment on his shovel before he drives the thin blade again deep into the glittering white snow. Billy Collins _____ End of page two and completion of poem "Shoveling Snow with Buddha" published in "Picnics, Lightning" in 1998. Poem credit: American poet, Billy Collins.
January 26, 2026 at 4:29 PM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
Resharing this excellent statement from Matt Moberg, Chaplain of Minnesota Timberwolves with ALT TEXT included. Thanks for your patience. Powerful and vital words. #ICEOutNow #ICEOutForGood #Minnesota #Minneapolis #Solidarity
Image of statement on Minnesota Timberwolves letterhead with logo on upper left corner of a timberwolf howling in front of a basketball encircled by the words "Minnesota Tiberwolves." Title shows "Statement from Matt Moberg, Chaplain of the Minnesota Timberwolves." The following is text of the Moberg's statement: "If you're a church posting prayers for peace and unity today while my city bleeds in the street, miss me with that softness you only wear when it costs you nothing. Don't dress avoidance up as holiness. Don't call silence "peacemaking." Don't light a candle and think it substitutes for showing up. Tonight an ICE agent took a photo of me next to my car, looked me in the eye and told me, "We'll be seeing you soon." Not metaphor. Not hyperbole. A threat dressed up in a badge and a paycheck. Peace isnt what you ask for when the boot is already on someone's neck. Peace is what the powerful ask for when they don't want to be interrupted. Unity isn't neutral. Unity that refuses to name violence is just loyalty to the ones holding weapons. Stop using scripture like chloroform. Stop calling your fear "wisdom." Stop pretending Jesus was crucified because he preached good vibes and personal growth. You don't get to quote scripture like a lullaby while injustice stays wide awake. You don't get to ask God to "heal the land" if you won't even look at the wound. There is a kind of peace that only exists because it refuses to tell the truth. That peace is a lie. And lies dont grow anything worth saving. The scriptures you love weren't written to keep things calm. They were written to set things right. And sometimes the most faithful thing you can do is stop praying around the pain and start standing inside it. If that makes you uncomfortable-good. Growth always is. ___ (End of released statement.) Credit: Matt Moberg, Minnesota Timberwolves Chaplain. Statement released on January 25, 2026.
January 26, 2026 at 3:31 PM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
To be fair, Gary Larson tried to warn us back in 1984. Sharing with love and enormoos respect for #Veronika. 🐮🐄
Three frames of a comic by Gary Larson from his series "The Far Side" created in 1984. First frame: Three white cows with black patches stand on their hind legs chatting in a green field. A fourth cow in the distance by a brown picket fence near a road yells, "CAR! Second frame: A red car drives over the hill on the road with two humans in it looking at four cows who are now on all four limbs eating grass. Third frame: The car no longer present, the three cows in a group chatting have stood again on their hind legs. The fourth cow in the distance continues to be a lookout standing on its hind legs, waiting to yell "CAR!" again to warn the group. Comic Credit: The genius cartoonist, Gary Larson. 1984.
January 24, 2026 at 1:45 PM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
Daily photo. #AmWriting on bogs, bog bodies, and preservation (current MFA.)

A decade ago, visiting Kalaallit Nunaat (#Greenland) was a gift. Qujanaq to locals I met - human, more-than-human - wondrous and heart-filling. Earth's largest island belongs to her people. (Image description in ALT text.)
En route via a walking trail to the protected World Heritage site, Sermermiut. Former home to Saqqaq, Early Dorset and Thule (Proto-Inuit) Peoples. Can you spot the humans looking out toward Disko Bay? #HumansForScale. August 2016. Photo credit: Nancy Forde. nancyforde.com All rights reserved.
January 21, 2026 at 1:01 PM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
Daily photo. #AmWriting on bogs, bog bodies, and preservation (current MFA.)

A decade ago, visiting Kalaallit Nunaat (#Greenland) was a gift. The locals I met there- human, more-than-human - wondrous and heart-filling. Earth's largest island belongs to her people. (Image description in ALT text.)
En route from Eqip Sermia (Eqi Glacier) about 80 kilometres north of Ilulissat, Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) in August 2016. To left is the edge of an icebreaker vessel and in the distance are icebergs. Photo credit: Nancy Forde. nancyforde.com | All rights reserved.
January 20, 2026 at 6:06 PM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
I #AmWriting on bogs. Not much I disagree with in this piece. Worth a read!

"Bogs cover nearly 20 percent of land in Ireland; around 80 percent of this peatland... emits carbon dioxide at an estimated rate of 21.6 million tons a year. Restored, 'rewet' bog is capable of acting as a carbon sink...."
Entering Lodge Bog in County Kildare, Ireland while researching the book I'm writing. The image is of long planks as a path allowing visitors to walk upon/into the peatland bog, a raised bog. Photo credit: Nancy Forde. July 2023. nancyforde.com All rights reserved.
January 19, 2026 at 2:15 PM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
This reminds me that I must re-read Suzette Haden Elgin's incredible 'Native Tongue' again one day.
Image is book cover for 1984 sci-fi classic novel, "Native Tongue" by Suzette Haden Elgin. Yellow background with an image of laboratory test tubes running behind an enormous alien with a green face marked all over by bubbly skin. The alien gazes at a blonde toddler in a diaper-like cloth sitting on a kind of pedestal wrapped with a striped cloth. It appears they are trying to communicate to each other.
January 17, 2026 at 7:46 PM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
Not polls I'm witnessing, among which include:

bsky.app/profile/newn...
Image of poll results with title "Voters Do Not Believe the ICE Officer in Minneapolis Was Justified in Using Lethal Force" Image credit: Data for Progress.
January 13, 2026 at 5:16 PM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
I didn't want mine taken over while I was no longer present. I scraped down my former presence b4 moving to Bluesky. I didn't delete. Obviously now I regret that. Never updating app from the little bird had become my small act of resistance. Now I'd need to agree to "X" terms to re-enter/delete. 4/5
A closeup portrait of my kid when they were aged 11 behind little app thumbnails showing App Store, ITunes store, Podcasts, Wildfulness, Forest, the little blue symbol with a white bird representing former Twitter app, Voice Recorder, Instagram, Reminders apps. Photo credit: Nancy Forde
January 12, 2026 at 11:11 AM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
It's officially 2026 on the East Coast of Canada here. Wishing everyone globally a year that is safer, saner, happier, and more memorable than 2025 may have been (has been.) Love to our precious planet, dear loved ones near and far and most especially my teenager who makes every year a magical gift✨
My teen in an orange hat, plaid gloves, coat and boots seated in front of a mantelpiece with a clock and an old photograph of my mother. December 2025. Photo credit: me (Nancy Forde.)
January 1, 2026 at 4:09 AM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
Keeping it simple this year:
- one bag for Mom;
- one bag for the Dawg;
- two bags for the Teen.
We have food and shelter and family and friends we love and who love us back.

Feeling grateful and blessed.
Merry Christmas to all! ☃️

Now to get the dinner prepped and make a wish for snow...
❄️✨🩵🎄🩵✨❄️
Decorated Yule Tree with 4 bags with coloured tissue sticking out. Ready for whenever the teen finally wakes. Framed pictures hang either side of the tree on the wall. An antique factory piece holds Irish china and a bench has a polka dot cushion on it. Merry Christmas to all.
December 25, 2025 at 11:25 AM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
We've declared it the "Skinny Jean" tree. Charlie Brown would be so proud!
The skinniest decorated holiday Yule Tree we have ever had tucked into the corner of our room. Three framed pictures flank either side of it on the walls. So grateful to my fabulous kid. Let the holly days begin! 🎄❄️✨🩵
December 24, 2025 at 7:26 PM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
No car since September and I wondered if we'd manage getting our Yule tree this year. I broke my wrist week before last which slowed my efforts to get ours up by last Sunday (Solstice.) What a joy to jaunt on foot through crisp, wintry air with my teen. 🎄✨

Here's my hero, yesterday and every day:
My teen arriving to our rental place with the last of two holiday trees outside the local grocery. When we asked where to pay, the cashier shouted, "they're free today!" My kid standing wearing an orange hat standing beside the wheeled baby buggy he pushed a Yule tree home in. The tree sticks out of the buggy wrapped by a white cord. Happy holidays and all the joy in 2026.
December 24, 2025 at 1:58 PM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
Searched for Kind Hearts and Coronets to watch with my teen over the hols. Found it. Cannot wait.

I believe there's a story of actor contracts for the very first Star Wars, and Alec Guinness being offered, I think, $1 million. He said, "I'll take 1% of whatever this film makes."

O, Wise Obi-Wan.
Illustrated movie poster for 1949 film, "Mind Hearts and Coronets," directed by Robert Hamer in which renowned British actor, Alec Guinness, brilliantly plays eight members of the D'Ascoyne family: Ethelred, 8th Duke of Chalfont The Reverend Lord Henry General Lord Rufus Admiral Lord Horatio Lord Ascoyne, the banker Young Ascoyne, the banker's son Lady Agatha, the suffragette Young Henry, the photographer One of my favourite films of all time.
December 14, 2025 at 8:14 PM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
You will be visited by three spirits.
Still images of (left to right) Emma Stone, Olivia Colman, and Rachel Weiss in the 2018 film, The Favourite.
December 9, 2025 at 12:28 PM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
#VaccinationsSaveLives and they help prevent debilitating diseases like polio. One of the best reasons for scientific research/advances is to cure what ails us. Why would we ever choose to revert to a time when no cure existed? (See photo of children in iron lungs.) #ScienceIsReal #BelieveInScience
Photo of rows of children encased in iron lungs as treatment for polio before scientific advances created a vaccination that would free children globally from suffering from it. Vaccinations save lives. Photo credited to the British Science Musuem archives.
December 6, 2025 at 12:59 PM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
Oxford University Press: "Time to choose our Word of the Year"

2025: "Well, you look about the kind of angel I'd get."
Black and white screen still from Frank Capra's 1946 classic film "It's a Wonderful Life" when Clarence tells George he's his guardian angel and George says, "well you look about the kind of an angel I'd get." Clarence is wearing an old type of nightgown that looks from the 1800s and George is sat wrapped in a blanket in long johns with a cut on his jaw.
December 1, 2025 at 1:12 AM
nancyfjorde.bsky.social
LOL this happens to me all the time (primarily because the distance from the back of the chairs and the the edge of the seat is so dang long. Half the time my legs stick out straight. I hate when they dangle. Writers must be provided a "fried egg" chair a la Hans Olsen. So we can lounge comfortably.
Black and white photograph of Danish designer Hans Olsen lounging in a blazer, sweater and striped socks on the chair he designed known as the "Fried Egg" chair. It was given this name because it was initially designed in a cream colour with the seat cushion of the chair in yellow so that from above, the seat resembled a broken egg frying in a pan. Part of the chair has a wide, sloping, curved arm so that those seated can turn their bodies and have their legs supported by this arm. The chair was designed by Olsen in 1956 and is now enjoying a resurgence seventy years later. Photo sourced from this website link: https://www.memorie.ch/en/moebel/wohnmoebel-20/sessel-167/fried-egg-chair-von-hans-olsen-4207.
December 1, 2025 at 12:44 AM