Ami McKay

The Cure for Longing newsletter is back, now with a new monthly feature - Voice of the Moon. I hope you’ll check out my latest post for details. (Link in bio under “Notes from Destiny.”) . . . #amimckay #tidewrackdivinations #thecureforlonging #substack #voiceofthemoon

Oh hello. . . . #honeybee #crocus #enchantedgarden

I wrote this poem last March to accompany a print I made, but it feels just as true this spring, even more so. Happy Spring. Happy World Poetry Day. Keep going, dear hearts. 💗 Snowdrops This morning while I prayed for all war to end, The snowdrops returned, defiant, sweet. Is it safe to feel joy? I asked, belly to the cold wet earth as I shared breath with the wonder of them. This year it is not enough to simply look down and think, How lovely. I must tell anyone who will listen, especially those I love best - spring will come, hope persists. This year I must collect every small miracle I can manage, feel joy whenever possible, whether it’s safe or not. Spring comes, Hope persists, and after the snowdrops lift their heads, the red-winged blackbird sings, throat full of Persephone’s laughter Rise and resist Rise and resist Rise and resist - Ami McKay #snowdrops #typewriterpoem #worldpoetryday #amimckay #allhandsondeck

Happy Spring. . . . #helleborus #signsofspring

This is everything today. . . . #snowdrops #springwillcome #hope

Handed out First Aid Poems at the arts rally in Wolfville. Does the heart good to see so many people in places big and small, gathering together in voice and song. 💗 . . . #cultureiscritical #SaveNSArts #NSArts #typewriterpoems #keepgoing

“It’s a very slippery slope when people have a pen…” - Tim Houston, while being questioned by reporters about the budget. . I’ve got a lot of pens. (And typewriters.) See ya on the streets, people! . . . #peoplehavethepower #typewriterresistance #defendnsbooks #nsarts #hfxnoise

Dear Nova Scotia friends - As artists we kind of have an unspoken rule about not talking too much about how “the sausage gets made,” but I think it’s important for my MLA and others making decisions about funding to know that tenacity and talent alone doesn’t lead to works of art landing on the world stage. It takes ongoing support from community, and, additional help and often funding from outside sources. Every industry in this province receives some form of support from the government. And although funding the arts has a terrific return on investment, Arts and Culture have traditionally received very little funding by comparison. To take even that limited funding away will surely silence many voices in the present and for generations to come. This is my personal typewritten letter to my MLA John Lohr who is also the Minister of Finance. I’ve chosen to tell him him a story. It’s what I do. It’s how I live. . . . #saveNSarts #defendNSbooks #thebirthhouse

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Ross Creek Annex today!! Letters were typed, signs were made, songs were sung!!! Optimism is radical in a hellscape, dear friends. 💗 Love to all who are working so hard to raise their voices and keep the lights on. Big week ahead, Nova Scotia. Let’s do this! (Special thanks to @monkeydreammonkeydo for the awesome stamps! 😍 🔥) . . . #DefendTheArts #NSArts #SaveNSArts #RaiseYourVoice #KeepGoing

SO excited to have the incredible best-selling author @sideshowami host a rally prep afternoon at the Ross Creek Annex - whether you can make it to Halifax or stay in the valley for the Wolfville rally both on Wednesday at noon, share some treats, ]make some signs, and meet some other folks who know how much the arts, culture, and heritage matter to Nova Scotia. Join us at the Ross Creek Annex in Canning, this Sunday, March 1st from 1-4, for an afternoon of community art and action in support of arts and culture in Nova Scotia. Write a letter to express how the arts have enhanced your life! Art supplies will be available on site, and author Ami McKay will be on hand with her swanky typewriter collection, so you can compose a one-of-kind letter to send to your MLA.

Calling all citizens who love the arts, please join me for a special Community Arts ACTION Sunday - this Sunday, March 1st from 1-4, at the Ross Creek Annex in Canning, NS. We’ll be making rally signs and writing letters to show our support for Arts and Culture in Nova Scotia. Art supplies will be available on site (but feel free to bring your own as well) and author, Ami McKay (that’s me!) will be on hand with some swanky typewriters to help you write a one-of-a-kind letter to send to your MLA. Let’s get the paint flowing and our fingers typing to help save Nova Scotia Arts! Hope to see you there! . . . #saveNSarts #reversethecuts #MadeInNovaScotia

It took me all of five minutes to gather these beautiful books in my house, ALL published in Nova Scotia - just a small sampling of the Nova Scotia-made titles I’ve collected over the years. Among this short stack of books I cherish, there are titles that, helped me research my novel The Birth House; helped me plant gardens that feed the birds, bees, and my family; have given me poetry to share with heart-weary friends; have shown me history and art and wonder that’s made my life richer and more meaningful in so many ways. Besides having been published in Nova Scotia, each book contains an acknowledgement of support from the province of Nova Scotia. As of this week’s budget, the provincial fund supporting N.S. publishers has been eliminated. It’s just one of over 70 devastating cuts that were made to Arts and Culture in this province on Monday. If you live in Nova Scotia, please consider contacting your MLA and sharing how the NS arts community has enriched your life. Oh, and there’s going to be a rally at the NS Legislature on Wednesday, March 4 at noon. Hope to see you there! . . . #nspoli #nsbudget #novascotiaartist #novascotiabooks #defendnsbooks