Your mind will be searching for answers

"Much of my writing is in answer to questions. Much of it follows my curiosity. These are questions that Google, or even people, cannot answer for me.

"Sometimes I realize I’m asking the wrong question and that leads me to a dead-end answer. One thing I always encourage writers to do is to ask three burning questions: What are the questions that haunt you, that keep pursuing you? These questions will not be Google-able.

"Even if you do not have an answer now, just asking sets you on the path to finding answers. Or might shift how you look at something. Your mind will be searching for answers even while you sleep. Trust it."

Daniela Elza lived on three continents before immigrating to Canada in 1999. She now lives in Vancouver. Elza is the recipient of the 2024 Colleen Thibaudeau Award for Outstanding Contribution to Poetry. In 2024, Elza was longlisted for the CBC Poetry Prize.

The 2025 CBC Poetry Prize is now open!

You could win $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, attend a two-week writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and have your work published on CBC Books.

The deadline to enter is Sunday, June 1, 2025 at 4:59 p.m. ET.
 

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