news | MATT J. SIMMONS

recent writings

Tue, 14 Jan 2014 16:21:51 -0800

As usual, I neglect my blog for various ongoing projects. Thought I'd jump on here quickly to share a link or two to relatively recent articles.

I wrote this one (Lost in Definition) for Northword Magazine a couple of months ago. It's about a few friends of mine in Smithers who each make great visual art. I struggled with this piece because I came out of the three interviews with so much interesting material that hacking the length down to the prescribed 1200 words was, well, difficult. Many thanks to editor Amanda Follett for her hard work on this one and the others she's artfully trimmed for me.

Towards the end of the fall, I co-authored a book with my friend and colleague, Jude Isabella. The book is a children's biography of Steve Jobs, and will be published by Crabtree Publishing later this year. Huge thanks to Jude for bringing me in on the project. It was a lot of fun working with her again and I'm now working on another book for Crabtree, a biography of baseball legend and civil rights activist Jackie Robinson.

the continuing adventures of...

Wed, 01 May 2013 09:36:28 -0700

How to sum up nearly a year of work, play, and creative excursions? Well, to start with, it's been a great year for radio - I'm still working with Smithers Community Radio, both as a staff member and as host of two weekly shows. Every Tuesday morning from 9:30 to noon (PST), I host Interrobang, a program that combines books with music. I review a book, then read excerpts set to a carefully-chosen soundtrack of tunes. It's more fun and gratifying than I could ever have imagined. If you're not in Smithers, you can stream it live online, at smithersradio.com. The show has a couple of replays (Saturday and Monday evenings) and there's even a podcast I try to update regularly. My other show is called Interrobang After Dark and it's a more traditional-format music show, every Wednesday from 9 to 11 pm.

I've been writing for Northword Magazine fairly regularly, and have contributed to a couple of other magazines, including a feature in Kootenay Mountain Culture and a really fun article on animal sleep science in Muse. The KMC article focused on some super cool ski hill projects including Shames Mountain in Terrace, BC, and the Manitoba Mountain project in Alaska. It was accompanied by one of the coolest illustrations I've ever seen, a fictional ski trail map with witty names for all the runs, lodges, huts, and features. I love that magazine and am pretty happy to have had an article in there. I've also continued as editor/designer/publisher of the quarterly arts and music 'zine, [sic], here in Smithers. The latest issue (which you can read here) features interviews with a couple of new-ish bands, Pick a Piper and Suuns.

summer sic

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 23:16:12 -0700

The second edition of sic magazine is on the streets (in Smithers) and online, right here! Check it out: http://www.joomag.com/en/magInfo/0740812001341287428.

[sic]

Wed, 23 May 2012 14:33:02 -0700

Earlier this year, finding myself with way too much time on my hands (ha!) I took on a project for CICK, Smithers Community Radio. The idea: develop a 'zine, something like what you'd find on a cool university campus or alongside Exclaim! magazine in a stack of free music mags. The focus was on radio, music, art, and local culture. With the efforts of volunteers and the contributions of many writers and illustrators, I coordinated the inaugural issue of [sic]. It came out in March 2012 and was pretty successful, given that copies seemed to disappear from the several location around town where we left them. There were some glaring spelling errors that I am embarrassed to admit were my fault, as editor, but on the whole, I think the publication was pretty damn good. And now it's time to do another one. But before I move on to the summer issue, I thought I'd stick a PDF copy of the spring issue right here, for your perusing pleasure. Enjoy!

[sic]: a magazine from Smithers Community Radio | spring 2012

Northern Gateway Pipeline

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:46:04 -0700

Today, I joined a long list of speakers in publicly and officially speaking out against Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline project. It was a bit of a nervewracking thing to do, but important, despite the news that the Joint Reveiw Panel sounds like a process that will have no bearing on the final decision. I went a bit over time and had to cut out a bit, but here's my speech in full:

It’s not easy to offer the panel new facts and to not reiterate what’s already been said. With a project like this, we are constantly bombarded by media of all kinds. We get snippets of the story and we hear arguments from both sides as retold by journalists and well-meaning but undoubtedly subjective commentators. We’re all exposed to the same media. I understand your goal is to gather new information to help review this proposed pipeline, but I think also that by hearing a united view on several key issues, you will hopefully have a clear idea of why there is opposition to this project, and that it’s based on facts and documented research.

Interrobang - Or, Matt on the radio

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:13:29 -0700

Over the past few weeks, I've developed and launched a radio program on CICK 93.9 FM, Smithers Community Radio. The show is called Interrobang. What is an interrobang? It's a publishing/printing mark, the unlikely combination of the interrogative, more commonly known as the question mark, and the bang, or exclamation point. It looks like this: _

The show is similarly an unlikely combination, of books and music. Each episode takes a single book and navigates its way through the pages with a carefully selected soundtrack, designed to reflect content, mood, and the general vibe of the plot, as well as the book's characters and the themes of the book. I look for song lyrics and song titles, as well as mood, style, and tone. It's a lot of work, but also a lot of fun.

Here are a few of the books I've done thus far: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey, and Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley. Some upcoming titles: Ecstasy Club by Douglas Rushkoff and Eating Dirt by Charlotte Gill.

The search for funding

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 16:15:15 -0800

It's never easy to find financial support for big ideas, but I'm out there hitting up the grant circuits trying to get backing for a book-length literary project I'm working on. The idea is, well, top secret, but I can let you in on a small success: Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) has agreed to provide me with some gear in support of the project. Thanks MEC! I can't wait to get out there and use it...