The gift of timelessness

Writer, educator, and facilitator Brian Braganza joined us at The Hideout in 2025 as our Susan Buchanan scholar to work on a collection of essays. Early in 2026, we caught up with Brian to learn more about his current writing projects and his approach to retreats.

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Tell us a bit about what you worked on during your residency, Brian.

I am working on my first collection of creative nonfiction essays. My family immigrated to Canada in 1969. There are essays about my experiences as a first generation immigrant; my search for ancestry and (re)connection to India; my parents aging, my mom's dementia and my dad's passing; and essays about how I've been shaped and formed by my parents' courage and resilience, and this land called Canada.

I received a creation grant through the Nova Scotia Arts Council last winter and the residency was a chance to really focus on my project. I primarily worked on one new essay while I was at the Hideout. The time and space allowed me to get quite deep into the initial draft without being taken out of it, beyond eating and sleeping.

What were some of the highlights of your time at The Hideout and on PEI?

I didn't see much of PEI although I did do one work related trip to Charlottetown mid week. My highlights from that excursion were the Bookmark bookstore to buy Dispersals by Jessica J. Lee (a stunning book!), Back Alley Music to buy a Taylor Swift record for my daughter, and I needed an onion. Plus the work meeting might evolve into a new contract in the future.

Being at The Hideout itself was a highlight. It feels clear that Trevor and Joshua have intentionally created a space conducive for writing. It has a few comfy writing nooks, there are books in neat piles or on bookshelves for inspiration, the kitchen is clean, stocked and easy to access, the views are beautiful with an outdoor seating area. And it's very private; Trevor and Joshua were very respectful of my space.

Once or twice a day I'd walk around the pond nearby. What a beautiful little ecosystem! While it was pretty damp and rainy while I was there, I got out regardless as a way to reset and connect to the land. This gave my head a rest from the computer, and also let my heart and body wander more freely and be caught up in the trees, tracks, and rain drops on the pond. It's important for me to move my body on the land as part of my writing practice, so the pond walk was perfect for this!

When I'm on a retreat like this I have this practice of covering up all the clocks, including putting a piece of tape over my computer clock and turning my phone off. Being timeless is such a gift in our noisy, busy world, and creates a kind of altered state without intoxicants. I wake up when I wake up, eat when hungry, and sleep when I need a rest.

Because I'm so immersed, my writing will often infuse my dreams and I'll wake up in the middle of the night and start writing without concern about what time it is. I may write for an hour or two (Who knows how long? Not me!) and then fall back to sleep. This semi-conscious writing space feels necessary to help bring out my true experiences and voice. I imagine that way of writing in retreat doesn't work for everyone, but I sure love it!

Why are residencies and retreats so important?

I have a beautiful home in a beautiful part of Nova Scotia with lots of land around me. I have a beautiful and full family life that I love. I'm self-employed and my work depends on a certain amount of creative energy. Because of all these other passions, it's very hard to prioritize writing and to find the focused space I need to really sink into it. There are dishes and laundry that needs doing, the dog to walk, meals to prepare, hanging out with the 14-year old, because when our 14-year old still wants to spend time with her adult parents--we jump on every opportunity! All good things! And yet my writing life consistently gets pushed to the last thing.

Being able to step away from these other life passions for six luxurious days and be in the writing exclusively at a residency like this was a gift for me and so vital to my project.

What projects are you working on now, Brian?

"Projects" is the key word here. I've described the current project I'm working on, and as I write this one, there are other projects emerging. A lifetime of projects! Which is exciting and somewhat daunting.

I'm currently discerning what are the right essays for this current collection, and what is better suited to another collection. This will be my first book so I'm really on a learning curve. There is the writing, but also editing, and compiling. Some days it feels like a slog, and more often I'm thrilled that writing is part of my life.

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Brian Braganza had lived on three continents by the time he was four. He now lives on Mi’kmaqi. Brian is writing a collection of essays about belonging and our relationship to land, place, and community for healing.