FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1997. All Rights Reserved.
BookendsPanCanadian WordFest '97 will begin on October 15 with a tribute to W.O. Mitchell. It's now 50 years since the Alberta novelist began his suc- cessful career with the publication of Who Has Seen the Wind. Mitchell made the big move to Calgary from High River in 1968, and at age 83 he has many longtime friends and readers in the city. So the tribute shouldn't lack for warm and fuzzy feelings. But it may also be a good chance to recognize some of the roots of Calgary's, and Canada's, thriving literary scene. For instance, Mitchell taught and inspired hundreds of young writing students in workshops at The Banff Centre, using his own "free fall" composition technique. (Workshops at Inglewood's Alexandra Writer's Center still use that technique. More on them next week.)
So far WordFest '97 has announced appearances by 22 Canadian writers. Some are almost as long-established as Mitchell himself. James Houston, author of The White Dawn, will be here with a new novel called The Ice Master (A Novel of the Arctic).
Popular novelists Jane Urquhart, Paul Quarrington, and Nino Ricci will appear at venues around the city. Shani Mootoo - author, video-maker, multi-media artist, Vancouverite and New Yorker - is scheduled to read. Her book Cereus Blooms at Night was a contender for the Chapters / Books in Canada First Novel Award.
WordFest also presents Montreal-based Haitian author Dany Laferriere, who made headlines a few years ago with his novel How to Make Love to a Negro (Without Getting Tired). This list mentions less than a third of the authors already signed up - more Canadian and international participants have yet to be announced as WordFest producer Anne Green is currently busy negotiating with more writers. More news in future editions of BookEnds.
Back to the present: Chapters' West Hills store has a wide assortment of readings coming up on the inhumed, the incarcerated, and other realms altogether. There's more than what's mentioned here - call Chapters West Hills for details. If you missed Nancy Millar reading at the Public Library from Once Upon a Tomb: Stories from Canadian Graveyards, well you can see her Saturday, July 19 at noon. Peter Tadman reads from In the Words of The Offender, on Canada's prison system, at 2 p.m. the same day. And if you're still having trouble seeing auras, Wendy Lambert can help you at 7:30 p.m. on July 24. Lambert is behind You Can See Auras: The Aura Glasses Kit, and the Chakra Balancing Kit.
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