FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1997. All Rights Reserved.
BOOKENDS
by Harry VandervlistAuthor Yasmin Ladha's life of journeying and immersion in contrasting cultures brings a true international perspective to her writing. Born in Tanzania, Ladha came to Calgary in 1978. She studied writing at the U of C with, among others, Christopher Wiseman (founder of the University's Creative Writing program). Her book of stories entitled The Lion's Granddaughter was published in 1992 by Alberta's NeWest Press. Now living in Chonbuk, Korea, Ladha returns to Calgary this week to read from her new book, Woman Dancing on Rooftops. You might want to check out her new work at Pages on Kensington, Thursday, November 27 at 7:30 p.m.
My attempt to sum up John Raulston Saul's new 600-odd page book in three sentences or less starts now. Reflections of a Siamese Twin: Canada at the End of the Twentieth Century argues that Canada really is a unique nation with a distinct culture, and the heart of that culture lies in our essential complexity. We need to understand ourselves a little better, Saul says, if we hope to preserve the best of ourselves as a nation, in the face of simplifying social mythologies with little tolerance for the kind of complexity that makes our country work. The book has already created quite a Canadian noise. CBC's thesaurus-junkie Rex Murphy recently trashed the book in the Globe and Mail. The next week, the Globe's readers went postal on Murphy on the Letters page. Hear John Raulston Saul for yourself on Monday, December 1 at 7:30 p.m. in the Martha Cohen Theatre. The reading is sponsored by Pan-Canadian WordFest: Banff-Calgary International Writers Festival, and Pages on Kensington. Tickets are available in advance at Pages (admission is free with purchase of Saul's hefty hardbound tome).
For young adult readers who wanna play hooky, Cheryl Foggo, shortlisted for the G-G award for Just One True Thing, will read at Chapters MacLeod Trail, Friday, November 28 at 1:30 p.m.
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