FFWD Weekly
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| WORDFEST RAJINDERPAL S. PAL Rajinderpal S. Pal, a Calgary resident for 18 years, is a poet who was born in India and grew up in England. His first collection of poetry, pappaji wrote poetry in a language i cannot read, portrays life on three different continents and explores cross-cultural, inter-cultural, cross-generational and language issues. He is a member of the editorial collective for Calgary's filling station magazine. 1) Anything by John Wyndham; Tolkien's Lord of the Rings; whichever book I was reading at a particular moment. 2) Fred Wah, Richard Harrison, Roberta Rees, Nicole Markotic, Suzette Mayr, Ashok Mathur and Mr. Smutty. 3) To head to the Ship & Anchor or Ming to socialize with friends. 4) I've only completed writing one book and even that one I'd like to get back to make more changes! I guess I'd head to the Ship & Anchor or Ming to socialize with friends. 5) Music - not playing but listening: Mark Eitzel, Red House Painters, Katell Keineg, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, REM, Cornershop, Richard Buckner, and the coolest live band of all time - MAUD. ARITHA VAN HERK Aritha van Herk's latest novel, Restlessness, is a mystery that takes place in Calgary. An award-winning Alberta novelist and fiction editor for Red Deer College Press, her previous four novels have been highly praised and garnered numerous awards and nominations, including the Governor General's Award for fiction. 1) Anne of Green Gables... because it's a story about a girl who had red hair and an imagination, both of which I had, and both of which got her into trouble, and both of which got me into trouble. 2) Robert Kroetsch... because he's a writer who has written about the magical and the mythical of Alberta in a way that is wonderfully funny, over-the-top. Also because he comes from the same area in Alberta where I grew up, Battle River. 3) Reading - I start reading a good book, then think, one more chapter, one more chapter.... 4) I usually sit down and have a good cry because I think finishing a book is a really hard thing.... Your intimate relationship with that book, when it's really finished, is one that's now subject to intervention by the world. But it's also a good thing. The tears are both happy and sad. 5) Reading - I read and I write, I write and I read. I do do other things, but none with the same passion. ASHOK MATHUR Ashok Mathur's latest novel, Once Upon an Elephant, plunges into the chaos unleashed by the discovery of a young man's head and an elephant's body. Mathur is an editorial board member of absinthe, and a founder of disOrientation chapbooks. He has curated exhibitions of odd books in Calgary, Banff and Vancouver. His book of poetry, Loveruage: a dance in three parts, was published in 1993. 1) Hard to say - depends, I suppose, on what age. But quite early on I got into the fantastical, whether it was science fiction or comic books. This would've started out with DC comics - Superman, Batman and the like - and moved into works by folks like Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey. 2) Influences vary. I think when I first came across Salman Rushdie, I found his style and sense of narrative very engaging. Later on, works by Toni Morrison, Sherman Alexie, Larissa Lai have had a strong effect on me. But rather than thinking of a singular author, I prefer to acknowledge the activist communities I inhabit and which play such a strong part in my life. 3) Spinning off into other projects, like magazine work (absinthe), Web-based stuff, or other such endeavors. Not so much a procrastination technique while writing as a way of perpetually avoiding the project. 4) Again, the celebration is more of a community thing - for instance, this particular book project that I just finished takes on far greater substance and meaning because it's appearing at the same time as books by Rajinderpal S. Pal, Rita Wong, Tamai Kobayashi, David Odhiambo. That's what makes this a cause for celebration. 5) Geez, lots of things. Making chapbooks, walking the dog(s), just spendin' time with friends. Being involved with the politics of communities. CHERYL FOGGO Cheryl Foggo's latest work and first young adult novel, One Thing That's True, was shortlisted for both the 1997 Governor General's Award and the Mr. Christie Book Award. A screenwriter, poet, writer of fiction and non-fiction, her first book was a finalist in the 1990 Alberta Culture awards. 1) That's a hard one because there were so many - I read copious amounts of books. Probably, I would have to say, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. 2) My honest answer to that is no writer has had an influence on my work. There's been many who influenced me as a person - writer Shelby Steele, Alex Hailey's autobiography of Malcom X; William Goldman, because he writes in so many different milieus; Roy Blount Jr., Linda Barry and Fred Stenson - because I love comedic writing that comes from the real agony of being a human being, and they all do it so well; and Andrew Wreggitt, for helping me to learn how to adapt one's talent to a multitude of situations. 3) Cleaning the house. And I will also use writing as a procrastination for cleaning the house. 4) Usually by taking some time off and private celebration with my family - there's such a feeling of relief when you finish a project, we usually celebrate in some way. And of course I immediately distribute it to my circle of readers. 5) People, relationships - I am a family fanatic, not just my family and kids, but also my extended family. I think relationships are the most valuable things we have in our lives. Friends and family. SUZETTE MAYR Suzette Mayr, who has spent her life in Calgary and Edmonton, teaches English at ACAD. Her first novel, Moon Honey, was published to critical acclaim in 1995. Her latest novel, The Widows, is a humorous story about three defiant older women. 1) Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh. 2) A lot of writers have influenced me; Fay Weldon perhaps the most. 3) I use writing as a way to procrastinate from my day job. My preferred technique, however, is cleaning. Mopping is the best. 4) A party after the book launch with lots of drinking. 5) I love television!! (Also my dog.) |