FFWD Weekly
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Bookends by FFWD Staff Jackie Flanagan launches new book, MRC launches satellite No one could accuse Jackie Flanagan of being all talk and no action when it comes to cultural life in the city. She publishes and edits AlbertaViews magazine, helping to broaden political debate in this narrow-band province, and supporting local fiction and poetry writing, too. As the Flanagan in the Markin-Flanagan Distinguished Writer's Program, she's helped bring authors such as Ursula LeGuin, D.M. Thomas and (this spring) Tony Kushner to town for readings and consultation with local writers. The same program has supported writers-in-residence like Roberta Rees, Ven Begamudre and the present resident writer, Peter Oliva. Before any of this, she taught English at Mount Royal College for 15 years. Now Flanagan's energy has yielded Grass Castles, a book chronicling mid-century lives in Bowness, back then a village in its own right. (Grass Castles is published by Bayeux Arts Press, the creation of Ashis Gupta, another get-things-done Calgarian in the arts.) Bayeux Arts and PanCanadian WordFest: Banff-Calgary International Writers Festival present the launch of Flanagan’s Grass Castles on March 18 at 7:30 p.m. at The Engineered Air Theater in the Arts Centre. The event is open to the public and admission is free. A fundraiser for SAGE theatre takes place Thursday, March 11 at 8:30 p.m. at Rendezvous (211 - 12th Avenue S.W.). A cover charge of $5 gets you in to hear a short reading from SAGE's next production, Reading Hebron, along with music by Jeff Kushner. "Of course this is all an excuse to have a big party," says Raj Pal. So take it. Shannon Stewart reads from her first book of poems, titled The Canadian Girl, on Thursday, March 18 at 7:30 pm. This is the first in the Mount Royal College Satellite Series, sponsored by the college and Indigo Books. The reading takes place at Indigo Books (5570 Signal Hill Centre S.W.). Thursday, March 11 sees another university poetry slam event. Should the claim of free beer be believed? Well, the English Lit Student's Society and "in grave ink" have put it in writing. Show up at 6:30 p.m. at the Blue Banana Lounge (next to Max Cafe in the basement of the shiny reflective part of Mac Hall), and call them on it. Course, they didn't say admission was free: that costs $2. Tragic hockey figure Spinner Spencer famously poked fun at penguins (wait for it, this actually is a book item) shortly after he'd been traded to the team of the same name. "Stupid pathetic waddling birds that can't even fly and just wobble all over the ice," or words to that effect, failed to impress his new coaches. Later, Spencer was killed. Anyway, in publishing, the press with the the flightless-bird logo isn't pathetic, it's a powerful force. Guess who's been picked to write History of Alberta, the newest title in Penguin's Canadian history series that includes Bowering's B.C. and Lesley Choyce's Nova Scotia? Calgary author Aritha van Herk, that's who.

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