| Protecting our reading spaces
For those who enjoy browsing through a magazine or reading a novel during their daily commute downtown, it may come as a surprise to learn that there is an organization in the U.S. fighting to protect this daily tradition. Commercial Alert (www.commercialalert.org/) has written a letter to President George Bush asking him to protect mass transit riders and readers from companies that produce transit-based television systems. "We are writing to you today about reading, and about the public places in which people do it. These places are under attack. The precious quiet moments that people find in their busy days on public transit, for reading and study, are threatened," the letter states. Commercial Alert’s letter is in response to news that two corporations (Itec Entertainment Corp. and Orbital Sciences Corp.) have launched a joint venture to put TVs on buses and trains across the U.S. to broadcast "a package of news and weather – and a lot of ads." Let’s hope the idea doesn’t catch on here.
Alistair MacLeod earned some extra spending money this week, becoming the first Canadian writer to win the world’s most lucrative literary prize for a single work. MacLeod, who visited Calgary for WordFest last fall, has been awarded International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for No Great Mischief, and will pocket $172,000 during a ceremony at Dublin Castle on June 16.
Science fiction and fantasy fans will want to mark August 10 to 12 on the calendar, as one of Western Canada’s largest and longest running science fiction and fantasy conventions returns. Con-Version XVIII, the 18th annual convention, has announced a lineup of special guests including author David Drake, artist Jean-Pierre Normand and actor Dirk Benedict (Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica). Memberships and day passes are available – check out www.con-version.org for details.
The buzz surrounding the release of Edmonton writer Thomas Wharton’s second novel, Salamander, is that it will make him a literary star. Wharton gained international acclaim for his first novel, Icefields, and will launch the the eagerly awaited followup in Calgary on Friday, May 17 at 7:30 p.m. – find out for yourself what the hype is all about.
The Banff Centre is hosting a public reading with Fred Stenson, whose award-winning novel The Trade has also garnered critical acclaim, on May 26 at 2 p.m. For info call 1-800-413-8368.
And don’t forget to catch Alberta Metis poet Marilyn Dumont in a free public reading on Thursday, May 24 at 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Park Library. |
