| Socrates' new cornershop
Daily reality for writers in Canada tends to be a cut-rate affair, since the average annual income from writing work adds up to far less than the cost of luxuries like six months rent, a second-hand pickup or a root canal. But for one night last week, writers and "the literary glitterati" could forget all that, at the ceremony to award the first Griffin Prize for poetry. This is a two-headed Griffin: there's a Canadian prize, won by poet's poet Anne Carson for her book Men in the Off Hours. Then there's an International Prize, awarded to Glottal Stop: 101 Poems by Paul Celan. Translators Heather McHugh and Nikolai Popov split their $40,000 with Celan's estate. Three hundred guests celebrated the good news and dined, according to announcements by the prize organizers, "on oysters, beef tenderloin and Swiss chocolate." That's pretty high-end nourishment; but then these are high-end writers who deserve more-than-annual celebration.
Back in Calgary, Socrates' Corner bookstore just moved and is now right on the river at 2640 Parkdale Boulevard N.W. Their grand opening is more like a day-long fiesta on Saturday, June 16. You can catch readings by Valerie Walker (The Adventures of Hedley the Hedgehog, 10 a.m.); garden guru Donna Balzer at 1:30 p.m.; perhaps Joanne McCaig (The Textbook of the Rose) at 7 p.m. (call to check confirmation on this); and then Pearl Luke (Burning Ground) at 8 p.m. There's flamenco guitar at midday and the Johnny V blues trio plays at 2 p.m. And what's this about Clifford the Big Red Dog? To find out you'll have to call 242-8042 or check www.socratesbooks.com/ and send an e-mail inquiry. Or ask in person – the new location makes it easy to cycle by and stop for panini.
If you spent those early June rainy days writing, and you wonder where you can send your work, here are some possibilities. Anyone with a farming story to tell, who can tell it in 150 words or less, can send it straight to the postcard fiction contest offered by the Calgary Literary Events Newsletter. Contest sponsors Red Deer Press will give the winner a copy of their book, The Food Lover’s Guide to Alberta, by Mary Bailey and Judy Schultz. Entries can be e-mailed to khanson@ucalgary.ca by the June 15 deadline. From farming, to food, to storytelling – could there be a more sensible series of sequiturs?
Or if you feel more comfortable with a 500-word length limit, consider the Alexandra Writers Centre Society newsletter. They're looking for anything interesting to writers. (No, not information on free food or housing, dentists who accept unpublished manuscripts in payment, or unsupervised jobs where you can write at work. Instead they mean "book reviews, helpful tips, humour," that sort of thing.) The next deadlne is June 20, so send your interesting stuff to the Alexandra Writers Centre Society, 922 9 Ave. S.E., T2G 0S4, c/o "newsletter editor." Or send an e-mail to ekelly@rockyview.ab.ca.
Finally, (orange) magazine also wants artwork, poetry, and fiction under 3,000 words. Send an e-mail attachment to Nikki Reimer at nikki_intheleaves@yahoo.com. For further info contact Nikki Reimer at 815-7731 or by e-mail.
And remember the author discussion with Caroline Roe this Thursday, June 14 at 7 p.m. at the Nickle Arts Museum on the U of C campus. Also, members and friends of the Calgary Writers’ Association will be happy to hear that the year-end party takes place this Saturday, June 16 at 2 p.m. For more details call Claudia at 931-4896.
A little off to one side of the celebrity-scoping at the Banff TV fest this weekend, photographer and writer Ernie Kroeger launches his book The Great Divide. For years Kroeger has been scoping physical and mental landscapes along the continent's spine. A unique blend of personal writing, history and beautifully printed photographs of freshly envisioned mountainscapes, the book is introduced by Alberto Manguel. The launch takes place at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 16 in the TransCanada Pipeline Pavilion at the Banff Centre, and it's free. |
