| Get your WordFest for nothing, take your kids for free
PanCanadian WordFest is already under way, and lots of events are free, so have a look at the program or see www.wordfest.com. Just a couple of examples: Friday’s Two Hemispheres reading at the U of C brings together local novelist Pearl Luke and Down Under authors Shane Maloney, Nick Earls and Kapka Kassabova; and Malawian writer Jack Mapanje reads at the Shaganappi Library at 2:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, there are still plenty of headline readings by authors including Richard Ford, Marie-Claire Blais, Michael Redhill, Audrey Thomas, Wade Davis, David Adams Richards, Dionne Brand and others. These non-free readings aren’t too costly, either – including the entire weekend at Banff. (Oh, and the travel sections of the papers keep saying major Banff hotels, who have had conference cancellations and so on, are offering major discounts – so even if you don’t have private wheels, the carpool/ shared room/ cheap weekend idea is worth looking into.)
Finally, just because Hockey Night in Canada turned 50 last week, and because this event is likely to be fun, think about seeing Roch Carrier (author of "The Hockey Sweater," of course) reading with Tropic of Hockey author and rock memoirist Dave Bidini, all emceed by Bruce Dowbiggin, at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Say you took your daughter or son or your nephew or your friend’s kids to see a reading lately. And say they became entranced by words, as sometimes happens, and they want to do some writing themselves. Well, they can go to a poetry workshop for 13 to 18 year olds at Nose Hill Library (1530 Northmount Dr. N.W., phone 221-2030) this weekend. On Saturday on October 13 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., poet Bob Stallworthy will lead Words That Crackle When You Walk, a workshop that moves from finding ideas through drafting poems.
On the other hand, maybe you haven’t taken any young readers to author readings lately, or ever. That’s really terrible of you, but you can atone next week at a reading meant for young adults. Hiromi Goto reads from her new book The Water Of Possibility and Cheryl Foggo reads from her new title I Have Been In Danger. The event is at Pages, on October 18 at 7:30 p.m.
Next day at Pages, it’s poets Steve Gillespie reading from Yomp: The Poems Of Eat Large Fudge, with Edmonton’s Nigel Darbasie (A Map Of The Island). Also at 7:30 p.m.
The 21st Annual Writers' Conference and annual general meeting of the Writers Guild of Alberta is called Voices & Distance, and this year it’s co-hosted by Athabasca University from October 19 to 20. Q: How to get there? A: There’s a bus running from Lethbridge to Athabasca, collecting participants in Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton. Workshops and panels will include Susan Aglukark, David Brudnage, Harold Cardinal, Mary Chan, Bert Crowfoot, Satya Das, Caterina Edwards, Paulette Dubé, Nancy Flight, Irene Morck, Trevor Owen and Thomas Wharton. For info call 1-800-665-5354 and ask for a brochure, or e-mail norma@writersguild.ab.ca. |
