| Clem Martini: stirred or shaken by G-G nomination?
Two weeks of suspense remain for a handful of writers and publishers from Calgary and Alberta. That's how long this year's Governor General Award nominees get to writhe in delicious anticipation, or do whatever else they do to pass the time until the winners are announced on November 14. Clem Martini is one of the local writhers: he's nominated for the drama G-G for A Three Martini Lunch, published by Calgary's Red Deer Press. Somehow Martini's managed to combine a prolific writing career with dedicated teaching and community work with Woods Homes. (How does one man do olive that stuff?) Hope November 14 will be an occasion for a three-martini celebration.
Robert Kroetsch just published his first book of poetry in years, and now it's up for the poetry G-G. The brainy, funny, naughty and intricate Hornbooks of Rita K. comes from the University of Alberta Press. Anne Carson, Steve McCaffery, Phil Hall and George Elliott Clarke are the other poetry nominees. Meanwhile, sometime Calgarian (and currently Edmontonian) Thomas Wharton has been nominated for his novel Salamander. Yann Martel, Tessa McWatt, Jane Urquhart and Richard B. Wright were also nominated for fiction. Notable non-fiction nominees who've made popular visits here in the past year are Alberto Manguel for Reading Pictures: A History of Love and Hate, and Thomas Homer-Dixon for The Ingenuity Gap. All the details are at: www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/ggla/.
Speaking of non-fiction, the always timely and astute Andrew Nikiforuk reads from his new work Saboteurs: Wiebo Ludwig's War Against Big Oil at The Alberta Wilderness Association (Hillhurst Room, 455 - 12th St. N.W.) on November 7 at 7 p.m. For reservations contact the AWA at 283-2025.
Next day at Pages, Julia Gaunce (Rocket Science) and Margaret Christakos (Charisma and Wipe Under A Love) will read from their works. That's November 8 at 7:30 p.m. Also, don't forget David Albahari's launch of his new novel, Bait, at Pages on November 2 at 7:30 p.m..
Among the many stories that got lost following September 11 was the September 10 news that you can purchase the right to have a character named after you in upcoming work by Margaret Atwood, Pat Barker, Ken Follett, Robert Harris, David Lodge, Ian McEwan, Terry Pratchett and Zadie Smith. Well, you could have purchased that right if you'd got in on the October 16 charity auction held by the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture. Two of last year's high-bidders, Janet Walder and Sheila Milward, have already appeared in Nick Hornby's How To Be Good and Sebastian Faulks's On Green Dolphin Street (in return for £2,050 and £2,800 bids, respectively). Meanwhile Kathy Lette, Louis de Berniéres, Hanif Kureshi and Jim Crace are still working on the books featuring the winning bidders for a place in their work. |
