| Shopping (for Canadian books) really IS good
"Why should you buy Canadian books this holiday season? So you can continue to buy them next year, too." That's the message you'll find at the entrance to The Canadian Writers Coalition Web site at www.canadianwriters.ca. The site continues the public information campaign that started with ads in major newspapers over the last few weeks. (You probably saw them, the ones with the long lists of supporting writers.) If you're wondering what the bother is all about, read the Readers' Write section of the Web site for stories about frustration in locating important Canadian books. If more publishers collapse and more independent booksellers go under, there will only be more stories like these.
And if you're wondering why that matters, read the Favourite Books portion of the site for authors' winning descriptions of their own favourite Canadian writing. The section's led off (so far) by local writer Pamela Banting's paean to Margaret Laurence's The Diviners. Elsewhere, poet Darren Wershler-Henry praises Michael Ondaatje's The Collected Works of Billy the Kid. The site is a good place to look for ideas about which Canadian writing to read next, or which books to ask "Santa" to bring you.
Canadian author John Ralston Saul – who's reading from his new book, On Equilibrium, here on January 22 – has been a free-speech advocate for many years. From 1987 to 1992 he was president of the Canadian Centre of International PEN, the author's group dedicated to freedom of expression and opinion. So it seems odd that some have expressed surprise that he would publish an opinionated new book despite the fact his wife, Adrienne Clarkson, is now the Governor General of Canada. Wouldn't expecting Saul to pipe down for a few years be vaguely like expecting Barbara Amiel to stop writing because her husband, Conrad Black, had become a newspaper baron, or a British lord? (To compare another powerful couple from a different part of the intellectual spectrum.) For tickets or information on Saul's appearance at the Jack Singer, call TicketMaster or WordFest (294-7462) or Pages (283-6655).
The Alberta Playwrights Network has been running their Playwriting Competition longer than any other such provincial competition in Canada. The object of the competition is to cultivate and encourage drama writers from the province, so if you have a manuscript, polish it up and send it in by January 15. Winners recieve either $3,500 or $ 1,500 in cash. What's equally valuable is the full workshop and showcase presentation that the winning plays receive. The APN is at: 2nd Floor, 1134 - 8th Avenue S.W., T2P 1J5. Call 269-8564 or e-mail apn@nucleus.com. Competition guidelines are posted at www.nucleus.com/~apn/. |
