| Lai, Pal, MacEwan all return
You don't usually have documentary evidence when you refer to someone as a "well-loved author." But you do if you're talking about Calgary poet Rajinderpal S. Pal.
In 2001, Fast Forward's own Best of Calgary survey declared Pal "Best Local Author." Those with little faith in reader surveys (what do you believe in?) may wish to turn to the Writers Guild of Alberta for confirmation of Calgary readers' discernment. The Guild awarded its Henry Kreisel Award for Best First Book to Pal's first collection, pappaji wrote poetry in a language i cannot read.
This Saturday, Pal launches Pulse, his new poetry collection, in a reading with Larissa Lai at the Art Gallery of Calgary. Lai's launching her second book, too. Her debut novel, When Fox Is a Thousand, wove together history, Chinese mythology and contemporary life in a playful and insightful story. The novel was shortlisted for the Chapters/ Books in Canada First Novel Award. Her new book, Salt Fish Girl, sounds really "shifty," since it features a shape-shifting narrator and also shifts in setting between 19th century China and the Pacific Northwest, in the year 2044. Lai is now a Calgary author, since returning from East Anglia via Vancouver, Newfoundland and California. (Aha, I see a simplistic biographical link to all that literary shifting.)
This double book launch takes place Saturday, September 28 at 7 p.m. at the Art Gallery of Calgary (117 - 8 Ave. S.W., across from the James Joyce Pub). The hosts will be Richard Harrison and Salma Hussain.
August 12, 2002 would have been Grant MacEwan's 100th birthday, a fitting time for a collection that looks back over the astonishingly prolific writings of the man who was Calgary's mayor, Alberta's lieutenant-governor, a pioneering Western historian, and much more. (Talk about shape-shifting, hmm.) It seems harsh to call the collection "long overdue," as does the book's publisher, Brindle & Glass – after all, August 12 just seems like yesterday. So does the day I watched MacEwan accept a lifetime achievement award from the Writers Guild of Alberta, recognizing his many publications between 1948 and 2000. But certainly the time is ripe for A Century of Grant MacEwan: Selected Writings, edited by Lee Shedden and with an introduction by Calgary historian Donald Smith. Pages, the Calgary Public Library and the publisher will launch the book on Wednesday, October 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the John Dutton Theatre at the W. R. Castell Central Library (616 Macleod Trail S.E.). All are welcome. See the publisher's Web site, www.brindleandglass.com, for more information.
Book lovers can rejoice in the fact that another independent bookstore has opened in Calgary. McNally Robinson has dedicated more than 20,000 square feet of space to all things books at its location on Stephen Avenue. This is the fourth location for owners Holly and Paul McNally, who have two stores in Winnipeg and one in Saskatoon, and they are known for holding literary events and supporting the community.
And don't forget: Word On the Street, Sunday September 29, at Eau Claire! From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Will Ferguson, Aritha Van Herk and many others will read, sign, chat. Go to www.thewordonthestreet.ca/ for the latest information. |
