| For eight years the tides of booklovers and really good books surged into and ebbed out of Don Gorman’s store on 17th Avenue S.W. Anytime you walked into Shakespeare’s Shelf, you found a bright, airy place full of mint-condition modern first editions. Don could always find you anything you wanted that wasn’t already in the store.
Now that Shakespeare’s Shelf is closed, a group of Calgary authors are offering a tribute and fund-raiser to thank Gorman for maintaining his booklover’s haven for nearly a decade, and for supporting the local arts community along the way. Housepress has printed Off the Shelf, a broadsheet collection featuring fresh artwork, prose and poetry from Jill Hartman, Natalie Simpson, Paulo da Costa, Derek Beaulieu, Jason Christie, Tammy McGrath, David Carruthers, Tomas Jonsson, Trevor Speller, Richard Harrison, Christopher Blais, Julia Williams, Janet Neigh and Andre Rodrigues. This is a limited edition – only 50 copies of the 13-page collection, each one numbered, will be printed. All the proceeds, along with copy number 1 of the edition, will go to Gorman. Off the Shelf costs $25 per copy and is only available from housepress. For more information, or to order, contact derek@housepress.ca.
Annie’s Book Company in the northwest is still alive and well and hosting readings. Next Friday, August 22 at 7 p.m. you can drop by for a cappuccino and hear authors Bob Stallworthy, Sharon Drummond, Vivian Hansen, Bob Stamp, Bob Lorenzetti, Rosemary Griebel, Joan Shillington, Diana Stokes, Annie Vigna, Alyson Starkey, Evelyn Ackermann, Judy Walters, Jan Erickson, Chris Osborn, Sharon LaFrenz, Brian Erickson and others. Call 282-1330 for more details. (Yes, there is parking on the north side of 16th Avenue.)
"Out in Eastern Canada they’ve got so much history, eh? Like in Montreal and Old Quebec, you’re just totally surrounded by history. New places like Alberta and Calgary, they’ve got the scenery but they don’t have the history." Maybe you’ve heard this kind of talk. I think there’s some confusion here between "history" and "lots of obviously old buildings." In any case, local historian, tour guide and writer Harry Sanders can set you straight on the amount and kind of history that Alberta does or does not have. On Tuesday, August 19, he launches his new book The Story Behind Alberta Names. The title refers to both names of places and names of people, since so often the places are named for the people, as in Crowchild and Deerfoot Trails. Sanders reads at McNally Robinson at 7:30 p.m. Red Deer Press presents the event and more details can be found at 538-1797. |
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