| Aside from a book tour here and a conference there, writers aren’t really known for their jet-setting. The University of Calgary is trying to change that, however, with a newly-formed partnership on the other side of the world. Last year, Nicole Markotic spent a month at the University of Wollongong in Australia while Shady Cosgrove took her place teaching in Calgary. Right now, beloved local poet Christian Bök is off enjoying the charms of Aussie academia, and Calgary is host to his accomplished counterpart, Alan Wearne.
Wearne is the genre-bending author of several collections of poetry, including Public Relations and Out Here, and novels that test the boundary between poetry and prose, including The Nightmarkets and his two-volume verse novel, The Lovemakers.
Wearne performs twice this week; on Thursday, October 5, at 1:00 p.m. in the Professional Faculties room 120 at the University of Calgary, and then again on Friday, October 6, at 7:30 p.m. at the New Gallery. After that, he’s jetting back to Australia. Catch him while you can.
All this week local poet sheri-d wilson has been prowling the city, sharing poetry and free books with unsuspecting Calgarians as part of Random Acts of Poetry, an annual celebration of poetry and literacy that spans Canada, the U.K. and Ireland from October 3-9. In past years, wilson has shared her work with everyone from Mayor Dave Bronconnier to the Calgary Drop-In Centre to a young couple embracing in bed. Keep an eye on your doorstep, because that could be her next destination!
Calgary’s David Albahari reads this week, both in Serbian and in English, from his new collection of short stories. The English translation of Albahari’s book, Snowman, was recently nominated for the W.O. Mitchell Award. Come to the 4th floor of the W.R. Castell Central Library at 7:00 p.m. on October 5 to see what the buzz is about.
Editor Matt Jackson presents Mugged by a Moose: A Collection of Extraordinary Stories from the Great Outdoors at McNally Robinson this week, a collection of 23 short stories by 20 authors, timed perfectly to make you nostalgic for summer as the weather takes a turn for the frigid. He’ll be reading on October 5 at 7:00 p.m.
October 5th is a busy night. Over at the Knox United Church, WordFest presents Alexander McCall Smith, acclaimed author of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, that follows the zany adventures of the cunning Precious Ramotswe, founder of Botswana’s only ladies’ detective agency. See him at 7:30 p.m.
Speaking of WordFest, it’s kicking off this week! Check out www.wordfest.com to be deluged with event descriptions and author bios. Join in festival activities from October 10 to 15 for an enormous celebration of all things literary.
Sean Johnston reads from his new book, All This Town Remembers, at McNally Robinson on October 10 at 7:00 p.m. Twenty-five years after a small Saskatchewan town was rocked with the death of a high school hockey star, CBC filmmakers come to town to dramatize the event, a move that’s not universally welcomed by the town’s residents.
If you’re interested in someday appearing in this column, your name in bold, you may want to check out the Seminar for Self-Publishers, offered by Jeremie Drought from Last Impression Publishing Service. He’ll chat about the whole process of putting a book together: editing, production, printing, design, marketing and distribution. Dust off that old manuscript and head to McNally Robinson at 7:00 p.m. on October 11.
The Calgary Slam Team, composed of Wakefield Brewster, Jordan Dack, Kirk Ramdath and Sabo, jets off to Toronto this week. Sponsored by the Calgary Spoken Word Society, they’ll be competing against teams from Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Windsor and Winnipeg in three rounds at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word, the first time an Albertan team has thrown down in a national competition. Visit www.cfsw2006.wordolympics.com for updates, and if you happen to be in Toronto between October 11 to 14, be sure to book off an evening or two to show your support for this testosterone-laden team.
Haymarket Café and Books (1101 MacLeod Trail S.E.) has its grand opening this weekend, October 13 to 15, open 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. There’ll be live music, books, films and tasty treats, so check it out. |
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