Word Gluttony -- ReDefinition Expression

The BIG Word...

So, fellow CWILLer Kirsti-Anne Wakelin blogged about The Big Word project today, and I'm afraid I have been totally hooked.

I picked a few words that I think might define what I do, like, say the

maybe with a or two,

during the Black

the

or even the ...

And, if I have to stay in the present, hanging out with cool teachers like Abbie

Or maybe taking A WALK THROUGH THE to look at in Canada's .

See what I mean? Sometimes one word just ain't enough...

~kc

Suntree, Science's Favourites and Umberto

I took this picture last month.

It was a brief glimpse of March sunshine, in the woods above my house. I tried fading a little of the colour from it to get the result you see here. Reminds me of the cold, spring sunshine -- strangely enough, more of which we appear to be enjoying today...

***

A week ago or so I posted a discussion about favourite books.

Just read a piece posted on Boing Boing by David Pescovitz, citing a listing of prominent scientists and their favourite books. I agree with DP that checking out the favourites of these luminaries is fascinating (though I do think Alison G. copped out)...

1. Farthest North - Steve Jones, geneticist

2. The Art of the Soluble - V. S. Ramachandran, neuroscientist

3. Animal Liberation - Jane Goodall, primatologist

4. The Foundation trilogy - Michio Kaku, theoretical physicist

5. Alice in Wonderland - Alison Gopnik, developmental psychologist

6. One, Two, Three... Infinity - Sean Carroll, theoretical physicist

7. The Idea of a Social Science - Harry Collins, sociologist of science

8. Handbook of Mathematical Functions - Peter Atkins, chemist

9. The Mind of a Mnemonist - Oliver Sacks, neurologist

10. A Mathematician’s Apology - Marcus du Sautoy, mathematician

11. The Leopard - Susan Greenfield, neurophysiologist

12. Darwin and the Emergence of Evolutionary Theories of Mind and Behavior - Frans de Waal, psychologist and ethologist

13. Catch-22 / The First Three Minutes - Lawrence Krauss, physicist

14. William James, Writings 1878-1910 - Daniel Everett, linguist

15. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Chris Frith, neuroscientist

16. The Naked Ape - Elaine Morgan, author of The Aquatic Ape Hypothesis

17. King Solomon's Ring - Marion Stamp Dawkins, Zoologist

Here's the link to the original piece in NewScientist.

Any of the vast coterie of scientists reading this blog are more than welcome to add to this list. And for those few of you non-scientists, go ahead and admit to having a little kink or two in your personality, and let me know your favourite book about science, too.

Currently, I am reading THE ISLAND OF THE DAY BEFORE, by Umberto Eco. I'd have to call it more philosophical than scientific. Still pretty good, though...

~kc

BC Book Prizes and a Penultimate Moon

It was a gorgeous evening for the BC Book Prize Soiree, held at the Metropolitan Hotel in downtown Vancouver last night. After a day of really weird spring weather (including snow that fell and stayed put all day throughout the city and not just on my mountainside aerie) the moon came out and gave me a chance to play with my camera settings. She's a night away from full, but politely held still for just long enough to have her portrait taken.


Lovely.






Back to the soiree. I arrived late due to an over-scheduled day, and by the time I got there, the party was in full swing. Loads of CWILL BC members in attendance. Here's a shot of Kari-Lynn Winters in a throng of admirers, having a great time celebrating her nomination for picture book JEFFREY AND SLOTH.






Norma Charles, seen here chatting with author and blogger Julie Burtinshaw, is a member of the BC Book Prize committee, and is celebrating the recent launch of her own new book THE GIRL IN THE BACK SEAT.







Also present was nominee Meg Tilly, celebrating the evening with a crowd of well-wishers (and her husband, Don). She looked gorgeous (as usual) but for a glimpse of her earlier hair tribulations, you may want to check out her blog. Meg will be touring the Kootneys soon, on her leg of the BC Book Prize tour. If you get a chance to hear her read from her nominated book PORCUPINE, be sure to grab it. A not-to-be-missed opportunity.







Out-going CWILL BC president James McCann can be seen chatting here with in-coming CWILL vp Crystal Stranaghan. Crystal is the publisher of Gumboot Books, a new independent right here in Vancouver, specializing in kids books.








Artist, illustrator and photographer Kirsti-Anne Wakelin was also at the soiree, here pictured looking kinda the way I do at these things...

Photography is a religious experience for both of us, though she is definitely more Canonical than I (a confirmed Pentaxian).






This is what she looks like with the camera pried off her face, here chatting with blogging whiz and all-round techie guy Boris Mann. Boris is one of the incandescents behind the amazing Northern Voice blogging and social networking conference held yearly at UBC.

Also present from Northern Voice (but sadly unphotographed) was Monique Trottier, who led the rousing 'Authors Who Blog' session. Monique's been busy getting her company re-named and launched, and she designed the beautiful BC Book Prizes website.


The BC Book Prizes will be distributed at a Gala next Saturday night. Stay tuned.

***

And finally, I read yesterday where poet Gary Geddes was awarded the Lieutenent Governor's Award for Literary Excellence in BC. With the award comes a $5000 prize. Geddes, a giant in the Canadian literary scene, told the Vancouver Sun: "What matters to me is not the money, but is the moral support. Nothing a writer appreciates more than some assurance from peers that you're doing a good job."

Now, I don't know Gary, but I feel compelled to protest on behalf of the many poets I do know. The money does matter! The more money directed to the Canadian literary scene, particularly toward poetry, the better. I know too many published poets who never see a royalty for their work, beyond a couple of comped copies of their own books. So, three cheers for the celebration of Canadian poetry -- may there be many more lucrative prizes awarded to allow it to flourish.

~kc

Launches, Soirees and Galas -- oh my!

Went to a lovely Orca Launch at Vancouver Kidsbooks last night. Five new books made their way out into the world in inimitable Kidsbooks style. Shelley Hrdlitschka, Diane Tullson, Annabel Lyon, Kathleen Cook Waldron, Bob Warick and Richard Van Camp had a chance to show us their new books and a good time was had by all. (Many thanks to Mr. Van Camp for his attempt to assuage the back spasm of a party-crasher with accu-pressure.)

Forgot my camera, though I may have a line on a couple of pixs. Stay tuned, will post if I get 'em. In the meantime, we can look at the beautiful cover-babe of Richard's new book. (This particular book is being distributed to every new baby born in the province this year through the Books for BC Babies Initiative -- all 43,000+ of them!)

Saturday night is the BC Book Prizes Soiree -- free to all at the Metropolitan Hotel (645 Howe St, Vancouver) from 7 to 9:00 pm.

I will do a better job of remembering to bring my camera to give you a taste of all the action.

In other news, Silas greeted my return last night having eaten my last dish scrubber and a couple of cushion-tops from the stools in the kitchen. I'm blaming my kids for their poor supervision skills. Because I can.

~kc

At Last!

Saw my first hummer yesterday, and he even gave me a cheerful little dive-bomb on my way past.

Heard another one today.

Spring!

Will try to get my own photo instead of this stock shot -- a challenge...

~kc

Querelous Queries

As you know, I have recently made the leap into Mac ownership, and while I have not cast off my old PC completely (my kids still need it for school) I have been slowly trying to move things over to the new (and infinitely superior -- have I mentioned that before?) machine.


Today I had a little problem with this, as someone contacted me to whom I had originally replied from my old machine. Not surprisingly, they hadn't received my email, and in having to re-gather my thoughts, I realized I just might have something worthy of a blog post.

So here it is.

In my line of work, I am often asked by aspiring writers for a little help here or there. Mostly this involves: "I've just written a novel. NOW WHAT??!!??"

Today, this brought me back to the query letter -- the sort that one might send off to a prospective writer or agent, depending on one's propensity for that sort of thing.

I am a big believer in query letters. One of my own query letters led to my first manuscript being plucked out of a slush pile and fitted snugly between covers. (Note: This did NOT happen over night. Not at all. But it was all the more immensely satisfying when it did happen, for the wait, of course.)

In my humble opinion, the writing of a query letter FAR outshines the old stick-the-ms-in-an-envelope-for-an-exclusive-submission form of getting one's work published.

I've done both, and let's just say that the full manuscript option was less effective. Vastly.

Anyway, when you are ready to send your newly-completed, meticulously spell-checked and in every other way perfect new baby manuscript out into the world, my best suggestion to you is to not send it anywhere at all.

Instead, write a single-page query letter. The body of the letter should include a paragraph highlighting each of the following:

1) A brief synopsis of the story. Begin this with a one-sentence hook (prolly in the form of a question) to start with. For example...

What rough beast, its hour come at last, slouches towards Bethlehem, waiting to be born?*

(In fact, this is not a hook, but instead what I think might be my favourite line of poetry EVER. Can you name the author? If you need to cheat, peek at the bottom of this post...)

2) A brief (BRIEF!) summary of your very own self -- your writing history and anything particularly quirky about YOU that might catch the interest of the letter's recipient.

and

3) An explanation of why you are sending this query to the particular recipient. You need to do some research for this one -- make sure you convincingly note that picking up your story will be a good business decision for their company because...(they've published/agented others of this ilk before and done well with them, or they seem to appreciate a good story and this is one, or whatever is the best reason you can come up with.)

Once you've written your letter, run off the first 2 or 3 pages of your story and send the whole thing off in a business-sized envelope to every deserving publisher/agent you can think of.

When they reject you (which they will, likely, and quite often, too, until you find the right fit), roll with it, listen to any advice offered and KEEP TRYING!

Let me just finish by saying that there are a million writing books out there that you can refer to for wonderful advice, but I would also not hesitate to recommend a good writers' conference, if you are in the neighbourhood. Of course, my favourite is the Surrey International Writers' Conference , but go ahead and look around.

You know where to find me if you have any questions.


~kc (* with apologies to Yeats...)

Peanuts (though not Purple), Perambulations and Poetry*

(*with aPologies to Peggy Atwood....)



Silas found the Stellers Jays' peanuts last week.





He liked them. Apparently peanuts taste very good with a side serving of yellow duck boot.







As a result, I put him outside on the deck with his partner in crime. He felt the need to protest.








Please note these windows had been washed the day before by my dear friend Johnny, who loves washing windows and does a Very Good Job.


However, Silas likes to leave his mark.




When the howling didn'twork, he tried a fetching smile.
















And when that didn't work....











he ate a chair.






Does this expression look apologetic to you?








Silas is thinking of taking up acting.
In addition to mournful expressions, I believe he'll be a natural at chewing the scenery...

***

Had lunch in Bellingham yesterday with the SiWC Contest Assistants Rose Holck and Kathy Chung. (Rosie has another blog here, too. A blog-a-minute, that girl!)

The business part of our meeting went like this:
"You in this year?"
"Of course."
"Oh, yeah."
"Great!"
Not much standing on ceremony, I admit. But the contest is coming again, naturally, and the deadline will be September 5th this year. Check out the SiWC site for details.

The non-business part of our meeting was pretty fun, too. But since my camera was sitting on the kitchen counter, ready for dog-crime-scene documentation, I forgot it for the trip to Bellingham, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

***

And finally...





I just had word that Vancouver's Poet Laureate is launching his latest book. I met George McWhirter at SiWC last year, and he is a charming and highly accomplished writer. I LOVE the cover for his new book THE ANACHRONICLES, published by Ronsdale Press. If you are able to wish him well, you may do so at the Our Town Cafe (245 East Broadway, Vancouver), on Tuesday, April 22, from 7:00–9:00 p.m. This event is being held in conjunction with BC Book and Magazine Week.

Congratulations, George!

~kc

What to Choose, What to Choose...

Things are hopping around here lately. So much going on...I think I may just have to do a bit of round-up.




First, and most importantly, I have just this week fallen for the remarkable Tim Minchin, Aussie comic and musician. IF you are over 18, I might suggest the YouTube version of Inflatable You, performed at the Royal Albert Hall for a recent Think Pink Breast Cancer fundraiser.

Incredible.




Now, what's next?

Well, it's BC Book Prizes time, and this coming Saturday is the big soiree, held at the Metropolitan Hotel in Vancouver from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. This event is a freebie, and it's a chance for you to meet and mingle with the province's literati.


There are still a few tickets left to the actual prize night Gala on April 26th. Dinner, award ceremony and entertainment will set you back $70, but it should be an elegant evening. Fanny Kiefer will emcee.

I'll be there supporting Meg Tilly and Kari-Lyn Winters -- both friends and incredible writers.

Both of these events are a chance to meet your favourite writers up close and in person.

There's more to talk about (always...) but I am going to spend Saturday with two of my favourite writers (and SiWC 2008 Contest VIPs) KC (in upper case, this time) and RH, so I have to get ready for that.

Will report back upon my return.

~kc

Worst Nightmares & Favourite Books

My girl is at home with a migraine. I hate this. These are the worst things I have bequeathed to my children -- I would give anything to keep the headaches in my own brain and spare them the suffering. My son had one last week. His are much rarer than the girl's and generally pretty silent -- meaning while he gets the aura and a headache afterwards, he is spared the axe through the brain that characterizes my migraines, and the stroke-like symptoms that characterize the girl's.

He and I were discussing the subject (after he recovered) and we agreed that the one thing that really drives us crazy is when people use the word migraine to describe a bad headache. NOT the same thing at all at all at all.

But now my girl is home, safe in bed, trying to sleep it off, and I am working instead of sweating at exercise class. Can always go to the gym later.

In the meantime, I just read in Publisher's Lunch of a study by the Harris Group in the US. Here's the clip:

Poll Asks, Name Your Favorite Book
Harris Interactive surveyed American adults to find out "What is your favorite book of all time?" The answers:

1. The Bible
2. Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
3. Lord of the Rings (series), by J.R.R. Tolkien
4. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
5. The Stand, by Stephen King
6. The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
7. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
8. Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown
9. Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand
10. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger



Interesting list.

I actually really hate being asked what my favourite book is. I get asked this a lot, mostly at schools when I am talking with kids about writing. My problem is, I can never narrow it down to just one or two. As my recent Jane Austen jag can attest, when I find a novel I enjoy, I frequently end up reading the author's entire back list.

As to the Harris List, I can say I LOVE a couple of books noted, I really enjoyed several others, one I have always wanted to read, but haven't as yet, and two I despise.


Can you do better than I have at answering this tough question? What is your favourite book?

~kc

Stress-Free Blogging and Magic

Lots of chatter in the blogosphere these days about the toll that high-stress bloggers pay. This article in the New York Times talks about the recent death of a couple of high-profile bloggers who succumbed to the high-stress, low-exercise, 24-hour-a-day expectations that come from blogging for a living.

I would like to leap into the breach, here, and assure my legions of faithful readers that you need fear not for the health of your humble blogging servant. I don't do this for a living -- you'll note there's nary an ad to be found about the place -- and so for leftwriter -- the pressure's off. (Of course I do spend unhealthy amounts of time communing with my computer. When my son caught me talking to it today, he assumed that I was talking to myself, probably a good thing for both of us.)

***

I spent my time on the elliptical trainer today reducing my stress levels by reading about magic. Since magic is so much a part of my stock in trade, I guess it's lucky I find the subject so fascinating. Right now I am working on a re-write of DEADLINE, but it is a contemporary story and I'm feeling the pull of magic. Time travel, caves and castles, ghost stories and the lure of all things possible.

The cave in this picture can be found in the rocks behind the real-life castle I used as a rough model for Ainslie Castle in my first book, SEEDS OF TIME. This particular cave is in the west highlands of Scotland, and so startled me with its presence that I was quite unable to go inside. One never knows what will happen when wandering into magical caves...

My new Ceilidh stories will be steeped in magic. Time to dip a toe in the water again.

~kc

Gotcha!

I just got an invitation to attend the launch of author (and sister in blogging) Shelley Hrdlitschka's new novel GOTCHA!

I'm thrilled for Shelley, (pictured here) but even more thrilled for myself (and my daughter). We are both huge fans of this wonderful author.

Shelley's book is coming out at the same time as a few other Orca titles, and these other great authors will be celebrating their books as well:

Diane Tullson has a new title: LOCKDOWN (looks exciting!)

Ann Walsh worked with Kathleen Cook Waldron and photographer Bob Warick to produce FORESTRY A-Z.

Richard Van Camp has a lullaby for newborns called WELCOME SONG FOR BABY and Anabel Lyon's new book is called ALL-SEASON EDIE.

Congratulations to all on the arrival of these new titles -- and to all the readers out there who will now get to enjoy them!

~kc

A New (to me, anyway) Writing Contest

This was just sent to me by Jennifer Coffey -- sounds like a pretty cool contest. And check out those judges!

Call for Submissions

First Person Narrative National Essay Contest
Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives

This Year’s Topic ~ Once I Was A Child
Essay Length ~ 2000-2500 words.


1st prize $500.00
2nd prize $300.00
3rd prize $200.00

With a special prize of $100.00 for Best Under Nineteen

Prizewinning essays to be selected by award winning author and Giller Prize nominee
Wayson Choy and by Sarah Sheard
writer and mentor with Humber School For Writers
Submission Due Date ~ September 1, 2008
Prize Winners announced ~ December 15, 2008
Entries should be typed, single-sided, and double-spaced with your name, address and story
title on a separate sheet. Parent/Guardian signature required for anyone under 19. Forms can
be found on our web site. Entry fee is $25.00 payable to Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives by
cheque or online at www.clga.ca. Free for anyone under 19.

All entries received by June 20 will be considered for the Wayson Choy Scholarship to the
Humber School for Writers (July 12-18) Summer Program.

Send your stories to
Managing Editor, The Archivist
106 Walpole Avenue
Toronto ON M4L 2J3
or to jacoffey@rogers.com


The contest is open to all ages and all backgrounds.

All entries will be considered for publication in Keeping Our Stories Alive, Volume 1, A Journal
of the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives.

~kc

Nonsense, Really

Ah. Well, I tried to link to a picture I found on the BBC website of the oldest extant book in Scotland, (printed in 1508) but alas -- the link has failed me. So you'll just have to take my word for it -- or you can trot off to the Scotly part of the BBC website and see it for yourself. (Scotly -- aka Scottish-ish...your new coinage for the day.)



Instead you'll hve to content yourself with a shot I took from my roof the other day. That's right -- the roof. The sun comes out and the yen to go roof-climbing is just too strong to ignore. So off I went, just climbing around on the roof with the old camera, taking a few shots. This is the edge of Bowen Island to the left, with a bit of Keats Island and a teeny bit of the Sunshine Coast for good measure.

Looks calm and lovely out there, eh? Well, having kayaked that little stretch of waterway a few times, I can tell you that looks are deceiving. Wicked tidal action. Scary winds. Not to mention the wee problem I have every time I kayak. But I digress...

That's it to report for now, I'm afraid. Too much going on and too little time to keep on top of things. I am so drastically behind in email ... does ANYONE ever stay caught up with their email? Surely this is impossible, since an answered email so often begets more of the unanswered variety. I can't seem to manage it, anyway.

Email etc., will have to wait until tomorrow. It's time to return to Neil Gaiman's FRAGILE THINGS. I'm only half way into the first story, but am enjoying it enough to plough on. (Plow or plough? This one always gets me...)

I'll save coherence for another day. I'm sure it will return.

~kc

Surrey Reads & Writes

From Lois Peterson:

Surrey Reads and Writes
Connecting readers with local authors


Sat. April 12, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Panel discussion ~ Exhibits ~ Readings ~ Workshops ~ Networking ~ Door prizes.
Guildford Library, 15105-105 Avenue, Surrey
Free.
Drop by for one session, or stay for the whole day.

Presenters include:
SPL Writer-in-Residence, Mansel Robinson, Federation of BC Writers, Anthony Dalton
Diane Tullson, Heather Young, Joei Carlton Hossack, Carol Mason, Lauren Howell
Jane Hall, Lois Peterson, Lorna Suzuki, Anne Murray, LPwordsolutions, Metta Publications
Virginia Gillespie, Wendy Roberts, Rainwriters: Ed Griffin, Anna Barcos, Larry Breitkreutz
Heritage House Publishing, Ursula Maxwell-Lewis (Cloverale Reporter)

Lois Peterson presents the workshop Word by Word (1:45-2:30)

Check out the brochure here.

~kc

Once Upon a Time...

...I wrote a book, by accident, about Leonardo daVinci.

To clarify, I didn't write the book by accident, I wrote it on purpose. It was the second installment in an adventure story about a girl and her friends and her time-travelling dog, Delaney. When I started the book, SECRET OF LIGHT, I knew it was going to be set at some point during the Renaissance, but not much more than that.

One day, I was writing a scene where the main character, a girl [who, incidentally, has only one leg] fell, along with a couple of her friends, through a hole in the fabric of time. [This happens a lot near Eagle Glen School. In fact, I would hazard a guess that if the fabric of time really was an honest-to-goodness piece of material, the bit wrapped around Eagle Glen was pretty much made up of cheesecloth. Or Brussels lace.]

Darrell ends up somewhere entirely unlike where she started, with has a wicked case of time-sickness and is well and truly disoriented. She makes her way through a darkened room, only to discover she is not alone. On the far side of a very untidy table emerges the chalk-dust-covered head of a brilliant, talented and arrogant fourteen year old boy.

And thus Leonardo walked into my story, and my life.

Now, I had never inserted a person who had actually taken breath into one of my stories before this time. The beauty of fiction is the whole make-believe part of the gig. But faced with this interloper, I did what I had to do -- research, and a lot of it.

In the way of these things, further study into the life and times of Leo made him eerily perfect for the story. Common knowledge places the man firmly into humanity's cultural zeitgeist as an artist, but to his contemporaries, Leonardo was so much more. He was a renowned weapons-inventor. He designed toys for the crowned heads of Europe. And he even aspired to build a time machine. All of this [and many other wonderful and weird coincidences] fed my muse until she was fat and happy and writing up a storm.

A big part of my job as an author was to give my _character_ of Leonardo as much shape and substance as the man himself. And so, today, [courtesy of one of my favourite blog sites, Boing Boing] when I stumbled across this TED lecture, it spoke to me -- just like the face of that fourteen year old spoke to me more than five years ago when he walked into my manuscript -- and my heart. And if you ever read SECRET OF LIGHT, you can now evaluate whether I got it right ...or not.

Hope you enjoy this musing on what Leonardo really looked like.

~kc

Spring Book Hatching, 2008

Spent much of the day emailing presenters who will be attending this year's astounding Surrey International Writers' Conference. Will soon be able to go public with the roster and some of the plans for the conference...but not yet.

I can say it will be held a week later than usual, October 24 -26, 2008, with (a stupendous selection, but you didn't hear it from me, of) Master Classes on Thursday, October 23, just to lead things off.

One other endeavour I am working on right now is the compilation of a list of authors and illustrators for this year's Spring Book Hatching. Featured books will have been published in 2007 and 2008, and will be put on display in a wildly enjoyable afternoon June 14, 2008. The event takes place at the downtown branch of the Vancouver Public Library -- exact location within said library to be announced shortly.

As soon as I have a complete list of participants, I'll be sure to post them here.

And to finish -- just because I can...




Have you ever seen a blonde sausage?

Check out the one on the right.



























Okay, maybe you have. But have you ever seen a sausage yawn?























~kc

Quick Follow Up to Earth Hour

Lotsa chit-chat in the blogosphere and elsewhere about true benefits vs bandwagon jumping liberal guilt-assauging effects of Earth Hour last night.

Personally, I think the best thing to come out of it all is the chatter itself. Awareness raised, attention elevated -- talk is a good thing.

Check out what fellow author and political blogger James Bow has to say.




As for me, my stickler son insisted that we flip off the breaker instead of just turning off the lights, so I put aside the re-write I'm working on for an evening of conversation by fire and candlelight (which suited the snowstorm raging outside).

It was lovely.

~kc

It's Getting Dark around here...

Got your candles ready?

Earth Hour is tonight! But instead of going green, how about trying on a little black?

We're going dark in about fifteen minutes...an hour without power to help raise awareness of global warming and all the issues that go with it.

Join in -- why not?

And once you've done -- email me your stories. What did you do when the power was off?

~kc

At Last!

According to the CBC today, the University of Melbourne's Centre for Eye Research (and published in the March Issue of Investigative Opthamology and Visual Science) declared there is NO link between nerdiness and wearing glasses.

The study (and yes, you can read it here:
http://www.iovs.org/current.shtml#top) not only indicates that people who wear glasses are NOT automatically by definition, nerds, but...

researchers found a small but "significant" association between glasses-wearing and agreeable personalities. (Only in twins, mind you, but we four-eyes will take what we can get.)

So there you have it. Glasses do not a nerdling make.

But -- uh -- maybe someone should have told this 15 year old ...










~kc

A Literary Tour for Freedom of Expression

Check out the following event, sponsored by PEN Canada and The Vancouver Readers & Writers Festival:

a literary tour for freedom of expression

Saturday, April 5th 7:30pm

Suggested Admission - $10
Advance Tickets (604) 689.0926
The Firehall Arts Centre,
280 East Cordova St
Featuring readings by Jalal Barazanji Afua Cooper Hadani Ditmars & Sheng Xue

For more information contact:
Vancouver International Writers Festival (604) 681-6330 or
PEN Canada www.pencanada.ca

PEN Canada Launches Words Without Borders, A Cross Country Tour for Freedom of Expression

PEN Canada is taking its literary reading series Readers and Writers on the road featuring an exciting line-up of established Canadian writers alongside members of PEN Canada's Writers in Exile Program. Words Without Borders features authors from around the world who bear witness, speak out, and write about both local and global political issues. The tour runs from April 3rd-5th in Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver.

The five writers participating in the tour are David Davidar, head of Penguin Canada, and author of The Solitude of Emperors; Afua Cooper, award-winning poet, author, and recording artist selected by Essence Magazine as one of 25 women who are shaping the world; Jalal Barzanji, a Kurdish writer and poet from Iraq who is now the City of Edmonton-PEN Canada writer in exile; and Sheng Xue, a poet, journalist, and member of PEN Canada's Writers in Exile Program who left China after Tiananmen Square.

In Vancouver, the tour will be joined by Hadani Ditmars a journalist, photographer and author of Dancing in the No-Fly Zone.

Words Without Borders, Calgary In Partnership with WordFest: Banff-Calgary International Writers Festival 403.294.7462 Thursday April 3rd 7:30pm, Ticket Price $10 (suggested admission) Central Library, John Dutton Theatre 616 Macleod Trail Southeast

Words Without Borders, Edmonton In Partnership with LitFest 780.498.2500 Friday April 4th, 7:00 pm Ticket Price $10 (suggested admission) Sales at Tickets on the Square www.tixonthesquare.ca or 780.420.1757 Milner Library Theatre No.7 Churchill Square

Words With Out Borders, Vancouver In Partnership with The Vancouver International Writers Festival 604.681 6330 Saturday, April 5th 7:30pm Ticket Price $10 (suggested admission) The Firehall Arts Centre, 280 East Cordova St Advance Tickets 604.689.0926 (*) David Davidar will not be participating in the Vancouver reading

Author Bios:

An ethnic Kurd from Iraq, Jalal Barzanji is a recognized poet and journalist who had a long literary career before he was forced to leave the country in 1998. He was imprisoned from 1986 to 1989 because of his writings. In Iraq, Barzanji edited several magazines and worked at many cultural organizations. He has published hundreds of articles and poems about human, cultural and women's rights. He has published six books of poetry and fiction: The Dawning Of The Evening Snow (1979, Jamour Publishing, Kurdistan of Iraq); Unwarm (1985, Rashid Publishing, Baghdad); War (1996, Gew Books, Kurdistan of Iraq); Holy Rain (2002, Kurdish Ministry of Culture); Memory of a Person Under the Wind (2006, Badrxan Pubisher, Kurdistan of Iraq) and On going back to Birth place (2007, Mnara, Kurdistan of Iraq). Barzanji served on the board of the Iraqi Kurdish Writers' Union and was executive director of the Culture Department of the Culture Ministry in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. Since coming to Canada, Barzanji has continued to write and has published several volumes of poetry in Kurdish. Barzanji is currently PEN Writer in Exile in the City of Edmonton.

Afua Cooper is an eminent and award-winning author, historian, poet, curator, performer, cultural worker, and recording artist. A recent winner of the Harry Jerome Award for Professional Excellence, Afua was also chosen by the editors of Essence Magazine (Oct. 2005) as one of the 25 women who are shaping the world. Her most recent history publication The Hanging of Angélique, The Untold Story of Canadian Slavery and the Burning of Old Montréal was nominated for the 2006 Governor-General's Award in non-fiction. Afua recently completed The Young Phillis Wheatley, a fictionalized account of the life and art of the eighteenth-century Black poet Phillis Wheatley, and the Young Henry Bibb, based on the early life of the Black North American antislavery advocate. Her poems have been anthologized in national and international publications, and translated in several languages. She has published five books of poetry including the award-winning Memories Have Tongue. Afua's newest book of poetry is Copper Woman. Also a dynamic and riveting performer, Afua has participated in numerous events across Canada, the Caribbean, the UK, the United States, and West Africa. Known as a proponent of the African-Caribbean poetry genre, Dub poetry, Afua has fused together the scribal, literary, musical, and performative aspects of that artfrom in her performances. Her first solo recording Sunshine is as collection of poems for children. Her latest poetry CD is Worlds of Fire: In Motion. Afua founded the Committee to Commemorate and Memorialize the Abolition of the Slave Trades (CMAST)

David Davidar was born in Kerala, India, in 1959. He is a graduate of Madras University and Harvard, where he obtained a diploma in publishing. After working as a journalist and while still in his mid 20s, Davidar founded Penguin India with a budget of just US$10,000. The company published a mere six titles in 1987, but later became one of Asia's biggest publishing houses with revenues running into millions. Davidar's first novel, The House of Blue Mangoes, published in 2002, is a sweeping epic, which chronicles three generations who witness major events in the history of India. Not wanting to take advantage of his publishing connections, Davidar sent out the novel under a pseudonym, only coming clean when an agent expressed a wish to meet the author. The book was a critical success and has been translated into 16 languages. It was also a New York Times Notable Book in 2002. In 2004, Davidar transferred to Penguin Canada where he orchestrated a similarly remarkable turn-around in the company's fortunes. Authors that Davidar has published include Salman Rushdie, Kiran Desai, Arundhati Roy, Vikram Seth, Rohinton Mistry, William Dalrymple, Shashi Tharoor, Philip Roth, Zadie Smith, Khaled Hosseini, Hisham Matar and Alice Munro. His new novel, The Solitude of Emperors, was released in September, 2007.

Journalist, author and photographer Hadani Ditmars' work examines the human costs of sectarian strife as well as cultural resistance to war, occupation and embargo. Hadani's work, which has taken her to Beirut, Iran, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Zanzibar, Guatemala, Colombia, Egypt, Ireland, Indonesia, Italy, India, Jordan, Tunisia and Uzbekistan, has been published in the New York Times, the London Independent, The Globe and Mail, Newsweek, Time, Macleans and Ms. Magazine and broadcast on CBC and BBC radio and television. Hadani has been a regular CBC Radio's Dispatches contributor since the show's debut in 2001. She was also a regular current affairs commentator on Rogers OMNI television program The Standard. Her best selling book Dancing in the No Fly Zone (chosen by the Globe and Mail as one of 100 best and most influential books of 2005) recounts her time in Iraq from 1997 until the fall of 2003 and is one of the few recent books on the troubled nation that covers pre and post invasion reality. Hadani's next book focuses on her return to Israel/Palestine and Lebanon a decade and half after her first sojourns there.

Sheng Xue grew up in Beijing. She moved to Canada soon after the June 4th Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. In 2000, she won the Canadian Association of Journalists Award for Investigative Journalism and the National Magazine Award, for an investigative report on the lives of Chinese boat refugees published in Maclean's magazine. In 2001, Sheng Xue investigated China's most prominent smuggling case and published a book (in Chinese), Unveiling the Yuan Hua Case (2001, Mirror Books, New York). China's Propaganda Ministry immediately banned the book. Sheng Xue has been writing poetry and prose for many years, over a hundred of which have been published. Sheng Xue's article, "The Unbearable Heaviness of Being", was collected in The Exiles Who Did Not Die (2005, INK Publishing Limited, Taiwan). The book collected thirty-nine articles of Chinese authors in exile. Her prose stories "The Bloody Morning" and "Light up a Candle Please" were collected in Poetry and Tank (2007, Chen Zhong Publishing House, Hong Kong). Sheng Xue is a member of the Editorial Board of June 4 Poetry, a collection of poems commemorating the June 4th Movement.

Me again. We sponsored a PEN Canada 'Writer's Chair' at SiWC in 2007 -- where a chair was prominently displayed to honour a writer who has been imprisoned for his work. PEN does a great job of trying to give those writers whose voices are denied them a place to be heard.

~kc