The fall season is beginning, with incredible cultural achievements to come!
First up is a presentation from Ore Samples, our local literary series. Wendy McGrath is an author currently living and working in Edmonton. She was born in Prince Albert, so it’s safe to say that some of her imagery was bred there too.
Wendy has written books of poetry and novels. Her first collection of poems, Common Place Ecstasies, was published in 2000 and her first novel, Recurring Fictions, was published in 2002.
The first line from that book, which is an experimental work about the history of one family, is: “Johnny Cash played the harmonica imitating the sound of trains.” Makes one want to read on, doesn’t it?
She has recently published, in October 2015, a book of poems called A Revision of Forward, which is the result of 10 years of collaboration with a printmaker named Walter Jule. The prints and poems were exhibited together in Edmonton last year in a show also named A Revision of Forward.
You will be able to see at least one example of Walter Jule’s work while Wendy is here, as it graces the cover of Common Place Ecstasies. She has also written the first two novels of a trilogy, Santa Rosa and North East, and is currently working on the third and last installment, to be published next year.
An item of note is that this author has created a “chapbook” from from a long poem written for her first collection. The poem is called Preserving and was inspired in part by a pamphlet on preserving given to the author by her grandmother.
The pamphlet had notes and doodles on it, in pencil, left by the women who had used it. This harks back to the history of chapbooks, which were frequently illustrated with drawings.
The reason for you to be interested in this? There is a chapbook workshop being planned for
Culture Days, Sept. 30, Oct.1 and 2, in Flin Flon/Creighton/Denare Beach. You will be able to create your own little book from a single piece of paper. What you write about is up to you!
Appearing with Wendy McGrath will be Sarah Trevor from Denare Beach. She is a fixture on the arts and culture scene in our area. She will read excerpts from her memoir, Finding Each Other in the Dying Time, which was inspired by 24 years of exploration of Amisk Lake, by kayak.
Sarah is much better known as a painter and founding mother of NorVA Centre, so it will be an interesting look into the working mind of an artist.
Rounding out the program is the duo of Ann Ross and Doug McGregor. These two have been making music together for 12 years and are essential fixtures in Flin Flon’s music scene.
Doug is a multi-instrumentalist and Ann provides a solid backing with her bass. They sing and play from a wide variety of genres including blues, country, folk and rock. They host Home Routes musicians from all over Canada and also produce and host Local Routes in their home, throughout the winter.
All in all, the Ore Samples Writers’ Series is shaping up well for the season. This show will be in the library on Sept. 15 at 7 pm. Best come early for a good seat as this wonderful experience is free! Look out for the next installment, during Culture Days.
