Monday, February 25, 2013

David Carpenter: Saskatchewan's Literary History

David Carpenter, with The Literary History of Saskatchewan. Photo: © Shelley Banks, all rights reserved.
David Carpenter, with The Literary
History of Saskatchewan. 
The Regina book launch for The Literary History of Saskatchewan, edited by David Carpenter (Coteau Books), will be held during the Talking Fresh writing conference, Saturday March 9, 2013, at 3:00 p.m. at the Artesian, 2627-13th Avenue.

This book — Volume 1: Beginnings — is dedicated to Anne Szumigalski and Gary Hyland, and features a dozen essays about Saskatchewan writers, from early Aboriginal storytellers though the 1970s.

Contributors include Myrna Kostash, Dwayne Brenna, Ken Mitchell, Paula Jane Remlinger, Douglas Gibson and Hilary Clark, as well as Wendy Roy, Jenny Kerber, Kristina Fagan Billwell, Christian Riegel, Peter Webb, T.F. Rigelhof, Susan Gingell and Martin Winquist — and David Carpenter.

Congrats, Dave!

~~~~~

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Annette Bower: Woman of Substance

Regina writer Annette Bower’s new novel, Woman of Substance, was a thought-provoking read. I invited her to visit Latitude Drifts to talk about the book and the issues it raises.

Annette Bower (photo courtesy of author)
Annette Bower (photo courtesy of author)
Your latest novel has a serious social theme. Can you sum this up?  
What does it mean to be fat? 
How does it feel to be called fat? What affect does this have on a person’s self esteem? Is it bullying?
Why do people feel as if they can intrude, by suggesting that you should try this or that diet?
How does this play out in Woman of Substance – and in society?
Have you noticed that we will often comment to people that they look as if they have lost weight? But we rarely say, “Oh, looks like you've put on the pounds.”
Society seems to suggest that loss of self is obviously a better honour than taking up more space.
I try to explore these issues with my character Robbie/Robin Smith. Robbie’s master’s thesis is about women’s body image in contemporary society. She has a research group of women who are considered fat in our society. After she is told that she will never understand what it feels like to be fat until she is, she takes up the challenge and dresses up as the opposite of what is considered acceptable. She becomes an “other” in a body suit.
Your book touches on other issues, as well.
Yes, I also explore the loss of an important person in the life of the male character Jake Proctor. He was raised by his grandparents and has come home because his grandfather is dying.
This raised questions for me about how it might feel for an only child to become an adult orphan. There are many families today with only one or two children. This places a large responsibility on the children for care of their parents, as well as challenges in fulfilling their personal needs for a supportive community.
I am intrigued by this, as I am from a family of six children, and have more than one hundred first cousins. We share the care of our parents and support each other through family tragedies and celebrations.
Then I also touch on disguise. I believe that we wear protective disguises when we are out and about meeting strangers. When we feel loved unconditionally we can finally remove our protection and learn to grow more fully as human beings.
What was the most surprising thing you discovered in researching and writing this book?
I was most surprised by the importance of the number on a little tag stitched or printed on the inside of clothing and how this can affect our sense of self. Depending on the particular shopping day, I can be fooled by this number on the size tag, as determined by a manufacturer. It can either cause me to feel good about myself or put myself down.
WomanofSubstance_850[1]
Cover, Woman of Substance,
Soul Mate Publishing
I read an article about a woman who went to Thailand and although the clothing was lovely, she could not bring herself to purchase any because all the clothes that fit were marked with two digits rather than the single digit size she purchased in Canada.
So I also think about the size 0 and what that means for women. I was surprised that some women smoke in order not to gain weight. They’d rather take their chances with dying from the effects of cigarettes than chance being fat.
I've also followed Oprah Winfrey’s public struggle with her body image. After telling her largely female audience that she only wanted to be healthy, she finally – with the help of all her trainers, cooks, and psychologists – reached what was considered a “model” size. Her celebration was her photograph on the cover of a magazine that usually features models. I felt as if she sold out because it clearly wasn't about being healthy after all; instead, it was about meeting a society-sanctioned image of body success. But she couldn't stay at that weight. She, too, had to accept that certain body shapes and weights are who we are. 
So what is the answer? I only know that answers are more complex than the advertisers for diet products want us to believe.
When you write, do you have a specific audience in mind?
My short stories and novels are about women in communities and families, searching for love and in love. I write to the women’s fiction market, which is an umbrella for books marketed to women. Women purchase more of these books, perhaps because publishing statistics suggest that women read about what directly concerns them in their lives. And love is a part of women’s lives, therefore, I am categorized as a romance genre writer.
You've done a lot of online work and promotions for your books. Was there anything that surprised you?  (Reactions, new approaches, success or failures?)
The surprising thing to me is the time it takes writers to find their reader audience. So many times, as writers of e-novels, we promote and market to each other. 
I also find it hard to promote a virtual book. I am part of the Saskatchewan writing community, where I read to an audience and then the audience can go to a book table, purchase a book, and have the author autograph it. Without a physical book in hand, it’s like selling a dream to a population that is not quite willing to embrace the electronic reading trend. 
The other surprising moments are how fleeting the events on the web are. I spend time to submit material, answer questions and then the blog post, book review, book blast tour, etc., are quickly covered by the next post. However, when someone does a Google search, there I am for all to see. 
My next suggested business growth is for book marketing companies, because it takes time away from writing for authors to promote and market themselves, as well as the specifics of their books.
In one sentence, why should people read your novels? 
Readers should read both Moving On, A Prairie Romance and Woman of Substance for enjoyment, and then to see themselves, their friends and their community reflected in women’s fiction/romance novels. 
What question do you wish people would ask you about this book?
  1. Will you attend our book club?
  2. Where can I purchase your books?
Thank you, Shelley for asking these interesting questions about my latest book Woman of Substance. You have many interesting interviews and articles about writing and Saskatchewan writers. I’m honoured to be on your site again.

Thanks, Annette! 

My thanks to Annette Bower for dropping by again with Woman of Substanceand Moving On!


~~~~~

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

A Writer of Substance: Annette Bower

While reading Regina writer Annette Bower's warm and witty new novel, Woman of Substance, I began thinking about labels — the ones we apply to fiction and our lives. I'm also thinking about identity and disguise, and what we miss by not looking deeper. At people. And at books.

Although the quick judgments that lead to labeling may be based on only a few superficial details, we cling to the results as crucial to identity — our own, or that attributed to other people or things.

And for many of us, at least some of the time, physical appearance implies character and value — an issue Annette explores in Woman of Substancein which her female protagonist is at the same time Robbie, a slim graduate student, and Robin, a woman who shops at the plus-sized boutique. (The plot thickens when Robbie and Robin meet the same men — Frank Proctor, and his grandson, Jake.. No spoilers; read the book! And drop by tomorrow, when Annette visits Latitude Drifts to discuss her latest novel.)

I wonder about the degree to which readers — and writers — judge books by their appearance, too. By genre: literary, vs romance. And if not by their covers, by publishing formats.

E-books vs paper books. Do eyes still slide away from novels that live in e-libraries, not on bookshelves? If there is a publishing hierarchy, how long can it last with the quick purchase and reading convenience of electronic readers? And the reading enjoyment of books like Woman of Substance, a well-written and wise novel?

Bravo, Annette!

~~~~~

Michael Crummey, Michael Trussler: Readings

Great readings in Regina, Saskatchewan, last night — Michael Crummey, with poems and stories all the way from Newfoundland, joined by the University of Regina's Michael Trussler.

My thanks to the organizers and sponsors — Campion College, among others. And I now have another book on my to-read list: Crummey's Galore, a multi-generational tale laced with Newfoundland folklore and legends.

Michael Crummey; photo by Shelley Banks
Michael Crummey
Michael Trussler; photo by Shelley Banks
Michael Trussler

~~~~~

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Food Literature — dee Hobsbawn-Smith

Congrats to dee Hobsbawn-Smith, whose book Foodshed: An Edible Alphabet (Touchwood Editions) was named the winner for Best Food Literature (Canada-English) at the 2012 Gourmand World
Cookbook awards.

dee Hobsbawn-Smith. (Photo: Shelley Banks)
dee Hobsbawn-Smith
You can read about dee's award in The Edmonton Journal's blog, or in The Western Producer.

Foodshed features stories of Alberta growers and producers. It's an ABC, with recipes — and great pictures, taken by dee!

(I feel a trend coming on... Food, Photographs, Awards...)

Dee lives in Saskatchewan, and was in Regina last spring to launch FoodshedTo see what she is cooking up these days, see her blog, http://curiouscook.net/. (Hint: search for poetry... more to follow...)

~~~~~

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Gerald Hill, Jared Carlson: Hillsdale Poems, Map

Gerry Hill - photo by Shelley Banks
Gerald Hill, Regina
Regina writer Gerald Hill and artist Jared Carlson recently collaborated on a map of the Hillsdale neighbourhood of Regina, Saskatchewan.

Hillsdale, a Map, is more than cartographic exploration, with poems that feature titles such as A Boy's Room, 1962, What Sisters Have to Say, and What's to Drink in Hillsdale.

I asked Gerry to tell me about the project, which he calls "one man's version of a suburb new in '56":

Shelley Banks: Why did you decide on a map?
Gerry Hill: I don't remember deciding. I just got the idea at some point — the usual mystery. But the idea arrived. I like it. It makes literal what we do most of the time as writers: map who and where we are. And it was so much fun to play with.
SB: How does map-making differ from poetry writing – or does it?
GH: Broadly speaking, they're much the same, I'd say: they both create a representation of a world.
In terms of Hillsdale, a Map, the text and visual components (splendidly integrated by designer Jared Carlson) are both part of the same impulse — to build my Hillsdale. 
Hillsdale, a map,
by Gerald Hill and Jared Carlson
Of course, I'm under no illusion that my Hillsdale is quite like anyone else's, or quite like the actual place. Although a documentary impulse is part of what has driven that work, and I've spent many hours in archives and interviewing long-time Hillsdalians and walking the streets and easements of the place, my poems are true to themselves first and the external referent second. We approached the map that way too: we wanted real map — Trevor Herriot told me he used it when he needed to find Calder Crescent — but we're more than happy to fool around, to play with our representations of a real world.
SB: Can you talk about impact of form, texture, context on writing? (What I mean is, this isn’t something a reader can curl up with; it needs to be expanded to be explored; it must be read in a different way.)
GH: We wanted a real map. By real, I mean a document meant to be folded and put away in the glove compartment, pulled out when needed. A few people have told me they get to the map in bits, gradually unfolding it, so to speak. I think you can curl up with it, though. Try it! The map is in no hurry.
SB: What next?
GH: Next year NeWest Press will be publishing my Hillsdale Book which will include all of the map text and, I hope, the map itself as a fold-out. I'm working out the logistics with the publisher. This Hillsdale project, including the map and a chapbook, Streetpieces, published last fall by Alfred Gustav Press, has given me everything I want as a writer, but it's done now (except for final edits on the book). I moved away from Hillsdale last year, and I'm on to new work: a nonfiction prose thing called "Learning to Draw", being a series of essays, each based on one of my lousy drawings. Drawings set in my new neighbourhood, mainly. Thus, this project is like the Hillsdale book — a notation of where I live and who I am, living there.
SB: The print run for this map was 100. Assuming that the recent mention of the map in the Hillsdale newsletter continues to fuel demand until all 100 are sold, what more could you ask of your readers? 
GH: Well, for my book launch next year I'm planning to rent a bus to drive around Hillsdale, stopping at points where individual poems are set and reading those poems over the bus PA system. The bus will be full, I hope, of my 100+ supporters (never mind that normal bus capacity is 46). We'll drink some champagne, then adjourn somewhere for further eat and drink. 
Thanks, Gerry! For all your answers — and the final question. (And perhaps this should be the point at which I introduce our new literary genre, and write — as I did by iPhone e-mail, "I love champagne! Not nearly so find if buses, though...")  

To purchase Hillsdale, a Map ($20), contact Gerry or Jared.

~~~~~

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