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The Read Me a Story exhibition at the Roundhouse Community Centre will showcase books with 1,200 folktales and fairy tales from 120 countries. Thirty story murals created by a diverse array of artists will bring some of these tales to life. Read Me a Story is being presented by the Soka Gakkai International Association of…
Artists and writers from across Delta, Langley, Surrey and White Rock will gather later this month to examine and celebrate the diversity of the region as part of a symposium called Sound Thinking: Voicing the City In/verse. Surrey poet and symposium co-convenor Phinder Dulai explains. “It’s about the uttered voice; it’s about the spoken voice.…
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, Ricepaper is planning a special 20.4 issue to coincide with the release of alliterAsian: The Best of Ricepaper, an anthology launched at the October Vancouver Writers’ Festival. Ricepaper, the longest running publication dedicated to Asian Canadian writing, is currently also the only literary magazine dedicated to Southeast Asian Canadian writing.…
What will the future look like? The 21st century has been a time of much technological advancement, so it is not difficult to imagine a technological nirvana in the future. Canadian author Hal Niedzviecki’s Trees on Mars: Our Obsession with the Future explores people’s understanding of the future and how people have embraced technology in…
Putting ink to an almost ignored part of 19th Century China, author Paul Yee’s latest novel, A Superior Man, tries to imagine the lives and mindsets of peasants trying to survive chaotic times. Yee launches his latest book in the Alice MacKay Room, at the Vancouver Public Library’s Central Branch (Oct. 14, 6:30–8:30 p.m.). The…
A digital storytelling workshop, Underwater Chinatown, is stirring the waters and capturing what floats to the surface. Cinevolution hopes Underwater Chinatown will open up new dialogues between newcomer communities and the established Chinese-Canadian community through a creative exploration of the symbolic meaning of Chinatown. The free event runs Sept. 26 and is already filled to…
Boy is it ever good to be lucky.That’s how Canadian writer Wayson Choy feels after passing each barrier put in front of him throughout life. Choy’s good luck streak doesn’t seem to be ending. He was recently awarded the George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding long-time contributions to B.C. literature. He received $5,000 and…
Just like a braid, identity can be complex, intertwined and sometimes fragile. That is one of the themes Vancouver poet Chelene Knight explores in her collection Braided Skin. Alongside fellow writer Dina Del Bucchia, Knight will read some of her work as part of the Lunch Poems at SFU series on May 20. This event…
Songs, poems, stories and speeches are created with words, the main ingredient for the Verses Festival in Vancouver this year. The Verses Festival of Words celebrates the power of oral and literary art forms to encourage diversity and inclusion. The festival has its roots in 2011 as the Vancouver International Poetry Festival, where the first…
Black History Month celebrates the contributions of black Canadians to Canadian life, including in many different forms of art. As part of this celebration, the Vancouver Public Library (VPL) has organized a series of screenings, lectures and exhibits, including the Reading Black History Symposium. Participating artists will present some of their own work, as well…
Elsie Paul, an elder of the Sliammon (ɬaʔamin) people of the northern Sunshine Coast, will launch her new book Written as I Remember It Feb. 24 at the Vancouver Public Library. Paul, one of the last surviving speakers of her mother tongue, will be joined by her collaborators Paige Raibmon and granddaughter Harmony Johnson. With…
What does fantasy mean to you? That’s what a university research team is hoping to find out. Ernest Mathijs, professor of film studies at the University of British Columbia, is helping to coordinate a study of The Hobbit film trilogy in order to investigate international cultural attitudes toward J.R.R. Tolkien’s book, Peter Jackson’s adaptations, and…
Once again, literature with an Italian focus will be recognized at the 15th F. G. Bressani Awards ceremony. In the spirit of literary expression, the biennial literary prize was established to recognize Italian Canadian writers and other authors who have taken an interest in Italian culture. Anna Ciampolini Foschi helped establish the prize in 1986…
