Friday, September 21 to Sunday, September 23, 2012
The Magazine Life Tent
click times to expand programming
11:00 ::
Readings by senior authors who are actively publishing their memoirs and a discussion on the process of writing in the later half of life. Ed Griffin teaches creative writing in the community and at Matsqui Prison. He’s written two novels, a book about prison written with an inmate writer, and an autobiography about being a Roman Catholic priest in his youth. Calvin J. Whitehead grew up in Vancouver during the great depression. He graduated from UBC and taught ESL for much of his career. Since retirement he has produced many short stories, haiku and creative non-fiction about his life. Binki Segal was born in Harlem, NY and moved to Isreal as a youth where she lived on a kibbutz for 17 years. She is now retired and living in Vancouver.
HOST: Michal Kozlowski, Geist Magazine
12:00 ::
Lace up your skates, ladies and gents, for the 2011 edition of Haiku Night in Canada, the ultimate hockey-flavoured literary competition! Join your moderator, Dan Post, blogger and web guy at Geist, for one hour of talking haikus, judging haikus and—most important—writing haikus! Writers of the crowd’s favourite haikus of the session will face off in a final showdown before a raucous live audience. The winner will stagger away with a subscription to Geist and the coveted Geist Hockey Map of Canada, in high-def colour. When he isn’t hunched over a computer at Geist, Dan Post can be found cheering for the Toronto Maple Leafs and writing haikus and short stories.
1:00 ::
Are you a dog lover? Try this test: Wrap your hands around your neck and squeeze while pulling back. This is how many dogs feel on a choke chain or prong collar. Join a holistic veterinarian, Dr. Peter Dobias, for a thought-provoking talk on why the inappropriate use of collars can cause serious health problems and possibly even cancer. Don’t miss out on this opportunity that can change and extend your dog’s life.
1:30 ::
With the rise in prominence of blogs and online review sites, it seems like these days everyone’s a critic; but as with any other type of writing, creating a fair and informative review takes skill and consideration. This panel engages in a lively discussion of what exactly a reviewer does and tackles the issue of how to write a ‘good’ review. Panel members include experienced critics Irina Kovalyova, the reviews editor at Room magazine, Andrew Morrison, the editor of Scout and Joni Low, a writer whose works appear in gallery catalogues and publications such as Yishu and Ricepaper. Moderated by Andrea Warner, music editor and arts & entertainment reviewer at WEVancouver.
2:30 ::
Finding Peace through Meditation, Lunar Astrology, Tarot and NumerologyDebbi Coleen has been reading tarot cards, astrology charts, and numerology grids for more than 20 years. Once a school teacher, Debbi now helps seekers to clarify emotional and spiritual issues as they discover their healing and gifts. In this session, Debbi will share information about the different modalities she works with, and then she will take participants into a meditative state to show how to meditate and block out the noises of the busy city.
3:00 ::
In anticipation of Broken Pencil’s Canzine West Zine Fair and Festival of Alternative Culture, Sean Cranbury will host a preview of the Indie Writers Deathmatch Live, the feature presentation at this year’s festival. Channeling the magazine’s annual online literary contest by the same name, the deathmatch preview will feature readings of audacious short stories by local writers. Canzine West takes place on November 13, 2011, at the Ukrainian Hall (805 East Pender Street). More Info
Host: Sean Cranbury, Books on the Radio & W2’s Real Vancouver Writers’ Series
Host: Jaz Halloran, OCW Magazine and Project Space
4:00 ::
Broken Pencil: The Magazine of Zine Culture and the Independent Arts is devoted to celebrating independent writing and creativity, reviewing hundreds of zines, comics, and small press books in each issue. This reading features zinesters and indie creators who have been past and present contributors to Broken Pencil. Anne Emberline has been making zines for over ten years. She writes teeny tiny stories for Pinch, her illustrated zine of micro-fiction and reviews zines for Broken Pencil. Madeline Sonik’s writing has appeared in literary journals internationally and locally, including Broken Pencil. Her new book, Afflictions & Departures, is personal essays published by Anvil Press. Jordan Abel is a First Nations writer from Vancouver and the poetry editor of PRISM international. His fiction has been published in Broken Pencil. Kevin Spenst is a poet, writer and literary experimenter whose Twitter feed features iPhone autocorrected snippets from Finnegan’s Wake. His fiction has appeared in Broken Pencil.
