A Public Library on Wheels

A brief bit of a conversation with Sam Coglan. Sam is a librarian in the Stratfod area. He grew up in Thunder Bay.

Q: Tell me about your bookmobile program?
Sam: You mention our "bookmobile" and I presume by that you mean PLOW, Public Library On Wheels.

It's really not a bookmobile but more a mobile storytime, our guerilla approach to encouraging family literacy. It stemmed from a realization that many parents may not be book oriented themselves and may have had bad experiences with school and libraries. The people who started PLOW got to thinking that children of these types of parents would never have any positive exposure to reading, or very few exposures, nothing like those of us lucky enough to be born into reading families.

So, we use the van to take storytime out to places around the community. We've read the literature and looked at the stats and saw the corelation between economic status and literacy and we decided PLOW would target places and events that may be attended by a fair number of lower income families, simply because these might include a higher percentage of non-reading families.

We've been very blest at having a wonderful coordinator for this program, Trish MacGregor who is a trained ECE but who also has love of what she is doing that is contagious and serves to capture the attention of children in parks, in the mall, at events.

It's really a cool program and I feel lucky to have come to work at the library that developed it (in conjunction with a couple neighbour libraries).

Apocalypse for One

Apocalypse for One

Here comes the millennium and look,
there’s signs and portents aplenty:
the flood, the juke-box comet –
haley bop… haley bop
and heaven’s gate swung open wide
for the few brave spacey pioneers.
flat out horizontal, knackered out and all.

And this is what they know now
too late to do them any good
too late to bring back the missing part, say
or to wonder – maybe the spaceship isn’t stopping, say
or maybe we got the wrong day , say.

But this is what they know now:
apocalypse for one is just as big a deal as apocalypse for all.
Just wait a while and boom we got your dead guy
stiff like a board – hit by a bus, say
in no shape to consider or to care if it’s just him
or the whole damned world that went kablooie.


© Ulrich Wendt, November, 2007

The Poets are Loose!

Watch Out!! RANDOM ACTS OF POETRY"~OCT. 3rd to 10th & at City Council Meeting: MON. SEPT. 28th @ 6:30pm.

Each day during Random Acts of Poetry Week a "poetry construction crew" of up to 5 local poets (up to 20 poets during the entire week) wearing bright orange road construction coveralls will present a series of poetry/spoken word performances at up to 30 locations throughout the City of Thunder Bay.

New in 2009, talented singer/songwriters will be joining RAP poet crews.

Random Acts of Poetry is intended to inspire the public to think about the creativity and enjoyment inherent in literacy development as shown through the written/verbal artistic "word constructions" of participating poets. The performance idea is also akin to the common notion of "random acts of kindness" - poetry is being offered to the public in a spirit of kindness and generosity.

The performances are "random" in that the poets will read poems and prose excerpts from their repertoire that will suit the “atmosphere" of each location on the schedule. It's also "random" in the sense that the poetry construction crews not only visit scheduled ("cleared" and confirmed) locations to reach out to our diverse community such as schools, libraries, coffee shops etc., but also perform in public space such as city parks and downtown areas etc., as well as doing live radio performances broadcast throughout Thunder Bay, Northwestern Ontario and internationally-via internet radio.

Yikes! Those poets! See Ulrich Wendt's poem below about marauding poets.

Kudos to Blue Pencil

Dear NOWW organizers;

I want to let other NOWW members know what an excellent service the Blue Pencil is. The anonymous critiquing service left me really impressed. It was very helpful, discussing areas of the manuscript that I knew needed improvement but didn't know how to approach. I used this service to review my entry in the annual writing contest and was impressed with the feedback, which incidentally, helped me realise why my entry didn't win! Something that was invisible to me became very obvious once it was pointed out.

The greatest part about this service is that although the content of the review may be negative, the comments are presented in a positive manner. The reviewer provided valuable insight and specific suggestions for improvement that I was able use effectively, and the encouragement to rewrite the story instead of giving up. I can't recommend Blue Pencil enough.

Thanks!

The writer remains annoymous as is the policy with all Blue Pencil correspondance. For more into on the Blue Pencil service, visit the NOWW site http://nowwwriters.org/?page_id=53 or scroll way down, way down this site to links below.

Note: you do not have to be a Blue Pencil member to take advantage of this service for writers.

Lots Going on This Fall!!

PARIS 1919

Paul Cowan's feature-length documentary based on Margaret MacMillan's bestselling book, won the Banff World Television Award in the category of History and Biography programs. Paris 1919 skillfully merges remarkable archival footage with riveting re-enactments to depict the world-changing events of the Paris Peace Conference, which led to the Treaty of Versailles, the League of Nations and, as some historians claim, the Second World War.

Waverley Auditorium Nov 10, 7 pm.

~Cambrian Play Reading Series, 7 pm~

Albertine in Five Times by Michel Tremblay.
Waverly Auditorium, Sept 24
6 Women portray Albertine at various times throughout her life.

Cloud Nine by Caryl Churchill.
Brodie Fireside Reading Room, Oct 24
A play that looks at racial and sexual identities.

Illegal Entry by Clem Martini.
Mary JL Black Auditorium Nov 19
This play gives a portrayal of teenage boys growing up.

~ Book Launch!!!!

Thunder and Blood~
Waverley Resource Library Auditorium
Oct. 17, 2009 at 2:00 PM

Author Stacey Voss was born and raised in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. She wrote Thunder and Blood while living with her family in Wuppertal, Germany. The story takes place in her home town of Thunder Bay.


~Author Reading~
Eight Days of Crisis on the Hill and Stephen Harper's Political Leadership
Waverly Library Auditorium, Sept 28, 7pm
Brodie Fireside Reading Room, Oct 5, 7 pm

Join author Thomas W. Joseph for a reading and discussion.

There are Poets Among Us - Beware

There are Poets Among Us – Beware

Gentle ladies, gentle men:
guard well your purses and your tongues,
there are poets among us tonight – beware!

Which is to say there are among us liars,
cut-throats,
fire-brands
and thieves!

Nasty brutish, slouching, wild-eyed misfits, wantons,
ill-dressed anarchists, disturbers and destroyers - poets!

Beware, take heed!

If you value how things are, and lawns all kempt,
the nation’s youth tatooless, lips unpierced and ears
and hair slicked back and shiny teeth -
then fear these poets! Shun them, fear them!
Show them to the dogs, I say!

Gentle ladies, gentle men,
all in ruins lie the nations, cities, Egypt, Athens, Winnipeg and Rome –
and all because they honoured poets!
Guard your purses and your tongues –
the walls have fallen down and poets at the gates!

© Ulrich Wendt, 2008

North Of Superior Film Association

Yes the film society is alive and kicking. After the closure of the Cumberland Cinema, NOSFA was homeless. But now, a sort of, part way type of deal has been made with Silver City for September and October - nothing yet for the festival or for November or December.

The season kicks off on Thursday, September 24 with a double bill: "The Pool," from India and "Every Little Step," a documentary from the USA. Seasonal memberships will be available.

More info see: http://www.nosfa.ca/

Writers Union Tells it Like it is.

The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) provides support and resources for writers while also advocating on their behalf to government and other organizations. TWUC offers other services. For example, it will scrutinize and give advice on contracts. It also has an editing service for manuscripts, writing contests etc. Check out the web site http://www.writersunion.ca/

Last night two reps from the Union, Erna Paris and Larry Scanlon, met with a small group at the house of writer Elle Andra-Warner to fill us in on current issues. Brief summary below but see web site above for more detail.

1. Fair royalties for e publishing. Kindle looms. Downloading of books and articles is a fact. Universities are putting books on line for students – it’s a new world out there. Some believe all e-books should be free, copyright or no. Yeah, right. Bottom line - the creator must be paid.

2. The Google Grab. Google has digitized millions of books, often without permission of the copyright holder, sometimes without informing the author. A US settlement mandates that authors (including Canadian authors) are to be allowed to opt out. For those who opt in, there will be compensation but much of the settlement money will go to administration or to the copyright holder of the work, usually the publisher. This is a complex issue affecting all published writers.

3. Copyright. Canada’s laws are antiquated. New legislation is pending and may be introduced this fall. (or not if there is an election).

4. Writing contracts. Writers Elinor Barr and Elle Andra-Warner warned of sharp wording in contracts not only for books but articles. For starters, the author must beware of giving away e rights. One word can mean loss of money. TWUC will minutely scrutinize a contract for a member – a great service.

5. Tax breaks for writers. It would be nice to go back to income averaging, but this was dropped a while back. In Quebec, writers are not taxed on the first $30,000. Here in Ontario, even an Ontario Arts Council grant is subject to tax. Also, Writing services will have to charge the new Ontario “harmonized “ tax adding 8% to the bill for a total of 13% in taxes (GST plus PST). Lots of issues here.

6. Free speech issues. One complaint from a member of the public and it’s often "bye-bye book" as it is pulled from the library shelf. Sinister things can happen. Recently a young writer was questioned by Vancouver Olympic Security because they did not like what they read in his book.

7. Help for writers including a benefit program (health and dental) to be unveiled on September 29.

In short, an informative meeting. Thanks due to TWUC for including Thunder Bay on its tour and Elle Andra-Warner for hosting the event.

A Poem by Ulrich Wendt

Six Conversations about Pain

Three is where I’m at now.
Five is the most they give.
It’s best to start with one or two
and end with five.

When Jennifer got this far,
she still resisted the morphine.
It made her all befuddled
and her husband didn’t like it.

I never drank,
not even wine at Christmas.
But three is where I’m at.

Thanks for dropping by.
I need a witness to the will.
Please initial every page but not too low.
The Xerox tends to cut things off.

Excuse the way I look.
At least the hair’s still mine.
This time I didn’t do the chemo
– what’s the use?
Last time it fell in hunks
and I’m vainglorious.

It’s good to be alive.
Three is where I’m at.

© Ulrich Wendt, November, 2007

Fall Readings: Fun and Vitality~Fall Workshops

This year the NOWW Readings focus on fun and vitality. Each reading features fine authors reading short works. We are booking more readers than ever and introducing some interactive activities to ensure lively readings of oustanding word-smithery.

September 22: Word Sports
Open mic: Create your own tongue twisters (limit: 3 per reader, please)

October 20: The Poetry Garden
Open mic: Bring an original poem on floral themes (limit: 1 per reader, please)

November 17: The Play Ground
Open mic: Write a short monologue or poem based on your choice of the greatest literary villain or hero (limit: two minutes, max)

All readings start at 7 p.m. in the Fireside Reading Room of the Brodie Resource Library, 216 S. Brodie Street, Thunder Bay.

For more information, contact Debbie at admin@nowwwriters.org

Fall Workshops~
Sharpen your pencils and charge up your laptops: the fall season of NOWW workshops is drawing near!
Mark these dates on your calendar:

October 6. Susan Goldberg. Blogging
The ins and outs, pros and cons, and whys and wherefores of blogs.

October 27. Roy Blomstrom. Voice in Writing
The three voices of the writer: character, narrator, and author, and how to give a writer a distinctive voice.

November 9 and 23: Scott Pound. Sound, Rhythm, and Prosody
How sound, rhythm, and prosody create meaning and how to capture sound on the page.

Workshops will be at 7 p.m. at the Waverly Resource Library, 285 Red River Rd, Thunder Bay.

For more information, please see our website: http://nowwwriters.org/

Lit News

The Old Fort added a magic touch to the Sleeping Giant Writers Festival. At the evening banquet, the Dining Hall was swept by a golden sun. And what place in Canada can offer such an original and historic setting? Congratulations to chair Dorothy Colby and her committee for a winning decision.

Graham Saunders, weatherman extraordinaire, will offer his gardening book in a Christmas package. Gardening with Short Growing Seasons published in concert with the Food Security Network, will be bundled with heritage seed packs to make a snazzy gift. Look for it at the Farmers' Market, other book sites around town.

Giller nominees coming up but don't ask Alice. Munro has removed her lastest collection Too Much Happiness from the competition thereby scotching an anticipated race between her book and Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood, due any day. Munro feels she has won already (twice) and wants to open the field to young authors. She recently retired - NOT. Thank heavens she keeps on writing.

Workshop on Author/Publisher relations.

Scott Steedman, well known children’s writer and now a publisher at Douglas & McIntrye hit the ground running with piles of information and answers to our many questions. Too much to summarize here. He focused on the fraught period of time between the submission by the author to the finished book.

There will be blood. Scott compares this Interim period to birth. The editor is midwife and the author is mom. Guess who gets the pain.

The manuscript is read by a reader, either in-house or free-lance, who prepares a report. The acquisitions editor pitches the book to the publisher and if accepted, an editor is assigned. This editor reads the book very, very carefully. His/her job is Janus-like; to represent the author to the publisher and the publisher to the author.

Scott says an editor has no difficulty seeing problems with the book but often has trouble figuring out how to fix them. Sections may not work, the thing is too long, etc. The author must revise.

Eventually the manuscript goes through several edits, to check for continuity, then grammar, punctuation, tiny disconnects (your hero starts with red hair but goes blond part way through). The proof reader, an anal type, usually finds many mistakes. This series of edits has the author considering work in a northern fire tower. The advance, worked out by a troll in the back room, is usually 10% of the retail cost of the hard cover book multiplied by the number of copies published. This money may be used for gin in the tower.

And we haven’t got to the marketing yet. Editors admire authors who run around getting famous, work on their blogs and web sites, write for other publications, huckster their fledgling book and in their spare time, produce another book so they can go through the process again.

To be fair, Scott gave a great workshop with super handouts. We all left exhausted.