Another busy day at the Leacock Festival.
Saturday began with the Humber School of Writers reading. Host Antanas Sileika was joined by Steven Skurka, Joseph Kertes and Anthony De Sa. Skurka is a lawyer, legal analyst for CTV, and has written a book, Tilted: The Trial of Conrad Black. De Sa read from his book, Barnacle Love. And Joseph Kertes read from Gratitude. I was kicking myself for not recognizing his name and putting it together with the book – I could have taken my copy and had it signed, dammit! I have read Gratitude - and only recently, too. It was an excellent read; a very compelling and moving story.
I’ve also read most of Mark Kingwell’s lastest book, Concrete Reveries - and could have had HIM sign my copy for me, if only I could have found it before the event. Kingwell is a philosopher, and I had, for a time, had Concrete Reveries as my car book. You know, the book you keep in your car to read when you get to places early, or have a break between, or while the guy pumps your gas on those rare occasions when you can find a full serve? Anyway…at some point, it must have come into the house… at least for this one, I managed to make the connection ahead of time; I just couldn’t put my hands on it. Kingwell has appeared at the Leacock all three years that I’ve been going, and his presentations are always unique. 2 years ago, we had group discussions about a happiness machine out on the lawn, last year involved mixed drinks – which HE got to drink, but the bar was closed for the rest of us – no fair! This year he brought a slide show and talked about New York and Shanghai – cities he used as case studies in the book.
Saturday evening at the Leacock is Barry Callaghan ’s Exile Ladies’ Night. Exile the Literary Quarterly is a recognized and respected journal that has been publishing since 1972. Although Canadian, they draw their material from authors around the world, attracting many diverse voices. In addition to the fact that I always enjoy the Exile events, I very much like the fact that they offer a “show special” subscription rate. This year’s Ladies Night included readings from Lauren B. Davis, Anne Michaels & Kathleen McCracken. I particularly enjoyed the short story read by Davis, “bad Irish accent” (her description) and all. Author of several novels including The Radient City, she has a new collection of short stories being released by Exile in September 2008.
