Word of the Week over at REDEFiNE iT: Dictionary of Newfoundland English (March 30 - April 5):
dotard n also daughter, doater, doter, etc
dotard n also daughter, doater, doter, etc [phonetics unavailable]. O Sup2 ~ 3 (Nfld: 1884); DC doter (Nfld: 1771, 1963). Common seal, esp in its second or third year (Phoca vitulina); BAY SEAL, HARBOUR ~ , RANGER.
Also attrib. [1766] 1971 BANKS 393 Incolis Harbour seal or Dotard.[1770] 1792 CARTWRIGHT i, 30 After breakfast I went up the river again; looked at the traps; got a tub of fine sand; and killed a doater with my rifle. 1792 ibid Gloss i, x Doater. An old, common seal.
read the rest .....
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Online Interviews with Rattling Books Authors: Don McKay interview at Gaspereau Press site
Oh, Noble Nature Poet: An interview (of sorts) with Canada’s foremost nature poet, Don McKay
(First published in the Gaspereau Press 2001 Omnibus Reader)
The following is all that remains of an interview between Kathleen Martin and Don McKay, taped somewhere in the great Canadian North. the tape opens with sounds of water lapping gently and the occasional plash-splash of a paddle.
KM: Do you always write in a canoe like this?
DM: Yep. Gets me away from the paparazzi and the evils of digital technology. You know, that’s a not-too-bad J stroke you’re doing, young lady. Try not to shift your weight, though, it’s making me spill my martini.
.....read the rest.
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Songs for the Songs of Birds, a selection of poems written and read by Don McKay on the themes of birds, birding and flight is published by Rattling Books.
(First published in the Gaspereau Press 2001 Omnibus Reader)
The following is all that remains of an interview between Kathleen Martin and Don McKay, taped somewhere in the great Canadian North. the tape opens with sounds of water lapping gently and the occasional plash-splash of a paddle.
KM: Do you always write in a canoe like this?
DM: Yep. Gets me away from the paparazzi and the evils of digital technology. You know, that’s a not-too-bad J stroke you’re doing, young lady. Try not to shift your weight, though, it’s making me spill my martini.
.....read the rest.
**************************
Songs for the Songs of Birds, a selection of poems written and read by Don McKay on the themes of birds, birding and flight is published by Rattling Books.
A Little Reminder: Arts and the City II Symposium, St. John's, NL
Consider this the cyber-space equivalent of a little string tied around your finger:
The City of St. John's is hosting an Arts and the City II Symposium on April 4th and 5th, 2008. This Symposium is a follow-up from the symposium in 2000 which led to the current municipal arts policies.
The City will be creating a new Arts Plan that will build on past experiences and successes. The purpose of the Arts & the City II Symposium is to engage and consult with the arts community on the City’s role in developing a creative, vibrant St. John’s.
Registration is free and open to the arts community, however, capacity is limited and participants will have to take into consideration a broad-based representation from all sectors of the arts community. For more information check www.stjohns.ca or contact Karen Chafe at 576-8619.
The City of St. John's is hosting an Arts and the City II Symposium on April 4th and 5th, 2008. This Symposium is a follow-up from the symposium in 2000 which led to the current municipal arts policies.
The City will be creating a new Arts Plan that will build on past experiences and successes. The purpose of the Arts & the City II Symposium is to engage and consult with the arts community on the City’s role in developing a creative, vibrant St. John’s.
Registration is free and open to the arts community, however, capacity is limited and participants will have to take into consideration a broad-based representation from all sectors of the arts community. For more information check www.stjohns.ca or contact Karen Chafe at 576-8619.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Kathleen Winter Wins 2007 Winterset Award
Kathleen Winter has been declared the winner of this year's Winterset Award for Newfoundland and Labrador literature for her Metcalf-Rooke Award-winning short story collection, boYs.From the CBC website:
Holyrood author Kathleen Winter has won Newfoundland and Labrador's richest literary prize, for the second win in her family's history.
Winter won the 2007 Winterset Award for boYs, a collection of short stories that are thematically linked by the lives and thoughts of boys and men.
The announcement was made late Thursday afternoon at a ceremony at Government House in St. John's.
Winter, a veteran writer who lives in Holyrood and also writes a weekly column in the St. John's Telegram, wins $5,000 for the prize.
To read the rest of this article, please click here.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Winterset Award To Be Announced Today
The winner of this year's Winterset Award will be announced later today, March 27, at a ceremony at Government House in St. John's. This year's shortlist comprises George Rose's non-fiction work, Cod: An Ecological History of the North Atlantic Fisheries, Paul Rowe’s first novel, The Silent Time, and Kathleen Winter’s Metcalf-Rooke Award-winning short story collection, boYs.
The Winterset Award was established to honour the memory of Sandra Fraser Gwyn, an award-winning social historian who died in Toronto on May 26, 2000. An ardent advocate and promoter of Newfoundland and Labrador culture, she was granted an honorary degree from Memorial University, made a member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council's Hall of Honour, and an Officer of the Order of Canada.
For more information on the Winterset Award, see the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council's website. Stay tuned for an announcement of this year's winner.
The Winterset Award was established to honour the memory of Sandra Fraser Gwyn, an award-winning social historian who died in Toronto on May 26, 2000. An ardent advocate and promoter of Newfoundland and Labrador culture, she was granted an honorary degree from Memorial University, made a member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council's Hall of Honour, and an Officer of the Order of Canada.
For more information on the Winterset Award, see the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council's website. Stay tuned for an announcement of this year's winner.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The CAPE Fundraiser, Round Two
The Writers' Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador's fundraising dinner for the Cultural Assistance Plan for Emergencies (CAPE--an emergency fund for artists and other cultural workers) will take place tomorrow night, Thursday, March 27 at 7PM at The Ship Pub in St. John's.
The event was originally scheduled to take place on St. Patrick's Day but, as you may remember we got buried by snow.
The dinner will feature delicious Thai cuisine, readings by Michael Crummey and Carmelita McGrath, and a musical performance by Boyd Chubbs.
There are still a handful of tickets left, so if you haven't bought yours yet, drop down to The Ship.
The event was originally scheduled to take place on St. Patrick's Day but, as you may remember we got buried by snow.
The dinner will feature delicious Thai cuisine, readings by Michael Crummey and Carmelita McGrath, and a musical performance by Boyd Chubbs.
There are still a handful of tickets left, so if you haven't bought yours yet, drop down to The Ship.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Word of the Week over at REDEFiNE iT: bedlamer
Word of the Week (March 23-29)
bedlamer
Entry from the Dictionary of Newfoundland English:
bedlamer n also beddamer, bedlemer, bedlimmer, bellamer [phonetics unavailable].
Cp OED ~ 'lunatic' (1675, 1753); EDD bedlam sb1 1 'troublesome person or animal', EDD ~ 1 'Bedlam-beggar' (1742); DC ~ Nfld (1773-) for sense 1; EDD ~ 2 (Nfld: 1898) for sense 2.
1 An immature seal, esp a harp seal, approaching breeding age; also attrib. [1766] 1971 BANKS 145 The Bedlamer Quite dusky without any mark they themselves tell you that the Bedlamer is the young harp.
Read the rest at our REDEFiNE iT Blog
or visit our REDEFiNE iT Facebook Group .
bedlamer
Entry from the Dictionary of Newfoundland English:
bedlamer n also beddamer, bedlemer, bedlimmer, bellamer [phonetics unavailable].
Cp OED ~ 'lunatic' (1675, 1753); EDD bedlam sb1 1 'troublesome person or animal', EDD ~ 1 'Bedlam-beggar' (1742); DC ~ Nfld (1773-) for sense 1; EDD ~ 2 (Nfld: 1898) for sense 2.
1 An immature seal, esp a harp seal, approaching breeding age; also attrib. [1766] 1971 BANKS 145 The Bedlamer Quite dusky without any mark they themselves tell you that the Bedlamer is the young harp.
Read the rest at our REDEFiNE iT Blog
or visit our REDEFiNE iT Facebook Group .
Thursday, March 20, 2008
OverDrive Breaks the iPod Barrier for Downloadable Audio
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 3/19/2008
3000 titles will be available
No DRM means compatibility with iPods, iPhones
Libraries will remind patrons of copyright
For years, librarians and patrons have complained that the most popular digital audio player, the iPod, was incompatible with the Windows Media Audio (WMA) files, the format for library downloadable audio. OverDrive now says it will offer at least 3000 titles—about 15 percent of its catalog—in MP3 format without digital rights management (DRM), which means compatibility with nearly every MP3 player and mobile phone, including iPods. OverDrive MP3 Audiobooks will go on sale in May at Borders.com and should be available to libraries by the end of June, to be followed with the release of OverDrive Media Console for the Mac.
OverDrive CEO Steve Potash said the policy change emerged from demand in the library market, OverDrive’s track record, and “some recent moves in the audiobook retail market,” including an announcement by Random House that it would make its audiobook titles available without DRM in the MP3 format. While Random titles are limited to retail sales, Potash said OverDrive MP3 Audiobooks would be provided by at least a dozen publishers. “Each publisher is reviewing their entire audiobook list to confirm each title/author has these rights so the exact title list is forthcoming. Participating publishers… include Blackstone Audio, Books in Motion, CSA Word, Audio Evolution, Audio Realms, plus others that we need to clear for PR purposes.” He said “thousands more” titles should be cleared by launch.
Read the rest of this article.
**************************
Rattling Books titles are available through Overdrive.
3000 titles will be available
No DRM means compatibility with iPods, iPhones
Libraries will remind patrons of copyright
For years, librarians and patrons have complained that the most popular digital audio player, the iPod, was incompatible with the Windows Media Audio (WMA) files, the format for library downloadable audio. OverDrive now says it will offer at least 3000 titles—about 15 percent of its catalog—in MP3 format without digital rights management (DRM), which means compatibility with nearly every MP3 player and mobile phone, including iPods. OverDrive MP3 Audiobooks will go on sale in May at Borders.com and should be available to libraries by the end of June, to be followed with the release of OverDrive Media Console for the Mac.
OverDrive CEO Steve Potash said the policy change emerged from demand in the library market, OverDrive’s track record, and “some recent moves in the audiobook retail market,” including an announcement by Random House that it would make its audiobook titles available without DRM in the MP3 format. While Random titles are limited to retail sales, Potash said OverDrive MP3 Audiobooks would be provided by at least a dozen publishers. “Each publisher is reviewing their entire audiobook list to confirm each title/author has these rights so the exact title list is forthcoming. Participating publishers… include Blackstone Audio, Books in Motion, CSA Word, Audio Evolution, Audio Realms, plus others that we need to clear for PR purposes.” He said “thousands more” titles should be cleared by launch.
Read the rest of this article.
**************************
Rattling Books titles are available through Overdrive.
A piece of Newfoundland will be in Minneapolis next week at Public Libraries Association Trade Show Booth 756
To all Libraries and Librarians interested in audio books
(or EarLit as we call it)
attending this year's Public Library Association (PLA) Conference and Trade Show in Minneapolis, Minnesota next week
Rattling Books looks forward to meeting you in Booth 756.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Pedlar Press launches Stan Dragland's The Drowned Lands
S T A N D R A G L A N D' S
The Drowned Lands
Pedlar Press
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Tuesday 18 March 2008
7:30PM
The Ship Pub
265 Duckworth Street
S t J o h n' s, NL
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Tuesday 1 April 2008
7:30pm
Supermarket
286 Augusta Avenue
T o r o n t o
------------oOo------------
Wednesday 9 April 2008
Time TBA
Landon Branch
London Public Library
167 Wortley Rd.
L o n d o n ON
TEL 519-439-6240
------------oOo------------
Friday 11 April 2008
8PMIV Lounge Reading Series
326 Dundas Street W
(across the street from the AGO)
T o r o n t o
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Monday 14 April 2008
8:30PM
Ottawa Writer's Festival
Library and Archives Canada
395 Wellington St.
O t t a w a
Beth Follett, Publisher, extends her thanks to the Canada Council for the Arts & the Ontario Arts Council, for financial support of the Pedlar Press publishing programme.
To order books contact:
Beth Follett
Pedlar Press
PO Box 26 Stn P
Toronto M5S 2S6
Sunday, March 16, 2008
The Telegram and Creative Publishers unveil the Cuffer Prize for short fiction
The Cuffer Prize
Sponsors: The contest is sponsored by The Telegram and Creative Book Publishing, and their parent company, Transcontinental Media.
Contest: The contest begins Saturday, March 15, 2008 at 9 a.m. and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, July 1, 2008. There is a limit of two entries per person. Any entries that aren’t in compliance with the rules will be disqualified. Each entry must be submitted separately. Stories must be 1,200 words or less. ...Stories must be written in English and be set in Newfoundland and Labrador. They must be original works of fiction that are unpublished up to the time the winners are declared in fall 2008.
Word of the Week over at REDEFiNE iT (March 16-22): penquin
Word of the Week over at REDEFiNE iT (March 16-22)penquin
Entry from the Dictionary of Newfoundland English:
penguin n also pinwing OED ~ 1 (Nfld: 1578-); DAE (1674-); DC (Nfld: 1578-). For a summary discussion of the obscure origin, see the OED note and W B LOCKWOOD Zeits für Ang und Amer xvii (1969), 262-4. A large, flightless bird once living in large numbers on Funk Island, extinct since the nineteenth century (Pinguinus impennis); attrib in coastal names; GREAT AUK.
Read the full entry from the Dictionary and follow tangents through the week at the REDEFiNE iT Blog or throw in your two cents on the REDEFiNE iT facebook group.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Lisa Moore reading at Université Sainte-Anne in Nova Scotia March 19
The Yarmouth County Vangaurd
On Wednesday March 19, Université Sainte-Anne and The Canada Council for the Arts will present readings by two fiction writers: two-time Giller-nominee Lisa Moore and Sainte-Anne professor Darryl Whetter.
Novelist, short-story writer and Canada Reads panelist Lisa Moore lives in St. John’s and two of her three books of fiction have been short-listed for the Giller Prize, and her novel Alligator won a Commonwealth Writers' Prize.
Darryl Whetter`s first book was named to The Globe and Mail’s Top 100 Books of 2003. He contributes regularly to national media, including The National Post, The Globe and Mail, The Vancouver Sun and CBC Radio’s Talking Books. His debut novel, The Push & the Pull, will be in bookstores soon. These readings are free and open to the public and start at 7:30 p.m. in the university’s chapel.
On Wednesday March 19, Université Sainte-Anne and The Canada Council for the Arts will present readings by two fiction writers: two-time Giller-nominee Lisa Moore and Sainte-Anne professor Darryl Whetter.
Novelist, short-story writer and Canada Reads panelist Lisa Moore lives in St. John’s and two of her three books of fiction have been short-listed for the Giller Prize, and her novel Alligator won a Commonwealth Writers' Prize.
Darryl Whetter`s first book was named to The Globe and Mail’s Top 100 Books of 2003. He contributes regularly to national media, including The National Post, The Globe and Mail, The Vancouver Sun and CBC Radio’s Talking Books. His debut novel, The Push & the Pull, will be in bookstores soon. These readings are free and open to the public and start at 7:30 p.m. in the university’s chapel.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Judith Fitzgerald Reviews Mary Dalton's Red Ledger
Poet Judith Fitzgerald reviews collections by Mary Dalton and Natalie Stephens
from monstersandcritics.com
Dalton's Red Ledger opens with a teaser from Selima Hill: "My nipples tick / like little bombs of blood." This speaker raucously woos the piano man: "What sort of a woman would you fancy, Nelson?" Possessing the rhythm of a sea ditty and the charm of a love-call from a woman to a prospect, it appears to head towards bodice-ripper territory.
Quickly, the tone of the book turns serious. The second poem concerns itself with shorthand, Golden Bough, blood-ritual images, while a subsequent entry dekes into car-wash territory and features one cranky spit-and-polish man. Does he occupy the sacred or profane spheres, this misery monger with a power hose and an attitude snarling at passing cars?
To read the rest of this review, please click here.
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Mary Dalton's previous book of poems, Merrybegot, is available as an unabridged audio recording narrated by Anita Best with music by Patrick Boyle from Rattling Books.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Joel Thomas Hynes offers writing workshops at her Majesty's: Scope interview
Rewriting in the Pen
Teaching creative writing to prisoners.
(an interview with Joel Thomas Hynes)
The Scope
What is the program at the Pen?
It’s not really a program. It’s not like some kind of program was set in place down there by the system. More or less, it’s something that I’ve been wanting to do for a while—just go down and teach creative writing. I’ve been down there for readings and such in the past couple of years and just thought that it would be nice to come down and have my own version of a creative writing class with that element of our society, you know?
When did you go there for readings?
I think I was down there twice. During Peg Norman’s municipal campaign and also for her federal campaign. [She was running for the NDP]
How did it all start, the creative writing thing?
It started with the readings....
Read the rest of this interview with Joel Thomas Hynes in the Scope.
Teaching creative writing to prisoners.
(an interview with Joel Thomas Hynes)
The Scope
What is the program at the Pen?
It’s not really a program. It’s not like some kind of program was set in place down there by the system. More or less, it’s something that I’ve been wanting to do for a while—just go down and teach creative writing. I’ve been down there for readings and such in the past couple of years and just thought that it would be nice to come down and have my own version of a creative writing class with that element of our society, you know?
When did you go there for readings?
I think I was down there twice. During Peg Norman’s municipal campaign and also for her federal campaign. [She was running for the NDP]
How did it all start, the creative writing thing?
It started with the readings....
Read the rest of this interview with Joel Thomas Hynes in the Scope.
Steffler to speak tonight in Corner Brook
The Western Star
CORNER BROOK — The Corner Brook campus of Memorial University will welcome back Canada’s Parliamentary Poet Laureate to campus tonight.John Steffler, who retired from Grenfell’s English faculty in 2006, will deliver a reading titled “The Three-walled House: a reading of poems with some thoughts on language and literature.”
The reading will take place 7:30 p.m., in FC2014. A reception will follow.
Steffler is the author of five books of poetry including “The Grey Islands,” “That Night We were Ravenous,” and “Helix: New and Selected Poems.” His novel, The Afterlife of George Cartwright, won the Smithbooks/Books in Canada First Novel Award and the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award and was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award and the Commonwealth First Novel Award.
Read the Rest of this Western Star article.
CORNER BROOK — The Corner Brook campus of Memorial University will welcome back Canada’s Parliamentary Poet Laureate to campus tonight.John Steffler, who retired from Grenfell’s English faculty in 2006, will deliver a reading titled “The Three-walled House: a reading of poems with some thoughts on language and literature.”
The reading will take place 7:30 p.m., in FC2014. A reception will follow.
Steffler is the author of five books of poetry including “The Grey Islands,” “That Night We were Ravenous,” and “Helix: New and Selected Poems.” His novel, The Afterlife of George Cartwright, won the Smithbooks/Books in Canada First Novel Award and the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award and was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award and the Commonwealth First Novel Award.
Read the Rest of this Western Star article.
Libby Creelman Launches a New Novel, The Darren Effect
The Darren Effect, Libby Creelman's new novel, will be launched on Friday, March 14, from 6PM to 8PM at Bianca's, 171 Water Street, St. John's, Newfoundland. Come one, come all!
What people have said about Libby's short-story collection, Walking in Paradise:
`These are stories about family, where love is at once most expected and most guarded. Libby Creelman's narrative touch, which is deceptively casual, is laced with small, true moments and brief true gestures, which are to be trusted.' - Bonnie Burnard
`There must be some crystal in Libby Creelman's inner eye to see what she sees of the strange currents that spark between her sophisticated, brittle adults and sharp, bewildered children. Her craft is crystal anyway. I already treasure this book.' - Stan Dragland
`Walking in Paradise is Libby Creelman's first book. The collection's fourteen stories, each between ten and fifteen pages in length, are carefully polished and almost uniformly effective. Creelman's style is spare and direct. The sentences are short and crisp, and an emphasis is placed on clear concrete imagery. The stories often unfold through dialogue and Creelman's ear is unerring as each of the characters is granted a distinctive voice.' - David Creelman, The Fiddlehead
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Winterset Award Finalists for 2007 Announced
The Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council has announced its finalists for the 2007 Winterset Award. The three finalists are Newfoundland and Labrador authors George Rose, Paul Rowe and Kathleen Winter.
Rose’s Cod: An Ecological History of the North Atlantic Fisheries, was published by Breakwater Books, in St. John’s; Rowe’s The Silent Time was published by Killick Press, St. John’s; and Winter’s boYs, was published by Biblioasis in Emeryville, Ont.
To read the rest of this article, please click here.
Rose’s Cod: An Ecological History of the North Atlantic Fisheries, was published by Breakwater Books, in St. John’s; Rowe’s The Silent Time was published by Killick Press, St. John’s; and Winter’s boYs, was published by Biblioasis in Emeryville, Ont.
To read the rest of this article, please click here.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
John Steffler Speaks Out Against Bill C-10
John Steffler, Canada's Parliamentary Poet Laureate, has weighed in on the controversial issue of Bill C-10. See his letter to Cross Country Checkup below.
from CBC's Cross Country Checkup website
Everyone in the country who values freedom of political and artistic expression should speak out against Bill C-10 which is now in the hands of the Senate. In giving the Heritage Minister the power to deny tax credits to films and TV shows he/she finds offensive, this bill introduces a covert form of censorship and undermines the principle of arm's-length funding for the arts. Pornography is already ineligible for tax credits. What is the bill designed to weed out? As a society we tend to be fearful of authority, self-concealing and politically passive. We need to encourage people to exercise their imaginations in public ways, to question conventional thinking, to be innovative, adventurous and outspoken. We do not need to increase our government's power to censor and silence us.
John Steffler
Parliamentary Poet Laureate
from CBC's Cross Country Checkup website
Everyone in the country who values freedom of political and artistic expression should speak out against Bill C-10 which is now in the hands of the Senate. In giving the Heritage Minister the power to deny tax credits to films and TV shows he/she finds offensive, this bill introduces a covert form of censorship and undermines the principle of arm's-length funding for the arts. Pornography is already ineligible for tax credits. What is the bill designed to weed out? As a society we tend to be fearful of authority, self-concealing and politically passive. We need to encourage people to exercise their imaginations in public ways, to question conventional thinking, to be innovative, adventurous and outspoken. We do not need to increase our government's power to censor and silence us.
John Steffler
Parliamentary Poet Laureate
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Word of the Week over at REDEFiNE iT (March 7-14) maggoty
Word of the Week (March 8 - 14) at our REDEFiNE iT Blog and REDEFiNE iT facebook group
maggoty
Entry from the Dictionary of Newfoundland English:maggoty a Cp OED ~ a 1 'full of maggots' (1727-). Of cod-fish, improperly cured and infested with the larvae of blow-flies; spoiled, unsavoury; freq in names of small coves where fish are landed and offal discarded. [1773] 1971 SEARY 241 Maggotty Cove (Lane 1773)
.....1955 DOYLE (ed) 30 "I'se the B'y": I don't want your maggoty fish, / That's no good for winter.
To read the rest of the definition according to the Dictionary of Newfoundland English and pursue tangents on the word through the week visit the REDEFiNE iT Blog.
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Rattling Books is a Canadian audiobook publisher based in Newfoundland and Labrador. REDEFiNE iT was inspired by producing the audio edition of Merrybegot by Mary Dalton (performed by Anita Best with Patrick Boyle on trumpet and flugelhorn) which celebrates Newfoundland speech and also gets joy from the Dictionary of Newfoundland English.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
John Steffler's Grey Islands: just where are they?
The Columbia Gazetteer of North America. 2000.
Grey Islands
Grey Islands, group of 2 islands off NE N.F., Canada, in the Atlantic. Largest isl. is Bell Isl. or Grey Isl. South (34 sq mi/88 sq km), 50 mi/80 km N of Cape St. John; 10 mi/16 km long, 7 mi/11 km wide; 50°44'N 55°35°W. Site of lighthouse (SW) and radio station. N of Bell Isl., 7 mi/11 km, is Groais Isl. or Grey Isl. North (16 sq mi/41 sq km); 7 mi/11 km long, 4 mi/6 km wide. Both isls. are hilly, rising to over 500 ft/152 m. Village of Grey Islands Harbour at Rocky Bay, S end of Bell Isl.
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The unabridged audio edition of The Grey Islands by John Steffler (narrated by John Steffler, Frank Holden, Janis Spence, Deidre Gillard-Rowlings and Darryl Hopkins) is available from rattlingbooks.com
Grey Islands
Grey Islands, group of 2 islands off NE N.F., Canada, in the Atlantic. Largest isl. is Bell Isl. or Grey Isl. South (34 sq mi/88 sq km), 50 mi/80 km N of Cape St. John; 10 mi/16 km long, 7 mi/11 km wide; 50°44'N 55°35°W. Site of lighthouse (SW) and radio station. N of Bell Isl., 7 mi/11 km, is Groais Isl. or Grey Isl. North (16 sq mi/41 sq km); 7 mi/11 km long, 4 mi/6 km wide. Both isls. are hilly, rising to over 500 ft/152 m. Village of Grey Islands Harbour at Rocky Bay, S end of Bell Isl.
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The unabridged audio edition of The Grey Islands by John Steffler (narrated by John Steffler, Frank Holden, Janis Spence, Deidre Gillard-Rowlings and Darryl Hopkins) is available from rattlingbooks.com
Friday, March 07, 2008
Resettlement statistic for Groais Island, 1963
Annual Report with List of Places Vacated, 1963
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE
(Newfoundland and Labrador)
Reference has been made in previous years to the Centralization Programme which is administered by the Social Assistance Division. Financial assistance may be granted to a maximum of $600.00 per family in order to assist families to move from isolated settlements to a more centralized area where public services, schools, medical care, etc., are more readily available.No assistance may be granted to an individual unless the head of the household of every family living in an isolated community signs a petition agreeing to move and requests financial assistance from this Department. The regulations state that assistance may be provided any family who moved from an isolated settlement not more than two years before the signing of the petition. ...The breakdown of places either vacated or in the process of being vacated is listed below:
(N.B. There follows a surprizingly long list of communities. To see the full list click here. Among the list is the following entry for The Grey Islands).
Places Vacated : Groais Island
No. of Families : 8
That was in the '60s.
In the '80s when there was no longer any livyers remaining, writer John Steffler wrote The Grey Islands. It is now considered a classic of Canadian poetry. John Steffler currently holds the post of Canada's Parliamentary Poet Laureate.
*********************************************
The unabridged audio edition of The Grey Islands by John Steffler (narrated by John Steffler, Frank Holden, Janis Spence, Deidre Gillard-Rowlings and Darryl Hopkins) is available from rattlingbooks.com
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE
(Newfoundland and Labrador)
Reference has been made in previous years to the Centralization Programme which is administered by the Social Assistance Division. Financial assistance may be granted to a maximum of $600.00 per family in order to assist families to move from isolated settlements to a more centralized area where public services, schools, medical care, etc., are more readily available.No assistance may be granted to an individual unless the head of the household of every family living in an isolated community signs a petition agreeing to move and requests financial assistance from this Department. The regulations state that assistance may be provided any family who moved from an isolated settlement not more than two years before the signing of the petition. ...The breakdown of places either vacated or in the process of being vacated is listed below:
(N.B. There follows a surprizingly long list of communities. To see the full list click here. Among the list is the following entry for The Grey Islands).
Places Vacated : Groais Island
No. of Families : 8
That was in the '60s.
In the '80s when there was no longer any livyers remaining, writer John Steffler wrote The Grey Islands. It is now considered a classic of Canadian poetry. John Steffler currently holds the post of Canada's Parliamentary Poet Laureate.
*********************************************
The unabridged audio edition of The Grey Islands by John Steffler (narrated by John Steffler, Frank Holden, Janis Spence, Deidre Gillard-Rowlings and Darryl Hopkins) is available from rattlingbooks.com
Thursday, March 06, 2008
John Steffler Gives Pratt Lecture and Poetry Reading
Memorial University's Pratt Lecture will be delivered by Parliamentary Poet Laureate John Steffler on Saturday, March 15, at 8 p.m. in the Inco Innovation Centre, room IIC-2001.The lecture will be followed by a reception in the Beatrice Watts Board Room, also in the Inco building.
Mr. Steffler will also read from his poetry on Friday, March 14, at 7:30 p.m. in Petro-Canada Hall.
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The unabridged audio edition of The Grey Islands by John Steffler (narrated by John Steffler, Frank Holden, Janis Spence, Deidre Gillard-Rowlings and Darryl Hopkins) is available from rattlingbooks.com
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Writers' Alliance of Newfoundland & Labrador Hosts Fundraiser
The Writers' Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador (WANL) is hosting a fundraising dinner on March 17, 7PM at The Ship Pub in St. John's, Newfoundland. The dinner (a three course Thai meal with readings by Michael Crummey and Carmelita McGrath) is in aid of the Cultural Assistance Plan for Emergencies (CAPE), an emergency fund for cultural workers during times of severe illness. CAPE is administered by the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council (NLAC).
Tickets are available at The Ship Pub. $35 per person. For more information, contact Mark Callanan at WANL (wanl.nf.aibn.com or 739-5215).
Come out and support a worthy cause!
Tickets are available at The Ship Pub. $35 per person. For more information, contact Mark Callanan at WANL (wanl.nf.aibn.com or 739-5215).
Come out and support a worthy cause!
Telegram Article on the March Hare Festival
Artistic Smorgasbord
Poets, singers, musicians make mad dash for March Hare
Heidi Wicks
Special to The Telegram
Since 1987, writers, musicians and anyone who hates Newfoundland winters have been sharing poetry, prose, tunes and pranks at a cozy pub in Corner Brook to stay warm.
Named after the mad-dash Louis Carroll character and born of the musically poetic loins of Al Pittman, Rex Brown and George Daniels, the March Hare now travels all over Newfoundland and Labrador, and since last year's 20th anniversary has been going national and international.
Last year's 20th anniversary tour saw the cavalcade of writers and musicians thumping through Toronto and Dublin, where they overtook taverns from middle Canada to the Emerald Isle. There was also a documentary, "To Dublin With Love," directed by Barbara Doran. The film followed a busload of writers and musicians, including Pamela Morgan, Ron Hynes, Des Walsh, Lisa Moore, Joel Hynes, and many others as they toured Ireland as part of 2007's March Hare.
The festival is being launched in several places including St. John's, Montreal and Toronto. The launch kicks off in St. John's tonight at the Majestic Theatre. In Toronto people will gather at the Brass Taps Tavern on College Street (owned by two Newfoundlanders, naturally). However, there are also people from New Delhi, parts of Asia and beyond on the tour this year...
To read the rest of this article, please click here.
Poets, singers, musicians make mad dash for March Hare
Heidi Wicks
Special to The Telegram
Since 1987, writers, musicians and anyone who hates Newfoundland winters have been sharing poetry, prose, tunes and pranks at a cozy pub in Corner Brook to stay warm.
Named after the mad-dash Louis Carroll character and born of the musically poetic loins of Al Pittman, Rex Brown and George Daniels, the March Hare now travels all over Newfoundland and Labrador, and since last year's 20th anniversary has been going national and international.
Last year's 20th anniversary tour saw the cavalcade of writers and musicians thumping through Toronto and Dublin, where they overtook taverns from middle Canada to the Emerald Isle. There was also a documentary, "To Dublin With Love," directed by Barbara Doran. The film followed a busload of writers and musicians, including Pamela Morgan, Ron Hynes, Des Walsh, Lisa Moore, Joel Hynes, and many others as they toured Ireland as part of 2007's March Hare.
The festival is being launched in several places including St. John's, Montreal and Toronto. The launch kicks off in St. John's tonight at the Majestic Theatre. In Toronto people will gather at the Brass Taps Tavern on College Street (owned by two Newfoundlanders, naturally). However, there are also people from New Delhi, parts of Asia and beyond on the tour this year...
To read the rest of this article, please click here.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Agnes Walsh Reading in Regina
from The Leader-Post
Five Canadian poets laureate will be reading from their works Wednesday in the Student Commons of Campion College at the University of Regina.
The poets laureate are Robert Currie, Louise B. Halfe, Lorri Neilson Glenn, Agnes Walsh and Glen Sorestad.
The event, which is to begin at 4 p.m., is open to the public and everyone is welcome. Admission is free.
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Going Around with Bachelors by Agnes Walsh, published by Brick Books, is available as a digital download on the Rattling Books website (the print version can be found on Brick's website). Agnes Walsh's first poetry collection, In the Old Country of My Heart, is available as an audio book from Rattling Books.
NLAC Press Release on Joel Thomas Hynes winning Lawrence Jackson Award
Joel Thomas Hynes wins the 2007 Lawrence Jackson Writers’ Award
March 4, 2008, St. John’s, NL – Joel Thomas Hynes is the winner of the 2007 Lawrence Jackson Writers’Award. The $500 cash award encourages and promotes original, creative thought in all genres of writing. It was presented last night at the LSPU Hall Gallery at the Writers’ Alliance Monthly Reading Series.
The award honours the memory of writer Lawrence Jackson. It is sponsored by his mother Frances Jackson, his wife Laura and children Willow, Holly and Ben, with generous contributions from family and friends to the Lawrence Jackson Trust Fund.
Joel Thomas Hynes is the award winning author of the novels Down to the Dirt and Right Away Monday, both available through HarperCollins Publishers. He co-wrote the acclaimed stageplay The Devil You Dont Know, and his most recent play, Say Nothing Saw Wood, won the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts and Letters Award for Best Dramatic Script. Also an actor, Hynes has performed leading roles in numerous stageplays, films and television productions. He was a contributing writer and played a leading role in the CBC’s Hatching, Matching and Dispatching, and most recently played the lead role in the feature film Down to the Dirt, which is coming soon to theatres across the country. Currently he is teaching creative writing to the inmates at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador and is working on his third novel and his first screenplay.
The Lawrence Jackson Writers’ Award is administered by the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council (NLAC). All applicants to the NLAC’s Project Grants Program in the writing category are considered for the award. One award of $500 is given annually. The winner is selected by a peer assessment committee.
Media contact:
Reg Winsor
Executive Director
Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council
(709) 726-2212
1 (866) 726-2212 (Toll free NL only)
rwinsor@nf.aibn.com
www.nlac.nf.ca
March 4, 2008, St. John’s, NL – Joel Thomas Hynes is the winner of the 2007 Lawrence Jackson Writers’Award. The $500 cash award encourages and promotes original, creative thought in all genres of writing. It was presented last night at the LSPU Hall Gallery at the Writers’ Alliance Monthly Reading Series.
The award honours the memory of writer Lawrence Jackson. It is sponsored by his mother Frances Jackson, his wife Laura and children Willow, Holly and Ben, with generous contributions from family and friends to the Lawrence Jackson Trust Fund.
Joel Thomas Hynes is the award winning author of the novels Down to the Dirt and Right Away Monday, both available through HarperCollins Publishers. He co-wrote the acclaimed stageplay The Devil You Dont Know, and his most recent play, Say Nothing Saw Wood, won the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts and Letters Award for Best Dramatic Script. Also an actor, Hynes has performed leading roles in numerous stageplays, films and television productions. He was a contributing writer and played a leading role in the CBC’s Hatching, Matching and Dispatching, and most recently played the lead role in the feature film Down to the Dirt, which is coming soon to theatres across the country. Currently he is teaching creative writing to the inmates at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador and is working on his third novel and his first screenplay.
The Lawrence Jackson Writers’ Award is administered by the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council (NLAC). All applicants to the NLAC’s Project Grants Program in the writing category are considered for the award. One award of $500 is given annually. The winner is selected by a peer assessment committee.
Media contact:
Reg Winsor
Executive Director
Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council
(709) 726-2212
1 (866) 726-2212 (Toll free NL only)
rwinsor@nf.aibn.com
www.nlac.nf.ca
St. John's livyer, Joel Thomas Hynes is the 2008 recipient of the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council's Lawrence Jackson Award
St. John's livyer, Joel Thomas Hynes is the 2008 recipient of the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council's Lawrence Jackson Award.
Administered at arms length by the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council, the Lawrence Jackson Award is a legacy created by the family of the late Lawrence Jackson.
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The unabridged audio edition of Down to the Dirt by Joel Thomas Hynes is published by Rattling Books. Narrated by Joel Thomas Hynes, Jonny Harris and Sherry White.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Richard Gwyn wins Charles Taylor Prize
From the Quill and Quire :
Richard Gwyn wins Charles Taylor Prize
A book with a distinctly Canadian focus has captured this year’s Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction. John A.: The Man Who Made Us: The Life and Times of John A. Macdonald (Random House Canada), the first biography of Canada’s founding prime minister to appear in more than 50 years, took home the $25,000 purse on Monday.Click here for the full story in the Quill and Quire.
Richard Gwyn wins Charles Taylor Prize
A book with a distinctly Canadian focus has captured this year’s Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction. John A.: The Man Who Made Us: The Life and Times of John A. Macdonald (Random House Canada), the first biography of Canada’s founding prime minister to appear in more than 50 years, took home the $25,000 purse on Monday.Click here for the full story in the Quill and Quire.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Back to back Poetry Events at the Majestic Theatre in St. John's, Newfoundland this Wednesday, March 5
Launch of The Echoing Years:
Wednesday, March 5, at 4:00 pm
and the March Hare
Wednesday, March 5, 8:00 pm.
in St. John's, Newfoundland:
Majestic Theatre on Duckworth Street
An anthology of contemporary Canadian and Irish poetry, The Echoing Years, published in Ireland, is being launched at the Majestic Theatre on Duckworth Street.
Some of the Irish and Canadian contributors to the anthology will be reading a poem, among them:
Irish poets Katie Donovan and Grace Wells; Newfoundland & Labrador poets Mark Callanan, Mary Dalton, Agnes Walsh, and Enos Watts; Griffin Prize winner Don McKay; and Saskatchewan-born Karen Solie. Irish poet and editor John Ennis will emcee the event.
The same evening at the Majestic, the St. John's March Hare begins at 8:00 pm. Poets from Canada, Ireland, and Nepal will read, including: Katie Donovan, Grace Wells, Don McKay, Karen Solie, and Yuyutsu Sharma. Also featuring storytellers Don Downer and Paul Dean, and music by Ellen Power, Daniel Payne, and Baxter Wareham.
Tickets are $10 and are available from Spirit of Newfoundland Productions (telephone (709) 579-3023) or at the door. The March Hare invites you to come along and fight winter with some of the very best antidotes.
*************************
Both Mary Dalton and Agnes Walsh have works available from Rattling Books in audio: Merrybegot by Mary Dalton and In the Old Country of My Heart by Agnes Walsh. The audio component of Going Around with Bachelors (Brick Books) is also available as a Digital Download for your mp3 player or ipod. Don McKay's Songs for the Songs of Birds is coming in April.
Wednesday, March 5, at 4:00 pm
and the March Hare
Wednesday, March 5, 8:00 pm.
in St. John's, Newfoundland:
Majestic Theatre on Duckworth Street
An anthology of contemporary Canadian and Irish poetry, The Echoing Years, published in Ireland, is being launched at the Majestic Theatre on Duckworth Street.
Some of the Irish and Canadian contributors to the anthology will be reading a poem, among them:
Irish poets Katie Donovan and Grace Wells; Newfoundland & Labrador poets Mark Callanan, Mary Dalton, Agnes Walsh, and Enos Watts; Griffin Prize winner Don McKay; and Saskatchewan-born Karen Solie. Irish poet and editor John Ennis will emcee the event.
The same evening at the Majestic, the St. John's March Hare begins at 8:00 pm. Poets from Canada, Ireland, and Nepal will read, including: Katie Donovan, Grace Wells, Don McKay, Karen Solie, and Yuyutsu Sharma. Also featuring storytellers Don Downer and Paul Dean, and music by Ellen Power, Daniel Payne, and Baxter Wareham.
Tickets are $10 and are available from Spirit of Newfoundland Productions (telephone (709) 579-3023) or at the door. The March Hare invites you to come along and fight winter with some of the very best antidotes.
*************************
Both Mary Dalton and Agnes Walsh have works available from Rattling Books in audio: Merrybegot by Mary Dalton and In the Old Country of My Heart by Agnes Walsh. The audio component of Going Around with Bachelors (Brick Books) is also available as a Digital Download for your mp3 player or ipod. Don McKay's Songs for the Songs of Birds is coming in April.
Word of the Week over at REDEFiNE iT (March 1 -7) livyer
This week's word of the week over at our REDEFiNE iT Blog and on the sister facebook group is livyer.
According to the Dictionary of Newfoundland English:
livyer
livyer n also liver, livere, liveyer, liveyere, livier [phonetics unavailable]. Cp DAE liver 'inhabitant, resident' (1678-1850), EDD liver sb1 1 'dweller' s w cties: var livier Do So D, livyer D; O Sup2 liveyere (Nfld: 1863-); DC liveyere Nfld 2 (1946-) for sense 1, 1 (1905-) for sense 2. See OED -ier. Cp LOVYER, MILLIER, SHOREYER. 1 A permanent settler of coastal Newfoundland (as opposed to migratory fisherman from England). 1745 CAREW 30 Bampfylde ... this Trip visited St John's, Torbay, Kitty-Vitty Harbour and Bay Bulls, very industriously remarking their Situations and Anchorage, and making himself fully acquainted with the Names, Circumstances and Characters of all the Inhabitants and Livers of any Account therein. [1759] 1895 PROWSE 295-6 The men mentioned in the margin [are] to repair to work on the said church from the date hereof to the 4th day of November next, as it appears that they are livers in this place and have not subscribed towards the building of the same. 1850 [FEILD] 27 The whole settlement [of Burnt Islands, S W coast] has sprung up within ten years, and now there are nearly one hundred 'livers' or settled inhabitants.
To read the rest of the post for this week's word of the week over at our REDEFiNE iT Blog click here.
According to the Dictionary of Newfoundland English:
livyer
livyer n also liver, livere, liveyer, liveyere, livier [phonetics unavailable]. Cp DAE liver 'inhabitant, resident' (1678-1850), EDD liver sb1 1 'dweller' s w cties: var livier Do So D, livyer D; O Sup2 liveyere (Nfld: 1863-); DC liveyere Nfld 2 (1946-) for sense 1, 1 (1905-) for sense 2. See OED -ier. Cp LOVYER, MILLIER, SHOREYER. 1 A permanent settler of coastal Newfoundland (as opposed to migratory fisherman from England). 1745 CAREW 30 Bampfylde ... this Trip visited St John's, Torbay, Kitty-Vitty Harbour and Bay Bulls, very industriously remarking their Situations and Anchorage, and making himself fully acquainted with the Names, Circumstances and Characters of all the Inhabitants and Livers of any Account therein. [1759] 1895 PROWSE 295-6 The men mentioned in the margin [are] to repair to work on the said church from the date hereof to the 4th day of November next, as it appears that they are livers in this place and have not subscribed towards the building of the same. 1850 [FEILD] 27 The whole settlement [of Burnt Islands, S W coast] has sprung up within ten years, and now there are nearly one hundred 'livers' or settled inhabitants.
To read the rest of the post for this week's word of the week over at our REDEFiNE iT Blog click here.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Susan Rendell's Independent column: "Some words on a conjugal couplet: Stan Dragland, Beth Follett and the province’s ongoing literary ‘in-migration’
‘Ripe for being astonished’
Some words on a conjugal couplet: Stan Dragland, Beth Follett and the province’s ongoing literary ‘in-migration’
By SUSAN RENDELL
Some words on a conjugal couplet: Stan Dragland, Beth Follett and the province’s ongoing literary ‘in-migration’
By SUSAN RENDELL
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Newfoundland & Labrador Independent
The finest small Canadian press, from a literary standpoint.— Canadian writer and publisher George Fetherling, on Pedlar Press
A hot topic in Newfoundland and Labrador these days is “out-migration” (one of those horrible words spawned by the pseudo-sciences — in this case sociology — for which there is a perfectly serviceable English word: emigration). Its terrible twin, “in-migration” (i.e., immigration), seldom gets much press. I’ve decided to give it some here, because it has lately occurred to me the writing community in this province has been looting from that landmass to the west instead of being robbed by it. We have lost a couple of top writers to Toronto, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. After all, they’re still writing about this place; one might consider them ambassadors rather than émigrés.On the other hand, Canadian writers have been coming here, and staying here, in record numbers over the past few years. The numbers are not legion; it’s a matter of quality. These writers are excellent; some are among the top names in Canadian literature. They often begin by visiting, and quickly get hooked. (To paraphrase Julius Caesar, “They came, they saw, we conquered.”)
To read the rest of this column by Susan Rendell in Newfoundland's Independent click here.
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Stan Dragland is kind enough to give Rattling Books occasional editorial advise and Susan Rendell is the author of the fabulous collection of short stories In the Chambers of the Sea (unabridged audio edition published by Rattling Books). Susan Rendell also writes regularly for the Newfoundland & Labrador Independent.
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