Yes, I'm late -- BUT I WAS ON VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1. In honour of her 100th - Saturday, June 4: Sandra Barry will sign Elizabeth Bishop: Nova Scotia’s "Home-Made" Poet, noon-1:30 p.m., at Chapters, Bayers Lake, and 2:30-4 p.m. at Coles, Halifax Shopping Centre. "I love a) the interview with Bishop in the Paris Review, b) her "Moose poem" and c) the one about the village that I quote in my second novel. 2. In honour of Ocean's Day: Arts and the Sea: A Celebration Wednesday, June 8th, 7-10 pm Location: Scotiabank Auditorium, McCain Building, Dalhousie University, 6135 University Avenue Ocean-Inspired Artists include: Kathy Mac, poet Dusan Kadlec, painter Donna Morrissey, author Scott Macmillan, composer Jennyfer Brickenden, librettist Hosted by Paul Kennedy (of CBC Ideas) Admission is free, with a reception and cash bar to follow the event. For more information, please call 494-1977 or visit www.dal.ca/ioihfx 3. Mark you Calendar!! Thursday, June 9th. The Halifax Monk Writers meet at my house, 7 pm. Please contact me through website for more information. 4. I've mentioned before how much photography inspires me: From the Coast: "Painter Jonathan Johnson goes for the abstract aesthetic in his latest exhibition titled New Paintings. . ." Most pieces focus on Canadian cities with the notable exception of the beautiful Paris scene on the left called View from Pont Neuf. To June 17, Gallery Page & Strange, 1869 Granville Street, 422-8995 Great weekend to one & all, TartanFrog
0 Comments
Okay so that's not Kate & Will. But hey, we had the ocean by the Cape Breton Highlands National Park!! If that's not majestically regal, I don't know what is... So yes, in case you just emerged from a cave, today there's the Royal Wedding in England. Meanwhile in Halifax Mayworks 2011 opens, a festival built upon the premise that workers and artists share a common struggle for decent wages, healthy working conditions - building bridges & creating "a true working class in Nova Scotia that we can be proud of - we have to create the society we want to live in." Friday, April 29th 1. So, yes, if you're looking for some writing fodder, be it indignation or reverence, do check out the nuptials - it's bound to elicit some sort of reaction.... 2. Later on, at 7 pm there's CAPITALISM ISN'T WORKING FOR CREATORS - a panel discussion on the state of artists as workers. Bell Auditorium, 5163 Duke Street. [Admission is free] Sunday, April 31st 3. One of my writing group friends, Chris Benjamin, will be reading from his novel Drive-by Saviours at the announcement ceremony of Halifax's talented new Poet Laureate, Tanya Davis, at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, this Sunday, May 1. The event starts at 1:30 pm. +++I added another event below which takes place later this week, also part of the Mayworks festival. Thursday, May 5th Dapopo Cafe at 7 pm, Just Us! CoffeeHouse, 5896 Spring Garden Road, $5/person "All theatre is political" From their website: "A veritable feast of theatre, served a la carte by by DaPoPo Theatre of Halifax, Nova Scotia. From Shakespeare to schtick, sock puppets to songs... you order it from our performance menu, and we dish it up." Word on the Street Fridays - 2.5 events (My political leaning friends can go straight to 2.5)4/15/2011 This comes from the Coast, but means a lot to me. 1. I love the Fringe! It inspires creativity! My favourite from last season was Archy & Mehitabel so please bring any ideas or support you can to the public meeting this Sunday!! Click anywhere on the excerpt below to go to the story and post your comments on the Coast's website... Atlantic Fringe Festival meeting announced Do your part! Posted by Andrew Kress on Wed, Apr 13, 2011 at 2:06 PM "Action is being taken on the recent announcement that the Atlantic Fringe Festival will be put on hold for two years. A meeting is now scheduled for Sunday, April 17 at 12pm at the Cultural Federations of Nova Scotia (1113 Marginal Road). The meeting is open to anyone in support of the festival and of course, anyone who has any ideas on how to tackle this issue. Doors open at 11:45am and the meeting will run until 2pm. The meeting will address the above suggestions and any others that come up. 2011 would have been the Atlantic Fringe Festival’s 20th Anniversary." 2. Timeless classic for a reason - Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is re-imagined to a modern day musical on the streets of New York, where two young teenagers find love despite loyalty to their rivaling street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks. Go watch it and then spent the rest of your weekend spinning your own version of young love against the odds. Where: Neptune Theatre, Downtown Halifax, 1593 Argyle Street (429-7070 or www.neptunetheatre.com Have a great weekend all, TartanFrog 2.5 Election Mania - Yes, if it hasn't hit you yet - LET IT SINK IN ++ If, like me, weekdays are so hectic that reflection is scant, please let the earlier photo I linked to sink in too... Sarah Gunn posted ealier: Pregnant woman to little kid at grocery store: I can grow people. What's your super power? Now think about asking this to current politicians and imagine how many of them will answer the following: "My super power is that I can lie, cheat & steal their money and Canadians will be so daft as to give me MORE power!!" Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!! I know, I know - As one of the self-confessed navel-gazing Haligonians, I've been known to snub the other side of the bridge (or anything more than a five-block radius from my perch), but today I'll try to make up for this, one of my MANY faults. . . 1. Tonight (Fri., March 11) from 5 - 7:30, if you're hankering for some muzak, I heartily recommend you head on over to Dartmouth to the Celtic Corner Public House to listen to Dave McIsaac (he's a Cape Breton master of strings) and Louis Benoit (whose style always reminds me of his late father Jarvis). The Pub is at 69 Alderney Drive (464-0764). You'll even get a great view of Halifax from across the harbour:) Unfortunately/fortunately, I won't be there as I'm attending a LOOOOOOONG overdue reunion tonight with some of my dearest group of friends at the Fireside. Beware people who try to capture OUR table by the fireplace. I ALWAYS WIN THAT STAREDOWN!!!!!!!! And now for something different. It's true my passion is for fiction, but who can resist as the thermometer begins to creep up (like a snail, albeit) and the promise of buds lurk just around the corner...A great gift for the gardener in your life: 2. Saturday Book Signing: Jodi Delong will sign Plants for Atlantic Gardens, 2-3:30 p.m., Chapters Bayers Lake. Now, my return into the wacky world of Terry Fallis' The Best Laid Plans -- so far I have to say that the voice in the book hasn't completely won me over, HOWEVER the book has been worth the read if only for pages 1 and 2 of Chapter One -- If you make it to Jodi Delong's signing, do make a point of at least browsing The Best Laid Plans - skip the intro and allow yourself the joy of laughing out loud as you visualize the narrator about falling into dog poop!!!! My favourite line so far: "Airborne, I surveyed the terrain below and, with all the athletic prowess of a quadriplegic walrus, returned safely to earth, touching down on the aforementioned crap cushion." Wishing One & All a FANTABULOUS weekend, TartanFrog February 25, 2011 — Snow, rain and strong winds. Another storm system takes aim at Atlantic Canada starting Friday. So, here in Halifax we're likely to see lots of wet stuff coming down. I'm thinking there's two options here: 1. Hole up inside and put pen to paper! Get going on that Great Canadian novel you've been meaning to write; or 2. Grab your most colourful umbrella & rainboots and head downtown. On Friday night check out Brenna MacNeil's book launch & Photography Exhibit. See details on the poster below: I know I've been plugging those free concerts at Grand Parade during the Canada Games, but this Saturday the Games have some indoor artistic fare: 3. National Artist Gala Where: Saturday at Citadel High School, 1855 Trollope Street; Times: 2:30 & 7 p.m. Phone: 451-1221 Price: $16/20 Three artists from each province have been chosen to participate in this program and will showcase their talents. On a final note, I'd like to thank all the writers from CreateSpace who filled my box with messages since yesterday. It's sad, it's true - I did not make the cut in the competition for that golden carrot (the prize included a substantial advance & a publishing contract with Penguin). It really warms the heart though - in the literary world - people who compete with you for a prize actually support one another!! Note - I'm not using their real names, but their 'handles': From Xudro this morning: "I liked your story and found it unfair that you didn't advance to the second round..." I also asked questions about the excerpt like who they felt it would appeal to: From SeaCure: "I think your story would appeal to a broad readership - readers who like, history, intrigue, art, mystery, travel, culture, etc." From Craela: "History Buffs, period piece lovers, for sure, would appreciate this piece, but I think a wide variety would too. It's very well written with a hook that certainly captivated me, and I'm not much of a history buff. I have to say well done!" Craela also added about what she liked best in the excerpt: "I think what I liked best was the way everything segued together; nothing confused me at all, I knew it was all related. I want to know more now!" In closing, my heartfelt congrats to those that did advance & I'll be cheering you on!! Have a great weekend all! TartanFrog I cave to Winter Wonderful! It's the Canada Winter Games right here in Halifax. Have you been out to enjoy any festivities yet?? ++: Woo-hoo!! It's Friday, my day off. . . except, wait, I have to work - grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!! Now, some Fridays that leads to bitterness. Not so much today. See, as I'm working late yesterday, a little gem comes my way. I was doing rewrites on the teacher guide for the university course I've been developing & chatting with the guy from Toronto whose company does the graphic design and copy-editing. Turns out, the person supposed to be working on it might not be available. SO, he proposes two options (he knows I'm picky!) - AND, one of those options just happens to be a star editor from Penguin Publishing he snagged to freelance on larger book-type projects:):):) Oh yeah, baby. Need I add that in our chat about my next trip to TO, I mentioned that I was willing to provide copious amounts of libation for any inside scoop on publishing with Penguin. Writerlies, send me your bribes (err, I mean questions). But enough about me... This weekend, it's all about my Froggy roots: In my last post, I raved about the amazing line-up at Grand Parade and that's still on. But, in case you're more into indoor activities: 1. Incendies! It's the Canadian film by Denis Villeneuve that's been nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars. So go out to support Canadian filmmakers! Opens tonight at the Oxford and plays till (at least) Wednesday. 2. Cabane! If dance/theatre/art is more your thing then check out Cabane, parts dance and art installation by Paul-Andre Fortier either tonight at the Sexton Memorial Gym (1360 Barrington) or Saturday at DANSpace (1531 Grafton). Both shows start at 8 pm ($20) From the press release: "Taking place in and around a modular shack, Cabane follows the elegant Fortier, long renowned as a riveting soloist, and the mischievous Racine, as they turn everyday objects into impromptu instruments and generate a series of surreal encounters. Ordinary objects lose their conventional designation as a door, walls and windows open up to a surrealist world. " "Fortier's elegantly reiterated movements were utterly mesmerising, ending on a vibrantly spirited note that prompted a more than well-deserved ovation" - Giannandrea Poesio, The Spectator, London (England) Have a great weekend everyone! TartanFrog In today's blog, as promised I'll feature a couple of literary/arts events coming up this weekend. I'm also sharing a letter I wrote to Virginia Woolf yesterday. What are you up to this weekend? Why not try: 1. "From Stage to Page" - panel discussion on publishing for writers, spoken word artists and storytellers. Moderated by Shauntay Grant and including guests George Elliot Clarke, Sue Goyette, Lesley Choyce, and Wanda Robson, this is an easy pick for all the writerlies! When: Fri., Feb. 4, 6:30pm- 8:30pm Price: FREE! Where: Art Gallery of Nova Scotia 1723 Hollis Street (Windsor Theatre – Bedford Row entrance) Halifax, NS 2. "Connecting to Africa Spoken Word Show" will feature some of the provinces' best spoken word artists, including iZrEAL, Andrew Abraham, Verena Rizg and Martha Mutale. When: Fri., Feb. 4, 7-10 p.m. Price: $5 to support CTA Where: The Company House 2202 Gottingen, Halifax, NS And now if you're wondering why anyone would bother writing to a dead woman, check out my letter to Virginia Woolf below. . . A Room of One’s Own… Dear Virginia, You were so right! We writerlies all need a room or space of our own. For me anyway, creativity is separate from the real world. It’s more like a magical world! When I’m there, I get this wonderful sensation that there are no limits, that anything is possible (though some would argue I’m always in that world:) I know that what I crave is harmony. I want to feel that I’m part of whatever I create whether that’s planting flowers, developing a new course, writing a novel or even putting together a photo album. But creativity is more than that—it’s my place of refuge. I feel truly protected inside its arms, trusting. All those bad things that happen, whether global injustices or very close personal tragedies that simply don’t seem fair—they disappear whenever I go to my refuge. This is nothing akin to what I feel once I emerge and share whatever I’ve created with others; then, I feel naked and become afraid again. Yet while I am there, being creative, it gives me the chance to become one with something larger than myself, larger than life’s routines which can rob us of the memory of this unbelievable gift that is this life, this breath I take in and exhale so casually, as if it weren’t the greatest miracle. I love to allow myself to be taken over, even consumed by it. In my most fantastic dreams, I’d retreat to a little hut like the one in the photograph. A simple one-room cabin by the ocean. The side you don’t see in the photo (facing the water) would be a wall of windows. This is what my eyes would fall upon whenever they lifted from the page, or the laptop. I often look at this photograph before I start writing. It makes me dream of freedom, the kind of freedom I experience whenever I am creating something new. I remain in awe of your astute and timeless observation, With gratitude, Dina And personally, I'd like the conversation to keep its high beams on whether this is a city, a council and a mayor that values culture and art as more than a showcase for opening ceremonies. I have two reading recommendations for anyone on city council who requires economic justification for supporting the arts: Richard Florida books like THE RISE OF THE CREATIVE CLASS or WHO'S YOUR CITY?, or for shorter bathroom visits 2007 Business Week article "Bohemian Today, High-Rent Tomorrow". "Openness to experience is the only personality type that plays a consistent role in regional economic development. It is highly correlated with jobs in computing, science, arts, design, and entertainment; with overall human capital levels, high-tech industry, income, and housing values." - Quote from WHO'S YOUR CITY? by Florida. Since Florida made the leap over the border and moved from the US to head the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, I was thinking of buying several copies of his book and distributing them to city council...but then, the financial snag: I'm an artist! Maybe that's what our city needs. A creative leader with a vision!! I hear the pay's better than the average artist salary. Any takers?! Dina (aka) TartanFrog |
Welcome to my Blog! Archives
December 2015
© 2010 - 2012 Dina Desveaux. All rights reserved.
Search through the categories below:
All
|