Edmonton’s new poet laureate grounded in city’s blue-collar vibe
When Anna Marie Sewell moved to Edmonton in 1985, she probably had no idea her strong cultural identity and background – a central theme to her 2009 collection Fifth World Drum – would also make her the perfect canidate for city poet laureate one day. Sewell is considered status aboriginal, and we have one of […]
The Glamour Life On A Book Tour, Part IV: The end is near
Saskatoon Saskatoon starts well. It’s raining when plane lands. By the time I get my luggage, the sun is out. There’s a line up at the taxi stand (in Saskatoon? Really?) but one cab offers to take two of us to downtown. The cab driver is a stocky Romanian woman who has no trouble with […]
The Glamour Life On A Book Tour, Part III: Great big family
Stop 3 – Winnipeg In Winnipeg, a writer would describe Vancouver like this: “It’s big, it’s beautiful, but it’s empty of culture.” He captured my mood exactly. I like Winnipeg the instant I arrive. It’s not as warm as LA but the sun is shining, and the Bed and Breakfast I’m booked into picks me […]
The Glamour Life On A Book Tour, Part II: Van City Letdown
Stop 2 – Vancouver Vancouver is … Vancouver. It’s overcast, cool and raining. The Skytrain (above) from the airport is really nice. Can you imagine a relatively cheap LRT from the Edmonton airport to downtown? That would be fantastic. Even so, there’s an overriding melancholy to my day. When I was booking this tour in […]
The Glamour Life on a book tour
Wayne Arthurson’s latest detective novel Fall From Grace is available at Amazon and various other online locations — plus, at good old fashioned book stores. His recent book tour in Canada and the U.S. is recounted in an exclusive four-part series for GigCity. Part 1 starts in in Los Angeles. (Read: Part II, Part III, […]
Dominelli dominates Mayor’s Arts Awards
Awards are flying everywhere when you’re in the arts. Keep doing what you’re doing and if you’re reasonably good, sooner or later you’re going to catch one of them. But when the MAYOR himself gives you an award, well, now we’re talking. It’s like the key to the city. Local jazzman Sandro Dominelli was just […]
Edmonton Arts Council a great stress-reliever for local artists
It sure is sweet when you’re an artist who doesn’t have to scrape for every buck to pay the rent. Thanks to the Edmonton Arts Council, 16 talented Edmonton artists will enjoy that chance – for a couple of months, at least – with an extra $7,500 each. Musician Ben Sures (right) and filmmaker Trevor […]
LIT: Wayne Arthurson’s killer job
Edmonton, are you exotic? No, you couldn’t be. How could a city like you, Edmonton, with your cold and snow and your northerliness and your general sense of Edmontonness be exotic? Oh sure, you made the Top 10 in that livability list of Canadian cities recently, but that’s livable; it’s got nothing to do with […]
LIT: Local novelist short-listed for Stephen Leacock Award
There seems to be a strange aversion to humorous novels in Canadian literature – according to Edmonton novelist Todd Babiak. So thank goodness for the Stephen Leacock Award, which has short-listed Babiak’s latest novel “Toby: A Man,” it was announced today. This is yet another feather in Todd’s cap. He’s competing against four other writers. […]
REVIEW: The big-time economics of video gaming
Tom Chatfield admits he loves computer games and may therefore be shamelessly partisan in his book “Fun Inc., Why Games are the 21st Century’s Most Serious Business.” But he is not just your average IT guy bitching about how nobody in the office reboots before calling tech support, or flaming newbies on forums with RTFMs. […]
