Writing Workshop @ the MacKenzie!

Saturday, Oct. 20, 2:00pm

Vertigo Series Writing Workshop

Join spoken word artist, poet, singer, and songwriter Tara Dawn Solheim for an afternoon of writing and response at The MacKenzie Art Gallery. Participants will explore writing tools and styles while experiencing the exhibition Carl Beam. Any new work inspired by this workshop can be presented at the Thursday Night Live Open Stage on November 8. Registration is required. Call 584-4292 to register for this FREE workshop.

This workshop is presented in partnership with the MacKenzie Art Gallery.

The Vertigo Series

Mon. Sept. 24th, 2012

8:00pm

Change of Venue!!!

Now at the Cathedral Freehouse!!! 

2062 Albert St.


Open Mic for Writers hosted by Vertigo Series and the Cathedral Village Arts Fest Mon. May 21, 2012

Literary Open Mic with Vertigo Series and CVAF Join the rain of words – bring your writing – share your work! The Vertigo Series and the CVAF Literary Committee team up for an open mic session at the Fainting Goat. More info in CVAF Guide.

Vertigo Poster May 2012

The Vertigo Series

Presented by Brown Communications Group

Mon. April 2, 2012, 7:30pm

Hosted by:
Crave Kitchen + Wine Bar
1925 Victoria Ave

Vertigo Celebrates Irving Layton’s 100th Birthday!
Presented by Brown Communications Group
Mon. Mar. 12th, 2012, 7:30pm

Hosted by: Crave Kitchen + Wine Bar
1925 Victoria Ave

Vertigo Reading Series
Presented by Brown Communications Group

Mon. Feb. 13th, 2012, 7:30pm

Hosted by:
Crave Kitchen + Wine Bar
1925 Victoria Ave
Suggested Donation – $5

Readers:

Ken Fox

Fionncara MacEoin

Caitlin Ward

Bernadette Wagner

Music:

Ryan Anderson

Ken Fox

Ken Fox lives in Regina, Saskatchewan with his five-year-old daughter Shania and partner Aleks, with whom he co-edited Utilitarian Donuts in 2010. He likes to write things that smell, and sometimes even look, like poetry, and has self-published 12 chapbooks of such verbal waste-matter. He is the host & programmer of Naval Aviation In Audio on CJTR.

Fionncara MacEoin

Fionncara MacEoin is a writer living in Saskatoon. Her poetry has appeared in The Society, Transition and CV2. Recent publications include a chapbook Even the Sky Parts (JackPine Press 2011). MacEoin is currently the Programme Assistant at Sage Hill Writing Experience and studies at the University of Saskatchewan.

Caitlin Ward

Caitlin Ward is a Saskatoon-based writer. Her poetry has previously appeared in The Society, in medias res, and Grain Magazine. Her literary non-fiction has appeared in Spring, and she is a regular columnist for The Prairie Messenger. She has performed spoken word on many occasions, including at the Saskatoon Slam Semi-Final in summer 2011. Ward teaches creative writing to newcomer youth at the Saskatoon Open Door Society on a volunteer basis.

Bernadette Wagner

Bernadette Wagner is a multi-genre writer from Regina SK. Her collection of poetry, This hot place (Thistledown), was shortlisted for a 2010 Saskatchewan Book Award. This past summer she participated in the Widening Embrace recording project with Carolyn McDade & Friends. This fall, an excerpt from her unpublished fiction manuscript won first place for Children’s Literature in the SWG Short Manuscript Awards. She serves as Co-ordinator of the Literary Arts for the Cathedral Village Arts Festival and as Secretary of the Sage Hill Writing Experience.  And she’s happy to be back at Vertigo!

 

Ryan Anderson – Musician/Actor

Well music has been a staple in my life since I could pick up a tennis racket and pretend to be the Beatles or The Rolling Stones. This seemed to go over very well during some of my parent’s many parties. In high school I taught myself to play a real guitar and sing everything I learned. A couple years after graduation started “NUM” in 1994 a band I’ve been in ever since. We’ve played all over Saskatchewan and Southern Manitoba, but manly here in Regina in the local bars. We spent many years sharing the stage at Bart’s On Broad with Donny and the Moon Dogs and Jack Semple on occasion. When I’m not playing with the band I’m writing and acting in local comedy theater. So long story short, my heart is in the arts. I’m not rich but it’s a nice place to be.

 

Vertigo Reading Series
Presented by Brown Communications Group

Mon. Jan. 23rd, 2012, 7:30pm

Hosted by:
Crave Kitchen + Wine Bar
1925 Victoria Ave
Free admission

Kathleen Wall 

Kathleen Wall teaches at the University of Regina, where her specialties are Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, feminist theory, creative writing, modernism and postmodernism, and aesthetics.  She is at work on her second book of literary criticism, Virginia Woolf’s Aesthetics of Engagement.  She recently published ““Ethics, knowledge, and the need for beauty:  Zadie Smith’s On Beauty and Ian McEwan’s Saturday” in the University of Toronto Quarterly.  She has also published two books of poetry, Without Benefit of Words (Turnstone, 1991) and Time’s Body (Hagios, 2005).  Her novel, Blue Duets, was published by Brindle & Glass in 2010 and was nominated in the Fiction category for a Saskatchewan Book Award.

She believes passionately in the conversations that connect, transform, and query.  Since art is a culture’s way of thinking about and reflecting on ourselves and our world, it is one of the best inspirations to conversation we have.

Rolli

Rolli writes – and draws a little – for adults (Hayden’s Ferry Review, New York Tyrant, Rattle) and children (Ladybug, Spider, Highlights). He’s the author of God’s Autobio (short stories) and Plum Stuff (poems/drawings). Visit his blog (www.rolliwrites.wordpress.com), and follow his epic tweets @rolliwrites.

Nicole Pivovar Bio

Nicole Pivovar, an unpublished writer, is sharing her passion for photography and poetry publically for the first time.  Her education and career have allowed her a terrific journey as a communications professional, with a keen knack for sales.  She deeply believes living should be the least of our hards, even though that’s not always the case.  She credits her whole life to her Faith in God and seeks to know others the same way God knows her.  Her curiosity for extraordinary people and experiences has inspired the collection she will share.  When asked why she chose to write and photograph pieces of her life this past year; she explains simply “It makes my heart happy!”  She is most often found outside with her sneakers on; running is her other favoured pass time.  Humbled by this opportunity to share her hobby, she wishes to say Thank You to the Vertigo organizers for all they do to make Regina better.

Jack Walton

Singer, songwriter, guitarist and author Jack Walton offers an eclectic sampling of melody and words sautéed in melancholic sauces of jazz, blues, swing and roots. His songs, poetry and short stories are drawn from a well travelled Canadian landscape and the real and imaginary people he has met along the way.  A New Brunswicker by birth, he has comfortably called himself a ‘prairie maritimer’ for half a life time.

Vertigo Reading Series
Presented by Brown Communications Group

Tuesday, Nov. 8th, 2011, 7:30 pm
Crave Kitchen + Wine Bar
1925 Victoria Ave

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and
The League of Canadian Poets for this event.


Vertigo Reading Series
Presented by Brown Communications Group

Monday, Oct. 3rd, 2011, 7:30 pm
Crave Kitchen + Wine Bar
1925 Victoria Ave

 


Vertigo Reading Series

Presented by Brown Communications Group

Monday, Sept. 12th, 2011, 7:30 pm
Crave Kitchen + Wine Bar
1925 Victoria Ave

Steven Ross Smith

Rhona McAdam

Betty Jane Hergerat

Many thanks to Shelley Banks of Regina for providing the photos for Vertigo–and thanks to our readers Betty Jane Hergerat, Steven Ross Smith, and Rhona McAdam for entertaining a good crowd on Easter Sunday!

Warren James

Rodney Ashfield

Bob Friedrich

Amy at the Book Table


WARREN JAMES

Photo Credit:  Erica Clark.

Warren James is a storyteller and cryptozoologist living in Regina.
When not out monster hunting, he can be found haunting the stacks of
the Regina Public Library.

BOB FRIEDRICH

Bob Friedrich a former federal public servant turned author enjoys writing
poetry, children stories and travel memoir stories. He also has a
television production company called Pooch Productions with title credits
such as Whats in your Garage, and Yes, Gargoyles do live in Saskatchewan.

http://reviews.skbooks.com/?p=299
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r68t6hplLmo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHDS45CWxJg

RODNEY ASHFIELD

With only long-distant publishing credits and a book or two in the hopper, even though Rodney Ashfield has enjoyed poetry for as long as he can remember – which is less and less daily – he was still humbled to be included in this evenings event. Rodney enjoys sharing the air with words. When not writing, snuggling with his wife, or working with doctors in the care of people’s feet, he enjoys watching the world unfold

The Book Table

— Thanks again to Melissa Richardson for Volunteering to work the book table!

Our fantastic performers of the evening

— Sharon Plumb, Bernadette Wagner, and Kelley Jo Burke [left to right].

Our Beautiful Audience!

The handsome staff of Orange Izakaya

— Grant and Josh [left to right].

Kelley Jo Burke puts on an amazing show!

Those who could not attend missed a treat, indeed!

Vertigo Reading Series Director:  Kris Brandhagen

January 23, 2011

KELLEY JO BURKE

Kelley Jo Burke is an award-winning playwright and poet, a director, storyteller, documentarian, and broadcaster. Her plays have been produced and published in Canada, and around the world, including her stage plays, “Ducks on the Moon”,  “The Selkie Wife”, “Jane’s Thumb”, and “Charming and Rose: True Love, and her most recent radio play “Big Ocean“, which was heard in 7 countries in 2000.

She dramaturges, directs and produces for stage and radio and is the host/producer of CBC Saskatchewan’s radio art performance hour SoundXchange. Kelley Jo also has written and produced a number of documentaries for CBC Radio’s Ideas.

She is the 2009 winner of the Saskatchewan Lieutenant-Governor’s Award for Leadership in the Arts, the 2009 City of Regina Writing Award, and the 2008 Saskatoon and Area Theatre Award for Playwriting.

SHARON PLUMB

Sharon Plumb grew up writing stories in a small town that no longer exists, in the mountains of British Columbia. After she moved to the flat prairies, she studied Computer Science and switched to writing computer programs. When her three sons came along, she enjoyed reading to them so much that she started writing stories again.

She has written picture books, novels, poems, and plays. Her picture book Bill Bruin Shovels his Roof was published in 2006 as part of Scholastic Canada’s Literary Place for the Early Years. Draco’s Child, a YA fantasy novel, was published by Thistledown Press in March 2010.You can find out more about her and her books at the website for her writing group, the Saskatchewan Children’s Writers’ Round Robin: http://www.books4kids.ca.

BERNADETTE WAGNER

Author Photo:  Cherie Westmoreland   /   Cover Art:  Kim Menzies

Bernadette Wagner grew up on a small family farm forty-five minutes north of Regina. The gently rolling parkland instilled in her the spirit of the prairies, a love of land, and a commitment to community, all of which come through in her writing. Her poetry and nonfiction have appeared in journals, anthologies, and magazines and on radio, television and film, in schools, on stages, in the streets and on the web. She has been recognized with the Jerry Rush Scholarship, the W. O. Mitchell Bursary Award, an apprenticeship in the Saskatchewan Writers Guild Mentorship Program for Emerging Writers and a Saskatchewan Arts Board Individual Assistance Award. She extends her gratitude to the strong writing community in Saskatchewan, including the Saskatchewan Writers Guild and its many excellent programs, her family, friends, and communities for their love and support, and Thistledown Press, her publisher, for helping her to make a dream come true. This hot place is her first book.

Mark your calendars for the reading on January 23rd!  Details Below.

Oct. 4th – Please note venue change to Cafe Orange Izakaya

2136A Robinson St. Regina, SK S4T-2P7


JOHN TOONE

John Toone’s first collection of poetry, From Out of Nowhere, was published by Turnstone Press in spring 2009. He published two kids’ books in fall 2009, Catch that Catfish! and Hope and the Walleye. His poems also appear in the story Sixgun Quixote from the new graphic novel The Imagination Manifesto (Alchemical Press). John is past president of the Manitoba Writers’ Guild. Three of his books are shortlisted for five Manitoba Book Awards.

JONATHAN BALL

Jonathan Ball is the author of the poetry books Ex Machina (BookThug, 2009) and the forthcoming Clockfire (Coach House, 2010). He holds a Ph.D. in English with a focus in Creative Writing from the University of Calgary. His film Spoony B appeared on The Comedy Network, and his writing has appeared in The Believer and Harper’s. He is the former editor of dandelion and the former short films programmer for the Gimli Film Festival. Visit him online at http://www.jonathanball.com.  Clockfire is newly published.

CLOCKFIRE:
http://www.chbooks.com/catalogue/clockfire

EX MACHINA:
http://www.bookthug.ca/proddetail.php?prod=200915

ARIEL GORDON

Ariel Gordon is a Winnipeg-based writer and editor. She has two chapbooks to her credit, The navel gaze (Palimpsest Press) and Guidelines: Malaysia & Indonesia, 1999 (Rubicon Press), and this spring, Palimpsest published her first full-length poetry collection, Hump. She recently won the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer at the Manitoba Book Awards. When not being bookish, Ariel likes tromping through the woods and taking macro photographs of mushrooms.

GILLIAN HARDING RUSSELL

gillian harding-russell three poetry collections published: Candles in my head (Ekstasis 2001) Vertigo (River Books, 2004), and I forgot to tell you (Thistledown, 2007), and  the chapbook Apples and Mice (Alfred Gustav Press, 2008). Her  poems have appeared  in several anthologies and chapbook anthologies and many literary journals across Canada. She has won several awards for her poetry, and most recently had her poem “Autumn Meditation on her name and becoming” short-listed for the Winston Collins’ Award for 2010.

Harding Russell has a chapbook coming out next spring with Leaf Press, entitled “Poems for the Summer Solstice.” She will be reading from recently published work in journals, a poem that was short-listed for the Winston Collins’ Award in 2010.

Harding Russell will read one of Elizabeth Brewster’s poems, who unfortunately suffered a stroke last year after the launch of her last poetry collection, Time and Seasons.

Harding Russell will bring copies of previous poetry collections, Vertigo,  and I forgot to tell you.

BRENDA NISKALA

Brenda Niskala‘s novella Of All the Ways to Die (Quattro) was published 2009; her short stories have appeared in several anthologies and literary journals. Her poetry has been published in chapbooks, the co-authored Open 24 Hours, and collected in Ambergris Moon. For the Love of Strangers (Coteau Books 2010) is her first book of short fiction.

Brenda has taught Creative Writing for the University of Regina Extension Department, the Festival of Words and the Sage Hill Writing Experience Teen Camp. She has read her work to audiences across Canada, and in Finland and England. Saskatchewan born and raised, she currently makes her home in Regina.

WES FUNK

A few years back, when Wes published out his chap-book Humble Beginnings, no one was more surprised than him at how well-received it was.  This inspired him to keep plugging away at his sort-of-memoir Dead Rock Stars.  Shortly after being released, his novel was a pick-of-the-month for the local C95 book club and was a subject on several local radio and television talk shows.  It was short-listed for a Saskatchewan Book Award and received an Honourable Mention for Writers’ Digest International Self-Published Book Awards.

Besides dabbling in real estate and working part-time in healthcare, Wes enjoys writing the Life on Broadway column in Saskatoon’s Neighbourhood Express Magazine.  He also stays active in the Saskatoon Writers Coop and putters away at another manuscript.

TARA DAWN SOLHEIM

Tara Dawn Solheim has performed poetry and music in many contexts throughout Canada, America, England and Japan. From 2004 to 2005, she worked with the Mackenzie Art Gallery in Regina to develop and host a jazz and poetry performance series called the Seldom Sessions. Tara has been commissioned to create original musical and poetic performances for CBC, various dance shows and local festivals including the Cathedral Arts Festival, the Regina and Brandon Folk Festivals, and the Her-i-cane Women’s Art Festival.

After moving to Tokyo in 2005, Tara began to focus on music and performed regularly with bands. Her original music draws on blues and jazz from the 1920 / 30’s and early rock ‘n’ roll. Tara returned to Canada last year and is now working on a new album to be recorded in autumn 2010. She is also in the process of bringing a prairie superhero back to life through the serial poem, “The Adventures of WonderWalker”.

KRIS BRANDHAGEN

Kris Brandhagen used the University rag as a vehicle for her first publications in 2001, and the story goes on from there to publish in Spring Magazine, In Medias Res, Transverse Journal, Carousel, Ramble Underground, Cahoots, Poetry Reviews, Contemporary Verse 2, and Regina Fine Lifestyles Magazine.

As far as education goes, Kris completed a BA in English literature and Visual Arts from the University of sunny Regina in 2004.  She then did a little housekeeping in Canmore, Alberta before heading off to Seoul, South Korea in 2004 to splash her feet in cultural waters and teach English as a Second Language.

Running parallel to the story of Kris as a writer, there is the story of Kris as a photographer.  What brought her back to Canada in 2005 was the Commercial Photography program at Dawson College in Montreal, where she spent two years being squeezed like a lemon.  Regina was happy to have her back in 2007.  She did a little of this and a little of that.

In 2008 she applied for and received a grant from the Saskatchewan Arts Board to work on her book-length manuscript of poems, Jennifer.  Kris is currently hard at work on her second, third, and fourth manuscripts as well as several visual and interdisciplinary projects.

June 7, 2010

COLIN MORTON

Born in Toronto, Colin Morton grew up in Alberta where he completed an MA in English in 1979. He works as a teacher, editor, and writer in many media and has performed and recorded his poetry with First Draft and other music poetry groups, as well as in the animated film Primiti Too Taa. Also a novelist, he has been writer-in-residence at Concordia College in Minnesota (1995-96) and at Connecticut College (1997). Morton has won numerous awards including the Archibald Lampman Award for Poetry for Coastlines of the Archipelago (BuschekBooks 2000). Colin Morton lives in Ottawa, Ontario.

HEATHER CADSBY

Heather Cadsby was born in Belleville Ontario and currently lives in Toronto. She is the author of four books of poetry. A Tantrum of Synonyms (Wolsak and Wynn) was a finalist for the Pat Lowther Award for the best book of poetry in English by a Canadian woman. Recently her poetry has appeared in such journals as PRISM international, The New Quarterly, The Malahat Review, The Antigonish Review as well as the anthology, Best Canadian Poetry in English, 2008 (Tightrope Books). Her fourth collection of poetry titled Could be was published by Brick Books in fall 2009.

She has conducted poetry workshops through the League of Canadian Poets’ Poets-in-the-Schools program, as well as for MASC’s Young Authors’ and Illustrators’ Conference, Phoenix, A Poets’ Workshop and the North York Board of Education.

Her magazine awards include Grain Postcard Story, 2000: 2nd prize and The Antigonish Review Poetry Contest: 3rd prize, 2001.

She is the author of Could be(Brick Books, 2009), A Tantrum of Synonyms (Wolsak and Wynn Publishers, 1997), Decoys (Mosaic Press, 1988) and Traditions (Fiddlehead Poetry Books/Gooselane Editions, 1981).

ADRIENNE GRUBER

Adrienne Gruber publishes regularly in Canadian literary magazines and has been short-listed for ARC’s Poem of the Year contest, Descant’s Winston Collins Best Canadian Poem contest and the CBC Literary Awards. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from UBC and her first poetry manuscript This Is The Nightmare was published with Thistledown Press in September 2008. Besides working on her writing projects, Adrienne is a belly dancer and scuba diver and is the Writer-in-Residence for Notre Dame School in Toronto through Descant Magazine’s S.W.A.T. program (Students, Writers and Teachers).  Adrienne currently resides in Toronto.

JOANNE GERBER

Joanne Gerber will be reading from her novel-in-progress, Like Manna. Her story collection, In the Misleading Absence of Light, won three Saskatchewan Book Awards, the Jubilee Award, and was short-listed for the Toronto Book Award and the Danuta Gleed Award. Joanne’s other works include stage drama, a song cycle and the libretto for a chamber opera with composer David L. McIntyre. Since 2005, she has worked for the Saskatchewan Arts Board: she is Program Consultant for Literary and Multidisciplinary Arts. She has also been an editor at Coteau Books and Grain Magazine (fiction), and a writing instructor.

May 10, 2010

ANTHONY BIDULKA

Anthony Bidulka’s mystery series tells the story of a half-Ukrainian, half-Irish, Saskatchewan, gay, ex-farm boy, ex-cop, world-travelling, wine-swilling, Canadian prairie private detective living a big life in a small city. The Russell Quant series is a multi award nominee including for the Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Award and Saskatchewan Book Award. The second book in the series, Flight of Aquavit, was awarded the Lambda Literary Award for Best Men’s Mystery.

Anthony has toured extensively throughout Canada and the US. A great believer in community involvement, he currently sits on the boards of the International Association of Crime Writers, Crime Writers of Canada, and is a co-founder of Camp fYrefly-Saskatchewan (a life skills camp for LGBT youth). In June 2008, Anthony was MC for Canada’s premiere mystery conference, Bloody Words.

The Russell Quant books: Amuse Bouche (2003), Flight of Aquavit (2004), Tapas on the RamblasStain of the Berry (2006), Sundowner Ubuntu (2007), Aloha, Candy Hearts (2009), Date With a Sheesha (2010). (2005).

Bidulka’s last book, Aloha, Candy Hearts, has just been shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award for best Canadian Crime Novel. Awards will be handed out at a gala in Toronto on May 27th.

ANNE CAMPBELL

A new collection out, the fifth, from Hagios Press. Working away with fellow editors on a history of the Regina Public Library in the context of a changing city. Still working on a biography of the visual artist Arthur Mckay; a new poetry collection.

May 17, birthday; also Norwegian Independance Day

From Facebook: I like writing, walking, talking, dinners, learning something new, listening to music: Mahler, Mozart, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Serena Ryder, Ian Tyson; movies: favourites are Truly, Madly, Deeply; Zorba the Greek; Tom Jones; The Big Chill; The Tree of Wooden Clogs; Annie Hall, The Reader.

I am lucky to have a great family and friends, and to be able to enjoy music and film. Well, to be alive.

SHELLEY BANKS

Shelley Banks grew up in B.C., Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, went to university in Ontario, and worked in Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa before moving to Regina about 12 years ago.  She writes fiction, non-fiction and poetry, and her work has been published or is forthcoming in Grain, Spring, Room, The Antigonish Review, Carousel, Other Voices, The Society, and Spring.  She recently completed her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the University of B.C., and is now working on her first poetry collection.

April 26, 2010

GLEN SORESTAD

Glen Sorestad is a longtime Saskatoon poet, author of 18 poetry books, a Life Member of the League of Canadian Poets and Saskatchewan’s first Poet Laureate(2000-2004).

His poems have appeared in over 50 anthologies and textbooks, as well as countless literary magazines and journals; his poems have been translated into a half-dozen languages and have been read on national radio in Norway and Slovenia, as well as Canada. He has given public readings of his poetry in every province of Canada, in 17 states, as well as in France, Norway, Finland and Slovenia. His latest collection is What We Miss.

LORI CAYER

Born in Saskatchewan in 1961, Lori Cayer has made Manitoba her home since 1969. Her second volume of poetry Attenuations of Force is released by Frontenac House, 2010. Her first poetry collection, Stealing Mercury (The Muses’ Company), won the Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for Best First Book in Manitoba in 2004 and was nominated for the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer and the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award the same year. Lori won the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer in 2005. She is co-founder of the Aqua Books Lansdowne Prize for Poetry/Prix Lansdowne de poésie, now part of the Manitoba Writing and Publishing Awards. Lori works by day as an editorial assistant for a scientific research journal.

SIMON MOCCASIN

Simon is from the northwestern Saskatchewan reserve once called Little Jackfish Lake but is now the Saulteaux First Nation.

Simon’s writing reflects on many genres from the macabre to the lighter side of life. He honed his skills in poetry after joining the Survivors Writers Group of Regina in 2001.

Simon is not only a writer but also a performance poet and amateur comedian. He performed last year for the Regina segment of Yuk Yuks and Lafftrax Comedy reviews that showcased local talent. He also performed with a group called the Bionic Bannock Boys and showcasing group comedy sketches at the Crow Hop Café in Regina. Simon has appeared on shows such as Moccasin Flats, “Untamed Weather”, a documentary to be shown on the History Channel, and stand-in parts on CBC’s Corner Gas.

As an adopted Cree, Simon has written about his experiences on being raised in the “western way”. His writing reflects the bi-cultural aspects of experiencing both worlds. He touches on such issues as self-government and the “folly that occurs in leadership positions throughout the western world”. Simon has written articles for “Say”, “Commonwealth”, “Faces” and “Briarpatch” magazines dealing with social issues and bi-cultural education. He has recently turned to researching and writing on the early beginnings of “beat poetry”. Simon has a B.Ed. Degree from the University of Regina.

The Vertigo Reading Series is seeking writers for the following dates:

June 7 – No Theme

September 13 – Themed ‘Very Superstitious’

October 4 – No Theme

November 1 – Themed ‘Day of the Dead’

Note:  Themes are not meant to deter interest in readers, but to inspire, or energize, or give platform to.

Please reply to Kris Brandhagen by comment on this blog, or via Facebook message.

Nik L. Burton from Coteau hosted the evening, he is pictured above in the polka-dot tie.

Ariel Gordon opened up for Tracy with a poem about bosoms; she’s pictured up at the mic with long brown hair and an off-white shirt.

Tracy Hamon Launches Interruptions in Glass published by Coteau!

Tracy Hamon was born in Regina, SK and grew up traveling between Regina and her parents’ farm near Edenwold, Saskatchewan. She holds a BA Hon and is finishing a MA in English with a creative option at the U of R in the fall of 2009. She is a mother, works part time as a barber/stylist, and is the Program Officer for the Saskatchewan Writers Guild.

Most recently, she started a reading series in Regina called the Vertigo Reading Series. Her poetry has appeared in numerous Canadian literary magazines including Grain, Wascana Review, A Room of One’s Own, sub-TERRAIN, and Event as well as numerous anthologies. Recently her manuscript of poetry on Egon Schiele was short- listed for the 2007 CBC Literary Awards.

Her first book of poetry This Is Not Eden was released in April 2005 and was a finalist for two Saskatchewan Book Awards. Portions of her recent collection won the City of Regina Award in 2005. She currently lives in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Katherine Lawrence, the Saskatchewan representative of the League of Canadian Poets, hosted the event.  She is pictured in the slide show wearing a red leather jacket.

Katherine Lawrence lives in Saskatoon and works for the Royal University Hospital Foundation as Campaign Director and Development Officer. Her poetry has appeared in numerous Canadian journals and anthologies. Her first book, Ring Finger, Left Hand (Coteau Books, 2001) won a Saskatchewan Book Award. Her second collection, Lying to Our Mothers, (Coteau Books, 2006) was a finalist in the 2006 Saskatchewan Book Awards. Katherine holds a BA from Carleton University and a post-graduate certificate in Creating Writing (fiction) from Humber College. Her JackPine publication, Split Ends, is a short story.

March 29, 2010: (W)RITES OF SPRING

League of Canadian Poets Fundraiser (W)rites of Spring

featuring:

Anne Campbell

Anne Campbell is an award winning Canadian writer of five collections of poetry, as well as stories and non fiction. She is currently working on a biographical memoir of the Canadian visual artist, Arthur F. McKay, one of the famed Regina Five. Her recent work includes the poetry collection, Soul to Touch, Hagios Press, 2009, as well as (in 2006, re-issued 2008) Regina’s Secret Spaces, a collection of essays on hidden aspects of Regina as revealed by artists, which she edited with visual artists, Lorne Beug and Jeannie Mah for the Canadian Plains Research Centre, University of Regina. Her new poetry collection, Soul to Touch (Hagios, 2009) explores reconciliation – in body and language, both personal and social, spiritual and environmental.

Gillian Harding Russell


gillian harding-russell was born in Toronto,Ontario, raised in St.Jean, Que, attended McGill where she received her Hon BA 1st class in English Literature,MA on nineteenth century novel and PH.D from the University of Saskatchewan. Her doctorate dissertation, on postmodern Canadian poetry entitled Open Forms of Mythopoeia in post-modern Canadian poetry focusing on the poetry of Gwendolyn MacEwan and Michael Ondaatje.

gillian harding-russell has taught at the Universities of Saskatchewan and Regina and through University Extension and the Sociology department. Between 1988 and 2005, she was poetry editor for Event {/I] and now works for the Event Reading Service and Manuscript Evaluation and reviews books for Prairie Fire .
anthologies
1. “Continuum,” Cranberry Tree Press, 2004.IBSN: 1-894668-17-0
2. “Delicious,” Cranberry Tree Press, 2007. IBSN-13:978-1-894668-29-3.
3. “Letting Go: Poems about surviving a loss,” Black Moss, 2005. IBSN 0-88753-393-0
4. “Reportage,Cranberry Press,” 2006..ISBN I-894668-26-x
5.” Ellipsis…” Cranberry Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1-894668-37-8
books and chapbooks
1. At the End of the Garden (a chapbook)Regina, Green Publications, 1990.
IBSN: 0-9691555-7-3 ( chapbook)
2. Candles in My Head, poetry book (Ekstasis, 2001). ISBN 1-896860-83-4.
3.Vertigo (River Books, 2004). ISBN 1-895836-79-4
4. I forgot to tell you (Thistledown, 2007). ISBN 978-1-897235-34-8
5. Apples and Mice (Alfred Gustav ), 2008. ISBN 978-0-9811327-0-9 (chapbook)
Her articles have appeared in anthologies as well as many journals across Canada, including The Capilano Review, CV2, Canadian Literature, Carousel, Event, The Dalhousie Review, Descant, Fiddlehead, Grain, Matrix, Open Voices, Queen’s Quarterlyetc.

Judith Krause

Judith Krause studied languages and literature at the University of Regina and the Université de Caen, France, as well as studying and teaching in Switzerland. She recently completed the MFA Program for Writers through Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina. A past president of the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild, Krause has worked as a Literary Arts Consultant to the Saskatchewan Arts Board, coordinated the Creative Writing program at the Saskatchewan School of the Arts, and has taught creative writing classes through the University of Regina, at the Saskatchewan School of Arts at Fort San, and at the Sage Hill Writing Experience.

Awards – Robert Kroetsch Scholarship, 1979.
Saskatchewan Writers Guild Literary Award, Poetry, 1982; honourable mention, 1987.
City of Regina Writing Award, 1988, 1998.
Grain Prose Poem Competition, Honourable Mention, 1989.
Saskatchewan Book of the Year, finalist, 1994.
Grain Prose Poem Competition, third prize, 1998.

Selected Publications – What We Bring Home. (Coteau Books, 1986).
Half the Sky. (Coteau Books, 1994).
Silk Routes of the Body. (Coteau Books, 2001) ISBN 1-55050-180-1.

Bruce Rice

Bruce Rice has published four books of poetry. His latest collection, Life in the Canopy (Hagios), has been shortlisted for the 2009 Saskatchewan Book of the Year. The book combines text and stunning images by Regina photographer, Cherie Westmoreland. The manuscript placed second in the John V. Hicks Memorial Award and an excerpt was shortlisted for the 2008 CBC Literary Awards.

Bruce’s first collection, Daniel received the 1989 Canadian Authors Association Award. The Illustrated Statue of Liberty (Coteau), received the City of Regina Award at the Saskatchewan Book Awards in 2003. He also received Grain Magazine’s 2002 Anne Szumigalski Award for the best poem or sequence published in Grain that year. Excerpts were also performed in Regina at Globe Theatre’s On the Line series.

Andrew Stubbs


Andrew Stubbs teaches rhetoric and composition and creative writing at the University of Regina. His first poetry collection, White Light Primitive, published by Hagios Press, deals with war, generational memory, and the anomalies and responsibilities of survival. His second book, Endgames, will be published by Thistledown Press in Spring 2010. Stubbs was co-editor of The Collected Poetry of Eli Mandel, and published a full-length study of Mandel’s work, Myth, Origins, Magic (Turnstone, 1993). An essay collection, Rhetoric, Uncertainty, and the University as Text, studied the social politics of the classroom (CPRC, 2007). He has written on Canadian literature, psychoanalysis, and composition theory.

Awards – Shortlisted for 2009 Sask. Book Awards (Poetry): White Light Primitive.
Shortlisted for 2000 Sask. Book Awards: The Collected Poetry of Eli Mandel
First Prize: filling Station Poetry Contest (2002)

One of 5 winners: Dialogue Poetry Contest, SWG and Rosemont Art Gallery, 2001)
Publications – White Light Primitive. (Hagios Press, 2009)
Rhetoric, Uncertainty, and the University as Text. (CPRC, 2007)
The Collected Poetry of Eli Mandel (CPRC, 2000)ISBN: 0-88977-138-3
Myth, Origins, Magic (Turnstone,1993) ISBN: 0-88801-170-9
Sharon Thesen (monograph) (ECW, 1995) ISBN: 0-920802-43-5

Books – Dennis Cooley (monograph) (ECW,1996) ISBN: 0-920802-43-5
Stubbs, Andrew
White Light Primitive. Poetry. (Hagios Press, 2009) ISBN: 978-0-9783440-8-5. $17.95.
Rhetoric, Uncertainty, and the University as Text. Essays. (CPRC, 2007) ISBN: 978 0 88977 203 8. $17.95

Kathleen Wall

Kathleen Wall is a professor in the English Department at the University of Regina. She was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and took her B.A. and M.A. in English at the University of Michigan. She immigrated to Canada in 1973 and began work on her Ph.D. at the University of Manitoba in 1976. Her thesis, The Callisto Myth from Ovid to Atwood, was published by McGill Queen’s University Press in 1988. After working as a sessional in an off-campus program for inner city teachers and social workers at the University of Manitoba, she joined the University of Regina in 1990. She edited Wascana Review, the English Department’s literary journal, from 1993-2002, and became editor again in 2008. In 2001, she won the University of Regina’s Alumni Award for Undergraduate Teaching. Recent publications include Time’s Body, a book of poetry that was a poetry finalist for the Saskatchewan Book Awards, and Ethics, Knowledge, and the Need for Beauty: Zadie Smith’s On Beauty and Ian McEwan’s Saturday, which was published in the University of Toronto Quarterly in 2008. Her novel, Blue Duets, will be published by Brindle & Glass in the spring of 2010. She is working on a study of the way Virginia Woolf uses literary form to articulate her work’s relationship to the public sphere.

March 8, 2010

DAVID ZIEROTH

David Zieroth’s poetry has appeared in dozens of anthologies and he has published eight collections. His most recent book, The Fly in Autumn, won the 2009 Governor General’s Literary Award for poetry. He is also the author of the acclaimed memoir, The Education of Mr. Whippoorwill: A Country Boyhood. He taught at Douglas College in New Westminster, BC, for twenty-five years before retiring and founding the Alfred Gustav Press. Born in Neepawa, Manitoba, he lives in North Vancouver, BC. For more information, visit http://www.davidzieroth.com.

JACQUELINE MOORE

Jacqueline Moore grew up in Regina, spent her teenage years in Saskatoon, and went on to live in Vancouver and Montreal. These days, she calls Saskatoon home. In her time she has been a dessert baker, a tree planter, a features reporter, a racehorse groom/stablehand, a desktop publisher, an environmental educator, a dental lab technician, and a couple dozen other things. Having always been fascinated with others’ life experiences, it was her years spent as a journalist that gave Jacqueline the parlance to interview people and give voice to their narratives. The Saskatchewan Secret: Folk Healers, Diviners, and Mystics of the Prairies is Jacqueline’s first book.

LINDA BIASOTTO

Born in Winnipeg, Linda has spent her adult life residing in Regina. Her work has won several contests, including those for one act plays, poetry and short stories. She has been published in Room of One’s Own and has completed her first short story collection. Currently, she is enjoying writing her first novel entitled Lilac Road.

Linda prefers exploring the darker psychological aspects of the human life. She delves into the dysfunctions of relationships to record how, even during our most grave challenges, we continue to strain toward light.

MARIE POWELL MENDENHALL

Marie Powell Mendenhall (M E Powell) is a Regina-based professional writer whose short fiction and poetry appear in such literary magazines as Room Magazine, Transition, Pandora’s Collective, and the WindFire print anthology. In 2007, Scholastic published her children’s nonfiction Dragonflies Are Amazing! She has also won first place in the SWG Short Manuscript Awards for children’s fiction. Her articles appear in magazines, broadcast, and online markets across Canada and the US. She is currently enrolled in the University of British Columbia’s Master of Fine Arts degree program in Creative Writing. For more information see her website, http://www.mepowell.com/

Nov. 23, 2009

Bruce Rice

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Bruce Rice has published four books of poetry. His latest collection, Life in the Canopy (Hagios), has been shortlisted for the 2009 Saskatchewan Book of the Year. The book combines text and stunning images by Regina photographer, Cherie Westmoreland. The manuscript placed second in the John V. Hicks Memorial Award and an excerpt was shortlisted for the 2008 CBC Literary Awards.

Bruce’s first collection, Daniel received the 1989 Canadian Authors Association Award. The Illustrated Statue of Liberty (Coteau), received the City of Regina Award at the Saskatchewan Book Awards in 2003. He also received Grain Magazine’s 2002 Anne Szumigalski Award for the best poem or sequence published in Grain that year. Excerpts were also performed in Regina at Globe Theatre’s On the Line series.

Maurice Mierau

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Maurice Mierau is the Winnipeg Public Library Writer-in-Residence for 2009-10. Fear Not, his latest book, won the 2009 ReLit Award for Poetry. Maurice’s first collection of poems was Ending with Music and appeared with Brick in 2002. He has also published an award-winning book of non-fiction.

Gerald Hill

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Gerald Hill is a writer, editor and teacher in Regina. He has published five books of poetry—the third of which, Getting to Know You, won the Saskatchewan Book Award for Poetry in 2004—and one nonfiction work, Their Names Live On: Remembering Saskatchewan’s Fallen in World War II (with Doug Chisholm). His most recent book, 14 Tractors, appeared in spring, 2009. He teaches English and Creative Writing at Luther College, University of Regina.

Annette Bower

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Annette Bower explores women in families, women in communities and women at the beginning and end of love and their quest for love. Her stories are published in magazines and anthologies in Canada, United States and in the UK.

She pursues the writing craft in workshops, conferences, Writing with Style, Banff Centre for the Arts, Victoria School of Writing and Sage Hill. She is thankful for the support and friendship of the Saskatchewan writing community.

“When I say ‘work’ I only mean writing. Everything else is just odd jobs.” Margaret Laurence