“One Child Reading” Launch

On September 30, 2016 the School of Library and Information Studies and the University of Alberta Press celebrated the release of Dr. Margaret Mackey’s book One Child Reading: My Auto-Bibliography. The guests gathered in Henderson Hall (Rutherford South at the University of Alberta) enjoyed the speeches and presentations by Linda Cameron, Heide Blackmore, and Margaret herself.

We’d like to share Heide’s speech here, which is a great overview of the book. Who wouldn’t want to read One Child Reading after hearing her speak?

For all of my remembered life I have been a reader. Riding in tandem has been an ongoing curiosity about readers and especially their pleasure-reading preferences.

Some two decades ago I met Margaret by auditing her course on reading at the School of Library and Information Science, and I have been learning from her ever since.

And so it is my particular delight to be here to celebrate the publication of her latest book, One Child Reading: My Auto-Bibliography.

So then here is one reader (me) reading about one child reading. Well, this reader likes:
– first person narratives—TICK
– complex situations—TICK
– suspense—hmm, oddly enough—TICK
– a nice fat book—TICK!

This book is thick, it’s heavy—I love the soft colours of the cover, the weight and shape of the book in my hands, the restful layout, the lovely font, the white space, the smooth feel of the paper—it’s a full body treat; it even fits precisely into my arm. Kudos to the craftsmanship of the folks at the U of A Press for creating a physical object that perfectly embodies one of Margaret’s themes—namely that reading is grounded in the physical, local, and personal. Great job!

It was a surprise to me how little overlap there is between my childhood reading and that of the young Margaret, and yet I frequently found myself staring into the distance as warm memories surfaced of similar early reading experiences. And so I was happy to follow the paths and note the landmarks [one of the metaphors that shapes the book] in the young Margaret’s world, certain that new awareness—both general and personal—was in store for me from Margaret’s examples and analysis.

Close on the heels of that pleasure was the intellectual workout this book offered me—I don’t remember the last time I had to skip so many words because I was in such a rush to keep reading to discover the next theory or insight. Of course, I had to go back since the meaning rests in the words!

This book is an astonishing accomplishment—a self-disciplined scholar applying a courteous detachment—carefully examines the reader she knows best, in order that her readers can learn not about her, but about themselves.

You do write beautifully, Margaret.

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Featured Reviews of “Landscapes of War and Memory”

“This is a passionately written academic book – a characterization which the author would probably agree should not be an oxymoron. The passion suggests that it is written as much for curious general readers as for academics. I hope it reaches many of both, particularly those who know or have known war survivors…. Grace’s specific subjects are Canadian literary and visual representations of 20th-century war created in the 1977-2007 period, and the tasks of collective national memory that these perform…. Official war histories record the losses, gains, and casualties but seldom the savage and often impulsive and unnecessary means by which these came about. In these 600+ pages Grace examines numerous novels, plays and television films…” Frank Davey, Frank Davey Blog, January 1, 2015

“… officialdom and media have celebrated wartime exploit as a central fixture of the Canadian experience. This is factually dubious but worthy of thoughtful analysis. Professor Sherrill Grace, a professor of literature at the University of British Columbia, examines the phenomenon. The result is striking and poignant…. Prof. Grace examines this ritual of remembrance over a 30-year period, citing hundreds of Canadian poems and films, novels, memoirs and documentaries.” Holly Doan, Blacklock’s Reporter, January 17, 2015

“An extraordinary and seminal work of truly impressive and seminal scholarship…. [E]specially recommended for academic library Canadian History reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists.” Michael Dunford, Midwest Book Review Bookwatch, January 2, 2015

“[The prominent Canadian literary critic Sherrill] Grace’s new book is an exhaustive look at the way Canadian artists have recently understood and remembered both wars. Her work is nuanced, probing the contradictions and ambiguities of the ‘good’ war, particularly through Joy Kogawa’s Obasan. Grace regularly returns to the theme of democracy and freedom being ‘fragile,’ especially during wartime. She also asks crucial questions using the metaphor of memory as landscape.” Jamie Swift, ActiveHistory.ca, April 9, 2015

“[Sherrill Grace’s book] examines the work of artists, who can be instrumental in voicing and depicting war memories that are painful, sometimes heroic, and often shocking…Blending raw personal point of view with objective academic discourse, Grace describes how she was propelled into writing this book…. Landscapes of War and Memory is a compelling and provocative cultural study that poses important questions regarding where Canada stands today in relation to war.” Anne Cimon, Canada’s History Magazine, June 1, 2015

“Despite the passage of five decades, Canadian novelists, memoirists, playwrights and artists are decidedly far from finished with the World Wars—with the experiences of our predecessors in battle and the sometimes atrocious actions of citizens on the home front. In particular, UBC literature scholar Sherrill Grace argues, we are concerned with memory, with remembering and forgetting… ‘Forgetting is a trap,’ she shows us. Art, then, does the vital memory work of ‘bearing witness’ to our troubled and restless war-scarred past. Naomi K. Lewis, Alberta Views, July 1, 2015

In Landscapes of War and Memory, Sherrill Grace examines the twin processes of commemoration and amnesia that have shaped cultural responses in Canada to the two global conflicts of the twentieth century. Her study, immensely rich, surveys works of theatre, visual art, and film as well as novels and stories, but above all it is concerned with fiction in a catholic sense — with the perpetual reinvention of the past…. I cannot do justice in a brief review to the six hundred pages of her book, and in summary I suggest only that it is a pleasure to read despite the sobering topic: Grace is an admirably clear writer, her study perfectly accessible. It will appeal to specialist readers of this journal as well as to students of Canada at large.” Nicholas Bradley, BC Studies, online, March 1, 2016

Eden Robinson Among 2016 Writers’ Trust Prize winners

I am delighted to inform you that “Eden Robinson was honoured for her contributions to Canadian literature with the $25,000 Writers’ Trust Engel/Findley Award. Robinson is the author of two novels, including the iconic book Monkey Beach and a short story collection. She will release a new novel, Son of a Trickster, in 2017.”

We worked with Eden a number of years (2011/12) ago when she was the Canadian Literature Centre / Centre de littérature canadienne Kriesel Lecture guest lecturer and we subsequently published her lecture titled, The Sasquatch at Home: Traditional Protocols & Modern Storytelling.

Eden has enthusiastically committed to participate in the “Writing Stick: Sharing Indigenous Stories” conference we are planning with our partners, the Book Publishers Association of Alberta, the Writers’ Guild of Alberta, the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association, the Edmonton Public Library, UAlberta North and most recently, the City of Edmonton.

Bad News from Our Local Newspaper

Mark Iype, Editor-in-Chief
Loren Motley, Western VP

Greetings

I learned this morning that the Edmonton Journal is planning to discontinue the Edmonton weekly best sellers list and that the Saturday books page will be produced nationally. In a week where an individual who may be described as the antithesis of a literary person has been elected to the presidency of the most powerful country in the world, the news of the further erosion of anything literary is extremely distressing.

I am a publisher and have been publishing books, with a 3-year stint in newspaper publishing, for over 30 years. I love what I do and I know every day the work has value. I know, too, that publishing has changed practically beyond recognition in the past decade. It is tough out here regardless of whether you are publishing books or newspapers.

However, I firmly believe there must continue to be newspapers and books in print form and that we must be prepared to cope with diminished returns.

According to EKOS Research Associates, Public Opinion on the Value of Books in the English Language Book Sector: Summary Report, 2015, Canadian readers:

• Canadians read in huge numbers. 8 in 10 Canadians read books, averaging over five hours per week in reading. Reading occupies approximately a quarter of all Canadians’ leisure time.
• Though about half of Canadians read digitally at least some of the time, focus groups indicate that preferences for reading physical books remain strong.
• 77% of Canadians purchase books on an annual basis.
• 75% of book readers say that reading makes an important contribution to quality of life; in contrast, only half of those pursuing screen-based activities rate the contribution of those media in the same way.
• 86% of Canadian millenials (ages 18-34) report reading a book in the past year, compared to 81% of other demographic groups. 89% report reading print books, with 54% reading ebooks. 11% of millennials say that their phone is their primary reading device. Millenials are readers, and read using a variety of formats.

As a person living in Edmonton I look forward to reading the Edmonton Journal for news about my city. However, the first section I turn to is the one with the books and, yes, I read the best sellers lists for Edmonton and the national lists, too. It is interesting to me to compare the reading at the city level with that across the country.

I know you must make tough decisions. I respectfully ask that you reconsider the decisions to drop the best sellers list and produce the Saturday books page nationally.

Sincerely,
Linda Cameron

Supporters of Bill 6 Raise their Voices

Bill 6, the government of Alberta’s contentious farm workers’ safety legislation, sparked public debate as no other legislation has done in recent years. The Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act provides a right to work safely and a compensation system for those killed or injured at work, similar to other provinces.

In Farm Workers in Western Canada: Injustices and Activism, activists and scholars place this legislation in context. They look at the origins, work conditions, and precarious lives of farm workers in terms of larger historical forces. They also examine how the rights and privileges of farm workers, including seasonal and temporary foreign workers, conflict with those of their employers, and reveal the barriers many face by being excluded from most statutory employment laws, sometimes in violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Are you saying that Alberta’s farm animals are protected by laws that farm workers are denied?
—from Chapter 2

Bob Barnetson’s blog shares some excellent material from the book. We encourage everyone to join the conversation about farm safety.

For More Information

Shirley A. McDonald, Faculty of Creative/Critical Studies, UBC
Work: 250-807-8121 / Email: shirley.mcdonald@ubc.ca

Bob Barnetson, Professor, Labour Relations, Athabasca University
Work: 780-454-9881 / Email: barnetso@athabascau.ca

Darlene Dunlop, Activist
Work: 403-330-2264 / Email: thefarmworkers@gmail.com

 

UAP Book in an Unlikely Spot

Our former intern, sharp-eyed Alicia Cappello, spotted one of our books, Muslim Families in North America [Sharon Abu-Laban, Regula Qureshi and Earle H. Waugh, Editors] on the bookshelf behind Michael Keaton in the movie Spotlight.

… I was watching the movie Spotlight, the one about the Boston Globe breaking the story about Catholic priests who molested children, and I noticed something. It was in a scene where several of the actors are having a meeting in the editor’s office. Take a look at the book behind Michael Keaton, second from the right.

After staring at the UAP logo for so long, it sort of jumped out at me while I was watching, but I had to rewind to be sure! Note, the movie was released in 2015, but was based on events that happened in 2001. The book was published in 1991, so it is totally plausible that it could have been on the shelf of a newspaper editor in Boston in 2001. Since it’s out of print, it would be interesting to know where they set designers found it in 2014 or 2015, when the movie was actually filmed.

Just thought this might interest you guys!

It most certainly interested us, Alicia! Linda Cameron shared the news with others and Kate Edwards, Executive Director of the Association of Canadian Publishers, replied and helped to answer Alicia’s query.

Very neat! Spotlight was filmed in Toronto and details on filming locations are provided here:  http://torontoist.com/2016/01/reel-toronto-spotlight/. Some of the furniture used for the Boston Globe sets was sold to the production by the Globe and Mail. Maybe they threw in some old review copies as part of the deal!

Oh, all the adventurous ways a book might find its way to the big screen!