rss-feed http://www.writersfestival.org/rss-feed en Ottawa International Writers Festival 2006 120 Cultivating Poetic Sensibility with Phil Jenkins http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/cultivating-poetic-sensibility-with-phil-jenkins Phil Jenkins started the final afternoon event of the Writers Festival by limning the question of what “poetic sensibility” is and why it is such an essential quality to have in not only literature, but in life itself.

]]> Tue, 08 May 2012 14:50:14 -0700 http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/cultivating-poetic-sensibility-with-phil-jenkins Daniel Bezalel Richardsen 'It's good to be here': Lunch with Vincent Lam http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/its-good-to-be-here-lunch-with-vincent-lam

 

 

http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/its-good-to-be-here-lunch-with-vincent-lam Default admin account When We Talk About War http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/when-we-talk-about-war Noah Richler, who is the former Books Editor of the National Post was interviewed by Mark Medley, Books Editor of the National Post.  They discussed Mr.

]]> Thu, 03 May 2012 07:58:07 -0700 http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/when-we-talk-about-war Daniel Bezalel Richardsen Big Finish: All In A Day Songwriting Circle http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/big-finish-all-in-a-day-songwriting-circle The venue is packed; it's the final event of the Ottawa Writers Festival, and the audience atmosphere is a mix of anticipation for the Songwriters' Circle, and regret that the whole thing will soon be over.

]]> Wed, 02 May 2012 09:18:48 -0700 http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/big-finish-all-in-a-day-songwriting-circle Daniel Bezalel Richardsen Running in the Family http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/running-in-the-family Penning a family memoir is always a tricky task, and the three writers gathered for the final authors' event of the Ottawa Writer’s Festival had faced their share of challenges in the attempt.

]]> Wed, 02 May 2012 08:50:47 -0700 http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/running-in-the-family Daniel Bezalel Richardsen Cocktails with CockTales http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/cocktails-with-cocktales This past Sunday evening, Venus Envy hosted a full-to-capacity event for the Ottawa Writers Festival where the audience was giddy, packed and surrounded by dildos.

]]> Wed, 02 May 2012 08:15:07 -0700 http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/cocktails-with-cocktales Daniel Bezalel Richardsen Big ideas in the Virtual World http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/big-ideas-in-the-virtual-world Neil Wilson, founding director of the Ottawa Writers Festival, began this Sunday evening discussion by introducing Nora Young  of CBC Radio’s Spark, author of http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/big-ideas-in-the-virtual-world Daniel Bezalel Richardsen Plan 99 Fiction Cabaret at The Manx http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/plan-99-fiction-cabaret-at-the-manx The Manx Pub is a venue perhaps most charitably described as “cozy;” someone less charitable (or not as enchanted by its warm earth tones, wooden support pillars and intimate nooks and crannies) would call it “cramped.” I have come to this event blind, tru

]]> Wed, 02 May 2012 07:43:28 -0700 http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/plan-99-fiction-cabaret-at-the-manx Daniel Bezalel Richardsen Speak, Memory: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything with Joshua Foer http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/speak-memory-the-art-and-science-of-remembering-everything-with-joshua-foer A sunny afternoon and a packed house greeted Joshua Foer for what was a highly stimulating talk on his hit book, Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering

]]> Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:48:00 -0700 http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/speak-memory-the-art-and-science-of-remembering-everything-with-joshua-foer Daniel Bezalel Richardsen Occupy: A Conversation on Activism, Education and Language http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/occupy-a-conversation-on-activism-education-and-language On Sunday April 29, in Knox Presbyterian Church, there was a gathering of individuals, but instead of a Presbyterian church service, which, as Neil Wilson pointed out, politely and willingly displaced to the basement, there was a meeting of minds and curious folk who sought to find out about or discuss further th

]]> Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:34:02 -0700 http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/occupy-a-conversation-on-activism-education-and-language Daniel Bezalel Richardsen Truthiness or Dare (Do the Facts Matter?) with Guy Gavriel Kay and Marianne Apostolides http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/truthiness-or-dare-do-the-facts-matter-with-guy-gavriel-kay-and-marianne-apostolides “Truth can be a hazy term…the very concept of objective truth is falling out of the world and lies are passing into history.” Martin Levin, books editor at the Globe and Mail, and moderator of a discussion about the place of truth in fiction and non-fiction writing between http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/truthiness-or-dare-do-the-facts-matter-with-guy-gavriel-kay-and-marianne-apostolides Daniel Bezalel Richardsen Memories of Fact and Fiction http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/memories-of-fact-and-fiction The Writer’s Festival guide describes this performance piece, created by musician Mike Dubue, as a “collaborative multimedia presentation”, but the event itself was far less straightforward and sterile than what that description suggests.

]]> Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:03:08 -0700 http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/memories-of-fact-and-fiction Daniel Bezalel Richardsen An Evening of Collective and Individual Entertainment : Plan 99 Poetry Cabaret with David Groulx and Chris Jennings http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/an-evening-of-collective-and-individual-entertainment-plan-99-poetry-cabaret-with-david-groulx-and-chris-jennings For those who have never visited the Manx Pub, it is the perfect setting for the Ottawa International Writers Festival’s Plan 99 Poetry Cabaret; with its underground entrance and its quaint, smoky interior that seems to fit the mood of the audience

]]> Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:53:26 -0700 http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/an-evening-of-collective-and-individual-entertainment-plan-99-poetry-cabaret-with-david-groulx-and-chris-jennings Daniel Bezalel Richardsen Nahlah Ayed: Shall we say farewell to the cranky uncle? http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/nahlah-ayed-shall-we-say-farewell-to-the-cranky-uncle Nahlah Ayed, author of A Thousand Farewells says at the beginning of her talk, that she won’t say farewell to the crowd until the very end, till after her story.

]]> Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:37:20 -0700 http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/nahlah-ayed-shall-we-say-farewell-to-the-cranky-uncle Daniel Bezalel Richardsen The Weight of History http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/the-weight-of-history It was still light outside as festival-goers flocked in to “The Weight of History.” Five chairs were on the stage – one for each panellist, and one empty as PEN’s reminder of writers still struggling for freedom. Before the panel discussion and the question period, the authors each read from

]]> Sun, 29 Apr 2012 06:09:01 -0700 http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/the-weight-of-history Daniel Bezalel Richardsen Jewish-Canadian Cultural Icons: the lives of Mordecai Richler and Celia Franca http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/jewish-canadian-cultural-icons-the-lives-of-mordecai-richler-and-celia-franca The Empty Chair and it’s ensuing explanation by President of PEN and author Charles Foran began the night on a reflective note.

]]> Sat, 28 Apr 2012 14:55:38 -0700 http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/jewish-canadian-cultural-icons-the-lives-of-mordecai-richler-and-celia-franca Daniel Bezalel Richardsen Raise It! http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/raise-it With his head and hands planted delicately on the stage, legs dangling above him,  Ian Keteku  imagined aloud to his audience a world viewed differently: “I wonder if stars in the sky

]]> Sat, 28 Apr 2012 14:31:45 -0700 http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/raise-it Daniel Bezalel Richardsen Violence and its subjects: An conversation with Yejide Kelianko, Lauren B.Davis and Linden McIntyre http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/violence-and-its-subjects-an-conversation-with-yejide-kelianko-lauren-b.davis-and-linden-mcintyre In the peaceful atmosphere of the Knox Presbyterian Church, conversations of violence are usually not for the faint of heart, nor a laughing matter.

]]> Sat, 28 Apr 2012 14:16:37 -0700 http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/violence-and-its-subjects-an-conversation-with-yejide-kelianko-lauren-b.davis-and-linden-mcintyre Daniel Bezalel Richardsen Inside the CBC Tower of Babble with Richard Stursberg http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/inside-the-cbc-tower-of-babble-with-richard-stursberg “Through the course of my happy six years there,” began Richard Stursberg, former head of English Services at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, “I was variously described as bad man, a sociopath, a spineless rat, and, on a number of occasions, even recently - a sort of mass murderer.” His boo

]]> Sat, 28 Apr 2012 13:59:01 -0700 http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/inside-the-cbc-tower-of-babble-with-richard-stursberg Daniel Bezalel Richardsen A(nother) Tale of Love and Darkness: The earnest, insistent satire of Sayed Kashua http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/another-tale-of-love-and-darkness-the-earnest-insistent-satire-of-sayed-kashua “Something must be wrong about me if so many Jews like my work!” quipped Sayed Kashua, with a tinge of shy mischief, as he was in conversation with Kate Heartfield of the Ottawa Citizen.

]]> Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:57:14 -0700 http://www.writersfestival.org/blog/another-tale-of-love-and-darkness-the-earnest-insistent-satire-of-sayed-kashua Daniel Bezalel Richardsen