IFOA-Markham

Left to Right: Mayor of Markham, Frank Scarpitti, Janie Chang, Author, Lauren B.Davis, Author, Margaret Drabble, Author, Nicole Lundrigan, Author, Lewis DeSoto, Author & Host, Helen Argiro, Executive Director of the Markham Arts Council, Sheniz Janmohamed, Arts Administrator, Nirmala Armstrong, Chair of Markham Arts Council, Mary Pan, Vice Chair of the Markham Arts Council. — with Jeremiah Hill at Cornell Community Centre and Library.

The International Festival of Authors (IFOA) Markham had an all-women panel of authors comprising Janice Chang, Lauren B. Davis, Margaret Drabble, and Nicole Lundrigan reading at the Cornell Community Centre and Library. The theatre at the library has a warm feel to it, allowing for a more intimate relationship between the audience and the writer.

The little theatre at the Cornell Community Centre and Library in Markham has a warm feel to it. It allows for a more intimate connection between the audience and the writer. The connection turns magical when the writers are an eclectic group of woman that represent diverse experiences, even of three of them – Janice Chang, Lauren B. Davis and Nicole Lundrigan – were from Canada, and only one of them – Margaret Drabble – was a true celebrity.

Chang, from Vancouver, has lived in Philippines, Iran and Thailand. She read from her debut novel Three Souls, a historical novel narrated by a ghost. The novel “was inspired by the tragic story of her grandmother, whose life, like so many generations of women in China, was not her own.”  

Lauren B. Davis read from her semi-autobiographical novel The Empty Room, which is a story about a woman whose “worst enemy – and only friend – is the bottle.” Davis quit alcohol 18 years ago. A memorable line from the passage she read was: “The apartment was impossibly, accusingly quiet.”

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire Margaret Drabble read a passage from The Pure Gold Baby about a single mother of an unusual daughter. When asked by moderator what compelled her to write, start a new novel, Drabble, who is the author of The Sea Lady, The Seven Sisters, The Peppered Moth and The Needle’s Eye, and biographies of Arnold Bennett and Angus Wilson, replied in all seriousness: “Boredom.”

Nicole Lundrigan read from The Widow Tree, “which finds three teenagers facing life-altering consequences after they conceal a valuable discovery in a small village post-war Yugoslavia.

The Mayor of Markham Frank Scarpitti not only inaugurated the festival, and gave a brief speech, but sat through the entire session, visibly enjoying himself. 

International Festival of Authors Markham – 2013

IFOA Markham is an event organized by the Markham Arts Council, a non-profit organization in Markham that focuses on supporting, promoting and fostering the arts in our community.

Each year, IFOA Markham has been held in different locations across Markham.

IFOA 2011 took place at the Markham Museum and featured authors Francisco Goldman, Shilpi Somaya Gowda, Dany Laferriere, and Bharati Mukherjee (host: Thom Ernst).

IFOA 2012 was held at Flato Markham Theatre and featured Ayesha Chatterjee, Marjorie Celona, Chan Koonchung and Giller-winner Vincent Lam (host: Bert Archer).

Generally About Books was a community partner for IFOA Markham 2012. Read the blog on IFOA-2012. Click here: An evening of rain & readings.

This year, Markham Arts Council is proud to host IFOA Markham at the newly inaugurated Cornell Community Centre and Library- and we’re thrilled to celebrate women’s literature with an all-female lineup of authors: Janie Chang, Lauren B. Davis, (Dame) Margaret Drabble and Nicole Lundrigan (hosted by Bert Archer).

Generally About Books will be a media partner.

So, what's the Third Annual International Festival of Authors 2013?

It'll be an evening of delicious food and drink, stellar author readings and book signings, a curated literary exhibit and much much more.

Date: Friday November 1st, 2013,

Venue: Cornell Community Centre and Library (3201 Bur Oak Ave, Markham).

The evening will begin at 6:30pm (doors open at 6pm) with a Meet & Greet the Authors Reception, followed by readings and book signings. ($50.00).

If guests prefer to only attend the readings, they can opt for the readings-only ticket, and arrive at 8pm for a night of stories we won’t soon forget!($18.00).

For more information click here: ifoamarkham

Author profiles 

Janie Chang (Canada) spent her childhood living in the Philippines, Iran and Thailand, and now lives in Vancouver. She has a degree in computer science from Simon Fraser University and recently attended SFU’s Writer’s Studio. Chang presents her unforgettable debut novel, Three Souls, which was inspired by the tragic story of her grandmother, whose life, like so many generations of women in China, was not her own. Readers meet the ghost of young Leiyin, who must sift through her memories to uncover what is binding her to this world and denying her entrance to the afterlife.

---

Lauren B. Davis (Canada) is a critically acclaimed novelist, essayist and teacher whose bestselling books include The Stubborn Season, The Radiant City and Our Daily Bread, which was longlisted for the 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize and named best book of the year by both The Globe and Mail and The Boston Globe. Davis will present The Empty Room, a story about a woman whose worst enemy – and only friend – is the bottle. The result is an unforgettable portrayal of the turmoil and pain of alcoholism.

---

Margaret Drabble (UK) became a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2008 for her contributions to contemporary English literature. She is the author of The Sea Lady, The Seven Sisters, The Peppered Moth and The Needle’s Eye, among other novels. She wrote biographies of Arnold Bennett and Angus Wilson, and edited two editions of The Oxford Companion to English Literature. Drabble presents The Pure Gold Baby. Jessica Speight is on the cusp of a promising academic career in 1960s London until a relationship with her married professor leaves her the single mother of a darling – but very unusual – daughter.

---

Nicole Lundrigan (Canada) is the critically acclaimed author of four previous novels, including Glass Boys, which received glowing reviews and was a NOW magazine top 10 and an Amazon.ca top 100 book of the year. Unraveling Arva was selected as a Globe and Mail top ten, and Thaw was longlisted for the Relit Award. Lundrigan presents her latest novel, The Widow Tree, which finds three teenagers facing life-altering consequences after they conceal a valuable discovery in a small village in post-war Yugoslavia.

 

---

Images: Courtesy IFOA-Markham. 
Copyrights: Lauren Davis (c) Helen Tansey, Margaret Drabble (c) Ruth Corney,

An evening of rain & readings

Not owing a car is a choice, and it isn’t a huge sacrifice as it sounds.

Although, every time I speak about my conviction of staying carless, Mahrukh and Che avoid eye contact, and try hard to talk of something else. 

Then they walk away to the balcony of our apartment and gaze uneasily into the distant horizon, when I don’t stop hectoring.

A lot of people think I’m not quite all there when I tell them that not only do I not have a car, I don’t even have a cellphone. They emit a short nervous laugh and slowly edge away from me.

Living in Toronto without a car has been easy.  

The transit is great, especially when one compares it to Mumbai. There is a bit of a problem in getting outside of Toronto to suburbs such as Mississauga, Brampton, Markham, and Oakville.

A trip to one of these places turns into an expedition.  Again, it’s not so much connectivity but time that is an issue.

I do get around, especially to Mississauga because of some truly great events organized by the South Asian community there.

IFOA Markham

Tuesday, braving the gloomy weather, and a complete absence of transit connectivity, I reached Flato Markham Theatre just in time for the readings to commence at the International Festival of Authors (IFOA) Markham. 

Throughout an unending and circuitous journey, thanks to misreading Google Maps, I was circumspect whether my herculean effort would be worthwhile.

I needn’t have worried.

IFOA-Markham was an exquisite mix of different cultures, different genres and altogether riveting readings from writers who were obviously creative, and surprisingly confident. Marjorie Celona, Ayesha Chatterjee, Chan Koonchung and Vincent Lam made the evening memorable.

Celona read a passage from her debut novel about Shannon who is abandoned outside the YMCA as an infant. There is an obviously raw and an edgy quality to her novel, and Celona’s evocative reading brought alive the unpleasantness her protagonist’s life.

Ayesha Chatterjee made me feel at home in a place I had never been to before when she greeted Subho Nabami to everyone in the auditorium.

Ayesha read from her collection The Clarity of Distance – poems she wrote when she moved from Germany to Toronto, and a few of them from and about Calcutta.

Her poetry is steeped in Indian traditions, and she narrated the story from the Shiva Purana of the Hindu trinity and the Ketaki flower.

Story from the Shiva Purana

Here’s an abridged version of the story for the uninitiated but interested:

Once Shiva had to intervene in a quarrel between Brahma and Vishnu.

He turned himself into a flaming pillar without a beginning or an end, and told Brahma and 

Vishnu that whoever found the end or the beginning of the pillar would be declared superior.

Vishnu took the form of a boar and burrowed to seek the end of the pillar, and Brahma took the form of a swan and soared up to seek the pillar’s beginning.

Vishnu returned after a while, admitting defeat.

Brahma couldn’t find the beginning, but took the help of the ketaki flower (which Shiva used to put into his hair) and lied that he had reached the top of the pillar. Ketaki corroborated the lie.

An infuriated Shiva cursed Brahma that he wouldn’t ever be worshiped in physical form like other gods in the Hindu pantheon, and he banished ketaki flower, which is not used in Shiva’s worship.

Chan Koonchung’s The Fat Years is story of a missing month, and a bunch of kids who kidnap an official to confess the truth.

Chan’s reading was peppered with commentary that brought the novel alive and gave it immediacy and a meaning.

In his novel, Chan said, he had forced a bureaucrat to confess to the truth. Such a thing can only happen in a novel; in real life the bureaucrat would take the secret to his grave.

Finally, it was Vincent Lam’s turn, and he read Percival Chen’s story. Lam gave a brief glimpse of why The Headmaster’s Wager has received glorious reviews everywhere.

As the evening moved on to the Q&A session, I left because I’d have to take a cab to the nearest subway station.

That’s a bit of a problem because I don’t have a cellphone, but an obliging volunteer used his cellphone and Ahmed Taha from Jordon of Rush taxi took me from Markham to Don Mills subway station. 

It was late and raining and I was tired and drenched by the time I reached home. Tired but happy.

Thank you Sheniz Janmohamed for a great evening and for thinking of involving Generally About Books as community partner of the event.

IFOA-Markham

Markham Arts Council's second annual
International Festival of Authors
Tuesday October 23, 2012.

The City of Markham in partnership with the Markham Arts Council is pleased to present the second annual International Festival ofAuthors (IFOA Markham) Touring Event on Tuesday October 23, 2012, inside the beautiful Flato Markham Theatre.

Last year Markham’s first ever IFOA event presented four world renowned authors to a sold out audience for an evening of wine, world cuisine and literary readings along with an audience Q&A with TVO personality, Thom Ernst.

On Tuesday October 23, 2012, Mayor Frank Scarpitti will be hosting the “Mayor’s Hour: World and Wine Cuisine” reception, welcoming this year’s headlining author and past recipient of the prestigious Scotiabank Giller Prize–Dr. Vincent Lam, along with international world renowned authors: Marjorie Celona,  Ayesha Chatterjee and Chan Koonchung.

This year the Mayor’s Hour held in the lobby of FlatoMarkham Theatre will include authors meet-and-greet, an exciting visual arts exhibit and performances by award winning YorkSlam performers. The reception will be followed by Author Readings and Q & A.

Tickets for “The Mayor’s Hour: World and Wine Cuisine” are $65.00 (reception begins at 6pm)

Tickets for Author Readings and Q & A only are $18.00 (readings begin at 7:15pm)

Authors:

Marjorie Celona

Marjorie Celona (Canada) was born and raised in Victoria, B.C. and lives in Cincinnati. She holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she was an Iowa Arts Fellow and recipient of the Ailene Barger Barnes Prize. Her stories have appeared in The Best American Nonrequired Reading, Harvard Review, Glimmer Train and Crazyhorse. Celona’s debut novel, Y, tells the unforgettable story of a newborn baby dropped on a YMCA doorstep, and that of her mother, who is just a girl herself.

Ayesha Chatterjee

Born and raised in Kolkata, Ayesha Chatterjee (India) has lived in England, the USA and Germany, and currently resides in Toronto. Her work gained notice when one of her poems was shortlisted in the Guardian Unlimited Poetry Workshop in October 2004. Her poetry has appeared innthposition, Autumn Sky Poetry and BluSlate. In 2010, she read at the Poetry with Prakriti Festival in Chennai, India. Her first poetry collection,The Clarity of Distance, is a meditation on the complexity of existence and the search for moments of truth within it.

Chan Koonchung

Chan Koonchung (Canada/Hong Kong) is a novelist, journalist and screenwriter. Born in Shanghai and raised and educated in Hong Kong, he studied at the University of Hong Kong and Boston University. He has published more than a dozen Chinese-language books and in 1976 founded the magazine City, of which he was the chief editor and then publisher for 23 years. He has been a producer on more than 13 films. Banned in China, Koonchung’s politically charged novel The Fat Years tells the story of the search for an entire month erased from official Chinese history.

Vincent Lam

Physician and author Vincent Lam (Canada) is from the expatriate Chinese community of Vietnam, and was born in Canada. He is a lecturer with the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto and has worked in international air evacuation and expedition medicine on Arctic and Antarctic ships. Lam’s first book, Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures, won the Scotiabank Giller Prize and has recently been adapted for television and broadcast on HBO Canada. Lam’s  The Headmaster’s Wadger tells the story of Percival, a gambling, womanizing, corrupt headmaster at a prestigious English school in Saigon.

Tickets:

To purchase tickets, call the Markham Arts Council at 905-947-9054 or Flato Markham Theatre at 905-305-SHOW (7469)

Generally About Books is IFOA-Markham's community partner