Tuesday, October 28, 2008

A Night Out With a Good Book

Fantasy Guru Guy Gavriel Kay Does Reading at UPEI

By Katelyn DYKERMAN (The Semantic Volume 1, Issue 2)

I’ve always been a bit skeptical about readings. I’ve pictured lattes, berets, Birkenstocks and menthol cigarettes. But through my experiences last year, which began with spunky Bernice Morgan reading from her latest novel Cloud of Bone, and then included; my roommate and I slipping across Queen Street in the midst of a snow storm in order to see Michael Winter read from The Architects Are Here; laughing when a poor highschool student was berated by Barbara Gowdy for nodding off during her reading from Helpless; and then the awe that resulted from seeing Lawrence Hill read twice, I have come to discover that readings are not only for the literature nerds, or the elitist art students, but for anyone that wants to have an evening out that will not only introduce them to a new writer they might enjoy, but to help them fall in love again (or for the first time) with books.

This year’s reading series began with Guy Gavriel Kay, a Canadian writer famed for his first trilogy The Fionavar Tapestry. His latest book, Ysabel, is set in Provence and explores the beauty and resulting coveting of that area by multiple groups through Kay’s exquisite use of language. Kay’s reading of Ysabel, and from his book of poetry Beyond This Dark House, was much different from the twenty or thirty minute readings I attended the previous year. Kay stood at the podium with brilliant charisma, reading poems from his book, flashing knowing glaces, and sly smiles at the audience with the skill of Sir Ian McKellen. The reading lasted for over an hour. I was never bored, lost or confused. I followed him through his phrases and images like a child would a parent along a forest path. But the best parts were when he spoke between and after each reading. He joked about the false pretense of inspiration (stating that “inspiration is the greatest excuse for not writing”), the unnecessary fear of writer’s block and the fate-like events that led to each of his books. Again, I was excited to be a reader. Readings do not just introduce you to that particular writer’s book, they get you excited about reading in general. So, be sure to attend the remainder of this year’s Winter’s Tales Reading Series hosted by the UPEI English department.

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