Calgary through the Eyes of Writers – on air!

The first public peek at Calgary Through the Eyes of Writers happened on Calgary’s campus radio station CJSW 90.9. Artslink co-host Jeanne Kwong asked me some wonderful questions about the story behind the book and the book itself. You can listen to the podcast here.

Seeds of Calgary's Early Literary Culture

On a summer night in 1911, an anonymous city-watcher wandered down Calgary’s busy 8th Avenue. The economy was booming and the weather was perfect for making literary wishes.

Read the rest of my essay in Chinook Country Historical Society newsletter.

A Calgary Bookmark in 2019!

Something wonderful is coming to Calgary in Fall 2019! The city’s East Village has been chosen as the site of Alberta’s first stop on Project Bookmark Canada’s national literary trail.

Calgary’s Bookmark will feature Rosemary Griebel’s poem “Walking with Walt Whitman Through Calgary’s Eastside on A Winter Day.” A permanent plaque will be installed in front of Loft 112, a creative and literary hub on 8th Avenue East in Fall 2019.

As a member of the Calgary Reading Circle for Project Bookmark Canada, I am thrilled to tell you that a generous grant from Glasswaters Foundation has helped bring this Bookmark to Calgary. We have a little more money to raise and would be grateful for your support. (You can make a charitable donation to the Calgary Bookmark here.)

Check out Project Bookmark Canada’s website for the full announcement about the Calgary Bookmark. You can also listen to the interview Rosemary and I did on the CBC Homestretch, or read the story on the CBC Calgary website.

Thanks to Lisa Murphy-Lamb, Director of Loft of 112, who has offered to host the Bookmark, and Calgary artist Stacey Walyuchow whose painting “Rosemary’s Walk” was inspired by the poem and graces our campaign.

I’ll leave you with Rosemary Griebel reading “Walking with Walt Whitman Through Calgary’s Eastside on a Winter Day” (at the 2-minute mark) — a beautiful poem that speaks to the human heart of one of Calgary’s oldest and most storied neighbourhoods.

Calgary through the Eyes of Writers – the book!

Three years ago, I began blogging about Calgary's literature. This fall, that reading project will become a book.

For a sneak peek at Calgary through the Eyes of Writers, check out Rocky Mountain Books' website.

I'm thrilled to be launching the book at Calgary's New Central Library on Sunday, December 9th at 2 p.m. Hope to see you there!