The Courage to Hesitate

"Olivia Chow is getting ready to lose Jack Layton for a second time.

     The CBC drama special Jack, the story of their life together and the death of the former NDP leader from cancer in 2011, will air on Sunday, March 10 at 8 p.m.
     Chow hasn’t seen it yet, but she knows the time is coming soon.[…]
     The truth is that it can’t be easy for her to relive those emotionally charged months in 2011 when her husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer, fought it while bringing the NDP to major victory, then succumbed to another cancer in a matter of months, dying at his moment of greatest political triumph.
     'I wanted Jack’s story to inspire more people to get involved and try to make the world a better place,' is how she explains her reason for allowing this film to be made so close to the actual events."
— Richard Ouzounian, The Record
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I find it rather disturbing to that the CBC has taken upon itself to produce the drama special "Jack" about the former leader of the NDP Jack Layton so close to his passing.
     The story, of course, is hard to resist; it holds all the components of great drama: a man struggling with terminal illness as he tackles the most important political contest of his life. But it seems a bit inappropriate and gratuitous: an exploitation of a grieving process that is still ongoing, not only for his close family and friends, but also for the public at large.
     Most endeavours of this kind — the recent Spielberg movie "Lincoln" comes to mind — allow the perspective of history to guide the narrative. If the producers had waited ten years or even longer to approach this subject I'm sure it would have taken on the weight (and value) of a vintage Bordeaux rather than the immediate, fruity, gratification of a Beaujolais nouveau.
     There are so many Canadian stories to dramatize: what about a series based on Alice Monro stories? Has anyone made a decent movie about Ernest Hemingway's time in Toronto?
     A movie about world-famous contralto Portia White? John McCrea (author of "In Flanders Fields")?
     Or Canadian Lieutenant Harry Colebourn, the man responsible (in part) for Winnie the Pooh?

From: Jetset Marketplace

"Christopher Milne {A. A. Milne's son] had named his toy bear after Winnie, a Canadian black bear which he often saw at London Zoo, and 'Pooh,' a swan they had met while on holiday. The bear cub was purchased from a hunter for $20 by Canadian Lieutenant Harry Colebourn in White River, Ontario, Canada, while en route to England during the First World War. He named the bear "Winnie" after his adopted hometown in Winnipeg, Manitoba. "Winnie" was surreptitiously brought to England with her owner, and gained unofficial recognition as The Fort Garry Horse regimental mascot. Colebourn left Winnie at the London Zoo while he and his unit were in France; after the war she was officially donated to the zoo, as she had become a much loved attraction there."
— Wikipedia
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Three Canadian Novels in the Running for the Commonwealth Book Prize

Joanne Skibsrud at the 2011 EWF
(Photo: Andy E. Williams)

"Johanna Skibsrud's Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning novel The Sentimentalists is one of three Canadian titles on the short list for this year's Commonwealth Book Prize. The others are The Town that Drowned by Riel Nason of Quispamsis, N.B., and Dancing Lessons from Jamaican-born, Toronto-based Olive Senior. Skibsrud, who grew up in Pictou County, N.S., won the Giller for The Sentimentalists in November 2010. At 30, she was the youngest recipient ever for the $50,000 honour."

— CBC
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Joanne Skibrud read from her award-winning novel The Sentimentalist at the 2011 Elora Writers' Festival. Join us this year ( Sunday, May 27) for another afternoon of readings by award-winning Canadian authors.

For more information go here...

The Ineffable Glenn Gould — Better than a Book

From: Freshdl.me

In September of last year, on his 79th birthday, the CBC released a comprehensive DVD boxset: Glenn Gould on Television: The Complete CBC Broadcasts. It's not a book, but, with the transition to e-books and digital "volumes" of all kinds, this is just as good, or even better than a book. Needless to say, when it comes to an appreciation of what Glenn Gould was all about, mere words are not enough.

"A famous perfectionist, Glenn Gould would have been delighted with a new film series of his work [...]. Tim Page, a friend of Gould's in the last years of his life, contributed to the new collection [...].
     'He'd be delighted. Glenn was a very loyal Canadian and he loved his life in Canada,' Page, who wrote the liner notes for the DVD box set, told CBC News. 'I think he'd be thrilled that finally his film work will be presented in a way he wanted it to be, which hasn't been done before.'
     The 10-disc box Glenn Gould on Television: The Complete CBC Broadcasts will feature many of Gould's rare recordings, unreleased full-length programs and documentaries, interviews and nearly 30 years of archival footage."
— CBC News
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     Buy this collection, and books about Glenn Gould here...

     Budding Glenn Goulds and young Canadian classical musicians of all stripes can flex their chops here...

"The 2012 TD Canada Trust Festival Competition is open to musicians in the following categories: voice, piano, strings, woodwind and brass. Competitors must be born in, reside in, or study in Canada and be between the ages of 17 and 27 as of April 2, 2012.
The Grand Prize, $3,000.00; Second Prize, $2,000.00; Third Prize, $1,000.00; and the Kathleen Deters Audience Favourite award is $500.00. [...]

'Twenty-two years ago I saw an opportunity to give young artists a chance to perform at a first-class event and also offer financial support towards their artistic education. I have always felt that students need encouragement, especially students in the arts.
     Each year at the Elora Festival, with the generous support of TD Canada Trust, we proudly present the final-round concert. It is truly memorable and rewarding to see and hear these young competitors with various musical disciplines on the threshold of a professional career. The audience has its favorites and the judges have theirs. And this year’s competition will once again boast an internationally recognized jury panel.
     I invite all young artists to apply. You could very well be one of the finalists who launch their career in a dazzling performance on July 18, 2012 at the
Elora Festival!' — Noel Edison, Artistic Director of the Elora Festival"

A downloadable PDF of the Competition Brochure can be found here...