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September 1, 2010
September has arrived, and that means that two of our fall books are out! Tangles: A story about Alzheimer’s, my mother, and me by Sarah Leavitt and Here Is Where We Disembark by Clea Roberts hit store shelves today. Head out to your local bookstore and pick yourself up a copy. And one for each of your friends. Trust us, these books are awesome.
August 25, 2010
We spent a lovely morning over at the Art Gallery of Calgary for the WordFest launch. This year’s festival is going to be a blast, and it will feature Freehand’s own Robyn Read as part of the Bookin’ it to Alberta event!
August 24, 2010
After 15 years as founding general director of WordFest, Anne Green is stepping down. Jo Steffens, a Calgary native who was previously a curator at the Municipal Art Society in New York City (and ran their bookstore), will take her place. Read more about the appointment on Drew Anderson’s blog here.
Welcome Jo, and congratulations on a wonderful 15 years Anne!
The 2010 WordFest lineup will be announced tomorrow – stay tuned!
August 19, 2010
Thurdays’ offering: The Turtles.
I’m not much for conversation with strangers, but I had to ask. “You’re not the Howard Kaylan?”
He paused. “The Howard Kaylan,” he said, leaving out the emphasis.
“Of the Turtles. Lead singer”
“That’s me. Not many people recognize my name.” Thre was suddenly a lot of stuff in his tone. Resignation. Wistfulness. Other things.
“You’re my favourite Sixties band. ‘Happy Together’ is my favourite Sixties pop song.”
“Really.” There was that tone again.
“It’s such a catchy song, so upbeat, but so sad at the same time.”
“Sad. You know, you’re the first person who ever noticed that.”
“Really?”
“No one ever noticed that.”
-from “Imagine Me and You, I Do” (The Doctrine of Affections)
August 18, 2010
Today’s gem: Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass.
One of the truisms of jazz commentary is that a breakthrough was made when vocalists started using their voices like instruments. Freed from the limitations of attendance to the lyrics, so the argument goes, singers truly became jazz artists, improvising and creating like virtuoso instrumentalists. Ella Fitzgerald etc. But listen to Joe Pass and Ella together on “Take Love Easy.” The real breakthrough is that of the instrumentalist who uses his instrument like a voice, uses it to speak, and on that album Ella is attending to the words more than on anything else she’s ever done. Joe insists on it with every note, speaking to her more intimately than anyone else possibly could. Never have two people conversed with greater understanding, and when has Ella been better? Never.
-from “The Candle Thief” (The Doctrine of Affections)
August 17, 2010
Paul Headrick knows more about music than anyone we’ve ever met. (Seriously, we would go double-or-nothing on Paul in a music trivia cage match over a posse of plaid-wearin’, vinyl-totin’, PBR-drinkin’, self-proclaimed music experts any day.) So, we thought we’d devote this week’s posts to songs and artists featured in Paul’s short story collection, The Doctrine of Affections. Consider it a free tutorial on the music you’ve always wanted to know about, but never had the energy to Google.
Read. Listen. Enjoy. Then hop on your fixie, put on your Wayfarers, and blow your friends’ minds with your newfound knowledge. You’re welcome.
Before they left, Jerry and Andrea gave Christopher the latest record by The Marcels, which became the first record in Christopher’s collection.
…
Christopher believes that the innocence, optimism, and beauty of doo-wop weren’t a pose, but they weren’t only what they appeared to be; they expressed defiance, insisted that these qualities could withstand the oppression, the humiliations, the decades of crimes against dignity, assaults on identity. In articles, at conferences, he has explained that doo-wop is as political, affirmative, and subversive as soul, hard bob, and gangsta rap.
-from “Highlife” (The Doctrine of Affections)
August 12, 2010
We all know that the crew over at WordFest bust their backsides to bring us Calgarians a world-class literary festival every year. It turns out they’re also a kind-hearted, charitable bunch who do some great outreach work. (Seriously, guys, you’re making us look bad…)
This weekend, us Freehanders will be joining the WordFest team (and getting some much-needed exercise) at Yoga Santosha (1800 4th St SW) for Yoga Jam for Book Buddies. Book Buddies is a charitable program that helps connect students from high-needs schools with authors for fun and memorable experiences. Our goal on Saturday is to raise enough money to send two classes to WordFest events. If you’re in the neighbourhood, don your best 80s workout gear and come on by.
Post-workout fun: Drink ‘Til He’s Witty: The Readers’ Drinking Game
August 11, 2010
We are very pumped to see a Freehand title on this year’s ReLit Awards short fiction longlist in the company of so many fine books. To mark the occassion, we’ve compiled a short list of fun facts about the awards:
-ReLit is short for Regarding Literature, Reinventing Literature, Relighting Literature…
-Winners receive the ReLit Ring - quite possibly the coolest piece of jewellery ever. The ring features four moveable dials, each one struck with the entire alphabet, for spelling words.
-The founder of the ReLit Awards is Kenneth J. Harvey. His latest book, Reinventing the Rose, is a bestseller in Russia, and this marks the first time a Canadian author’s novel has been published in Russia before any other country.
July 22, 2010
Calgary Folk Fest makes makes us all warm and fuzzy. Everyone’s in a wonderful mood, we can dance barefoot and no one will call us daft hippies, the food is delicious, and the music is top notch. Refreshing. Especially after having spent two weeks navigating aggressively drunk bankers and tourists wearing large Stetsons and even larger belt buckles (thank you Calgary Stampede…). Stars kick things off tonight. Happy Thursday.
July 20, 2010
Check out this great new video by Paul Headrick featuring a reading from “The Franklin Chair,” a story in his collection The Doctrine of Affections!
