Events and Activities of 2005 - 2006

June 15, 2006

Coop Year-End Party: an Evening in Japan

The Japanese have a saying: Farm when it’s sunny, read when it rains. By the looks of it, this is definitely going to be a summer for reading. To kick it off, we threw a fine party with a Japanese theme, at The Refinery on the evening of June 15, and were pleased and honoured when over fifty people showed up to share in the celebration. Haiku poet and songwriter Susan Bond, ably assisted by her family and musical friends, educated and entertained us with a program about haiku – the rhythms, allusions and insights of this celebrated Japanese literary art. Calories Restaurant catered an excellent set of snacks in keeping with the Japanese theme, and for beverages our own plum wine punch was a particular favourite.

Our special thanks go to Susan and her family and friends for an excellent evening's entertainment, to Pauline for the authentic Japanese decorations, to Beth for the hand-lettered name tags (in Japanese, yet!), to the members who helped out wherever needed, and especially to all of you who attended and helped us end the year in style!

June 3, 2006

Vocal Produce: The Coop Got Naked (with vegetables!)

Vocal Produce: The Saskatoon Writers’ Coop Goes to the Farmers’ Market was the Coop's award-winning entry in the Mendel Art Gallery's Naked City project. On the morning of June 3, 2006, a dozen Coop members (and known associates, including members of The Saskatoon Fiddle Orchestra) gave the market crowd and vendors a taste of poetry, prose, and music. Readers performed market-themed works from atop a specially-decorated, movable soapbox at the downtown market. The whole confection was professionally videotaped, and will be edited into a permanent record, in the form of a DVD, available sometime this summer.

The event moved to the Mendel's Living Artfully Eco-Fair on the gallery grounds in the mid-afternoon, with readings and book sales as part of the larger celebration. Writers whose works were performed, either by themselves or by other writers, include Amy Jo Ehman, Belinda Betker, Charlene Blackwell, Sandy Easterbrook, Adrienne Gruber, A.E. Matheson, Kamal Parmar, Mary Pyne, Edda Ryan, Elyse St. George, Candace Savage, and Jim Weseen. Without a doubt, this once-in-a-lifetime event got your favourite Coop out there in front of an entirely new audience.

We very much appreciate all the writers and readers who took part, all who helped out as volunteers, and all those who came to listen and provide encouragement. Special thanks go to the following:

Musical performers: members of the Saskatoon Fiddle Orchestra; Saskatoon Farmers’ Market: Debra Claude, Ramesh Mahabir; Saskatoon Writers’ Coop organizers and volunteer workers: Sandy Easterbrook, Amy Jo Ehman, Karen Millard, Wynne Nicholson, Tammy Robert (and Zachary), Edda Ryan, Lorelie Sarauer, Candace Savage, Jim Weseen

May 10, 2006

Canadian Short Stories from a Reader’s Perspective: a lecture and discussion with Wendy Roy

What makes a short story "work" for the reader? Is it point of view or narrative voice? Scene-setting or dialogue? In Canadian Short Stories from a Reader's Perspective, U of S CanLit specialist Wendy Roy delved into three successful Canadian short stories and highlighted what makes these stories pleasurable, interesting or challenging to read.

The stories are Carol Shields’ “Mrs. Turner Cutting the Grass,” Alistair MacLeod’s “As Birds Bring Forth the Sun,” and Eden Robinson’s “Queen of the North.”

A one-hour talk was followed by a refreshment break and open discussion. Fee was $5.00 at the door. Participants were asked to read the stories ahead of time. They originally appeared in in the following books:

Shields, Carol. “Mrs. Turner Cutting the Grass.” Various Miracles.
MacLeod, Alistair. “As Birds Bring Forth the Sun.” As Birds Bring Forth the Sun and Other Stories.
Robinson, Eden. “Queen of the North.” Traplines.

The stories may also be found in anthologies and collections available at your local library. Shields' story is available in Shields' Collected Stories and in anthologies such as Great Stories from the Prairies (edited by Birk Sproxton). The MacLeod story is available in his Island: The Collected Stories and in the New Anthology of Canadian Literature in English (edited by Bennett and Brown). The Robinson story is available in the Penguin Anthology of Stories by Canadian Women (edited by Denise Chong).

Wendy Roy is a Postdoctoral Fellow and Special Lecturer in Canadian Literature at the University of Saskatchewan. She has written essays on fiction by Canadian writers including Carol Shields, Margaret Laurence, and Margaret Atwood, and her book, Maps of Difference: Canada, Women, and Travel was published in 2005 by McGill-Queen’s University Press.

April 22, 2006

Book-making workshop: Worthy of Your Words

On Saturday, April 22, at the Saskatchewan Craft Council, workshop participants made Accordion Books and Covers, with instructor Cathryn Miller-- unique, hand-crafted books to house writing, photos etc. Cathryn describes her workshop: "Whether or not you took the previous book-making course, you are welcome to try your hand at accordion-style books. Students will produce three basic accordions of different types to give practice in cutting, measuring and folding. The instructor will then explain a number of variations, of which students will produce at least two models of their own choice. Covers of various sorts (Japanese style, wrappers, slip cases, ties, etc) will also be discussed." The workshop ran from 9 to 5, with an hour off for a brown-bag (or other) lunch. Tuition (including materials) was $60 for members, $70 for non-members.

Cathryn Miller has worked in many artistic fields including costume design, weaving, and papermaking. A life-long obsession with books led her naturally to the design and production of hand-bound notebooks, journals, portfolios, and limited-edition fine-art and artist’s books. She operates the Lilliputian publishing house Byopia Press, in partnership with her husband David.

March 16, 2006

AGM and Open Mike

Eighteen Coop members gathered in the lower level of the Off Broadway Dinner Theatre on March 16, 2006 to review the Coop's fourth year of work on behalf of Saskatoon-and-area writers. The 2006 Annual General Meeting saw four long-standing board members retire, and three new board members elected. A complete report of the proceedings can be viewed here.

Following the AGM, we were joined by an enthusiastic new group of literati and the microphone was opened to members and friends who read from, or performed, their own prose, poetry, and plays. This annual St. Patrick’s Day event featured frothy green beverages and a limerick competition as well.

Readers/performers included Jim Weseen, Jane Edgett, Regine Haensel, Charlene Blackwell, Alison and Mike Flensburg, James Romanow, Jeanette Lynes, Amy Jo Ehman and Sandy Easterbrook. Sandy Easterbrook and James Romanow won the limerick competition, as judged by Saskatoon Public Library's Writer-in-Residence Jeanette Lynes.

Thanks go to Jeanette Lynes for judging, and to Coop board member Adrienne Gruber for organizing and MC'ing the Open Mike event.

March 3, 2006

Poetry Slam and Open Mike: “Just add words and stir.”

Inspiration apparently came that easy at the Poetry Slam and Open Mike, co-sponsored by the Her-icane Festival of Women's Art and the Saskatoon Writers’ Coop on Friday March 3 at The Refinery. Given the ingredients--one page from the dictionary and some brief solitude-- Slam participants created the most inspired poem they could cook up, to the audience's great delight.

While most of the over forty people in attendance may have come to be a part of the audience applause-o-meter for the Slam, several also read from their recent works at the Open Mike, to warm audience appreciation.

Thanks go to Coop President Amy Jo Ehman and Coop board member Belinda Betker for co-MCing. As well, Belinda ran the Slam and Amy Jo was the Coop's point person in coordinating the evening. Thanks, too, to the Her-icane Festival for giving us this opportunity and doing much of the promotion and groundwork.

January 28, 2006

VOICE: A Truer Word, a workshop with Elizabeth Philips

Robert Frost thought voice was the most important aspect of a poem. From the diction, word choice, tone and rhythm of the piece we learn about the individual speaker behind the words in the poem. We get a sense of the speaker’s attitude, emotional state, even social class.

We speak of the voice particular to the poem and also of the voice particular to the poet: both come into play in every line of every poem. When the voice is off in a single word or phrase, it undermines the life of the poem—the reader may grow suspicious, doubtful, losing confidence in the poet’s vision. Getting the voice right is essential to the writing of good poetry.

In the four-hour workshop at St. James, participants looked at various aspects of voice in the work of established poets as well as in their own work.

The workshop was open to poets at every level, as well as writers of any genre with an interest in the subject. Registration was $40 for Coop members, $50 for non-members.

Elizabeth Philips was back by popular demand, after conducting a poetry workshop for the Coop last year. She is the author of three collections of poetry, most recently Beyond my Keeping (Coteau Books, 1995) and A Blue with Blood in It (Coteau Books, 2000). Both collections received the Saskatchewan Poetry Award for their respective years. Her poems have appeared in various Canadian literary magazines: The Malahat Review, event, arc, and Prairie Fire, among others. Her work has also been published in Manoa in the U.S. and in PoetryWales in the U.K. She is the former editor of Grain magazine.

January 25 - March 15, 2006

CANCELLED

Writing for the Juvenile and Young Adult Audience

This 8-week class for writers aiming at a teen or pre-teen readership, with author and teacher David Glaze, unfortunately had to be cancelled due to falling one registration short of the minimum of seven participants.

December 8, 2005

Coop Christmas event

Forty-nine Coop members and guests enjoyed a wonderful evening of books and good cheer at the Writers’ Coop annual Christmas party at The Refinery. The program featured special guest Peter Stoicheff, author and editor of The Future of the Page. Peter engaged us completely with a talk on "The Evolution of the Book", illustrating his words with folios from the Ege Medieval Manuscript Collection owned by the University of Saskatchewan. On display were wonderful handmade books from many Saskatoon and area book-makers, including books by several participants from the Coop's recent workshop.

The evening concluded with a book gift exchange, rewarding each departing guest with a small treasure of the printed word. In addition to our enthusiastic guests and helpers, our thanks go in particular to Coop President Amy Jo Ehman, who organized the event, to Coop volunteer Beth Matheson, who hand-lettered the name tags and signs and looked after the registration table, and to our much-enjoyed guest speaker, Peter Stoicheff.

November 26, 2005

Book-making workshop: Judging a Book by its Cover

While it’s true that “You can’t tell a book by its cover”, you can certainly entice someone to read something by how you present it. In this workshop, which ran from 10:00 to 5:00 (bag lunch) at the J.S. Wood Library, instructor Martha Cole showed participants numerous examples and taught several easy, interesting and different ways to showcase words, whether a single poem or a series of stories. Participants made a simple hard-cover book and a few other variations of blank (as well as interesting) folders and a few “novelty” structures to intrigue. All of these creations can be used as journals, or as prototypes if the maker decided to make a small edition of his or her words for sale or as gifts. Registration fee was $50 for Coop members, $60 for non-members, materials included.

Martha Cole is a full-time fabric artist, teacher and facilitator with degrees in fine arts and art education. In addition to creating fabric works, she is a book artist working in one-of-a-kind books for exhibition or in limited editions of five to a hundred copies. As well, she teaches a wide range of workshops and full-length courses across Canada in drawing and design, colour, machine stitching and quilting, calligraphy, bookbinding and the paper arts. Martha is a "Director-at-Large" on the Board ofthe Canadian Bookbinder and Book Artists Guild.

November 22, 2005

Open Mike

Over forty Coop members and friends enjoyed an exciting evening of prose, poetry, food and fellowship at The Refinery on Tuesday November 22, 2005. Fifteen readers shared their work:
-from the fall writing class taught by J. Jill Robinson: Alma Wagner Roberts, Carol Kavanagh, Kimberley Grewe, Vickey Lewis, and Susan Hayton. All read short stories or prose excerpts, except for Kim, who read four poems.
-from the writers' group Sisters' Ink: Cathrin Hagey, Dianne Hallman, Carla Roppel, Lori Ulrich, and Belinda Betker. All read poems from their new chapbook, Where Dragonflies Go.
-other Coop members: Alison Flensburg (children's poems), A.E. Matheson (children's story), Kamal Parmar (poem), Wes Funk (story), and Jim Fuerstenberg (story).

Thanks go to Coop Board member Belinda Betker, who ably coordinated and MC'd the event. Thank you as well to helper-outers Moneca McLean and Lori Brown.

September 12 - November 14, 2005

Short Story Writing, with J. Jill Robinson (and Steven Ross Smith)

This 8-session class, held at St. James, was aimed at writers currently working on short fiction. It was primarily a workshop course, but also provided time for discussions of techniques and writing strategies, and for addressing individual concerns about short-story writing. Participants were expected to bring works-in-progress to the sessions, though there was some time for creative writing exercises as well. Registration fee was $125 for Coop members, $145 for non-members.

J. Jill Robinson is the author of four short story collections, the most recent of which, Residual Desire, won two Saskatchewan Book Awards in 2003. A highly experienced writer, editor, and teacher, her most recent position was as Writer-in-Residence at the Saskatoon Public Library. Jill was absent for a couple of the sessions, which were covered by veteran writer and Coop instructor Steven Ross Smith. Two for the price of one!

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