Deadline nears for writing feedback at fourth Convergence Writers Weekend in New Denver
By Contributor
The deadline is fast approaching for the chance to have your imaginative writing responded to by one of Canada’s best known activist authors at the 4th annual Convergence Writers’ Weekend in New Denver, B.C.
“May 19 is the deadline for anybody wishing personal feedback on their writing from invited presenter Gary Geddes,” said Convergence Writers’ Weekend co-ordinator Nadine Stefan. “Spaces are limited to 25, and we’re half full already.”
For people who don’t want to submit samples of their own creative writing, the registration deadline for the June 16 and 17 writers’ weekend is June 1, Stefan said. With the theme of “We will not be separated,” the event will feature talks and workshops by B.C. poet, nonfiction author and anthologist Geddes, and Calgary author and peace and indigenous rights activist Carolyn Pogue.
Reviewing Geddes’ most recent nonfiction title in the Vancouver Sun, Tom Sandborn calls Geddes “a prolific and award-winning author and editor, poet and public intellectual.” Geddes’ newest book, Medicine Unbundled, is an account of Canada’s long-time provision of segregated health care for indigenous people.
“Geddes gives a passionate and persuasive account of the devastating impacts of Canadian government policies on the lives and health of this nation’s first peoples,” Sandborn writes. “This book deserves to be widely read, and should be acted upon boldly. Anyone who cares about human decency and social justice owes a debt to Gary Geddes and to his indigenous informants.”
Geddes has written or edited 50 books. His most recent collection of poems is The Resumption of Play, which explores the experiences of those forced to endure Indian residential schools. His nonfiction titles include Drink the Bitter Root, about his experiences in Africa.
Pogue, too, has written on a variety of topics in her many books. As a descendant of a British Home Child, she has written two young adult novels about this aspect of Canadian history, one of which was a finalist for the 2010 City of Calgary Book Prize.
Her other books include Language of the Heart: Ritual, Stories and Information About Death, Part-Time Parent: Learning to Live Without Full Custody, and a follow-up to Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Sorry: Why Our Church Apologized, which with other authors explores the United Church’s expression of regret for its part in the residential schools.
Pogue also co-founded a peace camp for kids, and contributes a twice-monthly column to the United Church Observer.
This year’s Convergence Writers Weekend will take place at New Denver’s Knox Hall, 521 Sixth Ave. Cost for the weekend is $45 plus GST. More details, including how to register, is available at http://widespot.ca/convergence-writers-weekend/ A talk by Geddes and Pogue at 7 pm on June 16 is open to the public as well as registrants.
Convergence is supported by the ProVision fund of the United Church’s B.C. Conference, and by the Regional District of Central Kootenay’s Area H Director, Walter Popoff.
Photo Caption: Presenter Gary Geddes — Submitted
