2010 Manitowapow Series: Stories of Manitowapow
Writers Beatrice Mosionier, Waubgeshig Rice, Jennifer Storm and Niigonwedom Sinclair, hosted by David Robertson
Date: Saturday, January 23, 7pm
Location: Aqua Books (274 Garry Street, between Graham and Portage)
Cost: FREE
Featuring a mixture of experienced and emerging writers, this series promises rich experiences for audiences. Hosted by 2010 Aqua Books Writer-in-Residence David Robertson (author of The Life of Helen Betty Osborne and the upcoming graphic novel series 7 Generations), each evening will feature approximately five artists presenting their work. Also, as an added bonus, each night will finish with a short panel discussion on Aboriginal experiences of both writing in and about Manitowapow.
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Niigonwedom James Sinclair is originally from Ste. Peter’s (Little Peguis) First Nation in Manitoba, Canada and currently lives in Winnipeg. His creative work has appeared in Prairie Fire and Tales from Mocassin Avenue: An Anthology of Native Stories while his scholarly work will appear in three upcoming critical texts with Broadview Press, Michigan State University Press, and Wilfred Laurier Press.
Beatrice Mosionier was born in St. Boniface, Manitoba. The youngest of four children, she grew up in foster homes. After a short time living in Toronto, where she attended college, she returned to Winnipeg. Following the death of two sisters to suicide, Beatrice decided to write In Search of April Raintree. First published in 1983, it has become a Canadian classic. Beatrice has also written several children's books, including Spirit of the White Bison, Christopher's Folly, and Unusual Friendships: A Little Black Cat and a Little White Rat. Her second novel, In the Shadow of Evil, was published in 2000, and her long-awaited memoir Come Walk With Me came out in 2009.
Waubgeshig Rice is a broadcast journalist and writer currently based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He's originally from Wasauksing First Nation, a beautiful Ojibway community on Georgian Bay in Ontario. He developed a passion for storytelling at a very young age, learning about his culture and traditions through stories the elders told. His journalism career began when he spent a year as an exchange student in Germany at 17. He sent stories about his experiences as an Ojibway kid in Europe to a local Ontario newspaper. He graduated from RyersonUniversity's Journalism program in 2002 and has since been published in national newspapers and magazines. He currently works as a television reporter for CBC News. He cites growing up on the rez as his greatest learning experience.
Jennifer Storm is an Ojibway from the Couchiching First Nation in Northwestern Ontario. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Jennifer completed Deadly Loyalties (Theytus Books, 2007), her first novel, at the age of 14. In 2006, Jennifer received the Manitoba Aboriginal Youth Achievement Award as well as the Helen Betty Osborne Award. Jennifer is completing her second year of Native Studies at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.
David Robertson is an Aboriginal writer who lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with his wife and three children. As he was growing up, David became acutely aware of the lack of accurate, comprehensive Aboriginal history being taught in schools. For this reason, he wrote The Life of Helen Betty Osborne - to engage and educate youth about an integral event in Canada's Aboriginal history. David is the Aqua Books Writer-in-Residence for January - April 2010.
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Ariel Gordon
Events Coordinator, Aqua Books
274 Garry Street
Winnipeg, MBR3C 1H3
tel: 204-943-7555
email:
web: aquabooks.ca