Monday, April 18, 2016

Griffin Poetry Prize Shortlists

Norman Dubie
(courtesy Griffin Poetry Prize)
Congratulations to all of the finalists for the 2016 Griffin Poetry Prize! This year's international shortlist includes Norman Dubie's collection The Quotations of Bone. The Fiddlehead has published Dubie's poems on two previous occasions, in issues No. 241 (Autumn 2009) and No. 262 (Winter 2015), and those poems appear in The Quotations of Bone.

Here are the Griffin Prize shortlists in their entirety, as selected by judges Alice Oswald, Tracy K. Smith, and Adam Sol:

International
Norman Dubie, The Quotations of Bone
Joy Harjo, Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings
Don Paterson, 40 Sonnets
Rowan Ricardo Phillips, Heaven

Canadian
Ulrikka S. Gernes (translated by Per Brask and Patrick Friesen), Frayed Opus for Strings & Wind Instruments
Liz Howard, Infinite Citizen of the Shaking Tent
Soraya Peerbye, Tell: poems for girlhood

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Readings Galore in Fredericton

Get ready Fredericton for an onslaught of readings!

First of all, Qwerty Reads happens tonight! See their Facebook event page. Qwerty Reads is a evening of poetry, storytelling, and live music celebrating the work of Qwerty Magazine, a literary journal run by UNB English grad students. This month's event, taking place April 14th at 7 PM at the Wilser's Room in the Capital Complex, will feature readings by Alex Carey, Katie Fewster-Yan and Steven Suntres, three of our outgoing MA students, who will be reading from their hot-off-the-press creative writing theses, as well as a poetry reading from UNB alumnus Jennifer Houle. The evening will also feature a performance from Marky Mark & the Jarmen (aka Marky Mark's Jamming Jarmen), a band containing UNB prof Mark Jarman, and a fun Q&A segment with Naomi Lewis, our outgoing writer-in-residence. The event is free and open to the public!

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This Sunday, April 17 at 2pm, the odd sundays reading series features Corrine Wasilewski and Chuck Bowie. Gather once again at Corked Wine Bar, 83 Regent St., Fredericton for a great reading, an open set, and a free book draw!

Corinne Wasilewski was born and raised in Woodstock, NB, but now makes her home in Sarnia, ON where she works as an occupational therapist. Her short stories have appeared in Front & Centre, The Windsor Review, The Nashwaak Review, and The Battered Suitcase. Live from the Underground is her first novel. An early version of the manuscript was awarded the WFNB’s David Adams Richards Prize in 2012.

Chuck Bowie graduated from UNB with a BSc. His writing is influenced by the study of how people behave, habits he developed as his family moved nineteen times in his first twenty one years. Chuck is involved in music, supporting local musicians, occasionally playing with them. He is working through the fourth novel in the series: Donovan: Thief For Hire, titled The Body On The Underwater Road. Chuck and his wife Lois live in Fredericton. They have two adult musician sons.

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And next week, there are two readings to celebrate the shortlists for the New Brunswick Book Awards and the Atlantic Book Awards. The Atlantic Book Awards Festival presents:

On Wednesday, April 20 at 7 PM at the Fredericton Public Library (12 Carleton St.), the CBC’s Jacques Poitras moderates a discussion with shortlisted authors David Sullivan (Boss Gibson: Lumber King of New Brunswick) and Thom Workman (The Servant State: Overseeing Capital Accumulation in Canada). Books will be for sale by Westminster Books.

And on Thursday, April 21 at 7 PM at Westminster Books (445 King St, Fredericton), please join Ian LeTourneau, Fiddlehead poetry editor and City of Fredericton Cultural Laureate as he hosts an evening featuring readings by Phillip Crymble (Not Even Laughter) M. Travis Lane (Crossover) and Michael Pacey (Electric Affinities), all shortlisted for the New Brunswick Book Awards' Westminster Books Award for Poetry.