The celebration of Words West of the 5th Culture Days in Rimbey to be held next weekend promises to be jam packed full of exciting events.
Kicking off the weekend will be a concert at the Beatty Heritage House featuring Sid Marty, a celebrate poet, author and singer who is sure to provide some excellent entertainment.
And then on Saturday at 12:30 p.m., the Empress Theatre Coffee Shop on Main Street Rimbey will hold a poetry cafe with reading from poets Joan Crate, Bruce Strand and Linda Siebernga. Their readings will be followed by an informal question and answer session.
The public is invited to stop by the Beatty Heritage House at 2 p.m. to enjoy a fiction discussion panel and readings from Fran Kimmel, Joan Crate, Kate Boorman and Jocelyn Brown.
Jocelyn Brown grew up in Edmonton with her five sisters and her first published stories were about games they invented as children. One of these stories, Miss Canada, was nominated for a National Magazine Award and won the McClelland and Stewart Journey Prize. Her other stories have been published in literary magazines and produced on CBC.
Formerly a theatre costumer and children’s clothing designer, Jocelyn’s first book, One Good Outfit, combined her love of clothing with social satire. Called “a very funny and strangely moving book” by the Edmonton Journal, One Good Outfit is an affectionate guide on making the most of one’s clothing.
Also set in Edmonton, The Mitochondrial Curiosities of Marcels 1-19 is a young-adult novel about grief, crafts, and semi-criminal adventure. Praised by The Globe and Mail for “transcending the genre,”
Brown was the Edmonton Public Library’s Writer in Residence in 2012 and very much enjoys working with young writers.
She teaches in MacEwan University’s English Department and is working on her second Young Adult novel.
A former creative-writing instructor, Jocelyn has given many writing workshops and met with dozens of writers about their work.
Joan Crate was born in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and was brought up with pride in her Indigenous heritage. She taught literature and creative writing at Red Deer College, Alberta, for over 20 years. Her first book of poetry, Pale as Real Ladies: Poems for Pauline Johnson, is now a classic. Her first novel, Breathing Water, was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Award (Canada) and the Books in Canada First Novel Award in 1989. She is a recipient of the Bliss Carman Award for Poetry and her last book of poetry, SubUrban Legends, was awarded Book of the Year by the Writers’ Guild of Alberta. Her latest book is entitled Black Apple.
She lives with her family in Calgary.
Kate A Boorman is an award-winning author who was born in Nepal and grew up here, in Rimbey. She writes speculative fiction and has a mild obsession with abandoned places, memory, and the darkest parts of the forest.
Kate holds a MA in Dramatic Critical theory and a resume full of a bizarre assortment of jobs, from florist to accordion accompanist to “person-who-held-the-drywall-sheet-in-place”. She has participated as a guest and presenter at a variety of Festivals and Conferences in Western Canada.
Kate usually lives in Edmonton with her family. She has recently returned from living in a faraway land, where there are many baguettes.
Her latest book, ‘What We Buried,’ published in February 2019, for people aged 14-19 has been reviewed in several publications and has been placed on a number of Best Youth Adult Books for 2019 lists including Oprah Magazine, Seventeen Magazine and Cosmopolitan Magazine.
Fran Kimmel’s short stories have appeared in literary journals from coast to coast and her plays have been produced for both theatre and radio. Her debut novel, The Shore Girl, was named a CBC Top-40 book and won the Alberta Reader’s Choice Award in 2013. No Good Asking, Fran’s most recent book, was shortlisted for the Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction in 2019. Kimmel lives in Lacombe.
Following the non fiction presentations, local panel authors Myrna Pearman, Patrick Rurka and Jody Lamour will give non fiction ‘writing your passion’ presentations.
The public is invited to attend any or all of the free events which will wrap up with a homegrown open mic free-for-all at the local Hawk Tail Brewery at 7:30 p.m.
Featured authors include Kate Boorman, Jocelyn Brown, Joan Crate, Fran Kimmel, Judy Larmour, Sid Marty, Myrna Pearman, Patrick Rurka, Linda Siebanga, & Bruce Strand.
