By: Deanna McFadden
What's up and down the page this month in Toronto's literary scene...
Poetry and Valentine's Day go hand in hand, from Shakespeare's love sonnets to Michael Ondaatje's The Cinnamon Peeler, what's more romantic than rhyming couplets and sweet sentiments told in metered lines and short stanzas? Why not take it that one step further, perhaps reciting Robbie Burns's "My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose" under your beloved's windowsill? Or better still, by taking your sweetheart out to hear some wordsmiths spin their sweetness and light in person?
There are plenty of great book events this February taking place in Toronto. If poetry is what you're after, local bard Alex Boyd celebrates the launch of his book Making Bones Walk at the Victory Café (581 Markham Street) on February 10th.
The wonderful Camilla Gibb speaks at the Literature for Our Time series at the Bader Theatre (93 Charles Street) on February 2nd. It starts at 3:00pm, so if you feel like playing hooky, sneak out early and head on over to Victoria University. Camilla Gibb's latest novel, Sweetness in the Belly has a searingly tragic love story between the covers-one not to miss if you haven't already read it.
For a dose of the truly and seriously sweet, don't miss YA author Ann Brashares making a rare Toronto appearance at the Eaton's Centre Indigo at 3:00pm on February 11th. The final book in her hugely popular Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, Forever in Blue: the Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood came out just last month.
If you like your love stories to come with a good whack on the head, every Tuesday evening in February The Enoch Turner Schoolhouse runs a popular Mystery Writers Series. This month, hear from authors Mel Bradshaw, Rosemary Aubert, and Maureen Jennings starting on February 6th. On February 27, they'll be showing the film version of the Murdoch Mystery Under the Dragon's Tail, with a Q&A to follow with the producers.
For the more esteemed readers in your circle of love, why not buy some tickets for the ongoing International Readings at the Harbourfront? Their ongoing weekly series sees author Calvin Trillin come to town on Monday, February 5th. Just two days later, I'll be attending the Vikram Chandra, Neil Smith and Colm Tóibín readings on February 7th, and later in the month, on the 21st, Scott Gardiner, Shaena Lambert and Heather O'Neill will read from their novels. And on the very last day of the month, February 28th, don't miss Jon Clinch and Jane Smiley.
Also, you should take time this month to explore Type Books-a relatively new and truly fabulous new independent bookstore in Queen West (883 Queen Street West). On February 8th, author Robert Hough will read from The Stowaway in conjunction with a special night dedicated to the experiences of cargo ship refugees. Not exactly romantic, but it'll cover your social justice quota for the month. Also in attendance will be Jovanni Sy and translator Bobby Theodore, who will read from The Sheep and The Whale, a hotly anticipated new play produced by the Cahoots Theatre Projects and the Modern Times Stage Company (in association with Theatre Passe Murielle).
Finally, if you're anti-Hallmark holidays, not to worry, Now Magazine and Pages have their always-entertaining This Is Not a Reading Series events to attend. This month finds J.L Granatstein lecturing about the need for a new military policy in conjunction with his new book Whose War Is It? How Canada Can Survive in the Post-9/11 World. And there's one for the girls on February 7th as Believer magazine editor Vendela Veti launch her new novel Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name by having conversation on stage with local author Sheila Heti.
All in all, not a bad month considering winter has finally hit-is there a better way of getting rid of your winter blues than heading out and reveling in someone else's misery? In this case, fictional characters, of course!
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