Easter’s dates conspired against the Festival for the first time in 12 years, but it made for a gentle entry into what will be a jam-packed week! We will unfortunately loose one day of school visits, but thanks to the generosity of the authors and the Festival’s hard-working staff, we are hoping to be able to impact just as many students as any other year.
The first event took place last night and it was magical! New Brunswick’s emerging authors took to the stage at City Grill, under a sparkling chandelier with elaborately framed photos of now deceased literary luminaries looking on. What talent, and I’m not just talking about those behind the microphone either!
For the last few years I’ve been telling anyone who will listen about the great emerging literary talent that we have in New Brunswick and last night truly put my words into focus. Fredericton-based poet Ian Letourneau read a great poem entitled: A Cubist View of the Saint John River and went on to wax poet about apples and squid, because, as he says, a poem sometimes happens! While Ian read in English, he did also read a lovely translation of a poem by Quebec’s Émile Nelligan. Marie-Ève Landry, originally from Tracadie, but now living in Moncton charmed the audience with her lovely voice and her Moncton 24 poem. Novelist Sherry Coffee read a fascinating chapter from her upcoming novel, recounting the fictionalized past of an intriguing character, originally from Siberia who decided to walk back home from New York! Moncton-based poet Jonathan Roy wrote of fear and loathing at Crystal Palace (I know I’ll never think of the loud, teenager-filled, rollercoaster amusement park in quite the same way again!). Jennifer Houle (originally from Shediac) so perfectly represented in words and body language what every social misfit feels when it comes time for “mingling” and finally, Joël Boilard had the crowd in stitches as he read his short story.
The eclectic talent behind the microphone created the intellectual magic, but I have to say something about the setting. Under the direction of creative genius Angèle Cormier, audiences this year are in for another visual treat. While Angèle and her team surprise and delight every year, this year I think that they may have outdone themselves!
In March at a board meeting the production team presented to the board their idea of having an opulent “literary salon” setting on stages this year. Their black and white and shimmering idea also included having framed pictures of deceased literary luminaries, so of course we came up with all the classics: Shakespeare, Zola, Joyce, Balzac, etc. But then, the voice of contemporary Canadian literature, and Frye Board member, Thomas Hodd, had a question: What about CANADIAN literary luminaries? What is with this colonial attitude (can you tell he used to work for John Ralston Saul?)? Good point. We all agreed and that set the ideas flowing. So, last night the Emerging New Brunswick Authors were accompanied on stage by Moncton’s own Gerald LeBlanc but also Stephen Leacock and Lucy Maud Montgomery. It was magical!
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