Ken Donovan was kind enough to bring along the latest issue of the Nashwaak Review on his recent trip to Halifax. That issue contains the story of a travel adventure Mary Topshee and I took a couple of years ago in England. The story can be read by clicking on the link given here and then opening the pdf for “Walking the Cotswolds”.
http://w3.stu.ca/stu/aboutstu/publications/nashwaak/vol_34
Here is a link to a posting by the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia about the Alistair MacLeod Mentorship Program. I’m honoured and delighted to be the mentor working with the very talented Linda McLean. I’ll be posting more about Linda and this project in the days ahead.
http://writers.ns.ca/…/alistair-macleod-mentorship-program-…
I’m still enjoying hearing that the ill-conceived giant statue proposed for Cape Breton Highlands NP under a previous regime was nixed by federal minister Catherine McKenna. How lucky it was that there was a change of government and a wise minister placed in charge of the portfolio responsible for Parks Canada.
The shift in policies reminds me one more time how important it is for ordinary citizens to express their opinions on issues they care about. I think thousands spoke out — with letters to newspapers, calls to radio shows, posts on Facebook, Twitter and other social media — on the possibility of a giant, ugly statue rising in a National Park. The large volume of protests, lamentations and complaints won the day in the end. So let’s do the same, shall we, with other issues that come along — federal, provincial and community-based. Speak out, that is. Our democracy is only as good as we make it at the grassroots.
A crowd of several hundred came out last evening to the launch of the Books Start Here campaign. I took a photo with my phone but it’s a little blurry. It also does not show the much larger crowd to my left and behind where I was sitting. It’s impressive to see such a turnout for the publishing industry in NS.
Messages included one on how important it is to our culture, especially to inspire the young, to know that a person can grow up to be a writer in this province and tell the stories of where we live.
Those supportive of the industry — and its writers, editors, illustrators, publicists etc — were asked to express their thoughts and feelings to the MLAs. The hope is that NS will follow the lead of some other Canadian provinces and show more support for this creative industry.
The month of February is filled with events, yet I think it especially important to recall that it is the month set aside across North America to mark African Heritage.
There will be exhibits and talks in many libraries and museums. Whether or not any who read this note are of African descent, I think it important that people of all backgrounds give these events and offerings some attention. All of our histories are inter-twined. Moreover, Africans and people of African descent have an extremely long and important history in Canada and the United States, and their accomplishments and contributions have been many and are all too often overlooked.
Speaking specifically to Nova Scotians, please check out the list of events for African Heritage Month at its web site.
Three specific museums I highly recommend for visits — if not now (because of winter closures or reduced hours) then later on — are the Black Cultural Centre in Dartmouth (which presents the sweeping saga of the entire province across the span of centuries), the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre in Birchtown (which presents the moving story of the search and struggle for freedom by the Black Loyalists), and the Colchester Historeum in Truro. African Heritage is not the focus of the newly-renovated Truro museum but it is acknowledged in multiple ways within the exciting new exhibit space.
