Writers John Lent and Roch Carrier, and painter Chris Cran are among the nationally renowned speakers at UBC Okanagan over the next two weeks. On March 20 and 30, respectively, acclaimed writers Adam Lewis Schroeder and Sharon Thesen round out the schedule of featured speakers.
All events in the Writers, Artists and Performers series, organized by the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, are free and open to the public.
“This series is a tremendous opportunity for people from our region to hear from some of Canada’s most celebrated writers, artists and performers,” says Nancy Holmes, Creating Writing Professor at UBC Okanagan and one of the program’s organizers.
“There’s no charge to attend any of these events — just bring yourself and your friends and enjoy the experience.”
John Lent
Thursday, February 23, 7:30 p.m., Room Arts 103
Fiction writer, poet, musician, Lent is a favorite of Okanagan writers, students and general audiences. The author of several books of poetry and fiction, he will be reading from his latest book, a collection of linked short stories, So It Won’t Go Away.
Chris Cran
Wednesday, March 1, 6 p.m., Room SSC 026
Chris Cran is an internationally recognized painter who lives and works in Calgary. Cran has ventured into a variety of creative roles. In addition to his professional activities as a painter, he has been actively involved in Calgary’s theatre scene, and recently produced several uniquely creative sets for Calgary’s One Yellow Rabbit theatre company.
Roch Carrier
Tuesday, March 7, 4 – 5:30 p.m., Room SSC 026
Celebrated French Canadian author Roch Carrier will be giving a guest lecture at UBC Okanagan. Famous in English Canada for his children’s story “The Hockey Sweater,” he is a novelist, playwright and former head of the Canada Council for the Arts and the National Librarian of Canada. His talk will be called “A Life in Writing.”
Adam Lewis Schroeder
Monday, March 20, 7:30 p.m., Room Arts 103
Fiction writer Schroeder completed an MFA in Creative Writing at UBC. He has traveled widely and published short stories in several literary magazines. In 2001, Raincoast published his short fiction collection Kingdom of Monkeys. He now lives in Penticton, B.C., where he is at work on a novel, as well as reviewing fiction for This Magazine and sitting on the editorial board of Geist.
Sharon Thesen’s Book Launch
Thursday, March 30, 4 p.m., FINA Gallery
Thesen, Creative Writing professor at UBC Okanagan, will be launching her eighth book of poetry, The Good Bacteria. Thesen’s most recent book of poetry, A Pair of Scissors won the Pat Lowther Memorial Award. She has been shortlisted twice for the Governor-General’s Award and in 2002 was a member of the jury for the prestigious Griffin Prize for Excellence in Poetry.
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