THIN AIR 2011
September, 18 - 24, 2011

September 18, 2011

OPENING NIGHT: VOICES FROM OODENA

As we've seen for the past few years, new work by accomplished Manitoba writers demonstrates the power of language to mark and invent our sense of place. Oobdean Circle, behind the Johnston Terminal at The Forks. Inclement weather: Centre Court, The Forks Market
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September 18, 2011

SOIRÉE D’OUVERTURE : VOIX D’OODENA

Comme l’ont démontré les dernières années, de nouvelles oeuvres d’écrivains manitobains établis illustrent la puissance du langage pour préciser et inventer un sentiment d’appartenance à un lieu. Amphithéâtre Oodena, derrière le Terminal Johnston à La Fourche Météo défavorable : cour centrale, marché de La Fourche
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September 19, 2011

CAMPUS PROGRAM: Lynn Coady @ Brandon U

Lynn Coady's signature wit and insight power her new novel, The Antagonist, a narrative of a young man struggling to define himself against the expectations of others.
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September 19, 2011

CAMPUS PROGRAM: Margaret Macpherson @ CMU

Margaret Macpherson's new novel, Body Trade, is a harrowing tale of two young Canadian women swept into a violent underworld in Central America.
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September 19, 2011

THE NOONER: Wayne Tefs

Wayne Tefs' novel Bandit tells the fascinating story of Ken Leishman, Manitoba's gentlemanly bank robber.
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September 19, 2011

AFTERNOON BOOK CHAT: Elizabeth Hay & Wayne Tefs

Knotted relationships, frustrated ambitions - novelists Elizabeth Hay and Wayne Tefs train their eyes on complex characters and the networks of people surrounding them.
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September 19, 2011

BIG IDEAS: Terror on the High Seas

In 1978, a yacht called Foxy Lady strayed into the waters of Cambodia. On board were several free spirited explorers, including a young Canadian, all of whom became victims of the Khmer Rouge. Investigative journalist Dave Kattenburg unpacks their convoluted story in Foxy Lady: Truth, Memory and the Death of Western Yachstmen in Democratic Kampuchea
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September 19, 2011

MAINSTAGE: Trouble

Trouble. We may flirt with it or we may run from it, but it's never far away...
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September 20, 2011

SCHOOL STAGE: Robert J Sawyer

Powerhouse science fiction writer and seasoned presenter Robert J Sawyer brings his attention to the virtual world today’s youth take for granted. What happens when a precocious protagonist meets Webmind?
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September 20, 2011

CAMPUS PROGRAM: Lynn Coady @ RRC

Lynn Coady's signature wit and insight power her new novel, The Antagonist, a narrative of a young man struggling to define himself against the expectations of others.
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September 20, 2011

THE NOONER: Ron Charach

Poet Ron Charach tracks through the North End of his childhood and the tangles of cultural memory in Forgetting the Holocaust.
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September 20, 2011

SCHOOL STAGE: Robert J Sawyer

Powerhouse science fiction writer and seasoned presenter Robert J Sawyer brings his attention to the virtual world today’s youth take for granted. What happens when a precocious protagonist meets Webmind?
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September 20, 2011

AFTERNOON BOOK CHAT: Marty Chan & Dimitri Nasrallah

Marty Chan and Dimitri Nasrallah consider the tangle of opportunities and frustrations a new country offers.
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September 20, 2011

BIG IDEAS: Womens Live's, Women's Wisdom

Years of conversation with Aboriginal elders from across Ontario and the prairies have resulted in Kim Anderson's warm and intimate book, Life Stage and Native Women: memory, Teachings, and Story Medicine Recovering the stories of women's customs and responsibilities opens the door toward healthy Indigenous communities today.
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September 20, 2011

CAMPUS PROGRAM: Margaret Macpherson @ UM

Margaret Macpherson's new novel, Body Trade, is a harrowing tale of two young Canadian women swept into a violent underworld in Central America.
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September 20, 2011

RURAL TOUR: Wayne Tefs in Portage La Prairie

Wayne Tefs' novel Bandit tells the fascinating story of Ken Leishman, Manitoba's gentlemanly bank robber.
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September 20, 2011

FOYER DES ÉCRIVAINS: Soirée Francophile

Venez passer une soirée de bonnes conversations avec deux écrivaines manitobaines, une poète-nouvelliste et une romancière. Une belle occasion pour socialiser en français et découvrir des auteures et des livres francophones d’ici.
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September 20, 2011

MAINSTAGE: Who We Are

To consider where we come from and where we are going illuminates the predicament of who we are.
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September 21, 2011

SCHOOL STAGE: Robert J Sawyer

Powerhouse science fiction writer and seasoned presenter Robert J Sawyer brings his attention to the virtual world today’s youth take for granted. What happens when a precocious protagonist meets Webmind?
Click here for more information.

September 21, 2011

RURAL TOUR: Christine De Luca in Carman, MB

Scottish writer Christine De Luca shares visions of her homeland in rich poems - both English and Shetlandic - and spins a saga of settlement that reaches from Scotland to Canada in her new novel, And then forever.
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September 21, 2011

CAMPUS PROGRAM: Kim Anderson @ UM

Kim Anderson shares her research into the lives, traditions, and wisdom of aboriginal women. *This event ends at 12:20pm
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September 21, 2011

THE NOONER: Glen Downie

Glen Downie has a way of making familiar things - like the tool shed and the local mall - surprisingly fresh in his most recent poetry collection, Local news.
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September 21, 2011

SCHOOL STAGE: Marty Chan

Marty Chan has a knack for creating playful stories that also model the value of good citizenship. A Close Shave, the first novel in a new series, introduces readers to Barnabas Bigfoot, a sasquatch with embarrassingly small feet.
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September 21, 2011

AFTERNOON BOOK CHAT: Gabe Foreman & Sandra Ridley

From irreverent games to delicately rendered impressions, Gabe Foreman and Sandra Ridley share the power and play in poetry.
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September 21, 2011

CAMPUS PROGRAM: WD Valgardson @ UW

The irrepressible WD Valgardson mixes Icelandic myth-making and the blunt realism of life in the Interlake in What the Bear Said: Skald Tales from New Iceland.
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September 21, 2011

BIG IDEAS: Grammar Matters?

In her slim book, Grammar Matters: The Social Significance of How We Use Language, local linguistics professor and language lover, Jila Ghomenshi, takes a long view of the way our attitudes about language shape and are shaped by our ideas about ourselves and the world we live in. Expect a few surprises!
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September 21, 2011

FOYER DES ÉCRIVAINS: La plume et le pinceau

Une joute d’improvisations visuelles et littéraires qui jumelle écrivains et artistes visuels pour produire des oeuvres mixtes sur papier. La création dans l’instant, le suspense du nouveau. Le temps est la limite. Le public pourra aussi participer à une improvisation.

Cette années nous avons ajouté un petit tourbillon d’extrait des nouveautés d'ici et deux brève lectures : Mes Shorts, de Marc Prescott (Éditions du Blé), ainsi que De perdre tes pas, de Jérôme Melançon (Éditions des Plaines).
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September 21, 2011

MAINSTAGE: Poetry Bash!

Poets invent new paths through our language - and new languages for our paths...
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September 22, 2011

SCHOOL STAGE: Marty Chan

Marty Chan has a knack for creating playful stories that also model the value of good citizenship. A Close Shave, the first novel in a new series, introduces readers to Barnabas Bigfoot, a sasquatch with embarrassingly small feet.
Click here for more information.

September 22, 2011

CAMPUS PROGRAM: Glen Downie @ RRC

Glen Downie has a way of making familiar things - like the tool shed and the local mall - surprisingly fresh in his most recent poetry collection, Local News.
Click here for more information.

September 22, 2011

PROGRAMMATION SUR LES CAMPUS: Dany Laferrière et Charles Leblanc

De l'auteur à l'œuvre traduite. L'écrivain, Dany Laferrière (L'énigme du retour) et le traducteur-poète, Charles Leblanc, révèlent et expliquent l'étroite collaboration qu'exige la traduction d'une œuvre, afin de rendre le plus possible la pensée de l'auteur. Ils aborderont aussi le sujet de l’écriture et la tâche parfois hasardeuse de conciliation du sens et de la langue.
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September 22, 2011

THE NOONER: Christine De Luca

In her debut novel, And then forever, Scottish writer Christine De Luca offers a sprawling historical novel which includes a quick stop-over in Winnipeg.
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September 22, 2011

AFTERNOON BOOK CHAT: Di Brandt & David Homel

How do we move through life in full consciousness of its gifts? New work by Di Brandt and David Homel offer some insights.
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September 22, 2011

CAMPUS PROGRAM: Clark Blaise @ UW

In The Meagre Tarmac, Clark Blaise brings his acute eye and eloquence to stories of Indian immigrants navigating between Old World and New World expectations.
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September 22, 2011

BIG IDEAS: Lost and Found

In the mid-60s, a Winnipeg teen was spirited off to a home for unwed mothers, and had a baby who was absorbed into a closed adoption system that made him virtually invisible. Years later, Myrl Coulter offers us the House with the Broken Two, a personal story of losing and finding her first born son, and an exploration of the changing dynamics of adoption.
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September 22, 2011

MAINSTAGE: Listening Across Languages

English, French, Spanish, Low German, and Shetlandic - let the swirl of languages enrich your experience of the work of three extraordinary writers.
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September 23, 2011

CAMPUS PROGRAM: Myrl Coulter @ RRC

In The House with the Broken Two, Myrl Coulter explores the changing dynamics of adoption through her own experience of losing and finding her first born son.
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September 23, 2011

THE NOONER: Guy Vanderhaeghe

Award-winning novelist Guy Vanderhaeghe once again animates the early Canadian and American West in his new novel, A Good Man.
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September 23, 2011

CAMPUS PROGRAM: Jacob McArthur Mooney @ UM

Jacob McArthur Mooney's new poetry collection, Folk, takes a fresh look at identity and place by investigating our desire to align where we are with two we are.
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September 23, 2011

AFTERNOON BOOK CHAT: Rosemary Nixon & Miriam Toews

Novelists Rosemary Nixon and Miriam Toews explore the pain and power of women tested by nearly unbearable circumstances.
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September 23, 2011

BIG IDEAS: They shoot....they score!

In the wake of Jets Mania, Manitoba hockey fans will be intrigued by the rich history here in Manitoba. over the years, we have produced Stanley Cup, Allan Cup, Memorial Cup, Olympic, and World Championship teams. Sports reporter and historian Richard Brignall has gathered photos, memorabilia, reports and personal stories from the earliest days of the sport in Forgotten Heroes: Winnipeg's Hockey Heritage.
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September 23, 2011

FOYER DES ÉCRIVAINS: Gala de la parole: Parler d'ailleurs

Le dépaysement culturel, géographique et émotif modifie notre réalité et notre point de vue. Ces lectures et la musique qui les accompagnent nous transportent dans des régions inconnues. Ainsi, nos connaissances sont ébranlées et cela nous permet de nous ouvrir au monde!
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September 23, 2011

MAINSTAGE: Looking Out, Looking In

When circumstances make us aware of the frames that define our lives, we're in that unsettling position of looking out, or looking in.
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September 23, 2011

AFTER WORDS JAZZ CLUB

Steven Ross Smith has wowed audiences all over the world with his solo and collaborative performances. This one's not to be missed!
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September 24, 2011

THE WRITING CRAFT: Boot Camps for Writers: Who are your teachers?

Writers need solitude, but to really take your work to the next level, you need to find ways to connect with others who also practice the craft. Steven Ross Smith is an award-winning poet and performer with a long history of collaboration with writers and other artists. For almost two decades, he was the Executive Director of the Sage Hill writing Experience, and he's now the Director of Literary Arts at The Banff Centre. Drawing on his extensive background, Steve will share the basics about enriching learning contexts for writers, from writer groups to workshops, seminars, retreats, and conferences. What will work best for you? How can you make your application stand out? Are there options for funding? Bring your questions... You can register on-line until Thursday at midnight. After that, please feel free to come down and register in person on Saturday morning - registration is open at 9:30am (payment accepted in cash, cheque, visa, mastercard)- we have plenty of room, and would love to have you! Admission includes coffee & a snack.
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September 24, 2011

MAINSTAGE: Manitoba Reads

Based on the wildly popular Canada Reads, four lively panelists champion their chosen title to a grueling finish, when we all will know the Manitoba title for our winter bookshelf! Panelists: Alison Gillmor, Vincent Ho, Paul Jordan, Niigonwedom James Sinclair
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September 24, 2011

AFTER WORDS JAZZ CLUB: THE BIRTHDAY PARTY!

We close out our fifteenth festival with a celebration of words in thin air. This year's poets will take a minute on the mic and make some magic with our star musicians. Bring a poem - join the party!
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