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Home My WebLink AboutLakeshore Advance, 2011-02-02, Page 101 0 Lakeshore Advance • Wednesday, February 2, 2011 More than Just a competition, Bayfield Reads celebrates Canadian Ifterature Meet this year's defenders Vanessa Brown Clinton News Record When Mary Brown took over lhe Village Bookshop last Jan- uary, customers worried that the store's notorious events would disappear. Front book clubs to readings by some of Canada's most prolific writers, the bookstore is a literary hub for Bayfield residents. "(Mary) and the bookstore are such a treasure to the vil- lage," said l leather Mills, who lives in Bayfield. "We're abso- lutely fortunate to have a book- store that is open and available to us year-round in a village the size of Bayfield" Brown knows not to mess with a good thing. Last Febru- ary, 90 people filed into Bay - field's town hall for Bayfield Reads, an annual literary min - petition modeled after its national counterpart, Canada Reads. This year's edition will be held at the town hall on Feb. 6 at 2 p.m; tickets are $5. According to Brown, the event is a bit because of its populist approach. "I think it's very much of the people; anybody can partici- pate," she said. "Sometimes with the Giller or Governor General's awards people don't always know who's nominated and what the hooks are about. 1 think what makes Canada Reads so appealing is that it's on the radio; anybody can lis- ten raid they make it very fit" This year marks the 11th anniversary of Canada Reads. Prominent Canadians nomi- nate their favourite looks, and the selection is narrowed to five. What makes the competi- tion even better, says Brown, is that five famous Canadians an' selected to represent the nomi- nated books; each defends their choice on (:BC Radio in February. Bayfield Reads is much the sante, only the audience has the chance to vote for their favourite and a winner is chosen on Feb, 6. Brown hand-picks five defenders, who will each get their chance to convince the audi- ence that their choice has the most literary merit, Above all else, the competition cele- brates Canadian literature. "1 think it's important for all of us as citizens to really say, 'we're Canadian, so we're going to support Canadians; we're going to read Canadian; we're going to listen Canadian. So that's my little way of fur- thering the culture," Brown said. Each panellist will first pitch Need Mortgage Money? Farm & Residential 1 & 2 Mortgage S 3.25 Interest or Less • No upfront fees • Personal loans/mortgages • Consolidate your debts • Problem mortgage specialist Head Office Ph: 519.744.6251 Lk. 010163 If you quality, payments: Amt. Approx. Mo. Paym@nt ' 5,000 ' 13.55 '10,000 ' 27.08 '50,000 '135.42 '100,000 '270.83 ASTRAL FUNDING INC. 1-800-387-1932 84 10th Street. Hanover DOG GROOMING NOW OPEN Michelle Gerrie Pet Stylist 30 Ontario St., S. Grand Send (In The Pet stop) 510410' 47S7 or 510-23S-0088 the story they are defending, then each is given five to 10 minutes to dissect the book and make a case for its superiority, dis- cussing such things as themes, character development and conflict. 'The audience will then vote and the winner announced. "I'm a huge promoter of Canadian liter- ature, so I think this is a great way, too, to get the word out about Canadian literature in the community" Brown said. "Alx)ve all, it's really fun, so we keep going" introducing 2011's Bayfield Reads panellists. Defending Unless by Carol Shields, 1 leather Ross is a senior lawyer with The Ross Firm in Goderich. The 61 -year-old lives in Bayfield and has been a Village Bookshop customer for years. Although she usually gravitates toward biographies and poetry, Ross is nonetheless deter- mined to defend Shields's final work before her death in 2003. "I'm very much looking forward to it, and the challenge that I'm going to ix! pre- sented with trying to represent the hook well" Ross said. like Brown, Ross never misses Canada Reads on the radio, and said there's some- thing inherently intriguing about someone talking and deconstructing a novel others have read. "It's rather like if you've just come back from visiting a place in Italy that I'd been to before, i would be most interested in hear- ing your take on that place and what you thought of it," she said. "i think ii's the same interest and passion that people bring when someone else is talking about a book they've read" Jerry McDonnell will be representing Angie Abdou's The Bone Cage. McDon- nell, 65, is a retired EE. Madill Secondary School librarian and lives in Blyth. The Bone Cage looks at the determination and sacrifice athletes put themselves through to reach elite status and "it's the personal story of a couple of people," McDonnell said, "and individual stories are always appealing to people" McDonnell's passion for reading goes hack years. Before becoming a high-school librarian, he earned a degree in English and history from The University of West- ern Ontario in London. According to Vanessa Brown Mary Brown, owner of The Village Bookshop in Bayfield, will host her second Bayfield Reads on Feb. 6. McDonnell, Canadian literature is at cul- tural institution. "it's the voice of the country,' he said, "and as such, it behooves us to pay atten- tion to our own culture and be informed on what people are thinking here." By sheer happenstance, 1?rin Roy, a 36 -year-old financial advisor at Edward Jones in Goderich, was matched to defend 'ferry Fallis's'Ihe Best Laid Plans. A friend of Roy's was working with Fall's while he was writing the political satire, so she knew first-hand Fallis's early attempts to get'lhe Best laid Plans published were rejected. Not one to be discouraged, Fallis took to the Internet and posted his story on HardwoodFloorin AMC -TO 411V. Saturday, Feb'5" 11:30 AM Viewing Friday 68pm and Sat. from 9am Q THE NEUSTADT ARENA Plus a Selection of Prolongs Doors! sosod POIMPININIED nal `« sod Thousands «,i MA '"0 All Must Go Sala Day! M.eMy T.' N.�...-,. 5111-364-1336 QMAT OV[R COMCMTI. c..� v - t c. t+..n u�..,.. ►..-w.. t w.w.w.B_a i IayAuctions.com N.M»« .. """.P r.,. AMV 10 'MUC ~Tl Or LAM AT917. 0111111 1.1 w 1f11.N.,, S.w..s, ori Nom, oto«.. w.."... NalMq., ...,, WerkilAq. You'l' ube. 'the novel was eventually pub- lished in 2008. "I have a lot of respect for an author who has that much determination and creativity about the way he communicates his work," Roy said. Katie Brown is this year's youngest panelist, asked by her mother, Mary Brown, to defend Ami McKay's The Birth House. At 23 years old, Brown admits she too is travelling outside her comfort zone with McKay's novel; she usually gravitates toward fantasy. The power of literature, according to Brown, lies in its ability to persuade someone to start reading a different genre. "I would like to show people that it doesn't matter holy old a person is, as long as they have an open mind, hooks can do incredible things for people," Brown said, Brown works at Global Pet Foods in Stratford and is a life-long reader, She said she loves that she can, in some ways, relate to the women in McKay's historical fiction. "All it takes is an open mind," she said. Judith Keightley, of Rayfield, will defend Essex County by Jeff Lenore. Although the graphic novel is the first she's read, Keightley said she's "feeling quite pumped up about it. I'm now one of his fans." When Keightley came to Canada front Britain, she delved into Canadian literature. One theme she most appre- ciates is the human condition. "Canadian authors deal with the human story no holds barred," she said.