The Guelph Lecture On Being Canadian – November 7

Each year, The Guelph Lecture – On Being Canadian inspires a community conversation on what it means to be Canadian and what role our country could and should play in a changing world.

Friday, 7 November 2008
River Run Centre
Guelph Ontario
7 p.m.  

Regular admission: $20. Students are welcome at $15. (eyeGo tickets are available.)
Tickets are available on line at www.riverrun.ca or by calling 519-763-3000 or toll free 1-877-520-2408. Plan to arrive for a pre-show music set at 6:30, with the formal program to start at 7. A reception follows.

Guy Maddin As a self-taught film maker growing up in Manitoba’s capital, Maddin has proven to be one of Canada’s most influential and important artists. While recreating and imitating the style of early black and white cinema with its grainy film and often brooding lighting, Maddin renews the meaning of post modern. Through the use of humor, psychosexuality, myth and history he creatively weaves stories both of the imagination and of real life. Known for films such as The Saddest Music in the World and, most recently, My Winnipeg, Maddin presents a style which is utterly unique, mythological, nostalgic and innovative. Once depicted as a “hallucinatory autobiography” My Winnipeg, voted Best Canadian Feature at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, captures Maddin’s love/hate relationship with the city he grew up in while exploring the myths and legends that over time have come to shape his own ideas and memories of it. My Winnipeg is what Maddin himself describes as a “docu-fantasia.” Sometimes called “The Canadian David Lynch,” Maddin is easily one of the country’s most influential and important artists. In the strange, dream-like bizarreness that’s present in all of Maddin’s films, emerges a perspective that is unique, nostalgic and inspiring.

Rawi Hage Having immigrated to Canada in 1992 from Beirut, Lebanon Hage moved to Montreal where he earned an Arts Diploma from Dawson College, then a Bachelor’s degree in visual arts from Concordia University. Since then Hage has established himself as both a photographer, a novelist and curator. Shortlisted in 2006 for the Giller Prize, his award winning novel ” De Niro’s Game” has claimed him both national and international recognition as a strong and prominent writer who brings stories of struggle, survival and escape to life. As well, Rawi’s visual works have been shown in galleries and museums around the world including the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Musée de la civilisation de Québec. On November 7th Rawi will read a selected passage from his newest novel Cockroach.

Melissa McCLelland  Described by some as “avant-garde mistress of inner-pop noire” Melissa’s melody and lyrics are mysterious and dark yet gentle and warm. Her own original compostions such as “Rooftops” have been featured in television shows such as prime time show Grey’s Anatomy. As well, Melissa has been recognized as a truly talented musician and has had the opportunity to prove it by playing with internationally recognized Canadian musicians such as Greg Keelor (Blue Rodeo), Justin Rutledge and Sarah McLachlan.

Sheila Heti The evening will be emceed and moderated by author and cultural curator Sheila Heti. Sheila Heti is one of the young, bright lights of the cultural scene. She is the author of The Middle Stories and the novel Ticknor. Her writing has appeared in various places-The Believer, The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Brick. She is also the creator of the always-sold-out Trampoline Hall lecture series, at which people speak on subjects outside their areas of expertise. The New Yorker praised the series for “celebrating eccentricity and do-it-yourself inventiveness.” 

Read Full Post »