Artists, politicians, and the lost art of letter writing

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Michelle Burtnyk-Horn

Last month, our book club* did something a bit different. Instead of the usual book club agenda, comprised of the reading and then discussing of a book (in addition to the not-so-usual quizzes, plays, and trophy bestowals), we wrote and shared letters. The inspiration for this letter writing was none other than Canadian author Yann Martel (of Life of Pi fame), and his book What is Stephen Harper Reading?

For those of you who are unaware of this ambitious endeavor – here’s a brief summary: In March 2007, Yann Martel and 40 other Canadian artists were invited to the House of Commons to celebrate 50 years of the Canada Council for the Arts, our national arts funding agency. Gathered in the visitor’s gallery, the artists waited patiently to be acknowledged for their collective contribution, representing all Canadian artists, to Canadian culture. And brief it was - an address less than 5 minutes in length followed by a lackluster dusting of applause; a Prime Minister who did not even raise his head from the stack of papers sitting before him. And so begins Mr. Martel’s relentless pursuit: to find out what drives Stephen Harper. What makes him tick? What informs his soul, what type of art does he appreciate, what makes up his cultural self?

Barack Obama's letter to Yann Martel about his Book, Life of Pi. C'mon, Harper!

Biweekly since March 2007, Yann Martel has been writing Stephen Harper letters, with suggestions for books to read. And biweekly since March 2007, there has been no response from Mr. Harper – unless you count a few generic responses from his Communications Officers thanking him for his letter.

Tackling this in book club was a treat. We, of course, discussed Yann Martel at length – what continues to motivate him to write letters? Is this becoming a personal vendetta, or is it a clever, politically-driven, advocacy attempt to increase arts funding? Is it pretentious? We discussed the ideas in the letters – what role does art play in defining our identity as Canadians? Do business schools have a place in Canadian Universities? Should there be a required reading list for our prime ministers?

As interesting as the discussion was, the most intriguing aspect of the club was the writing of our own letters: the homework assigned to each member was to write a letter to whomever they would like, with a book suggestion, and then share it with the group. Recipients ranged from, well, me, to Stephen Harper to Lindsay Lohan to Yann Martel to Australia. Each member confessed that it was pretty darn hard to write their letter – in this age of text messages and emails, where responses are fairly immediate and the process fairly interactive, having to convey all of your thoughts in one correspondence where responses are not immediate was a tough endeavor.

Our letters will be sent along to Mr. Martel. We’ll wait to see when – or if! – he responds, and how he will react to our activity, our thoughts, our book suggestions. Hopefully, he’ll see how his activities have prompted our small group to become engaged advocating art through the means of a lost art, with the people, ideas, and nations that surround us.

*Do you like books? clubs? Well, you’re in luck! Stay tuned for an up-and-coming section of the Daily Gumboot, where you will be able to read all about the shenanigans of Vancouver’s coolest and least pretentious** bookclub, The Circle of Literary Judgement
**As reported on by The Globe and Mail

What is Stephen Harper Reading?

Posted on July 15, 2010 by Michelle Burtnyk-Horn

CLJ Reviews What is Stephen Harper Reading? by Yann Martel

What We Read

What is Stephen Harper Reading? is a compilation of letters, written biweekly from Yan Martel to Stephen Harper. Each letter suggests a book for Harper to read that Martel claims will, in one way or another, expand stillness. The impetus for this incessant letter writing campaign? A slight towards Canadian artists in the House of Commons back in 2007, and a subsequent obsession with finding out what Stephen Harper reads, what makes him tick, and how (or if) culture informs his soul. For a full compilation of the letters and a more detailed version of events leading up to this project, click here.

What We Did (and How We Did It)

This bookclub came with a unique homework assignment: to write a letter with a book suggestion, and share it with the group. Recipients ranged from, well, me, to Stephen Harper to Lindsay Lohan to Yann Martel to Australia. Each member confessed that it was pretty darn hard to write their letter – in this age of text messages and emails, where responses are fairly immediate and the process fairly interactive, having to convey all of your thoughts in a letter was a tough endeavor. Our letters will be sent along to Mr. Martel. We’ll wait to see when – or if! – he responds.

What We Thought

We, of course, discussed Yann Martel at length – what continues to motivate him to write these letters? Is this a personal vendetta, or is it a politically-driven attempt to increase arts funding? Is it pretentious? We also discussed the ideas in the letters – what role does art play in defining our identity as Canadians? Do business schools have a place in Canadian universities? Should there be a required reading list for our prime ministers? While we disagreed about the motive behind the project and the ideas in the letters, we all agreed that Mr. Martel’s role as advocate for the arts is so very important to our society – and in this role, he is doing a fantastic job.

As told by Michelle Burtnyk…

CLJ Reviews The World Without Us

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Theo Lamb

CLJ Reviews The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

What We Read

In The World Without Us, author Alan Weisman considers a planet Earth where, one day, humans simply disappeared. No plague, no meteor strike. Weisman simply imagined a planet where we vanished into thin air. Why? He wanted to think about the planet in terms of how it exists now with buildings and houses and dams and nuclear power plants. Weisman, asks us to think about how long it would take the planet to return to its natural state without humans around to muck it up? To answer this question Weisman takes us on a 369 page journey of edu-tainment. He interviews crews who work below the earth’s surface in New York’s Subway, working everyday to literally keep the ocean out of their tunnels. He considers rubber tires and the many millennia it would take to see them disappear (if they disappear at all). The whole tour of decay and time kicks off with your home and how easily water could destroy it in less than 100 years. Weisman does a remarkable job considering all the angles and weaving a planetary story for his audience.

What We Did (And How We Did It)

For this particular book club, I asked the group to read a short excerpt from a Danny Hillis, which appeared in Wired Magazine in 1995 and ultimately gave rise to the Long Now Foundation. In the article, Hillis considers the concept of time and how humans can’t possible consider their planetary future when it’s clear we have trouble envisioning our world 100 years in the future. I asked each group to consider their own version of a long-now clock and whether it would be artificial or nature-made. The winning clock was the concept of a waterfall, designed to flow in balance with its surroundings and give way to natural signs each time 10,000 years passed by. After this activity, which was designed to get people thinking about the concept of Earth-Time, we launched into our discussion.

What We Thought

I think it’s safe to say that everyone in the group appreciated the book. There were points in Weisman’s work where each of us felt we needed a breather from the content. There was also some disagreement with regard to Weisman’s solution to our current misuse of the planet. Oh, and everyone shuddered when they read of the future of A) our nuclear reactors B) the oil fields near Houston and C) the plastics floating about our oceans. But All in all, I would recommend this book to just about anyone who’s has a passing interest in their home, the concept of time, plastic and babies. Now you’ll just have to read the book to discover what all of those things have in common.

When the world collapses, head for Detroit!

Posted on March 18, 2010 by Michelle Burtnyk-Horn

This month, my ambitiously creative, brilliant, and fairly eccentric book club is reading a creative, brilliant and fairly eccentric book entitled ‘The World Without Us’ by Alan Weisman. The title is fairly self-explanatory (which is great for those members who don’t actually get around to reading the book) – what would the world be like if we weren’t here? How long would it take nature to repossess cities, the seas and skies to recuperate from the damage we’ve caused by spewing toxic fumes into them, the plastics and synthetics we’ve created to decompose?

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Reading this books takes me back to Angkor Wat, Cambodia – this temple was build in the early 12^th century for King Suryavarman II, and abandoned in the early 15^th century when Thai armies captured the city of Angkor. It was basically forgotten for about 400 years, and rediscovered by a French Nationalist in 1860. Visiting Angkor Wat a number of years ago, I was awed and humbled by the sight of nature overtaking the ruins – tree roots enveloping doorways like wise snakes wrapped around unsuspecting prey, wily fauna forcing their way through every crack in the foundation they could find, incessant rain dissolving the clay in the sandstone, weakening the structure. What I came away with was this: the power and resilience of nature is astounding, and in our urbanized world, we have forgotten to appreciate and respect this. We no longer build durable structures that would withstand 400 years – we build cost-conscious housing made of woodchip roofs, scrapboard flooring, and vinyl siding that will be gone in 10 years. We flout nature by leveling topographic areas to build cities, as did 19^th century urban planners with Manhattan. We pave over, well, everything. If we weren’t here, nature’s vengeance would be swift and subsuming.

Given our preoccupation with urbanization, technological advance and unfettered growth over the last century or so, a recent story about Detroit’s turn to agriculture caught my eye. After being put in such a dire circumstance after the collapse of the auto industry, leaders and researchers have been exploring alternatives to keep their city vibrant and citizens well (and in town). They have turned – in full circle style – back to the environment. The idea is for Detroit to become self-sustaining – turning abandoned car lots to fertile farmland, supplying families and schools. Not so much of a stretch of the imagination when one considers that the land Detroit sits on was once agrarian country, is very close proximity to the Great Lakes, and has an ample growing season. And this is not just an idea – it has some clout. Prominent Detroit businessman John Hantz (who may or may not be an influential member of Johnism) has already contributed $30 million to the project to get Hantz Farms underway, with plans to grow natural, local, and fresh fruits and vegetables, harvest wind energy, and utilize geothermal health and biomass fuel from recycling compost. Detroit’s mayor Dave Bing has just released a landmark document – the Neighborhood Revitalization Strategic Framework describes how large sections of Detroit will be razed and returned to farmland, open space, and nature.

With both economic and environmental crises affecting our global community, many communities and individuals are realizing that we need to see ourselves as part of the greater ecological web, and if we are to escape the demise theorized by Wiseman, live within it as opposed to against it. And hey, if Detroit can do it, so can the rest of us.

All the Pretty Horses

Posted on September 17, 2009 by John Horn

CLJ Reviews All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

What We Read

Have you ever gone on a road trip? What about camping? Well, these are more or less the subjects of All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. Except that the road trip – obviously – involves horses and the camping is done by cowboys – Rawlins and John Grady Cole – in post-WW2 Texas and, mostly, Mexico. The tale is an adventurous, romantic, beautiful, tragic, and heroic one. And it’s told with an eloquence that is rarely seen in American literature. In this humble blogger’s opinion, All the Pretty Horses is a true American classic.

What We Did (and How We Did It)

Book Club participated in “The Trial of John Grady Cole” – this was a hypothetical mock trial, which built on one of the novel’s threads: John Grady Cole was accused of stealing a horse (among other things). Members of The Circle of Literary Judgement were asked (at random) to play different characters from the book. The better they acted, the more points they got. Kurt Heinrich won the trophy for a simply uncanny portrayal of Jimmy Blevins.

What We Thought

We all agreed that John Grady Cole and/or Lacey Rawlins are dudes that you would want on a road trip, in a rainstorm or in a gang fight in a Mexican jail. Some members, I won’t say who, have named this as their all-time favourite Book Club book. Some people struggled with the writing – short, curt and the Spanish isn’t translated. The story is gripping and more nuanced than any of us thought while reading it. Because, hey, you just get distracted by the simple, manly dialogue, the breathtaking scenery, and the horses…since they’re so darn pretty. It was a great read, you sumbucks!

As told by John Horn…

Persepolis

Posted on July 17, 2009 by Michelle Burtnyk-Horn

CLJ Reviews Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

What We Read

Persepolis is the story of a young girl growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Told from her perspective in graphic novel format, we follow little Marjane as she attempts to make sense of the political, cultural and personal changes that are happening around her and within her – why was her uncle taken away for questioning? Why is it required that all the girls in the school need to wear veils? What’s so bad about listening to Michael Jackson anyway?

What We Did (and How We Did It)

Book Club was asked to create their own graphic novels, using images and scenes from the book. CLJ was split into pairs, and each group presented their reconstructed graphic novel to the group, with points given for creativity, presentation, and how well they integrated themes and ideas from the actual book. CLJ rose to a climatic summit of anticipation as two pairs battled out a tie, with the trophy being awarded to Theodora Lamb for her flair, style, and knowledge of the book.

What We Thought

Many members in the group had never read a graphic novel before, and felt it was a new and satisfying experience. The group talked about how the book read differently as a graphic novel, and also talked about the adaptation of the book into a movie – how did the tone, feel and message of the story change as it was told through different channels? With elections taking place in Iran just three short weeks before book club, followed by protests and claims of electoral fraud, CLJ discussed similarities to the Islamic Revolution and how Iran had changed over the past 30 years.

As told by Michelle Burtnyk …

Oryx and Crake

Posted on June 15, 2009 by Michelle Burtnyk-Horn

CLJ Reviews Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

What We Read

Every decade or so Margaret Atwood produces a novel hyperperbolizing some aspect of contemporary society which ultimately will end in a dystopic future. Oryx and Crake is this decade’s version. Set in a post-apocalyptic near future in which seemingly the only survivors are Snowman and his flock of genetically engineered humanoids, the novel unfolds through the slow exploration of Snowman’s memories from the before-times. These memories are centred around a curious love triangle between his childhood friend/mad scientist code-named Crake, Snowman and the mutual object of their affection: former child porn star Oryx. The before times were a hyper-corporatized world where genetic modification has become the norm, ultra-drugs and sexuality are common, and there are deep social divisions between the exclusive ‘Compounds’ and the surrounding pleeblands.

Atwood reveals a world that is at once seductive and terrifying through her exploration of ‘Jimmy’ (Snowman) and Crake’s adolescence and the development of their friendship. Crake is a genetic genius; Snowman is more of the semi-talented ‘everyman’. As they grow up their paths diverge, but ultimately converge when Crake invites Snowman to join him in his very special project: Paradice. In the pursuit of utopia, Crake proposes that the world needs a tabula rasa, a fresh start, and consequently creates a new race of beings that he believes will be genetically unable to cause the immense problems that their (and our) world faces. He believes Snowman is the only one he can trust to guide his new race, the ‘Crokers’ into the future.

How does it all end? We tell no secrets here at the CLJ.

What We Did (and How We Did It)

Much respect was gained as the majority of the CLJ biked from Vancouver to Victoria, where we met for a lovely afternoon and evening of good times. In the spirit of the book, teams created genetically modified creatures, then fought it out using words, drawings and hand-to-hand combat. We also reenacted Snowman’s guidance of the crokers with a version of ‘Snowman Says’ based on parts of the book. The discussion was mediated by delicious, unmodified picnic food.

What We Thought

Heated topics of debate ranged from the present-day sources of Atwood’s dytopic future to the relative moral strength of Snowman. The final word was, and will be granted to a certain social-media maven and redhead extraordinaire Theo Lamb. She described the book as: “the best book so far..” Read it!

As told by Stewart Burgess …

The Naked Ape

Posted on April 15, 2009 by Michelle Burtnyk-Horn

CLJ Reviews The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris

What we read

Walking down the Granville Strip on a Saturday night, you may be alarmed to hear a lot of young men ‘whooping’ or ‘bellowing’, often matched by equally trill demonstrations of ‘caterwauling’ and ‘yawping’ from young females. What does it all mean? Why are they so lame? You may find answers to at least one of these questions in Desmond Morris’ seminal dissertation, The Naked Ape. In it, Morris looks at human beings through the objective eyes of a zoologist, and in doing so, strips away any pretenses of self-importance that the human race has for itself. Man is seen as he truly is, a naked ape, complex and varied, but at his essence, not at all unlike his simian kin in the jungle. (Yes, I said ‘man’ and ‘his’, but I’m just echoing Morris’ style — the book was written in 1967 after all — peace and free love man).

What we did

We ate some kind of half-realized pork and papaya dish, an awkward attempt at symbolizing man’s / human’s (whatever) transition from tree-dwelling swinger to savannah-hunting wolf-monkey-man-beast (not Morris’ term). After overcoming indigestion, the group called forth deep-seated primal urges and engaged in some kind of debaucherous primate orgy, accompanied by much ‘whooping’ and ‘bellowing’. There was also a game of monkey jeopardy.

What we thought

Despite some unwarranted poop-flinging, most members enjoyed the book, especially the naughty bits, like the extensive description of chimpanzee teats (they’re very long). I particularly liked Morris’ ability to regard humans as animals, free from moral or ethical interference. Now, whenever someone says something intelligent or does something better than me, I say: “Oh big deal, you’re just an ape!” and I feel better. Humans are merely an over-hyped race of bald-bodied homochimpanzapiens who seek companionship in groups. For what is a book club really, other than a social gathering of ape-people seeking sexual gratification by engaging in competitive displays of bravado and base seduction? I know Desmond Morris would back me up on this.

As told by Phil Skipper

Literary Community Pushes Borders

Posted on January 10, 2009 by Michelle Burtnyk-Horn

This week, our literary community, otherwise known as Book Club has been gearing into overdrive to finish the latest reading item. This month we’re reading “What is the What”. It’s a statement, I’ve been told – not a question. Written by Dave Eggers of “Heart Breaking Work of Staggering Genius” fame, it tells the story of a young Sudanese boy named Achak, aka Valentino, aka Dominic, aka Africa, who braves the perils of Arab militias, Karthoum military troops, hunger, child soldiery and American petty criminals to survive to live another day. I liked the book, which was a treat.

I haven’t liked all the books we’ve been exposed to in book club (among them “Late Nights on Air”, “The Master and the Marguerita”, and “Immortality”). Not my style I thought. I steeled myself to be one of the first to drop out. How could you stay in a Book Club whereby most of the books you were reading weren’t particularly enjoyable to read.

That’s when I realized the beauty of our little literary community. Part of the strength of Book Club was its ability to expose its adherents to a range of books they’d otherwise never read. So there I was slogging trough immortality, cup of joe in one hand, as I felt my borders (which admittably can be quite narrow at certain points) expanding quicker than Napoleonic France. Tis the beauty of our dear Book Club.

Book Club is our own little community. And isn’t that what some of the most interesting communties do? While they are always thought to be bound togeather by common interests, some of the best ones are also connected by a safe space to celebrate and be exposed to different ideas. Ideas that, like cough syrup, might not always be good going down initally, are inevitably great in the long run.

Late Nights on Air

Posted on December 21, 2008 by Theo Lamb

CLJ Reviews Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay

What We Read

Late Nights on Air is the story of a small town radio station in Whitehorse, Yukon in 1975 and the people who work there – both on and off air. You’re slowly introduced to each character and eventually you learn why each of them arrived in Northern Canada and whether they were running toward a fresh future or from a destructive past. The story builds until it reaches its climax, a group canoe trip among four main characters up through the Northern Tundra and back home during the summer season. Late Nights on Air, fairly accurately, chronicles the story of the controversial Mackenzie valley gas pipeline and how citizen-led engagement and the leadership of one out-spoken politician succeeded in shutting it down. Elizabeth Hay, a Canadian writer was also a former broadcaster and worked for the CBC in, surprise, surprise, Whitehorse in the early 1970′s. Late Night’s on Air won the Giller Prize in 2005 for Best Non-Fiction in Canada.

What We Did (And How We Did It)

As host of this particular book club, I prepared a radio show (lucky me, I worked at a radio station and had access to all of the necessary equipment) that featured each member of the CLJ as well as the book itself. I modeled the intro after Masterpiece Theatre and used it as the hook into the first question of the evening: who is the main character of this story? You see, it’s not entirely obvious for most of the book who the story was built around. It’s not until the end of the book that we discover the strong story arc this particular character has taken. You need all of the pieces to fall into place to make that discovery and that’s one of Late Night’s on Air’s strengths. For a quiet book with quiet Canadian happenings, manners and patience, it still manages to surprise you in the end.

What We Thought

I think the group struggled with this book more than others. Some might find the first half very slow. And it is. Not a lot happens, plot wise. We’re quietly introduced to each character and learn about their struggles, weaknesses and passions. The second half of the book covers mostly the canoe trip. However, Hay is able to seamlessly weave Canada’s Northern culture, politics and tundra landscape into the storyline. She’s also very good at coming up with original “turns-of-phrase” or sound bites. This is one of my favourites, Hay on voices on the radio: “Despite the red glow of the on-air light, he then pushed through the studio door, only to be met by one of the great mysteries of life. We look so very different from the way we sound. It’s a shock, similar to hearing your own voice for the first time, when you’re force to wonder how the rest of you comes across if you sound nothing like the way you think you sound.” It was a valuable read.