Our Blog — The Literary Type

Last night's issue launch was an absolute pleasure. And not just because I didn't have to worry about a thing (Charlotte was a warm and charming MC), and it's a fabulous issue to celebrate. Our readers were simply fabulous.

Andrew Tibbetts kicked off the readings with an introduction to the woes of failing eyesight (I can never believe him when he says he's fifty!). He'd lost his comfortable reading glasses, and so set out to blow up his story to a readable size on a photocopier, but by the time it had gone through enough "steps up" in size, the copier was out of toner. He then acknowledged that his story, "The Hanged Man Café," might be a little difficult to follow aurally, as it had plenty of dialogue by four different characters. "I don't do voices," he said, but he did do faces. He had the entire audience laughing out loud, and he left us all wanting more. If you ever have the opportunity to hear Andrew read, drop everything and go see him. Trust me on this.

Next up was Miriam Maust, reading from "On Language and Love," an excerpt from her memoir-in-essays.  The audience for the evening was largely made up of the Miriam Maust fan club—a testament to the life she's lived (including a stint as a poetry editor for TNQ in the magazine's early years). Miriam's writing has the mark of a poet, and as she jumped through excerpts of her essays, she somehow made mercury poisoning sound like a beautiful thing. She even revealed a bit about her poetry-editing days, confessing to sharing poet Diana Brebner's instance of joy upon discovering that a sonnet had slipped under the radar of free-form-loving editors. 

Catriona Wright rounded out the evening with her story, "Ant Goes Viral." which she revealed was the product of writing prompts given to her by a friend. As Pamela mentioned in her introduction to the issue, the understated humour of "Ant Goes Viral" is funny enough to evoke laughter even after multiple reads, and Catriona amplified the effect with her tone and delivery, as she managed to read the entire story from start to finish.

We then settled in for a casual gathering of literature lovers, with TNQ Editors Pamela Mulloy and Kim Jernigan, Non Fiction Editor Susan Scott, Poetry Editor Barb Carter, a number of local subscribers, and a few folks who just discovered the magazine. Thanks, as always, to all who came. Your support at these events does not go unnoticed. Cheers from TNQ!  We couldnt have done it without you, and I hope that you will be able to join us for the next one!

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