I really enjoyed 3 sessions at the Ottawa Writer's fest today. Luckily for me, Carleton University offered 500 free tickets to the festival, and I took full advantage.
There were 3 sessions:
The first , John Ralston Saul speaking about his new book A Fair Country. which is fantastic, and the presentation was just as good. This is a great book, though in many ways I like Reflections of a Siamese Twin better. Maybe because it was my first experience in reading Saul. What I like best about Saul is that he always challenges and provokes thought. I've never read anyone who confused and delighted me as much.
The second, was a bit more of a discussion between Tarek Fatah and Michael Adams on mutliculturalism. This was a bit of a disappointment because there was little dicussion and a air amount of hyperbole. The defence of multiculturalism was also pretty weak I though.
He actually summed it up saying that it was about creating "mixed race babies".
The third was a presentation by Major Gen. (ret.) Lewis Mackenzie.
I found it interesting to look at someone who i fundamentally disagree with in the eyes, and realize that they have reason behind what they say and they have charisma and intelligence and passion. This is important, and I find more and more that there seems to be less room for intelligent well informed debate and now you see more about style. More debate on form than content. This is no doubt important but it reminded me that it is possible to debate ideas.
The writer's festival which I attended for the first time in several years is an enjoyable experience for me, and I'm glad Carleton decided to purchase 500 tickets and distribute them for free to students. The intellectual stimulation will be with me for a long time, I always find my own ideas, challenged supported, and sometimes confirmed. It's always fascinating to see the authors of some of my favorite books, defend them in public and speak about them. I remember how fascinating it was to hear Yann Martel talk about his book the life of Pi, and how much more depth and understanding his presentation added to my appreciation of his book.
I hope I can keep attending, as this really is a wonderful festival.
October 19, 2008
October 04, 2008
Ah.. Quebec
It's been interesting redaing Chantal Hébert's book French Kiss during this period in the election.
Although slightly dated (and you can tell when she talks about the NDP in Quebec), it's a fascinating read.
I find that the opening section, where she deals with more current events better than the 2nd half of the book,where she delves into more history. Although interesting, I don't find it as well written, or the insights as piercing.
What I found most interesting, was not that the Liberal party was in trouble because they had nowhere to grow. I've been thinking that for quite some time, but the fact that the Chrétien and Martin governments were so dominated by Ontario.
To me the way she is able to reveal the structural weakness of the Liberals behind the scenes, makes this book worth reading.
I think this election campaign we have seen Stephen Harper make his first mistake in relation to dealing with Quebec. It's the culture issue, and I don't think it's really about the substance of the issue. I really believe is is the way he handled it, and his comments about 'the rich gala', which he refused to say in French made it a bigger story than otherwise necessary. It didn't help that Minister Verneer was pretty incompetent and ridiculous in her defence of it.
The one thing that has to be said about Stephen Harper is that he seems to be willing to learn from his mistakes, so hopefully he won't repeat this one. It's given the Bloc a second wind in this campaign. He seems to take a longer view, and this mistake is relatively minor.
Although slightly dated (and you can tell when she talks about the NDP in Quebec), it's a fascinating read.
I find that the opening section, where she deals with more current events better than the 2nd half of the book,where she delves into more history. Although interesting, I don't find it as well written, or the insights as piercing.
What I found most interesting, was not that the Liberal party was in trouble because they had nowhere to grow. I've been thinking that for quite some time, but the fact that the Chrétien and Martin governments were so dominated by Ontario.
To me the way she is able to reveal the structural weakness of the Liberals behind the scenes, makes this book worth reading.
I think this election campaign we have seen Stephen Harper make his first mistake in relation to dealing with Quebec. It's the culture issue, and I don't think it's really about the substance of the issue. I really believe is is the way he handled it, and his comments about 'the rich gala', which he refused to say in French made it a bigger story than otherwise necessary. It didn't help that Minister Verneer was pretty incompetent and ridiculous in her defence of it.
The one thing that has to be said about Stephen Harper is that he seems to be willing to learn from his mistakes, so hopefully he won't repeat this one. It's given the Bloc a second wind in this campaign. He seems to take a longer view, and this mistake is relatively minor.
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