I bet you have been wondering, Quill friends, how we are ever going to top Sheree-Lee Olson’s Bookmark installation in Port Colborne. I can’t lie, it was a pretty fantastic morning, for Sailor Girl, for Project Bookmark Canada, and for the Quill!
Sheree-Lee Olson and Port Colborne Mayor Vance Badawey unveil Sailor Girl's Bookmark.
But you will be happy to know that we have been hard at work getting ready for our next event: New York, New York at the Gladstone! And as we get closer to the big day, I’ve got some great insider information for all you kids out there in cyberspace!
But before I get started, some of you might be asking yourselves, what is this fancy new event anyway?? Well, just to whet your tongues here’s a tidbit to get you going. On Sunday, November 27, the Porcupine’s Quill, This is Not a Reading Series (TINARS), and the Literary Press Group (LPG) are getting together at the Gladstone Hotel on Queen Street to celebrate the recent publication of Jim Westergard and Jon Evans’ Beasts of New York and George A. Walker’s Book of Hours. Jim Westergard, Jon Evans, and George A. Walker will be in attendance and Tom Smart, art historian, researcher, curator, and award-winning author, will be joining us to moderate.
Three images from George A. Walker's Book of Hours.
Before you start to think that this is going to be just another reading series (hah!), pause to note that we are going above and beyond to make this event informative and engaging for all our Quill friends! In addition to readings, discussions, and demonstrations, it has just been announced that musician, sound engineer, and producer Neil Exall will be composing an original score to accompany the projection of Book of Hours.
And today, for your reading pleasure, I am bringing Neil Exall to you. Exall was kind enough to provide us here at the Porcupine’s Quill with a little insider tip on his experience scoring Book of Hours …
‘Scoring music for a project like Books of Hours is no easy task. Aside from dealing with the obviously still-delicate subject matter, I feel compelled to try and create something that will do justice to, and hopefully complement, George A. Walker’s powerful interpretation of the events of 9/11.
‘George has created an insightful window into the lives of normal people whose lives were changed forever by abnormal events, and as usual he has excelled in creating a timeline that displays his own unique vision while remaining true to the facts.
‘I have tried to emphasize his narrative style rather than distract from it, and hopefully the audio helps to tell the story as well. George was keen to underline the fact that these were people just like any of us, embarking on a day’s journey that should have been no different to any other. I hope the music helps them on their way.’
—Neil Exall
Hopefully this has piqued your interest, Quill friends! Watch this space for more fun insider’s tips on New York, New York and all the other goings-on here at the Quill! Until next time … Porcupette out!
An image by Jim Westergard from Beasts of New York.
