Welcome to the Ottawa International Writers Festival!

[Riven]

http://www.writersfest.com/



DEAR FRIENDS

We're back, bigger'n better than ever with 64 events, our biggest Festival ever! With 87 writers from across Canada, China, Egypt, England, Greece, Iceland, Israel, Norway, Scotland and Wales.

It's more like a three ring circus. All your favorites are still here including The Big Idea, The Ottawa Citizen Writing Life, Our free
Step Into Stories for young audiences... But what's with Portlin Cochise, Schmelvis, The Festival Jam, Just Married, The Lesbian Rangers, The Secret Language of Girls, and a film festival starring Patricia Rozema?!

We said it was outrageous. And if that's not going too far check out The Secrets of Chinese Medicine, Dead Alive, The M&S Mystery Night,
ECW's 25th Anniversary Celebration, and the play Angels, from Iceland, wasn't that banned?

We apologize if there's just too much to choose from but at least we've made the Festival Program a little more user friendly. And to make your life just that much easier we've got a Festival Six Pack that you can pick up from your local Independent Bookseller, or you can call our new Festival Hotline @ 562-1243 to book over the phone. Better still become a Festival Member so you get the best seats and the best deals.

Get with the Program, start the Thanksgiving season on the right note and share some of that down-home hospitality with this year's guests from home and away. Drop in for a cool beverage and some great food at the Manx-Heritage Literary Pub in the National Library, also the home of the Independent Festival Bookstore.

Thanks for all your support and encouragement, and bon festival!


Neil Wilson
Director

Sean Wilson
Artistic Director


SCHEDULE OF EVENTS


Wednesday, September 18

6:00 pm - A Culture of Civilizations
8:00 pm - Ottawa Citizen Writing Life 1
9:30 pm - ScreenWrites 1: Patricia Rozema

Thursday, September 19

5:00 pm - The Caucasus Chronicles
7:00 pm - Ottawa Citizen Writing Life 2
9:00 pm - Festival Jam

Friday, September 20

12:00 pm - ScreenWrites Workshop: 10 Minutes to Success
5:00 pm - A Visitation with Portlin Cochise
7:00 pm - Ottawa Citizen Writing Life 3
10:00 pm - Festival Slam

Saturday, September 21

10:00 am - The Poets' Pathway
10:30 am - Step Into Stories: September 21
12:00 pm - ScreenWrites Panel: Challenging the Critics
12:00 pm - PLAYWRITES: I Shall Tell You All
2:00 pm - PLAYWRITES: Angels
2:00 pm - Just Married
4:00 pm - A Dialogue of Civilizations
7:00 pm - Ottawa Citizen Writing Life 4
9:00 pm - A Nova Scotia Evening
9:00 pm - The Secret Language of Girls

Sunday, September 22

10:00 am - Ontario's Living History
11:00 am - The Literary Brunch
12:00 pm - Itchy Feet & Scratchy Pens
12:00 pm - The Lesbian Rangers
1:00 pm - New Chinese Writing
2:00 pm - Writing for Young Readers
2:00 pm - Home Away From Home
4:00 pm - Beyond the Veils
7:00 pm - Ottawa Citizen Writing Life 5
9:00 pm - Screenwrites 2: Jonathan Sagall
9:00 pm - ECW's 25th Anniversary Poetry Celebration

Monday, September 23

5:00 pm - Celebrating Naguib Mahfouz
7:00 pm - M&S Mystery Night
9:00 pm - ScreenWrites 3: Hallgrimur Helgason

Tuesday, September 24

5:00 pm - Inside the Politics of Islam
7:00 pm - Ottawa Citizen Writing Life 6
9:00 pm - Screenwrites 4: Katie Tallo

Wednesday, September 25th

10:30 am - Step Into Stories: September 25
12:00 pm - ScreenWrites Workshop: From Page to Screen
5:00 pm - The Voyage of the Northern Magic
7:00 pm - Ottawa Citizen Writing Life 7
9:00 pm - ScreenWrites 5: Clement Virgo

Thursday, September 26th

12:00 pm - ScreenWrites Workshop: How About that Story Structure
5:00 pm - Secrets of Chinese Medicine
7:00 pm - Ottawa Citizen Writing Life 8
9:00 pm - ScreenWrites 6: Max Wallace


Friday, September 27th

12:00 pm - ScreenWrites Workshop: Secrets of a Screenwriter
1:00 pm - Step Into Stories - September 27
5:00 pm - Remembering Cavafy
7:00 pm - Ottawa Citizen Writing Life 9
9:30 pm - Festival Open House


Saturday, September 28th

10:00 am - Getting Started
10:30 am - Step Into Stories - September 28
12:00 pm - Dead Alive: Locking In and Looking Out
1:30 pm - The Ageing Brain
3:00 pm - Uncommon Prayer: Peace, Poetry, and Prose
4:00 pm - Global Thirst
5:00 pm - PLAN 99 with Greg Hollingshead
7:00 pm - Ottawa Citizen Writing Life 10

If you would like to order tickets for an event please contact our box office in Ottawa by telephone at (613) 562-1243. If you prefer to communicate via email please click on the link below.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you soon.



tickets@writersfest.com

Festival Six-Packs


If you know you want to attend multiple events get a deal with the Festival Six-Pack. One pass gets you into six events of your choice (excluding the Literay Brunch with Wayne Johnston).

Six-Packs are available at Independent bookstores in Ottawa at a cost of $55/Non-Member and $45/Festival Member.

Once you have your Six-Pack just call the box office at 562-1243 to reserve tickets for events of your choice. Your tickets will be waitng for you at the door the night of the event.

Festival Six-Packs are available at these independent bookstores:


Books on Beechwood
35 Beechwood Ave.

Collected Works Bookstore & Coffeebar
1242 Wellington St.

Leishman Books
1309 Carling Ave.

Mother Tongue Books femmes de Paroles
1067 Bank St.

The New Octopus Bookstore
216 Third Ave.

Perfect Books
258A Elgin St.

Place Bell Books
175 Metcalfe St.

 

[Riven]

New Chinese Writing

Sunday, September 22 @ 1:00 pm
National Library Theatre

$12 General Admission
$10 Senior/Student
$8 Festival Member

One of the highlights of this year's Festival is the participation of
a delegation of five writers from China lead by the Vice-Chair of the
Chinese Writers Association, Jiang Zilong, and four of China's most
honoured authors. This rare opportunity promises to be candid and
open. Don't miss this forum for a sampling of the New China.




Participating Authors:




<font color=green>Jiang Zilong</font>

Jiang Zilong was born into a peasant family in 1941 in Cangzhou,
Hebei Province.His first story "Watermelon Is Ripe" was published in
1960. That year he went into service and was enrolled into the Naval
Institute for Mapmaking. He was demobilized from the Navy in 1965 and
went to work in the Tianjin Heavy Machinery Plant. The Cultural
Revolution broke out and he had to lay aside creative writing for
almost 10 years. He began publishing again in 1976. In 1979, with the
publication of his short story "Manager Oiao Assumes Office," Jiang
Zilong achieved nationwide popularity and won the National Literary
Prize for Best Short Stories. He continued to publish and win
important national literary prizes, and most of these works have been
adapted into films or TV plays and translated into foreign languages.
His most recent novels are Popularity and Inanition. He is the
vice-chair of the Chinese Writers' Association and chair of the
Tianjin Writers' Association.


<font color=green>Zhou Daxin</font>

Zhou Daxin, was born in 1952 in Henan Province. In 1970 he went into
service. He has published novels, novellas, short stories, prose and
reportage that total 5 million Chinese characters. Among them Girl
From Han Family and Small Clinic won the National Best Short Story
Award. His novella The Upward Ladder won the Prize of Hundred
Flowers. Many of his works have been adapted into plays, TV series
and films. The film The Girl of Fragrant Spirit, based on his novella
The Sesame Oil Mill, won the Gold Bear Award in the 43rd Berlin
International Film Festival. He has been translated into English,
French, German and Korean.


<font color=green>Xu Xiaobin</font>

Xu Xiaobin was born in Beijing in 1953. She worked as an editor at
the Television Play Production Center of the China Central television
Station and began to write in 1981. Her publications include
Investigation of a Mental Patient, a collection of short stories, two
novellas - The Pisceans and The Mysterious Garden - and the novels
Sea Fire, Dunhuang Dreams and Feathering Snake. Dunhuang Dreams won
the Maodun Literary Award (national award for best novels). Her short
story "Investigation of a Mental Patient" was adapted as the film Arc
Light, which won a special award at the 16th Moscow Film Festival. Xu
Xiaobin also excels at painting and folk paper engraving and has held
many exhibitions.


<font color=green>Chi Zijian</font>
Chi Zijian was born in 1964 in Heilongjiang Province. She spent her
childhood on the bank of Heilongjing River. At 18, she entered the
Daxinanling Normal School and later took a course of Literary
Creation in Northwestern University. She got her M.A. in Luxun
Literary Institute. She began writing in 1983. She once worked as a
teacher, then an editor for a magazine. Now she is a member of the
Chinese Writers' Association. She has published works with more than
2 million Chinese characters. Chi Zijian was awarded national
literary prizes many times. Her novel Stable in Moon Light won the
Luxun Literature Award.



<font color=green>Niu Baoguo</font>
Niu Baoguo, was born in 1954 in Beijing, where he spent his childhood
and finished his primary education. In 1969 he was enrolled in
Luoyang Foreign Languages Institute, majoring in English. After
graduation in 1973, he was assigned to work in Xinjiang Military
Area. Before demobilization from service in 1990, he had been in the
army for nearly 20 years. After demobilization, he found work in the
Chinese Writers' Association, first as the deputy head, then as head
of the Division for American & Oceanic Affairs of the International
Liaison Department of Chinese Writers' Association. An essayist and
travel writer, his works include The Return of the Traditional Moral
Concept, Say Something About the Drama of Greece, I Black-washed
Zhangyu in Dead Sea, Hometown Journey and The Embrace of the Two
Great Civilizations. As an interpreter and a member of the Writers'
Association, he has travelled widely and visited many countries,
including Croatia, India, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, Macedonia,
Pakistan, Slovakia, England, the United States and Canada.

 

[abby]

Re: New Chinese Writing

[万维读者网]正在加拿大访问的中国著名作家蒋子龙对於高行健获得诺贝尔文学奖感到「非常高兴」。他对中国目前文坛的评价是「成熟了」，中国作家不再模仿他人，他们充满自信，完全可以与任何民族在文学上展开对话。
　世界日报报道，蒋子龙率领一个历来规模最大的中国作家代表团出席渥太华国际作家节。他在会议期间接受本报专访时表示，对高行健评价不高只是各别报纸和官员的观点，不代表中国文坛。担任中国作家协会副主席的蒋子龙说：「高行健原是作协工作人员，他得奖，我当然很高兴。可惜，由於他的许多书没有在大陆出版，因此，大陆文坛还没有对其展开评论。」

　蒋子龙说，他读近几届诺贝尔文学奖得奖小说时的感觉是作品质量有所下降，像中国的巴金、艾青，以及现在许多作家都在他们之上。他说，他有一个观点，世界文坛进入了後经典时代，已经找不到文学大师和经典作品了，人们甚至不能说谁是最优秀的作家。人们以前把文学称之为人学。现代社会，人学的概念太广泛了，究竟是碳水化合物的人、复制人、还是机器人？

　他说，诺贝尔文学奖只是西欧的奖，不应该看成是世界性的奖。中国当代作家不比外国作家差。他特别推荐获得过两次中国最高文学奖鲁迅文学奖的青年女作家迟子建。迟子建出生在中国最北方的漠河，她的小说带有中国东北情调，尤其是近作《伪满州国》用清明上河图的方式来写实，场面辉煌，从达官贵人至弹棉花手艺人等，个个栩栩如生，细节精彩，很难得。

　谈到当代文坛，蒋子龙充满自信。经过文革十年的压抑後，文坛先出现对社会现实关注的作品，这些作品像重磅炮弹引起大众回响；接著再有问题小说、寻根热、学习西方现代技巧的浪潮。他说：「这么多年，我们几乎把国内外的流派都演练了一遍。现在，文坛结束了模仿别人的历史，有了民族个性。」

　此外，商品经济开始的时候，文坛被冲击得六神无主。这几年，一切都稳住了。中国作家有了定力，成熟了。他们该写什么就写什么，想写什么就写什么，不再浮躁。文坛相当活跃，流派纷呈。

　1979 年，蒋子龙以《乔厂长上任记》轰动全国，一印几百万册，新疆建设兵团人手一册，一些大企业中，每个干部也都备有一本。至今，蒋子龙已出版七十多本书，其中包括四部长篇，一百多个短篇，二十七本散文集等。他最满意的是写文革的长篇小说《蛇神》。他的作品依然触及社会，两年前，《人气》在报纸上连载後曾因受到阻扰而中断四天，结果引起读者抗议，报社只好继续连载。他说，目前，全国每年出版一千多部长篇小说，由於这几年是散文、随笔热，这类书更是不知其数。当今文坛以关注现实为主流，特别是长篇小说。至於现在的现实主义与以前几十年提倡的现实主义有何区别，蒋子龙的回答是，现实主义是我移用的词，也许可以找到更好的表述方式。过去的现实主义是，「事实如此，应该如此」；现在的理解不同了，现实是荒诞的，甚至比虚构更不可理解。所以，现在的现实主义对於现实的挖掘要更为广阔、更为深刻，没有什么不可写，没有什么不被写。为此，他特别举出一些写官场腐败的例子，因为这些作品涉及的对象是中央一级的大官了。

 

[笑言]

　　2002年9月22日下午1时，蒋子龙、周大新、徐小斌、迟子建、纽保国出席了题为“中国新写作”的演讲、座谈会。
　　周大新是一位“智者”(蒋子龙语)，讲了道教与中国文学的渊源。迟子建讲了激发自己写作的源泉----童年、漠河、植物、动物、老奶奶讲的故事和梦境。徐小斌阐述了对女性写作的一些认识，介绍了她正在写的历史长篇小说德琳公主。时间关系，蒋子龙未能演讲，只在座谈中不时发言。
　　一个女中学生提了一个问题，作家最重要的素质是什么？蒋子龙答：是感觉。周大新答什么忘记了，抱歉。迟子建答：是看问题异于常人的视角。徐小斌答：是真诚地表述真实。
　　一位女士问经历和学习哪一个对成为作家更重要。迟子建说作家需要天份。徐小斌说作家分为童年型如卡夫卡等，后天型如托而斯泰、雨果等以及完成出世入世的自由转换型如马尔克思、赫尔博斯等。
　　感觉上，中国作家与外部的交流障碍很大。且不说翻译过程难免对内容遗漏和改变，仅从时间考虑就让人受不了。什么时候中文和英文象渥太华的英文和法文一样自然对接，文学将获得新的意义。

 

[abby]

“感觉上，中国作家与外部的交流障碍很大。且不说翻译过程难免对内容遗漏和改变，
仅从时间考虑就让人受不了。什么时候中文和英文象渥太华的英文和法文一样自然
对接，文学将获得新的意义。”

让作家双语对接比较困难。：) 其实，讲演稿译的挺好的，读的也很好。临场翻译
时，有些失控。迟子建把讲稿交给了一位听众。要是他能贴出来就好了。不过不知
有没有版权问题。

 

[hpever]

迟子健的演讲稿基本上是围绕着她这篇: <寒冷的高纬度--梦开始的地方> 而发挥的:

http://cul.sina.com.cn/l/c/2001-09-17/3907.html

 

[abby]

最初由 hpever 发布
迟子健的演讲稿基本上是围绕着她这篇: <寒冷的高纬度--梦开始的地方> 而发挥的:

http://cul.sina.com.cn/l/c/2001-09-17/3907.html

基本内容多在文中。感觉上，她的讲稿要丰富一些。特别后半部，她对神话的理解和
梦的感觉。只是想再读一读，弄清她想说的是什么：)。谢谢你的链接。

 

[muran]

已经借助了翻译这一工具，几个作家的演讲都是用中文的，随同的翻译再用事先准备好的翻译稿读一遍。

我个人觉得比较失望，中途甚至一度有些脸红。我觉得这个由蒋子龙领队的作家代表团在定位上有些偏差。似乎把这次文学交流当成了对加拿大人的中国文化启蒙，对海外中国人的文学启蒙。

除了迟子建的讲稿可以谈到文学交流的水平(她谈到她写作的源泉是动物，自然，神话和梦境)，周大新的“道教文化对中国文学的影响”太宽泛了，而且和他本人的写作毫无关系，徐小斌为自己的发言冠以“中西文化碰撞”的名称，可通篇是慈禧的鸡毛蒜皮逸事，徐小斌真觉得这就是‘文化’？蒋子龙的发言(或者说讲话)，完全不是以一个文学人，而是中国文坛领导的身分，中国典型的官气十足的讲话，把廉价的笑话当成幽默。

我不是说这些作家的水平不行，而是觉得他们没把这样的“writer festival"当成是writer之间平等交流的机会(文学本身是超越国界的，比如迟子建的发言会引起很多人的思考)，而当成了宣传中国，介绍中国的机会，一直强调中国不比西方差(蒋子龙提到中国已消灭文盲，村村都有图书馆；迟子建说中国虽有环境破坏，但西方国家也一样，而且这也不影响中国文化)，中国文学不比西方差(蒋子龙说西方所有的文学流派中国都有)。

我觉得为什么要那么心虚呢，为什么不能抛开政治敏感，只真诚得谈谈文学，谈谈个人的创作体会，谈谈作为中国人特有的文字感受和表达方式。我想这应是“writer festival”交流的初衷。

 

[majia]

最初由 笑言 发布
什么时候中文和英文象渥太华的英文和法文一样自然对接，文学将获得新的意义。

您觉得自己行吗？

最初由 muran 发布

。。。
我不是说这些作家的水平不行，而是觉得他们没把这样的“writer festival"当成是writer之间平等交流的机会
。。。

(蒋子龙提到中国已消灭文盲，村村都有图书馆；迟子建说中国虽有环境破坏，但西方国家也一样，而且这也不影响中国文化)，中国文学不比西方差(蒋子龙说西方所有的文学流派中国都有)。

您以为您坐在下面听讲，就是writer了？您觉得那是一个作家对读者的演讲会还是一个作家之间平等的座谈会？真跟他们座谈，好歹要有点资本吧？
我想蒋子龙并没有兴趣谈论乡村“图书室”(他没说“图书馆”)，他那样说是因为有一位白人女士契而不舍地追问中国农村的人有没有书看。我不觉得蒋子龙的回答有什么不妥。好像他关于流派的说法也不是上文转述后的味道，他强调的是现在的中国作家很有自信而已。

 

[abby]

最初由 majia 发布

...
... 好像他关于流派的说法也不是上文转述后的味道，他强调的是现在的中国作家很有自信而已。

What [万维读者网] published, I believe, was from another meeting where Jiang exchanged words with the writers from some other countries. If you pay attention to the date, you would see it was posted before the meeting of last Sunday. However, it would not suprise me that Chinese writers think they are better than the rest of the world because not many of them really know the rest of the world. Even in Mr.Zhou DaXing's lecture, the way he compared Tao to other religions is very easy to be percieved as he think Tao is better than the other three religions. It may sound ignorant in an international festival but it is not a big issue

Personally, I enjoyed the session. The Q&A period may not be the best. But this is the first time that so many Chinese writers come to Ottawa. It is a very good begining.