CKUA aired an interview with Alice about the new collection, in conversation with Ken Davis on its Bookmark program.  To hear the interview at the CKUA site, choose “Bookmark” from the “select a program” menu at the bottom, then ‘archived programs’ (April 11, 2010). The interview with Alice starts a little after the 13-minute mark.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is given each year to an individual artist who has made such a contribution over an extended period of time. It is sponsored by ATCO Gas.  A brief video about Alice was screened at the awards evening in the Winspear Centre.

The Society hosts five luncheons a year in the ballroom of Edmonton’s historic Macdonald Hotel. The Enbridge Famous Five luncheon series features speakers from the business, academic and not-for-profit worlds — and at least one poet.

The series theme is “Celebrating Women in Leadership: Past, Present and Future.” Poets may not often be thought of as ‘leaders,’ but Alice will speak about her mother (who inspired her book, Memory’s Daughter) — a woman who never took an active part herself in political life but had a vision of education for her daughters, and made them realize that engagement (and opinions) matter.

Time: 11:30 am reception, lunch starting at 12 noon.

The anthology was released in Waterford, Ireland, in mid-March as part of the new Sean Dunne International Festival of Arts and Culture. On April 23 (UNESCO World Book Day) the anthology was launched at the Canadian Embassy in Dublin by Canada’s ambassador to Ireland, and another launch took place at Cuirt, the biggest of the Irish international literary festivals.

Anthology review

The award was established in memory of Pat Lowther, a young B. C. poet who died tragically just before she was to become the League’s first female president.  Previous winners have included distinguished poets such as Gwendolyn MacEwan, Lorna Crozier and Dionne Brandt.

Alice’s book Some Bones and a Story was previously shortlisted for the same award.

The jury said, “The award goes to a landmark volume that offers a wealth of superlative writing, humour and sharp social commentary. ”

The shorlist for the award included Alice and also Marina Endicott for her acclaimed novel, Good to a Fault.

The Lowther jurors say:

“Pandora’s box is open, and out come tales spun by Sherry. The Office Tower Tales is about the vivacity of life and living. It expertly weaves the mundane things of life into a tapestry of priceless collectables. The tales paint life with a new brush, post-modern paint, and extraordinary strokes. They are mythical, classical, and iconoclastic. Not since Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales have we seen the frame narrative, now a mock epic for a contemporary audience. This is an epic work, huge in scope; an examination of the minutia of the ordinary lives of recognizable people, using the tropes of mythology as its metaphoric base.”

 The City of Edmonton Book Prize will be announced on April 6, during the Mayor’s Evening for the Arts at the Winspear Centre in Edmonton. The Lowther award winner will be announced during the League of Canadian Poets’ annual conference on June 13 in Vancouver.

Authors’ biographies soon to be posted here.

Jacqueline Baker September 24

France Levasseur-Ouimet October 8

Marty Chan October 22

rob mclennan November 5

Alice Major November 19

Eileen Lohka December 3

Events to enjoy:

Revenge of the Killer Blinks – A slew of poets (including Alice Major) are signed up to read  30-second poems. It’s an Edmonton invention, and it’s amazing how good we all get when we have to pare down to the essentials.

Friday night is Insomnicidal Kleptomania – an evening of sound poetry that will wind up with the legendary-in-his-time Christian Bok.

Saturday is a day for cafe readings in the afternoon, a poetry sweatshop and a finale with Canadian poetry slam champion Brendan McLeod.

You’ll find the details of these events and more on the festival website