PAPERCHASE: Laurence House to get lively with guest readers

MANITOBA'S most famous piece of literary real estate will get lively on Sept. 28 when a group of authors rendezvous at Neepawa's Margaret Laurence House.

Brandon's Laurie Block and Winnipeggers Dora Dueck and Chris Rutkowski will read at the event, which is sponsored by the Manitoba Writers' Guild, Margaret Laurence House and the local Neepawa Viscount Cultural Centre. The event will also be the launch of a local writers group in the Neepawa area.

Festivities at 525 First Ave. kick off at 7 p.m.

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Among the lesser-known writers named to the 2012 Scotiabank Giller long list last week (a list that snubbed all the past winners who released books this year) was an author best known for receiving a blistering review in the New York Times.

The Aug. 17 Times review of Alix Ohlin's novel Inside (House of Anansi), was so harsh - "stenographic," "abysmal" and "saccharine" were among the many adjectives deployed against it -- that it prompted a cross-border discussion of the ethics of reviewing. It is now one of 13 books competing for the biggest prize in Canlit.

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A new online magazine launched by Random House of Canada combines a 19th-century name with a 2012 sensibility.

Hazlitt, named for the 19th-century British critic William Hazlitt, is a mixture of essays, short fiction and criticism, mostly written in the first-person, casual style of online magazines such as Salon and Slate.

Multiple references on the site to HBO's Girls and the Toronto writer Sheila Heti may provide an indication of Hazlitt's focus and target audience.

Random House has big ambitions for the site, which it is launching along with a line of e-books called Hazlitt Originals.

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Winnipeg's North End continues to fascinate readers and writers alike as Katherena Vermette launches her poetry collection North End Love Songs Sept. 12 at McNally Robinson.

The collection, published by The Muses Company, contains poems inspired by the neighbourhood, telling stories of mothers and daughters, girls sharing secrets and the disappearance of a young aboriginal man.

Vermette, who was published earlier this year in Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water, will read along with guest poet Rosanna Deerchild starting at 7 p.m.

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Rock bands are always putting out the call for extras for music videos. Now Winnipeg poet Victor Enns is inviting fans to join him at the Yellow Dog Tavern as he records a series of videos for a new poetry website.

Enns, whose most recent poetry collection, Boy, was published this spring by Regina's Hagios Press, plans to read selections from all his books. He expects to insert some audience shots into the videos, so participants may be asked to sign waivers.

The shooting takes place Sept. 17 starting at 7:30 p.m. He's charging a $25 admission to defray costs of recording.

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Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 8, 2012 J8