Poetry project shines light on Rooster Town
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/10/2025 (332 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A new little-free-library-sized literary installation featuring poetry is a personal reconciliation project of Winnipeg writer Bernie Kruchak.
The Rooster Town Poetry Shed is located at 939 Dudley Ave., not far from the final site of Rooster Town, where a number of Métis families lived until they were forced out to make way for Winnipeg’s expansion.
The poetry shed is currently featuring work by poet (and Free Press poetry columnist) melanie brannagan frederiksen, whose collection The Night, The Knife, The River will be published by At Bay Press in fall 2026.
For more on the project see roostertownpoetryshed.ca.
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Expect a bit of a spooky vibe at the next Wild & Wonderful Words event, which will feature local authors reading their work at Sookram’s Brewing Co. (479-B Warsaw Ave.) on Wednesday beginning at 7 p.m.
The event, created and hosted by author Sheldon Birnie, will feature readings by S.M. Beiko, Chadwick Ginther, Patrick Johanneson and Darren Ridgley (who is also a Free Press copy editor).
The event is free and all ages, and horror books will be for sale on site courtesy of Raven’s End Books.
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British-born Hubert Darrell made a name for himself in the early 20th century as an explorer and mapper in Canada’s North — until he disappeared in November 1910 in the Anderson River area of the Northwest Territories.
Modern-day Canadian explorer Adam Shoalts digs into Darrell’s life, and follows in his footsteps through the northern wilderness, in his new book Vanished Beyond the Map: The Mystery of Lost Explorer Hubert Darrell, which he launches tonight at 7 p.m. at McNally Robinson Booksellers’ Grant Park location. Of note: this launch will not be streamed to McNally Robinson’s YouTube page.
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The launch of Duncan Mercredi’s new poetry collection Only the Scent of You Remained, originally slated to happen during Thin Air Winnipeg in September, takes place this weekend — specifically, Sunday at 2 p.m. at McNally Robinson’s Grant Park location, in an event co-presented by Plume Winnipeg.
Mercredi, was Winnipeg’s poet laureate in 2021; he’ll be joined in by poet and Winnipeg Public Library writer-in-residence (and Free Press copy editor) Ariel Gordon.
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Romance readers, get ready to swoon over New York’s Laurie Gilmore, who on Tuesday at 7 p.m. will be at McNally Robinson’s Grant Park location to launch her latest novel The Gingerbread Bakery, the fifth book in her Dream Harbor series of cosy books (which includes The Cinnamon Bun Book Store, The Pumpkin Spice Café and The Strawberry Patch Pancake House).
Gilmore will be joined in conversation by McNally Robinson social media manager Elissa Hall.
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On Thursday at 7 p.m. at McNally Robinson’s Grant Park location, two Winnipeg educators launch the latest book in a series aimed at improving Indigenous education in the classroom.
Renewal: Indigenous Perspectives on Land-Based Education In and Beyond the Classroom is the second book in the Footbridge series from Winnipeg’s Portage & Main Press following 2022’s Resurgence: Engaging With Indigenous Narratives and Cultural Expressions In and Beyond the Classroom.
The editors of Renewal, educator/artist Katya Adamov Ferguson and Anishinaabe educator and curriculum developer Christine M’Lot, will be on hand for the launch.
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Winnipeg-born, New York-based writer and editor Ezra Glinter has won the top prize in the biography category of the Canadian Jewish Literary Awards, which will be handed out tomorrow afternoon in Toronto.
Glinter’s book Menachem Mendel Schneerson: Becoming the Messiah, published by Yale University Press in October 2024, was the winner in the biography category.
Other notable winners include Ayelet Tsabari in the fiction category for Songs for the Brokenhearted, John Lorinc in the memoir category for his book No Jews Live Here, and Simon Rabinovitch in the history category for Sovereignty and Religious Freedom: A Jewish History.
For the complete list of winners, see cjlawards.ca.
books@freepress.mb.ca
Ben Sigurdson
Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Ben Sigurdson
Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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