2009 Lecture - Arts Everywhere

The 2009 Guelph Lecture—On Being Canadian

At the 7th annual Guelph Lecture—On Being Canadian we welcomed John Ralston Saul back to Guelph and congratulated him on recently being elected President of International PEN, the writers organization that works to advance freedom of expression. We are encouraged by his vision of Canada, particularly his emphasis on our Aboriginal pillar and what a renewed emphasis on this part of our culture can do to help guide our present decisions.

View the 2009 Program PDF

Essays

DodoLab

Originally published December 2009

by Lisa Hirmer & Andrew Hunter

The fundamental focus of DodoLab is simple: What are the barriers to adaptation and change? In order to address this,…

All Essays

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Highlights

John Ralston Saul, sometimes called “one of Canada’s great political and economic thinkers,” is internationally recognized, having published ten works of non-fiction and five novels. He has been awarded the Premio Lettarario Internazionale (Italy), the Pablo Neruda Medal, and the Governor General’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction. Twice he has received the Gordon Montador Award for Best Canadian Book on Social Issues, and he was chosen by Maclean’s as the writer of one of the best non-fiction books of the twentieth century.
Saul is best known for his critique of contemporary economic arguments and for his commentaries on the nature of individualism, citizenship and the public good; on the role of freedom of speech and
culture; on the failures of managerially/technocratically led societies; and on military strategy—in particular irregular warfare.
He is a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres de France (1996) and a Companion of the Order of Canada (1999). At the time he was General Editor of the Penguin “Extraordinary Canadians” project, a series which featured inspired pairings of writers and subjects and sought to reinterpret important Canadian figures for a contemporary audience.
As well, Saul is Co-Chair of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and was elected President of International PEN. He has 13 honourary degrees from institutions ranging from McGill and the l’Université d’Ottawa to Herzen State Pedagogical University in St. Petersburg, Russia.
He was born in Ottawa. He studied at McGill University and the University of London, where he obtained his PhD in 1972.

Sandra Birdsell is the author of six novels and three volumes of short stories. She has been awarded the WH Smith/Books in Canada first novel award, The McNally Robinson prize for Best Book, and was short-listed for the Governor General’s Award. A volume of her short stories also received a Governor General nomination for fiction. As well, “The Russländer,” a best selling novel published in 2001, was nominated for the prestigious Giller Prize. Birdsell read from “Waiting For Joe,” a novel published by Random House Canada in 2010.
Sandra Birdsell has been a writer in residence at various universities across the country, most recently at the University of Winnipeg as the Carol Shields Writer in Residence. She lives in Regina Saskatchewan.

Kevin Breit is easily one of Canada’s best guitar players. His style defies definition and fluidly contains elements of jazz, pop, rock, R ‘n’ B and country. Born in a small town in Northern Ontario, Breit is the youngest of seven children and was born to musical parents. Self-taught, he has recorded with the likes of Norah Jones, Cassandra Wilson, Rosanne Cash, k. d. Lang, Holly Cole, Janis Ian, Marc Jordan and Sass Jordan. When Kevin is not in session with these legendary artists or touring he performs in his own award-winning bands; Sisters Euclid, FolkAlarm and the Tallboys; all collaborative projects in which Breit is a central figure. Sisters Euclid recently won the National Jazz Award for Best Electric Band in 2009 and in 2007 the Sisters won a Juno for Best Instrumental Album of the Year. As well, in 2004 the Toronto Musician’s Union recognized and honoured Breit with the prestigious “Musician of the Year” award.

Shelley Ambrose is The Walrus Magazine’s Executive Director and Co-Publisher. She returned to Toronto in 2008 after spending three years in public affairs, branding Canada and organizing events and media at the Canadian Consulate in New York. She is a former radio producer – for more than decade with Peter Gzowski at CBC Radio’s Morningside; and a former TV producer – for current affairs and news programs including producing the Pamela Wallin show. Shelley has produced hundreds of events – including on-stage conversations, forums, lectures, festivals, golf tournaments, book tours, Arctic tours, royal visits (and was one of the producers of Bill Clinton’s 60th birthday events in September 2006 in Toronto and New York). Zillions of years ago, Shelley was a reporter for both the Globe and Mail and The Windsor Star. She has a degree in journalism from Ryerson and a BA in English and History from the University of Western Ontario. She is from Calgary. Her volunteer activities include working for Frontier College, the PGIs for Literacy and the Lakefield Literary Festival.

The 2009 Guelph Lecture—On Being Canadian

Essays

DodoLab

Originally published December 2009

Highlights