Coming
Soon! HONOUR
EARTH MOTHER For our ancestors the earth was a holy place, made so by the act of creation of the Great Mystery; it is the dwelling place of the manitous and spirits and is the repository of our grandparents' bones. It is a place of revelations that has yielded all that men and women have come to know and still has more secrets and mysteries to pass on to those who watch and listen. It is a land of never ending harvests, demanding only that men and women bend their backs to gather the crops and to store meats. It is a land of beauty, song and love. Honour Earth Mother was not intended to tell all that our ancestors learned. It is but an invitation to go into the woods and meadow, mountains, valleys and seaside to watch miracles unfold, to listen to nature's symphonies, to feel the pulse of the earth, to take in the fragrances and to taste the nectars and to sense the awesome. Basil H. Johnston |
Ontario 
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Basil
Johnston and Kateri Reading
in Winnipeg for Honouring Words. |
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An event 40,000 years in the making!
Plan 99 and Kegedonce Press presented Anita Heiss Live at The Manx Pub in Ottawa, Sunday November 3 at 4 p.m. Fresh from the Honouring Words (www.honouringwords.com) cross-Canada tour, Anita Heiss wowed a full house of lit fans, friends, and boozers with her stories, poetry, social commentary, and boundless humour. |
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Anita is from the Wiradjuri nation of western New South Wales inAustralia. She is an author, poet, activist, and social commentator, with a biting wit and unflinching insight. Anita's four books include the satirical social commentary of Sacred Cows, a collection of poetry Token Koori, the historical novelWho Am I? The Diary of Mary Talence, Sydney 1937, and the recently released Dhuuluu Yala (to talk straight): publishing Aboriginal writing in Australia. Anita also edited the anthology Life in Gadigal Country, and has been published widely in literary and arts journals, newspapers and online. |  |
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• 10 / 02 Richard Van Camp (Angel Wing • 5 / 3 / 2002 Hon
Tariana Turia |
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In the preface to “Skins” Kateri
Akiwenzie-Damm says of the creative work of indigenous
people:
“Our
creative work, and there is a lot of it, going back
thousands Likewise Josie Douglas refers to the writing in “Skins” as reflecting a freedom: “that is not often reflected in the social, economic or political realities of our urban and remote communities. Aboriginal writing has a history built on censure - censure of our culture, language and artistic practices” If the books have a theme, it is one of relationships and connectedness. It is also one, which identifies the sites both traditional and contemporary of creativity and imagination. Sites like Paremata from which Bob can rejoice in playing a part in the revival of interest in kite making. Sites, which as Kateri suggests are essential to our communities, sites that display the spirit of resistance to assimilation and oppression. Sites, which will let the indigenous written language and voice be seen and heard, be they in Eruera’s Ngati Awa, Kateri’s south western Ontario, or Josie’s Northern Territory. I would like to end today by quoting Witi Ihimaera who in the preface to “Skins” wrote: “We must all feel the need to restore our own art, to rehabilitate our art, to reconstruct our art, to reaffirm our art, to re-establish our own arts and culture. To create opportunities for all those people who are heirs to those traditions to define for themselves, to define for ourselves, for me to define for myself what I wish to happen, what you wish to happen, what we all wish to happen for the people” I believe these three publications are another start to stirring the emotions and the passion to meet the need identified by Witi. Na reira huri noa i te whare, tena tatou katoa |
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• Aboriginal Book Publishers of Canada catalogue. Featuring Kegedonce Press, Theytus Books Ltd., Gabriel Dumont Institute, and Pemmican Publications Inc. Copies of the catalogue are available from Kegedonce Press as well as each of the other book publishers listed. |
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"A superb collection"
Angel Wing Splash Pattern has received a glowing review by Matthew Firth in latest issue of The Danforth Review. "Angel Wing Splash Pattern is a superb collection and such a welcome relief from the usual, middle of the road, CanLit crapola. There is no middle class, Toronto-centric mewling going on here. And thank Christ for that! Van Camp's fiction is stripped down, yes, but also thoughtful, wise and compassionate." For the full review go to: http://www.danforthreview.com/reviews/fiction/vancamp.htm |
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Kiriyama Prize-Winner, Patricia Grace at the Wellington Writers Walk |
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• Aug 1st, 2002 - Kegedonce Press is pleased to announce that we have just signed a book deal with the Beverley Slopen Literary Agency for a new manuscript by Basil Johnston. The working title is 'Mother Earth' with a release date of Fall 2003. Excerpts from this exciting new environmental work will be posted on the website within the next few months.
• Angel Wing Splash Pattern by Richard Van Camp, published by Kegedonce Press, has received a rave review in the Globe and Mail. The following review appeared in the Books section, Saturday, February 23, 2002. Fiction Reviewed by Elizabeth Johnston If a dream catcher could talk, it would say Angel Wing Splash Pattern. In this short story collection, Richard Van Camp's northern Canadian stories are as visceral as nightmares, yet beautifully wrought with shiny baubles glinting from their webs. In Mermaids, the opening story, Van Camp throws us right into the melee: Drunk and beaten, Torchy stumbles from a tavern into the company of a little native girl, waiting hours in the cold for her mother. Something about her abandonment touches him, and he finds himself telling her the story of why God killed the mermaids. This modern allegory deepens into Torchy's personal pain at losing his brother, which becomes a motif throughout the book: How, in the context of an idealized past, contemporary life rips away the precious and replaces it with lesser jewels. In the one Edmonton story, Sky Burial, elder Icabus eats doughnuts to sop up the blood leaking inside him. It's all he can do to keep from crying at havng no one to pass his medicine on to. When a native child, adopted by a white woman, comes to him, he thinks maybe he's found that person. Nearby, a tropical bird hangs upside-down from its perch, trying to bite its way out of a metal leghold. The pathos of the situation floats in the air like the dull echoes of people hanging around in a large, decaying mall. There's more hanging-around in Let's Beat the Shit Out of Herman Rosko!, in which Grant and Clarence stand across the street from Herman's house, shivering in the snow, smoking cigarettes, trying to talk themselves into beating up the town's first marriage and sex counsellor, someone they used to harass as kids. In a surprisingly adept and graceful turn, Van Camp gently unmasks male bravado; in the space of a few pages, you not only understand these guys, but like them too. Van Camp demonstrates this particular talent at much greater length in his novel, The Lesser Blessed, for which he won the 2001 Jugendliteraturpreis, a German literary award. In Angel Wing Splash Pattern, Richard Van Camp lures you so close to the heat of his characters, yet always with an ice-bit of pain glinting through. Enmeshed in his stories, you come face to face with faceted flashes of the universal struggle to cope with a dazzling, dismaying world. Elizabeth Johnston teaches creative writing at Concordia University in Montreal. Congratulations
Richard!
• June 2nd - 24th 2003 - Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm will be teaching at the University of Manitoba from June 2nd - 24th (Canadian Native Literature with Writer Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm). Detailed Information and schedules are available through Email: native@ms.umanitoba.ca or Phone 204-474-9266.
Kegedonce co-hosted, with Plan 99, a reading by Aboriginal Australian writer Anita Heiss at the Manx Pub in Ottawa on November 3, 2003. After an introduction by Kegedonce Managing Editor Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Anita read from her books, Sacred Cows, Token Koori, and Who Am I? The Diary of Mary Talence, Sydney 1937 to full house. The audience, many of whom had come to the Manx specifically to hear her read and purchase her books, was a diverse mix of Plan 99 aficianados, Manx regulars, and Indigenous lit fans. It was the first Ottawa appearance by Anita who had just completed her cross Canada tour with Honouring Words: International Indigenous Authors Celebration Tour. |
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Anita, who is from the Wiradjuri nation of western New South Wales, was born and raised in Sydney. She is an author, poet, activist, social commentator, and communications adviser. The author of four books, Anita also edited the anthology Life in Gadigal Country. She has been published widely in literary and arts journals, newspapers and online. Anita Heiss & Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Manx Pub, November 3/02. Photos by Allen Deleary. |
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Al Hunter - Readings in Vancouver December 10-12, Grunt Gallery (TBC)
Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm - Nov 15 16th at the Celebrating Indigenous Lives, Sequoyah Research Center Symposium 2002- University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Richard Van Camp - Nov 15 16th at the Celebrating Indigenous Lives, Sequoyah Research Center Symposium 2002- University of Arkansas at Little Rock - Participating in the Canadian First Nations Literature discussions.
Kateri
Akiwenzie-Damm and Richard Van Camp will be participating
in the: Al Hunter Readings: •
August 13 & 14,
2002: Turtle Mountain Community College,
Belcourt, ND (with Louise & Heid Erdrich)
Toronto on June 22nd at The Poor Alex (Bloor and Bathurst) starting around 8:00 pm featuring Richard Van Camp (Kegedonce) and Drew Hayden Taylor, Beatrice Culleton (Theytus).
June
5-8 - Participating in the Peter Gzowski
Literacy Golf tournament
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| Al
Hunter readings in Toronto at Nicholas Hoare
May
11th - Chapters, Thunder Bay, Ont. 12:30 -5pm "Reading
and Meet & Greet" |
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| DAVID
GROULX
May
11th - Chapters, Thunder Bay, Ontario 12:30-5pm Reading
and Meet & February 25th, 2002 - Kegedonce Press is pleased to announce that skins: contemporary Indigenous writing will be launch in Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand as part of the: TOI
MAORI AND PATAKA MUSEUM
12.00 noon Book Launch Parliament House, Wellington, New Zealand skins contemporary Indigenous writing compiled & edited by Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm & Josie Douglas "In this book, earthy voices speak with passion and often tenderness about what it means to be indigenous and belong to a particular place. We are wiser for listening." Christopher Bantick - Canberra, Jan.2001 "It's such a good idea it seems amazing it hasn't been done before." The Age "An absolutely absorbing collection" Philip Adams, Australian Broadcasting Corp. "This anthology is brilliant! Not just because it is the first international joint venture between Indigenous publishers, in this case Jukurrpa Books (Alice Springs) and Kegedonce Press (Ontario, Canada). Not because it brings together award winning and internationally acclaimed American Indian (Sherman Alexie, Louise Erdrich), Inuit and First Nations (Maria Campbell, Thomas King), Aboriginal (Melissa Lucashenko, Sally Morgan) and Maori (Patricia Grace, Witi Ihimaera) authors. Not even because it is collection of short stories that removes Indigenous characters from being simply statistics, or stereotyped as welfare dependent, unemployed (or indeed unemployable), radical activists or victims. No, the brilliance in this book is that while it achieves the list above, it is also a damned good read. Skins is multi-dimensional with a variety of styles, incorporating a number of linguistic and cultural traditions unique to each Indigenous Nation represented. ...After
reading Skins you will desire turning the pages "Skins is a strong affirmation of identity, a claim for recognition and respect in the writers' own countries of origin. Styles vary, the cadences of language differ, customs and traditions are many and diverse - yet the similarities and parallels are evident.... Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm and Josie Douglas are to be congratulated. Their collaboration assists writing transcend cultural barriers. This anthology is a forerunner; we await the next." Paki Cherrington, Tu Mai, August 2001 For more information about the launch, please contact Morice Crandall [morice@paradise.net.nz]
• Jan 2002 - The publications of Richard Van Camp's book Angel Wing Splash pattern and Al Hunter's Spirit Horses are now available to purchase. Please check the ordering link for more information and don't forget to check the calendar for upcoming reading by Kegedonce Press authors. Dogrib Author, Richard Van Camp, wins Prestigious German Literary Award THE LESSER BLESSED by Richard Van Camp, has won the Jugendliteraturpreis 2001 in the Jugendbuch (Juvenile) category at the 2001 Frankfurt International Book Fair. Translated by the eminent Berliner, Ulrich Plenzdorf, and published by Ravensburger, this award is the most important award of its kind in Germany and is sponsored by the German government. "Why this award is so important to me is we were in the same arena as Louis Sachar's HOLES, which I adore, and Jerry Spinelly's EAST END WEST END, along with two German and one Danish novel," says the author. Richard has a new collection of short stories, ANGEL WING SPLASH PATTERN, with Kegedonce Press (www.kegedonce.com). Currently Richard is completing his Master's degree in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. "To be honored with such a prestigious award at an international level for a novel I began writing a decade ago, well, it's magnificent, and I am so grateful to Douglas & McIntyre, my Canadian publisher, Ravensburger, my German publisher, my agent, Carolyn Swayze, and, of course, our translator, Ulrich Plenzdorf." Ravensburger published the German translation of the novel about a 16 year old Dogrib Dene named Larry Sole growing up in the fictional northern town of Fort Simmer, NWT, in October, 2000. Richard
has won other awards for his writing. He was awarded
the Canadian Authors Association Air Canada Award
in 1997 for "most promising Canadian author The
prize of 15,000 DM, shared by author and translator,
includes a statue of MOMO, the beloved character from
a children's book by the same name. For
more information or to arrange interviews with the
author, please contact:
•
OCT 18th, 2001 - WORDCRAFT CIRCLE PUBLISHER OF THE
YEAR! Kegedonce Press was honoured for "demonstrated commitment to the vision of Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers: to ensure that the voices of Native writers and storytellers --past, present, and future-- are heard throughout the world." For more information, please visit the Wordcraft Circle website: <http://www.wordcraftcircle.org> or contact the National Director of Wordcraft Circle Voice: (505) 352-0650 FAX: (505) 352-9509 Email: wordcraft@sockets.net
• CONGRATULATIONS! Patricia Grace, a Maori writer of Ngati Raukawa, Ngati Toa, and Te Ati Awa descent, was longlisted this year for the 2001 Booker Prize for her most recent novel Dogside Story. Patricia has also won the Kiriyama Prize. The Kiriyama Prize is awarded to a book of fiction and a book of non-fiction "that would encourage greater understanding among the peoples and nations of the Pacific Rim." The Kiriyama Prize covers Pacific-bordering countries as well as South Asia. Set in rural Aotearoa at the approach of the new millennium, Dogside Story is Patricia Grace's fifth novel. Patricia Grace is featured in skins: contemporary Indigenous writing available through Kegedonce Press. Go to Online Ordering to purchase a copy.
Kegedonce Press is pleased to announce that skins: contemporary Indigenous writing will be launch in Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand as part of the: TOI
MAORI AND PATAKA MUSEUM
12.00 noon Book Launch Parliament House, Wellington, New Zealand skins contemporary Indigenous writing
Al Hunter and Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm will be reading in Toronto as part of ANDPVA's Mukwa Geezis Festival on Feb 12. Then Feb 13 & 14 at the U of Waterloo. Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm will then be on a panel at the University of Wilwaukee, Wisconsin on Feb 21st and reading at the Student Union Centre of UW on Feb 22nd.
February 8, 2002 First Nations House, University of British Columbia, Vancouver - Author reading & book signing followed by reception - 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Book Launch in Victoria, BC at the Aboriginal Art Gallery (House of First Voices)-Evening Author reading and book signing at University of Victoria (Afternoon) • Skins Tour - Australia 2000 |
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(Left to right) Kenny Laughton, Kateri, Melissa Lucashenko, Richard Van Camp & Michelle Reid, Simon from Jukurrpa Books. |