Yesterday, John Irving was in the city for the Ottawa International Writers Festival‘s last event of the season. It didn’t start on a good note though: when I arrived, I was told that the author would not be signing books and that the audience would need to submit their questions in advance for approval. The public could buy a limited number of signed books at the entrance, but there was…
Tag: charles dickens
Mike Martin
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A Twist of Fortune by Mike Martin
At the beginning of A Twist of Fortune, Sergeant Winston Windflower watches in dismay as his girlfriend, Sheila, gets arrested during an illegal protest at the local fish plant. Then a snowstorm hits Grand Bank, Newfoundland, and a pharmacist dies in a car accident on the highway. What seems to be a straightforward investigation turns out to be a lot more when a body is discovered in the trunk of the…
Event
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Margaret Atwood in Ottawa
Margaret Atwood was in Ottawa yesterday to present her new book The Heart Goes Last. She was interviewed by Alan Neal from CBC at the Southminster United Church on Aylmer Avenue. The place was packed, but I managed to get a seat not too far from the stage. The audience consisted mainly of women of a certain age, even though I spotted a few men here and there. The Heart…
Edgar Allan Poe
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Did you know that Edgar Allan Poe was afraid of the dark?
Maybe it was due to the fact that both his parents died when he was 3 years old; or that he attended a boarding school located next to a cemetery. In fact, his gym class or maths lessons sometimes took place among the tombstones. Other fun facts about the author: He had drinking and gambling problems. His poem “The Raven” was inspired by Charles Dickens’ pet bird. Edgar Allan Poe…