Joyce is an Ottawa writer with a passion for the arts, including music, books, films, visual arts, theatre and dance. She is an honours graduate of the Print Journalism and Scriptwriting programs at Algonquin College. Her work has been published in many local publications including the Ottawa Citizen and she is the author of A History of the Ottawa Folk Festival (1994-2012).
Osée Kamga, an Afro-Canadian writer who lives in Rockland has created a comical novel that many people in Ottawa can relate to because it revolves around second-language training in the federal government. He also tackles the downsides of the language-training process, government bureaucracy and politics, and the historical role that language has played in Canada.
The Crucible/Épreuve art exhibition adjacent to the SAW Gallery in Arts Court portrays a little-known episode in Ottawa’s cultural history. This uniquely Ottawa story involves artist Arthur II, the Lafayette Hotel, Le Hibou Coffeehouse, nudity, fire, a jail cell and finally, redemption. The show is the inaugural exhibition of the SAW Project Space and continues until April 6.
The Walled Garden by Ottawa author Mark Frutkin is subtitled “Essays on Language, Art, Film, Paleolithic Caves, etc.” This is a small book with big ideas. The appropriately green cover of the five-inch by eight-inch volume entices you to peruse its just over 100 pages.
Bob Joseph will close the Ottawa International Writers Festival on Sunday, Oct. 29 at 8pm with a talk on 21 Things We Need to Do After the Indian Act. Joseph is an author and corporate trainer well-known for his bestselling 2018 book, 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act.
Ottawa folk singer, musician, and actor Peter B. Hodgson has written Sneezy Waters: A Very Fine Biography. Yes, that’s what it’s called, and the book lives up to its name. The title references his popular act Sneezy Waters and His Very Fine Band, not to be confused with another of his performance vehicles: The Great Sneezy Waters and His Excellent Band.
The cover of We Stand With the Trees is an idyllic scene of a green field dotted with trees, with some tinged with the yellow and orange of early autumn in Ottawa. Within the pages, we learn why some Ottawa residents are taking a stand to oppose the removal of more than 700 trees to make way for the new Ottawa Hospital.
Ball & Chain and the Vanier Playboys want to make you dance, tap your toes and sway to the joyful strains of Cajun and Zydeco music! They enthusiastically illustrated this during a Mardi Gras Party at Irene’s Pub. The evening doubled as a CD release party for the second album from The Vanier Playboys, appropriately titled Deux.
Inspired by true events, Brian Lutes’ dark psychological thriller Painted Sharks holds nothing back as it dives into a bold portrayal of intense social issues such as domestic violence, addiction, and child exploitation.
Until October 7, the Aberdeen Pavilion at Lansdowne Park, will be presenting the revolutionary artwork of the anonymous English artist Banksy at the Banksy 360º exhibit.
