Louise Penny in Converstion with Shelagh Rogers Oct. 19 at Knowlton Literary Festival
HSubmitted by Philip Lanthier
ang on to your hats. You are in for a rollicking good ride. Louise Penny will be on stage with CBC Broadcaster, Shelagh Rogers at the Community Centre in Knowlton. With their combined wealth of talent, experience and humour, who knows where the conversation will go. Based on experience, it could well be a free-wheeling, fun-loving journey (this will be there second appearance together at the Festival).
Louise, for A Better Man, is # 1 on the NY Times Bestseller List again! Around here, she is always #1. We all lay claim to her and her fictional world of Three Pines. I think I know who the bookstore owner is?! I used to bake the occasional cake, am I Sarah who runs the boulangerie? And Ruth? That’s a tough one. I do not know anyone in the village who has a pet duck. Enough of my fanciful thinking.
There is a serious side to Louise that should be remarked upon and that is her commitment to literacy. She has been Honourary Patron of The Knowlton Literary Festival since its inception ten years ago. She is also the patron of The Yamaska Literacy Council. When Louise learned that “34% of adults in the Brome-mississquoi have great difficulty reading” she was prompted to action. She wrote and published a Grade Three level novella, The Hangman. The book is “aimed at energizing adult readers under the programme called Good Reads Canada, a national literacy initiative. Louise also champions literacy globally in her support of Proliteracy Worldwide.
And now to Shelagh Rogers, a household name to many Canadians. She is the broadcaster with a velvet voice, an infectious laugh and compelling insight. She joined the CBC in Ottawa in 1980. From there, she joined Peter Gzowski as permanent guest host of Morningside. Over the past ten years, she has hosted her own programme, The Next Chapter, a broadcast devoted to Canadian authors and musicians. Like Louise Penny (and Peter Gzowski), Shelagh has long been raising awareness of and funds for adult literacy initiatives. In 2008, she received a special Literacy Award of Merit for her outstanding contribution. Shelagh has also worked tirelessly to raise awareness on mental illness. In 2016 she was honoured with the inaugural Margaret Trudeau Award for Mental Health Advocacy. Her activism does not stop there. With co-authors Jonathan Dewer and Mike Degagné she published her book “Speaking My Truth”: Reflections of Reconciliation and Residential Schools. This 2012 publication is a collection of stories; first person accounts of survivors of the Residential School system. In the words of Commonword Bookstore, Shelagh “urges us to understand our futures together as indigenous and non-indigenous peoples.”
At the festival, these two powerhouses may well touch upon the social issues that are dear to both of their hearts. I am going to predict, however, that they will move far beyond the serious. These two “bon vivants” will engage and charm the audience with their wit and whimsy.
Tickets (if still available) at Brome Lake Books, at a cost of $25. Information: 450-242-2242.