ARTS EAST

Jeff Bursey (novelist, playwright, book reviewer, critical thinker…) spent much of this past October in Germany. He went after being invited to read from his  Verbatim: A Novel  ( Enfield & Wizenty, 2010) at   Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (in Munich) and Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz (in Germersheim) . Jeff Bursey Photo by  Lee Thompson Bursey’s novel has garnered much praise, including:   “… a clever, highly innovative and highly readable novel. The satire is sharp, sometimes hilarious, the language perfectly suited to the subject,” from Wayne Johnston (author of the 2013 Giller-nominated The Son of a Certain Woman ). “Bursey's reproduction of speech patterns and over-the-top hyperbole of Canadian parliament filtered through the arcane editorial processes of Hansard is note-perfect… Bursey's inventiveness and integrity to the style and cause of his satire breathes new life into a stale theme,” from Corey Redekop (author of Husk , shor...

Evil characters, a young man who is cheated, a romance with a Princess, two nasty older brothers, a lonely cook, a doughty Queen, a Fairy Godmother and a very magical cat – all will be centre-stage from Nov 28-Dec 5 at the Pond Playhouse in Halifax as the Theatre Arts Guild presents Puss In Boots . Director Lorne Abramsom gives us the details about the Pantomime production and more! How long have you been involved in theatre, and in what capacity? LA: I have been involved in theatre for at least 48 years: Started with Gilbert and Sullivan at McGill University in the 1960s. Then I produced and directed many high school musicals at JL Ilsley High from 1971 to 2004. I have been involved at Theatre Arts Guild as an actor, producer, writer, director, lighting designer, sound and light board operator, and other less attractive responsibilities, for about 25 years. I served on the TAG Board for many years and currently am a member of the Artistic Committee with responsibility of rea...

For the week of December 9-13 we will be hosting an online holiday gift marketplace – a site for people looking for gifts for any wintertide holiday (Christmas, Kwanzaa, belated Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Milad un Nabi, Festivus? New Year’s Baby? Winter Wedding? ... or just because). We want to create a collage or cornucopia of products/services on our website highlighting the diversity of talent across Atlantic Canada.  If you have artwork, crafts, albums/records, books, jewellery, tickets to performances, preserves, gift certificates for a local restaurant and more—also if you are an arts/culture-related charity/non-profit where people can make donations as gifts—we’d like to share it in our online agora. If you are interested: ·          E-mail artseastonline@gmail.com ·          Type “Holiday Gift Marketplace” in the subject line ·        ...

A career television, radio, and print journalist, Karl Wells is widely known for his 31-year career with the CBC. An accredited personal chef and lifelong foodie, he has produced many food segments for local and national television programs. Recently we spoke with Wells about his recent collaboration with Steve Watson, Cooking with One Chef One Critic (Flanker Press, 2013). What motivated and/or inspired you to write this book? KW: Cooking with One Chef One Critic came from a desire to provide the loyal viewers of the TV show, One Chef One Critic , with a tangible memento of the series. It is a collection of my memories from the show, as well as recipes and behind-the-scenes photographs taken over the course of 110 episodes of One Chef One Critic . Did the work come together quickly or did you really need to work at it? KW: Yes, but the work in doing a proper cookbook is in getting the recipes right. We had to make sure nobody would be disappointed with a single reci...

♫ Click on the AE logo to  listen to our 3rd Mini Music Podcast, featuring talent from across Atlantic Canada  ♫ : Featured Musicians/Songs: Steady Hills : “Long Grey Roads” from their EP Alone in the Marquee http://steadyhills.com/ https://www.facebook.com/steadyhills Joseph Edgar: “Alors Voil à ” (STE-4 Musique) The single was released in April 2013 and will be featured on Edgar’s upcoming 2014 album. http://www.josephedgar.ca/ https://www.facebook.com/josephedgarofficiel Lone Cloud: “The Honour Song” from their album We Are Medicine People (2012) https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lone-Cloud/223011710157 http://www.alansyliboy.com/ Death Valley Driver: “Graveyard Dead” from their album Graveyard Dead (Diminished Fifth Records 2013) https://www.facebook.com/DeathValleyDriverPEI http://d5digital.bandcamp.com/album/graveyard-dead ...

Last time, we heard from renowned poet and writer, Tom Dawe , about his recent publication The Wonderful Dogfish Racket (Pennywell Books/Flanker Press). Today we hear from the book’s illustrator, C. Anne MacLeod, about her prolifically creative career and her cohesive, collaborative relationship with Dawe. MacLeod is a video/film animator and graphic artist, originally from the Isle of Man, who has been living in Newfoundland since 1968. She is the illustrator of a number of books including The Clothes Lion stories ,   Winter of the Black Weasel and   Moocher in the Lun . She has led animation workshops in elementary schools across Newfoundland as well as educational activities around the world. Earlier this year, her design was selected to be the logo for the newly designated UNESCO World Heritage Site at Red Bay, Labrador. What inspired you to illustrate this book? CAM: I enjoy working with Tom Dawe and love his writing. The stories evoke im...

Tom Dawe is one of Newfoundland's most distinguished writers. He is an Order of Canada and Order of Newfoundland and Labrador recipient, St. John’s Poet Laureate and he has published 17 volumes of work. His latest is The Wonderful Dogfish Racket (Pennywell Books/Flanker Press), illustrated by fellow Newfoundlander, C. Anne MacLeod. In this Q&A, Dawe shares some intriguing insights into the children’s book (also beloved by adults), his creative process and his life as a writer. What motivated or inspired you to write this book? TD: I have always been interested in folklore and history.  “The Wonderful Dogfish Racket” had its genesis in a couple of images from my childhood – an old man shooting crows for money because the government had placed a bounty on these creatures in response to farmers’ complaints – and my elders talking about the dogfish plague and the government bounty that got out of control.  So I constructed a tall tale around the dogfish prob...