Of the four books nominated for On The Same Page, two are connected to the University of Manitoba.
On The Same Page, a project of The Winnipeg Foundation and Winnipeg Public Library, encourages all Manitobans to read, and talk about, the same book at the same time. The public vote on which book Manitoba’s biggest book club will read for 2012-2013.Voting takes place now until September 14 on the City of Winnipeg library website.
The nominated books include A Thousand Farewells by alumnus Nahlah Ayed, Queen of Hearts by Martha Brooks, A Large Harmonium by Sue Sorensen, and Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water by U of M professor Warren Cariou and Lecturer Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair.
Ayed was born and raised in Winnipeg and holds a Master’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and a BSc in Genetics from the University of Manitoba. She was also awarded an honourary doctorate degree by the University of Manitoba in 2008 for distinguished achievement.
Her book describes the ways in which the Arab people have fought against oppression and loss, and the events she has witnessed as a reporter for CBC.
Manitowapow, by Sinclair and Cariou, is an anthology of Manitoba Aboriginal Literature. It is a comprehensive collection of writing by Aboriginal people in Manitoba, from rock paintings to rap musicians. It is the first anthology of its kind in Canada, focusing on the Aboriginal literary traditions (and oral storytelling traditions) from one province.
Sinclair, a lecturer in the Department of Native Studies at the U of M, and Cariou, the Director of the University of Manitoba’s Centre for Creative Writing/Oral Culture and a Canada Research Chair in Narrative, Community and Indigenous Cultures, have gathered more than 80 contributors from important historical figures like Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont to contemporary writers, performers and political leaders.
For more info please contact Sean Moore, Marketing Communications Office, University of Manitoba, at 204-474-7963 (sean_moore@umanitoba.ca)
