"Edson’s vivid portrayal of the urban area, as well as the working class and underclass, creates a vision of Saint John that highlights the discrepancy between the pre-modern idyllic notion of life in Atlantic Canada and the more complicated reality of the region."


-The New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Eden Mills


Today I read from The Goon at the Eden Mills Writers' Festival and what a great day...I was slotted to read alongside Hal Niedzviecki and Andrew Pyper (Andrew and I are sitting in the photo, with Hal standing in the white shirt) -- two phenomenal staples on the CanLit scene -- and it was awesome chatting with these two...they were fun and relaxed. I chatted with Terry Fallis who was a delightful guy, and I caught his reading this afternoon where he had the crowd in stitches...I also shared a couch with 2010 Giller Winner Johanna Skibsrud as we ate our lunch -- what a down-to-earth sweet person she is...2010 GG Winner Allan Casey and I chatted about Hemingway...It's very cool for me to rub shoulders with these CanLit stars but even better when I find out they're great people too.