I Knew Him, Horatio

It being the fall and with Halloween slowly approaching, Yorick and I are going on a tiny little tour once again.

I was recently sent the photo below from an old friend of mine who goes back to the days when I lived in Ottawa and was teaching drama to 9 to 15 year olds at a summer camp at Carleton University. Arianne was one of the more brilliant students in my class who from day one showed a strong interest in drama. She and I have maintained a "pen-pal" relationship since those early days, and I've been delighted to watch her many successes over the years, becoming an accomplished writer and playright and even founding a theatre company in Ottawa. I was also happy to learn that her career has recently brought her to Toronto which means that Fran and I can see her more often.

Chapters Festival Hall Feb 25th 2005 - Photo by Arianne Matte

Don't get me wrong, I love my current job, but I often think about the three summers I spent teaching drama as the best job I ever had. Not only did I get to work with some wonderfully enthusiastic and talented students like Arianne, but I also established some good friendships with other teachers, some of which I've maintained contact with over the years -- And it was, of course, at that job that I first met Francine. So how could I not think back to those days with a very soft spot in my heart?

But back to the Mark & Yorick Tour. I thought I'd try to summarize some of my upcoming appearances/writing related activities below:

• Sept 17th - Hamilton - Seraphin Editions Open House & Group Photo - (1:30 PM to 4:00PM) A publisher recently re-located to Hamilton has arranged a gathering of local writers, editors, etc and a group photo will be taken to make posters commemorating the current status of Hamilton's growing and exciting literary scene.
• Sept 25th - Toronto - Word on The Street Toronto - Your Scrivener Press / SWG - I'll be appearing at the "Your Scrivener Press / Sudbury Writer's Guild" booth (11 Am to 6 PM) talking about the upcoming anthologies from YSP such as the forthcoming Bluffs, which I'm in and will be coming out in the spring; as well as signing copies of my short story collection.
• Oct 2nd - Hamilton - LitLive - Junction Cafe - (7:30 PM) - An evening of drinks and literary readings. I'll be doing a reading along with the following writers: Cornelia Hoogland (Marrying the Animals), Eva Tihanyi (Wresting the Grace of the World), Harry Thurston (A Ship Portrait), John Calabro (Bellecoeur), Kim Barry Brunhuber (Kameleon Man)
• Oct 8th - Sudbury - Chapters Sudbury - (2:30 - 4:30 PM) - I'll be doing a short reading, a signing of One Hand Screaming and also meeting and greeting writers interested in learning more about the anthology North of Infinity III: Parnassus Unbound which I'm editing. I'll also be giving folks a fun sneak peak at a an upcoming writing project of mine.
• Oct 21st - Toronto - Chapters Festival Hall - 7:30 PM - Signing One Hand Screaming, meet and greet writers interested in NOI 3.

So, if anyone is around and wants to see whether I'll be wearing my white shirt with my skull tie or my black shirt with my skull tie (yes, an exciting thing to see indeed), there's the most recent list of the "Mark & Yorick" forthcoming appearances.

Coles Limeridge Oct 2004