Events Partner Events La Joie de Lire 2011
| La Joie de Lire 2011 |
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La Joie de Lire (the joy of reading) is both the title and the purpose of the programs in French at the Vancouver International Writers Festival. Following last year’s Festival, a question was added to the request for feedback from teachers. The question: which author did they particularly hope would be invited to La Joie de Lire 2011. The #1 choice was Michèle Marineau from Quebec, whose La Route de Chlifa (The Road to Chlifa) is studied in many local schools. Michèle Marineau accepted the invitation and will return to the Festival after an absence of almost ten years. During those years, Marineau has written several new books—as always, for readers of all ages—so there are new works for students to discuss with her. Like Michèle Marineau, Édith Bourget writes for readers of all ages. Thankfully, Michèle’s publisher Québec-Amèrique and the New Brunswick Arts Council underwrote the travel costs for bringing Michèle from Québec and Édith from New Brunswick. Several events will feature Michèle and Édith presenting together. The third author in this year’s list is the playwright Stephan Cloutier (from the nearby Sunshine Coast) who, with two local actors, will read a recent play, Les Voyages de Muriel Velulleg, which takes place in outer space. All events will take place entirely in French. The format of the events, with the assistance of a moderator, encourages interaction between students and authors. Study guides will be posted on the Festival website in August, to assist teachers’ preparation of their students for Festival events. Schedule of French Language Programming at the Vancouver International Writers Festival: (N.B. All events listed below take place entirely in French; there will be opportunities for interaction between students and writers.) Tuesday, October 18 (Event #2)
Pétronille has a very unusual power (or perhaps, ailment). Whenever she cries out Bourbouillette! colours invade every room in the house! Can this justify staying home from school? Cendrillon (Cinderella) has quite different powers. Join author Michèle Marineau as she tells this and other lighthearted stories of adventure and of friendship. Suitable for students in grades K-3.
La joie de vivre is contagious, especially when Édith Bourget tells her stories through poetry. Meet Gabrielle, Henri, encounters with the countryside as well as the city: interactions with kings, cows, or bicycles, all are subjects of Bourget’s work focusing on childhood and la joie de vivre. The humour of the text, the opportunity to engage with poetry and to discuss with the writer will delight children of all ages. Suitable for students in grades K-3.
The playwright along with two other actors, will read scenes from a play that was loosely inspired by Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver's Travels. In this tale, Space Captain Muriel Velulleg along with her First Commander Blark, embarks on a perilous journey through the solar system. They are looking for answers, concerning a mysterious message sent from the planet Neptune. Will they find what they're looking for? Suitable for students in grades 4-7, for students in Late Immersion and participants in the AIM program.
La Route de Chlifa, Rouge poison, La troisième lettre and Lola et le fleuve: these are some of the books by Édith Bourget and Michèle Marineau that, between them, deal with love, loss, friendship, and moving to another country because of war or simply family reasons. There are many types of love and of loss and the two authors write differently about them. There is a murder mystery and other stories directly about relationships between and among people, and there are stories told through poetry. This event will offer an opportunity to talk about writing, as well as about the subjects of the books. Suitable for students in grades 7 through 12.
Each of the writers has a book about someone moving to a new world (even if it’s just a new city). A third book deals with cultural difference. Even those of us who haven’t experienced these stories directly feel the impact in our communities. This event will offer an opportunity to talk about writing, as well as about the subjects of the books. Suitable for students in grades 7 through 12. Tickets will go on sale beginning at 8 AM, September 12. School group tickets cost $8.50 per ticket for each Festival school event (includes HST) To order, go online at www.writersfest.bc.ca, call (604.681.6330 ext. 107) or fax 604.681.8400 (call ahead for order form). A limited number of subsidies, based on financial need, are available through the Cynthia Woodward Development Program. Teachers intending to apply for a subsidy should contact Brenda Berck, Programmer of La Joie de Lire, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (604) 681-0315. Finally, please note that The Vancouver International Writers Festival has established a Pilot Program--Bus Subsidy Fund. The Fund is intended to provide local travel assistance to groups of students attending the Festival’s Spreading the Word events, based on financial need. School groups attending the Festival can apply for a subsidy per student equivalent to single-direction transit fares required to travel to the Festival. This fund is being introduced as a pilot program in 2011 and will be assessed following the 2011 Festival. More information will be available on the Festival’s website in August. Go to: www.writersfest.bc.ca |
