Burnaby writers are part of the literary fun as Word Vancouver takes to the streets and stage again next week.
The city’s annual literary festival takes place from Sept. 23 to 27, with the main festival day on Sunday, Sept. 27 at Vancouver Public Library’s central branch.
Among the 100 readings and 150 authors will be some local writers: Burnaby residents Daniel Zomparelli and Eric Damer, along with Catherine Owen, who was raised in Burnaby and now lives in New West.
Zomparelli will be on hand with Dina Del Bucchia at 1 p.m. to talk about Rom Com – a book of poems that attempt to “deconstruct as well as engage in dialogue with romantic comedy films and the pop culture, celebrities and tropes that have come to be associated with them,” says a write-up about the session. “These irreverent, playful, weird and comedic poems come in a variety of forms, fully engaging in pop culture, without a judgmental tone.”
Owen appears as part of the Canada Writes series, with a session at 11 a.m. on Sept. 27 called The Other 23 & and Half Hours: Or Everything You Wanted to Know That Your MFA Didn’t Teach You.
Owen, the author of 10 collections of poetry, uses the book to explore what happens “before and after writers sit down at their desk, what inspires their writing and what transpires after it’s finished,” according to a write-up about the session.
Damer, who’s a freelance editor, writer and researcher, will appear as part of a panel discussion, Life as An Editor: Exploring the Many Faces of Editing, starting at 1:20 p.m. on Sunday.
The festival, which was formerly known as Word on the Street, offers a variety of presentations, exhibitions, workshops and activities at 10 venues.
Check out www.wordvancouver.ca to find out all about what’s happening.
– Julie MacLellan
