At the Oct 5 meeting, more than 50 NoTL Rotary members and their guests virtually traveled across Canada with special guest Doug Gibson. 

 

The breadth of Canadian literary talent over the past 100+ years was outlined as Doug described 13 well-known Canadian authors, their works and his friendships with them.  The authors were Hugh MacLennan, Robertson Davies, W.O. Mitchell, Margaret Laurence, Mordecai Richler, James Houston, Mavis Gallant, Guy Vanderhaeghe, Margaret Atwood, Terry Fallis, Joseph Boyden, Alistair MacLeod and Alice Munro.  It was fascinating to hear about not only the books written by the authors, but also insights into some of their unique talents (e.g. W.O. Mitchell and Hugh MacLennan ability to pull the country together) and idiosyncrasies (e.g. Margaret Laurence always wore a long skirt), plus their contributions to Northern Canada (e.g. James Houston).

 

Doug’s presentation was highlighted by the outstanding caricatures of the authors by Anthony Jenkins, a cartoonist, illustrator and writer at The Globe and Mail. 

 

At the end of the colourful presentation, Doug gave ample credit to his wife Jane, whom he described as the ‘technical director and brains of the operation’.  In summary, the presentation was a great team effort that our club had the privilege of enjoying.