Poet, artist and novelist Heather Spears will be in Sechelt to give a reading as part of a promotional tour for her new novel. She will be at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre on Friday, June 25, at 8 p.m.
Part historical fiction, part murder mystery, The Flourish recreates the atmosphere of Victorian Scotland while cracking the silence surrounding a family scandal.
Her drawings, often done in courtrooms, operating theatres and conflict zones, have been distinguished by powerful, original and sometimes disturbing imagery. Her 11 volumes of poetry have won many awards, including the Pat Lowther and the Governor General's for The Word For Sand (1989), which draws on her experience of the Palestinian intifada. One reviewer describes it as a "richly textured collection of poems that deal with the disquieting strangeness of the known and the frightening familiarity of the unknown."
Spears, who now lives in Denmark, returns to Canada every year to teach and give readings. This is not a Canada Council reading, so admission will be by donation.