Robson Reading Series Presents Andrew Kaufman, Camille Martin and Barry Webster

March 27, 2013

Webcast sponsored by the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre as part of the Robson Reading Series.

Andrew Kaufman’s Born Weird tells the tale of the Weird family who have always been a little off, but not one of them ever suspected that they’d been cursed by their grandmother, Annie Weird. Now Annie is dying and she has one last request: for her far-flung grandchildren to assemble in her hospital room so that at the moment of her death, she can lift these blessings-turned-curses. What follows is a quest like no other, tearing up highways and racing through airports, from a sketchy Winnipeg nursing home to the small island kingdom of Upliffta, from the family’s crumbling ancestral Toronto mansion to a motel called Love.

The title of Camille Martin’s latest book of poetry, Looms, signifies the weaving tool as well as the shadowing appearance of something, These “woven tales” were inspired by Barbara Guest’s statement that a tale “doesn’t tell the truth about itself; it tells us what it dreams about.” The strands of their surreal allegories converse, one idea giving rise to another, and the paths of their dialogue become the fabric of the narrative. In a second meaning, something that looms remains in a state of imminent arrival. Such are these tales, like parables with infinitely deferred lessons.

In Barry Webster‘s latest novel, The Lava in My Bones, a frustrated Canadian geologist studying global warming becomes obsessed with eating rocks after embarking on his first same-sex relationship in Europe. Back home, his young sister is a high-school girl who suddenly starts to ooze honey through her pores, an affliction that attracts hordes of bees as well as her male classmates but ultimately turns her into a social pariah. Meanwhile, their obsessive Pentecostal mother repeatedly calls on the Holy Spirit to rid her family of demons. The siblings are reunited on a ship bound for Europe where they hope to start a new life, but are unaware that their disguised mother is also on board and plotting to win back their souls, with the help of the Virgin Mary.”

Author Biographies

Andrew Kaufman is the author of All My Friends Are Superheroes, The Tiny Wife, and The Waterproof Bible. He was born in Wingham, Ontario, the birthplace of Alice Munro, making him the second-best writer from a town of 3000. His work has been published in 11 countries and translated into 9 languages. He is also an accomplished screenwriter and lives in Toronto.

Camille Martin is the author four collections of poetry: Looms (Shearsman Books), Sonnets, Codes of Public Sleep, and Sesame Kiosk. A chapbook, If Leaf, Then Arpeggio, was recently released from Above/Ground Press. She has presented and published her work internationally. Martin earned an MFA in Poetry from the University of New Orleans and a PhD in English from Louisiana State University.

Barry Webster‘s first book, The Sound of All Flesh (Porcupine’s Quill), won the ReLit Award for best short-story collection in 2005. He has been a finalist for the National Magazine Award, the CBC-Quebec Prize, and the Hugh MacLennan Award. Originally from Toronto, he currently lives in East Montreal.

Select Books Available at UBC Library

Kaufman, Andrew. (2013). Born Weird. Toronto, Ont: Random House Canada. Link: http://webcat1.library.ubc.ca/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=6524543

Martin, Camille. (2012). Looms. Bristol, UK: Shearsman Books. Link: http://webcat2.library.ubc.ca/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=6309169

Webster, Barry. (2012). The Lava In My Bones. Vancouver, BC: Arsenal Pulp Press. Link: http://webcat2.library.ubc.ca/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=6435737

UBC Library Research Guides

Canadian Studies

Book, Theatre, and Film Reviews

Literature Reviews

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Sandor Katz – The Art of Fermentation

March 26, 2013

Webcast sponsored by the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre and hosted by the UBC Reads Sustainability. The Art of Fermentation is the most comprehensive guide to do-it-yourself home fermentation ever published. Sandor Katz presents the concepts and processes behind fermentation in ways that are simple enough to guide a reader through their first experience making sauerkraut or yogurt, and in-depth enough to provide greater understanding and insight for experienced practitioners. While Katz expertly contextualizes fermentation in terms of biological and cultural evolution, health and nutrition, and even economics, this is primarily a compendium of practical information—how the processes work; parameters for safety; techniques for effective preservation; troubleshooting; and more. With full-color illustrations and extended resources, this book provides essential wisdom for cooks, homesteaders, farmers, gleaners, foragers, and food lovers of any kind who want to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for arguably the oldest form of food preservation, and part of the roots of culture itself. Readers will find detailed information on fermenting vegetables; sugars into alcohol (meads, wines, and ciders); sour tonic beverages; milk; grains and starchy tubers; beers (and other grain-based alcoholic beverages); beans; seeds; nuts; fish; meat; and eggs, as well as growing mold cultures, using fermentation in agriculture, art, and energy production, and considerations for commercial enterprises. Sandor Katz has introduced what will undoubtedly remain a classic in food literature, and is the first—and only—of its kind.

Biography

Sandor Ellix Katz is a self-taught fermentation experimentalist. Katz has taught hundreds of fermentation workshops across North America and beyond, taking on a role he describes as a “fermentation revivalist.” Now, in The Art of Fermentation, with a decade more experience behind him, the unique opportunity to hear countless stories about fermentation practices, and answering thousands of troubleshooting questions, he’s sharing a more in-depth exploration of the topic.

Select Books Available at UBC Library

Katz, Sandor Ellix. (2012). The Art of Fermentation: An In-Depth Exploration of Essential Concepts and Processes From Around the World. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing. Link: http://webcat1.library.ubc.ca/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=6421437

Katz, Sandor Ellix. (2006). The Revolution Will Not Be Mirowaved: Inside America’s Underground Food Movements. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing. Link: http://webcat1.library.ubc.ca/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=4114642

UBC Library Research Guides

Food Science

Sustainability

Body Fit: Health, Nutrition and Fitness

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"The Broken Destiny of Poetry" Film Screening

March 25, 2013

Come join us for a film screening of “The Broken Destiny of Poetry” by Rahmat Haidari and Sajia Hussain, a documentary about a young Afghan woman poet’s struggle to survive and write. Focusing on female poetry in Afghanistan, this documentary reveals how the few female poets often have to fight for their right to read and write their poems. The few female poets that do live in Afghanistan live in constant fear. Some of them, like Nadia Anjoman, have sacrificed themselves for their goal of writing. For other brave women like, Karima, a twenty-six year old woman who had graduated from Kabul University where she studied Dari literature faced serious retribution after her publication of a 47 page poem collection in 1990 and faces constant threats in her home province of Badakhshan in Afghanistan.

Schedule of events also include: a First Nations welcome by Wanda John-Kehewin and poetry launch of “In the Dog House”
Navaho flute music by Angelo Moroni
World Poetry Peace Poetathon official launch
Music release by Japanese composer Yoshifumi Sakura
Music and poetry readings

This event is organized by the World Poetry Society as part of the World Poetry Canada International Peace Festival exhibition at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre during the month of April. While admission is free, please reserve space with Ariadne Sawyer by email at: ariadnes@uniserve.com

April 20, 2013, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Lillooet Room (Room 301), Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, UBC

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Fred Wah – Standing in the Doorway – the Hyphen in Chinese-Canadian Poetry

March 25, 2013

Webcast sponsored by the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre and hosted by Richmond Public Library as part of the “The Joy Of Reading: Chinese Literature Appreciation” lecture series. This talk focuses on living and writing between two cultures, Chinese and Canadian. Racial hybridity has informed most of Prof. Wah’s writing and that of many Chinese-Canadian writers. Wah will read and discuss his own book Diamond Grill (about growing up in a small town Chinese-Canadian restaurant), as well as writings by poets Rita Wong, Larissa Lai, Weyman Chan, and others. He will situate this writing within the recent historical context in North America of “writing through race.” Presented by Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate, Professor Emeritus Fred Wah.

Select Articles Available at UBC Library

Wah, F. (2006). Diamond grill. Edmonton: NeWest.

Wah, F. (2005). Isadora blue. Victoria, B.C: La Mano Izquierda Impresora.

Wah, F. (1988). Rooftops. Red Deer, Alta: Red Deer College Press.

Wah, F. (2009). Is a door. Vancouver, B.C: Talonbooks.

UBC Library Research Guides

English

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Paul Bloom – There Is Nothing Special About Religion

March 21, 2013

Webcast sponsored by the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre and hosted by Green College. Most people believe in deities, immaterial souls, life after death, and the divine creation of humans and other animals. Research from developmental psychology (including the study of babies) and social psychology supports a minimalist theory of why we have such beliefs, which is that they emerge from the very same processes that give rise to beliefs in other domains, such as science and politics. Finally, although it is often argued that religious beliefs have great moral significance, there is little evidence in support of this view. Overall, religious beliefs just aren’t that special.

Biography

Paul Bloom is the Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor of Psychology at Yale University. He was born in Montreal, Canada, was an undergraduate at McGill University, and did his doctoral work at MIT. He has published in scientific journals such as Nature and Science, and in popular outlets such as The New York Times and The Atlantic Monthly. He is the co-editor of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, and the author of two books: How Children Learn the Meanings of Words and Descartes’ Baby: How the Science of Child Development Explains What Makes Us Human. His research explores children’s understanding of art, religion, and morality. This lecture is part of the ongoing Green College lecture series, “Human Evolution, Cognition and Culture: The Evolution of Religion, Morality and Cooperation”

Select Articles Available at UBC Library

Starmans, C., & Bloom, P. (2012). Windows to the soul: Children and adults see the eyes as the location of the self. Cognition, 123, 313-318. Link: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010027712000285

Bloom, P. (2012). Religion, morality, evolution. Annual Review of Psychology, 63, 179-199. Link: http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-psych-120710-100334

UBC Research Guides

Psychology

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Anabel Quan-Haase – Serendipity Models: How We Encounter Information and People in Digital Environments

March 19, 2013

Webcast sponsored by the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre and hosted by the School of Library, Archival, and Information Studies (SLAIS). Much of the research on how we encounter information tends to focus on linear models of intentional information search. Recently a number of studies and frameworks have suggested that not all information individuals encounter is through goal-oriented search, but rather that individuals often find information and connect with people accidentally, without purposefully looking. A wide range of terms and models have been proposed to describe the phenomenon. The present presentation has three goals. First, it provides an overview of the current debate around the phenomenon of serendipity, presenting and contrasting various models of how serendipity occurs. Second, it discusses how technology could affect serendipity and opportunities for designing digital tools that support innovation, creativity, and resource discovery. Finally, it presents current research findings on how serendipity impacts the work of scholars.

Biography

Anabel Quan-Haase is Associate Professor of Information and Media Studies and Sociology at the University of Western Ontario. Her primary interests lies in the areas of Internet and society and computer-mediated communication. Quan-Haase’s current research investigates the uses of technology and the effects of technology on society.

Select Articles Available at UBC Library

Martin, K., & Quan-Haase, A. (2013). Are e-books replacing print books? tradition, serendipity, and opportunity in the adoption and use of e-books for historical research and teaching. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. Volume 64, Issue 5, 1016–1028, May 2013 Link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/asi.22801/abstract

Quan-Haase, A. (2012). Technology and society: Inequality, power, and social networks. Don Mills: Oxford University Press. Link: http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=6356884

UBC Library Research Guides

Learning Technology

Learning Through Literacy and Technology

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Jim Silverman – California Fairy Tales: Gold Rush to Hollywood

March 19, 2013

The School of Library, Archival, and Information Studies (SLAIS) iSchool@UBC will be hosting Jim Silverman at UBC. In his talk, Jim Silverman shares stories and pictures from children’s literary fairy tales published in California between 1868 and 1945. They range from a classic fairy tale biography of a Gold Rush eccentric called Emperor Norton, to libidinous tales spun and illustrated by a feminist-actress-mother of 10, to an Art Deco tale with a mortuary advertisement, and tales in which fairies promote a child radio star and pitch commercial products and kids discover the magic that happens by looking through a strip of colour film.

About the speaker: Jim Silverman is a librarian and historian of children and their books. Partnering with educator, Vicki Whiting, he wrote a popular newspaper feature about children in California history and supplements for The New York Times about children in New York. Jim is a Young Adult Librarian in the San Francisco Bay Area and known for grassroots programs that bring music and dance into the reading room, keeping alive the spirit of growing up in New Orleans.

Wednesday, March 27^th, 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Location: Room 461, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, UBC

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World Poetry Canada International Festival Presents Inspire Peace!

March 13, 2013

The Theme for the Third World Poetry Canada International Peace Festival is Inspire Peace!

Created by Ariadne Sawyer and Alejandro Mujica-Olea in 1997, the World Poetry Society is built upon respect, honor, support, peace and love for all. With a focus on recognizing multicultural and multilingual poets and writers, the society promotes its mandate through the power of arts and education. This is the Third Annual World Poetry Canada International Peace Festival. All events are free and open to the public. Please register at www.worldpoetry.ca and bring a poem on peace, a story about peace, a song, or a dance! Space is limited for all events, so please register early!

The Festival will feature:
1. International guests, local poetry groups, community partners, dancers, musicians, filmmakers and multimedia.
2. Display tables, Poetic Necklace display at Ike’s Art Gallery April 4th – 30th.
3. Extra event: World Poetry Youth Peace Poetathon World Wide.
4. The World Poetry Canada International Month, April 4th – 30th with our partner the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre.
5. World Poetry National Poetry Month Peace Display plus the display cases in the IKBLC foyer, April 4th – 30th
6. Gift poems!

Event Program:
April 4th, 7pm – 9pm, Grand Opening in the Peace River Room(Room 261) of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre

First Nations Welcome by Godwin Barton
World Poetry Peace E-Anthology launch
Music by Rio Samay Band and performance by the Jasmine Dancers
Empowerment Awards
World Poetry Exclusive: “Silence,” a short documentary by Afghan filmmaker Sharif Saedi

April 11th, 7pm – 9pm in the Lillooet Room (Room 301) of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre

Cross Country Tour of Penn Kemp’s Jack Layton, Art in Action; bring a story or read from the Jack Layton book
Poetry readings by local poets
International guests include Michael Kwaku Somuah and Kwame Yirenkyi

April 20th, 1pm – 4pm in the Lillooet Room (Room 301) of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre

First Nations welcome by Wanda John-Kehewin and poetry launch of “In the Dog House”
Navaho flute music by Angelo Moroni
World Poetry Peace Poetathon official launch
Music release by Japanese composer Yoshifumi Sakura
World Poetry Exclusive: “The Broken Destiny of Poetry,” an Afghan documentary by Rahmat Haidari and Sajia Hussain
Music and poetry readings

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Social-Biblio.ca: Meaning and Method Behind Public Library Micro-Blogging Practices

March 8, 2013

Dr. Mary F. Cavanagh

Assistant Professor – University of Ottawa

School of Information Studies

Social-Biblio.ca: Meaning and Method Behind Public Library Micro-Blogging Practices

Thursday, March 21, 12-1 pm

Dodson Room

Irving K Barber Learning Centre

1961 East Mall

University of British Columbia

Twitter is the most well-known microblogging social media application structuring public library-client information interactions. The goal of this multi-phase project is to understand how Canadian public libraries are engaging with their clients through micro- blogging and what effects these interactions may be having on the broader library-community relationships over an extended period of time. This paper reports on two preliminary content analyses of public library tweets on two separate “events” and on the research framework proposed for the next phase of research.

The platform supporting this project was launched in February 2012. Social-biblio.ca is an open curated archive and web platform tracking micro-blogging activities by Canadian public libraries with institutional Twitter accounts. Currently 130 public library Twitter accounts representing 22% of all Canadian public library systems are tracked. Various Twitter typologies across different settings have been developed based on large data sets but few address organizational micro- blogging and in particular government agencies. We tested Lovejoy and Saxton’s (2012) information-community-action and early findings suggest this framework can illustrate new directions in how public libraries interact with their clients. Theoretical and methodological contributions to public sector social media and public participation research are anticipated.

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Barnor Hesse – Raceocracy: How the Racial Exception Proves the Racial Rule

March 7, 2013

Webcast sponsored by the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre and hosted by Green College. Dr. Barnor Hesse. Associate Professor of African American Studies, Political Science and Sociology, Department of African American Studies, Northwestern University. ‘Raceocracy: How the racial state of exception proves the racial rule’. The talk is based on the forthcoming: ‘Creolizing the Political: Race Governance and Black Politics’. It seeks to rethink the meaning of race and racism in relation to questions of western governance; and secondly, to identify a theoretical framework in which to understand ‘Black politics’ as a series of interventions and practices irreducible to the bodies of the populations who produce those practices and interventions. This lecture is part of the ongoing Green College lecture series, “Law and Society.”

Biography

Barnor Hesse is an Associate Professor of African American Studies, Political Science, and Sociology at Northwestern University. His research interests include post-structuralism and political theory, black political thought, modernity and coloniality, blackness and affect, race and governmentality, conceptual methodologies, postcolonial studies.

Select Articles Available at UBC Library

Hesse, B. (2011). Marked Unmarked: Black Politics and the Western political, South Atlantic Quarterly, Fall 2011, 110: 4. [Link]

Hesse, B. (2011). Symptomatically Black: A Creolization of the Political in S. Shih and F. Lionnet eds. The Creolization of Theory. Durham: Duke University press. [Link]

Hesse, B. (2009). Afterword: Black Europe’s Undecidability in D. Hine, T. Keaton and S. Small eds. Black Europe and the African Diaspora. Urbana: University of Illinois press. [Link]

UBC Library Research Guides

African Studies

Political Science

Sociology

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