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Tour dates below.
Two Canadian authors and an artist—CBC Literary Awards prizewinning writer Joanna Cockerline, author of the new novel Still, Kevin Andrew Heslop, author of The Writing on the Wind's Wall: Dialogues about ‘Medical Assistance in Dying’, and international multidisciplinary artist Leslie Putnam—are offering a free public reading and art exhibit at Forest City Gallery Friday, 6-8pm, September 12th.
Cockerline and Heslop—both releasing their books in September with the Canadian indie press The Porcupine’s Quill, which has enjoyed decades of award-winning success—are touring across Canada to connect with audiences about issues close to their hearts and homes. The authors will be joined in Ontario and Québec by internationally-respected multimedia artist Leslie Putnam, whose interactive sculptural, tactile, sound- and vibration-infused art—with new pieces inspired by Heslop and Cockerline’s writing—will be there for audiences to interact with.
Joanna Cockerline:
Joanna Cockerline’s novel Still is set amid the vibrancy and precarity of unhoused and street-level sex work communities, and follows the story of a woman who lives and works on the streets of Kelowna, BC, who is looking for a fellow sex worker who has gone missing. The novel explores survival, friendship, and what it means to find a home—especially within one’s self. Ultimately, Still is a story of resiliency, community, and hope. The novel is informed by Cockerline’s own experiences as a long-time street outreach volunteer and co-founder of a non-profit street outreach organization.
Kevin Andrew Heslop
A book of hometown talk of euthanasia, The Writing on the Wind’s Wall arranges a disabled media-studies scholar, an ethicist, a widow, a non-profit opponent, a son, a psychiatrist, a medium, two administering doctors, a retiree living with dementia, a Parliamentarian, a death-doula, differing priests, and a hospice-provider around a maple table, beneath a counterbalanced chandelier—and with an urgent invitation: listen here.
Leslie Putnam:
Leslie Putnam, whose multidisciplinary work brings an immersive way for people to interact with sculpture on multiple sensory levels, has exhibited in Canada and Europe. Putnam’s art is premised on the idea that sculpture can and should include access through multiple senses while removing the institutional “do not touch” barrier.
“We’re excited to come together and collaborate on this event, and we’re deeply excited to connect with readers and audiences across the country,” Cockerline says.
Heslop fogs the glass of a stationary train car and draws a face with a hyphen for a mouth and starts a staring contest until one of them dissolves.
“Much like an excellent novel that has multiple levels of meaning, collaborating with Kevin and Joanna to add this new layer of a vibrotactile interpretation creates another access point for the reader. It has been so exciting to cross the traditional boundaries of these art forms, creating a new type of artistic experience,” says Putnam.
Joanna Cockerline is a CBC Literary Awards prizewinner, nominee for the international Pushcart Prize, and author of works in publications ranging from Room to En Route to International Human Rights Arts. She teaches literature and creative writing at the University of British Columbia Okanagan.
Kevin Andrew Heslop (b. 1992, London, Canada) is the author of works for the page, stage, and screen.
Leslie Putnam is an arts educator and artist who engages the audience through multi sensorial sculptural and installation works. She has a lengthy exhibition resume and currently works from her studio in southern Ontario.
The trio and an array of local authors and artists look forward to connecting with people at these free events, celebrations of creativity and connection open to all.
Two Canadian authors and an artist—CBC Literary Awards prizewinning writer Joanna Cockerline, author of the new novel Still, Kevin Andrew Heslop, author of The Writing on the Wind's Wall: Dialogues about ‘Medical Assistance in Dying’, and international multidisciplinary artist Leslie Putnam—are offering a free public reading and art exhibit at Forest City Gallery Friday, 6-8pm, September 12th.
Cockerline and Heslop—both releasing their books in September with the Canadian indie press The Porcupine’s Quill, which has enjoyed decades of award-winning success—are touring across Canada to connect with audiences about issues close to their hearts and homes. The authors will be joined in Ontario and Québec by internationally-respected multimedia artist Leslie Putnam, whose interactive sculptural, tactile, sound- and vibration-infused art—with new pieces inspired by Heslop and Cockerline’s writing—will be there for audiences to interact with.
Joanna Cockerline:
Joanna Cockerline’s novel Still is set amid the vibrancy and precarity of unhoused and street-level sex work communities, and follows the story of a woman who lives and works on the streets of Kelowna, BC, who is looking for a fellow sex worker who has gone missing. The novel explores survival, friendship, and what it means to find a home—especially within one’s self. Ultimately, Still is a story of resiliency, community, and hope. The novel is informed by Cockerline’s own experiences as a long-time street outreach volunteer and co-founder of a non-profit street outreach organization.
Kevin Andrew Heslop
A book of hometown talk of euthanasia, The Writing on the Wind’s Wall arranges a disabled media-studies scholar, an ethicist, a widow, a non-profit opponent, a son, a psychiatrist, a medium, two administering doctors, a retiree living with dementia, a Parliamentarian, a death-doula, differing priests, and a hospice-provider around a maple table, beneath a counterbalanced chandelier—and with an urgent invitation: listen here.
Leslie Putnam:
Leslie Putnam, whose multidisciplinary work brings an immersive way for people to interact with sculpture on multiple sensory levels, has exhibited in Canada and Europe. Putnam’s art is premised on the idea that sculpture can and should include access through multiple senses while removing the institutional “do not touch” barrier.
“We’re excited to come together and collaborate on this event, and we’re deeply excited to connect with readers and audiences across the country,” Cockerline says.
Heslop fogs the glass of a stationary train car and draws a face with a hyphen for a mouth and starts a staring contest until one of them dissolves.
“Much like an excellent novel that has multiple levels of meaning, collaborating with Kevin and Joanna to add this new layer of a vibrotactile interpretation creates another access point for the reader. It has been so exciting to cross the traditional boundaries of these art forms, creating a new type of artistic experience,” says Putnam.
Joanna Cockerline is a CBC Literary Awards prizewinner, nominee for the international Pushcart Prize, and author of works in publications ranging from Room to En Route to International Human Rights Arts. She teaches literature and creative writing at the University of British Columbia Okanagan.
Kevin Andrew Heslop (b. 1992, London, Canada) is the author of works for the page, stage, and screen.
Leslie Putnam is an arts educator and artist who engages the audience through multi sensorial sculptural and installation works. She has a lengthy exhibition resume and currently works from her studio in southern Ontario.
The trio and an array of local authors and artists look forward to connecting with people at these free events, celebrations of creativity and connection open to all.
