At Wakefield La Pêche Writers Festival

Lively literary arts spice up program

The high energy and passionate tone of Hélène Giroux, director of the Wakefield Writers Festival des écrivains La Pêche, was palpable as she spoke to the Bulletin recently about the upcoming event’s fourth year, running May 3, 12, 13, 14.

“We have such a spectacular, varied lineup of authors, artists and events as we add cultural diversity and potency — we really do want to honour our tagline, ‘Celebrate the beauty and impact of words’, she said, adding “We are grounded in Wakefield La Pêche yet wish to pierce through and go beyond its boundaries.”

“We strive to offer the highest quality writers festival while remaining a fun and accessible community literary happening” she qualified, pointing out that “We are the only bilingual literary festival in the Outaouais and Western Québec.”

Talented local scribes will be showcased at Writers Pride; sex, gender identity and spoken word are on tap at the Pub Crawl; In Conversation will inform social justice and activism; and the Tête-à-Tête promises to enchant with magic realism and humour on contemporary topics with acclaimed authors Heather O’Neill and Terry Fallis.

For those wishing to hone their writing skills, workshops will guide in the craft of writing; dance, poetry and graphic art will dazzle at Chaos Lab; realms known and unknown will be at the heart of La Pêche des mots; while the foreign shifts into the familiar at In Other Words.

True to its spirit of creating appealing spaces, village venues include Centre Wakefield La Pêche, Ski Vorlage, Café Molo, Belle de Nuit B&B, Kaffé 1870 and Le Hibou. Local personalities Sheena Turcotte, Phil Jenkins and Laurie Gough will be on hand, along with poet Guy Jean, Leacock Humour Award winner Terry Fallis and CBC broadcaster Adrian Harewood.

In an essay titled “Relevance of the Wakefield Writers Festival des écrivains La Pêche”, Wakefield poetry doyenne Ilse Turnsen wrote that this festival “provides an opportunity for citizens to nurture writers, who, in turn, nurture our sensibilities, and to participate directly in a creative process which, rather than being frivolous, shines at the very heart of what it is to be human.”

For more information go to: www.writersfete.com