John Ralston Saul
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2009Guelph Lecture Series Program:Layout 1 12/2/09 11:30 AM Page 1 7th ANNUAL ON BEING CANADIAN Presented by: eramosa.org WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 9, 2009 JOHN RALSTON SAUL Shelley Ambrose Kevin Breit Sandra Birdsell Emcee Musician Author 2009Guelph Lecture Series Program:Layout 1 12/2/09 11:30 AM Page 2 2009Guelph Lecture Series Program:Layout 1 12/2/09 11:30 AM Page 3 presents... The Guelph Lecture - On Being Canadian Wednesday, December 9, 2009 River Run Centre, Guelph, Ontario Pre-Show Performance: Kevin Breit and guest Russell Boswell Welcome: Karen Farbridge, Mayor of Guelph Emcee: Shelley Ambrose Literary Presentation: Sandra Birdsell Musical Performance: Kevin Breit and guest Russell Boswell Intermission: 15 Minutes The Guelph Lecture - On Being Canadian John Ralston Saul Question and Answer Opportunity Audience participation Thanks to Speakers: In’am Carere, Partner, Business Development, C&I Technologies Reception Catered by University of Guelph, Hospitality Services Our Thanks to Colley Insurance and Chubb Insurance for sponsoring the reception Print Media Partners For The Guelph Lecture - On Being Canadian 2009Guelph Lecture Series Program:Layout 1 12/2/09 11:30 AM Page 4 OFFICE OF THE MAYOR City Hall, 1 Carden Street Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1H 3A1 Telephone: (519) 837-5643 Fax: (519) 822-8277 www.city.guelph.ca A Message from the Mayor of Guelph! Welcome. On behalf of the City of Guelph and its citizens, I am pleased to welcome John Ralston Saul, Kevin Breit, Sandra Birdsell and Shelley Ambrose to the River Run Centre for The Guelph Lecture – On Being Canadian. We are thrilled to have you here. This evening would not be possible without the efforts of many dedicated volunteers. Tothem, and to the many sponsors, I’d like to express my thanks. The Guelph Lecture – On Being Canadian offers a unique forum for an important community conversation about our place in the world. This conversation is particularly relevant in light of the City of Guelph’s vision of making a difference, both here at home and beyond our borders. I am sure that tonight’s program will be a great inspiration to us all. Sincerely, Karen Farbridge Mayor Once again, The Guelph Lecture - On Being Canadian has brought to the Royal City stunning Canadian talent. Inspiring and thought-provoking, this evening’s program will stimulate critical dialogue about the Canadian identity and place in the world and I am proud to see the program so admirably complements the values of the University of Guelph Community. Congratulations on your success in contributing to what makes Guelph a truly remarkable place. Best wishes, Alastair J. S. Summerlee, LLD, BSc, BVSc, PhD, MRCVS President and Vice-Chancellor 2009Guelph Lecture Series Program:Layout 1 12/2/09 11:30 AM Page 5 CIGI is Proud to Sponsor: The 7th Annual Guelph Lecture - On Being Canadian Featuring: John Ralston Saul 2009Guelph Lecture Series Program:Layout 1 12/2/09 11:30 AM Page 6 2009Guelph Lecture Series Program:Layout 1 12/2/09 11:30 AM Page 7 2009Guelph Lecture Series Program:Layout 1 12/2/09 11:30 AM Page 8 Cultural 2009Guelph Lecture Series Program:Layout 1 12/2/09 11:30 AM Page 9 Partners Our thanks ... to the most awarded magazine in Canada! The Eramosa Institute wants to thank The Walrus Foundation and Shelley Ambrose — its Executive Director and Co-Publisher who is also our guest emcee — for making available complimentary copies of the latest issue of The Walrus. Be sure to pick up yours on your way out of the theatre. Launched in September 2003, The Walrus has a straightforward mandate: to be a national general interest magazine about Canada and its place in the world. They are committed to publishing the best work by the best writers from Canada and elsewhere on a wide range of topics for readers who are curious about the world. Inside the magazine you will also find an opportunity to subscribe (for less than $2.98 an issue). Why not consider The Walrus for those on your holiday list? And since The Walrus is published by The Walrus Foundation, a charitable non-profit organization that exists to promote public discourse on matters vital to our country, they also welcome donations to help protect their independence and excellence, two of the qualities that garnered them the 2009 Utne Independent Press Award for Best Writing. The award is “...to honor independently minded publications that don’t shy away from tough stories and innovative ideas.” “The Walrus is a magazine about Canada and its place in the world.” TransCanada Institute, with support from the Canada Council, is pleased to be a partner with the Eramosa Institute in presenting the 2009 Guelph Lecture — On Being Canadian. This evening is an extension into the community of our campus effort to offer a live and intellectually stimulating environment that is ideal for research and collaboration. We appreciate Sandra Birdsell’s willingness to take on this greater role and to extend her stay with us. TransCanada Institute, established by the Canada Research Chair in Critical Studies in Canadian Literature and a Canada Foundation for Innovation grant, is an interdisciplinary research environment whose primary goal is to initiate, facilitate, and produce collaborative research on the institutional and disciplinary structures, methodologies, pedagogies, and contexts that shape the production and study of Canadian literature and culture in Canada, as well as globally. Visit us at http://www.transcanadas.ca 2009Guelph Lecture Series Program:Layout 1 12/2/09 11:30 AM Page 10 Keynote Speaker Saul, sometimes called “one of Canada’s great political and economic thinkers,” is internationally recognized, having published ten works of non-fiction and five novels. He has been awarded the Premio Lettarario Internazionale (Italy), the Pablo Neruda Medal and the Governor Gen- eral’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction. Twice he has received the Gordon Montador Award for Best Canadian Book on Social Issues, and he was chosen by Maclean’s as the writer of one of the best non-fiction books of the twentieth century. Saul is best known for his critique of contemporary economic arguments and for his commentaries on the nature of individualism, citizenship and the public good; on the role of freedom of speech and culture; on the failures of managerially/technocratically led societies; and on military strategy -- in particular irregular warfare. He is a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres de France (1996) and a Companion of the Order of Canada (1999). He is currently General Editor of the Penguin “Extraordinary Canadians” project, a series which will feature inspired pairings of writers and subjects and will seek to reinterpret important Canadian figures for a contemporary audience. JOHN RALSTON SAUL As well, Saul is Co-Chair of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and this fall was elected President of International PEN. He has 13 honourary degrees from institutions ranging from McGill and the l’Université d’Ottawa to Herzen State Pedagogical University in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was born in Ottawa. He studied at McGill University and the University of London, where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1972. Kevin Breit - Musical Performance Kevin Breit is easily one of Canada’s best guitar players. His style defies definition and fluidly contains elements of jazz, pop, rock, R ‘n’ B and country. Born in a small town in Northern Ontario, Breit is the youngest of seven children and was born to musical parents. Self-taught, he has recorded with the likes of Norah Jones, Cassandra Wilson, Rosanne Cash, k. d. Lang, Holly Cole, Janis Ian, Marc Jordan and Sass Jordan. When Kevin is not in session with these legendary artists or touring he performs in his own award-winning bands; Sisters Euclid, FolkAlarm and the Tallboys; all collaborative projects in which Breit is a central figure. Sisters Euclid recently won the National Jazz Award for Best Electric Band in 2009 and in 2007 the Sisters won a Juno for Best Instrumental Album of the Year. As well, in 2004 the Toronto Musician’s Union recognized and honoured Breit with the prestigious “Musician of the Year” award. Sandra Birdsell - Literary Reading Sandra Birdsell is the author of six novels and three volumes of short stories. She has been awarded the WH Smith/Books in Canada first novel award, The McNally Robinson prize for the best book, and was short-listed for the Governor General’s Award. A volume of her short stories also received a Governor General nomination for fiction. As well, “The Russländer,” a best selling novel published in 2001 was nominated for the prestigious Giller Prize. Tonight Birdsell will read from “Waiting For Joe” a novel to be published by Random House Canada in 2010. Sandra Birdsell has been a writer in residence at various universities across the country,most recently at the University of Winnipeg as the Carol Shields Writer in Residence. She lives in Regina Saskatchewan. 2009Guelph Lecture Series Program:Layout 1 12/2/09 11:30 AM Page 11 Shelley Ambrose - Emcee Shelley Ambrose is The Walrus Magazine’s Executive Director and Co-Publisher. She returned to Toronto last year after spending three years in public affairs, branding Canada and organizing events and media, at the Canadian Consulate in New York. She is a former radio producer – for more than decade with Peter Gzowski at CBC Radio’s Morningside; and a former TV producer – for current affairs and news programs including producing the Pamela Wallin show.Shelley has produced hundreds of events – including on-stage conversations, forums, lectures, festivals, golf tournaments, book tours, Arctic tours, royal visits (and was one of the producers of Bill Clinton’s 60th birthday events in September 2006 in Toronto and New York).