TRINITY ALUMNI MAGAZINE SUMMER 2011 trinityTRINITY ALUMNI MAGAZINE WINTER 2011 a gifted storyteller actor Caterina Scorsone settles into her role Plus: why Canada needs a national energy strategy now & the return of the Vikings provost’smessage Back to the Future The rest is yet to come The end of the academic year brings a familiar rhythm that Ridley and others from whence our core has come through the never fails to delight and surprise. A new low-table appreciation years. I note only that there is space in those windows for other night for student leaders was a great addition to the usual round names to appear. Likewise, I find it charming that the program of recognition for incoming and outgoing Heads and Dons. for the other east windows in Strachan remains unfinished: The Divinity Convocation allowed us to salute our graduating while the Biblical Hebrew of David, the Ancient Greek of students and honour three people who themselves have hon- Sophocles, the Medieval German of Walther von der Vogel- oured the College by their superb achievements beyond these weide (spot the odd man out?), the Humanist Latin of Petrarch walls – namely, the Rev. Dr. Brent Hawkes Div ’86, the Rev. and the English of Shakespeare may once have spanned the Canon John Hill and Steve Otto ’61. At Convocation at the world, there is still more, surely, to be written on these walls. University of Toronto, our own Malcolm Gladwell ’84 and Craig There is a stain on the ceiling that (I am told) testifies to an Kielberger ’07 received honorary degrees, and each delivered ancient food fight long forgotten. I pass over the portraits of my a Convocation address. In the same Janus-faced perspective, predecessors, happy in the knowledge that there is no room for reunion remains one of the events in the year I most look for- me among the great men and, so far, single woman on the walls; ward too, even if it looks back, because I get to see so many who some problems are best left to others, after all. Best of all to me still feel that this place gave them so much. is the blue strip running round the hall, crying out for inscrip- A similar sensitivity to past and present seizes us as we plan tion; I wonder what the next generation will write. I continue to for a major renovation, in the summer of 2012, of the kitchen cherish the notion that here at Trinity, the past is all around us, and Strachan Hall, places that for all of us symbolize the very ever subject to re-evaluation and renewal. heart of the College. The fireplace is suitably inflammatory, As I write this, I am appropriately troubled by an old theme: with its carving of the arms of provost Cosgrave (in Irish, the “All day in the one chair / From dream to dream and rhyme to name means “victorious”), of the College (the motto met’ agona rhyme I have ranged / In rambling talk with an image of air: / stephanos means “after the contest, the crown”) and of Gerald Vague memories, nothing but memories.” So says Yeats in his Larkin. Quite why the Larkin family adopted the motto oderint poem “Broken Dreams,” which once haunted my youth. But dum metuant (“let them hate as long as they fear”), an aphorism Trinity is about making dreams, not breaking them, so in what I that Caligula often quoted, is unknown, but in a place where guess passes for my maturity I choose to go rather with Tolkien’s both aspiration and achievement are valued, fear should give lighter and somewhat sunnier take when it comes to these walls way to respect, as the Latin verb allows. The east windows of and halls, and all those generations that have shared and continue Strachan Hall I similarly find both an inspiration and a standing to share moments here: “Beyond them is more than memory.” rebuke. In the Oriel Window stand the coats of arms of those institutions with which we have been historically affiliated, including Trinity Colleges at Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin, our federated confrères at Vic and St Mike’s, as well as University College (but not the University of Toronto itself!) ANDY ORCHARD and a whole host of schools such as UTS, TCS, UCC, Appleby, Provost and Vice-Chancellor 2 TRINITY ALUMNI MAGAZINE trinitySUMMER 2011 VOLUME 48 NUMBER 2 Features 8 Point of view Canada has no national strategy on energy, argues Alex Wood, an issue we’ve been ignoring at our peril 10 A foodie by trade It’s Chris Leggett’s job to care about what Canadians put in their bellies BY DANA LACEY 12 From the twin towers to the Tea Party New York Times writer Kate Zernike has reported on America’s biggest news stories of the past decade BY RICK MCGINNIS 14 Launching The Elder Edda Andy Orchard’s new translation of Viking poetry revives the raiders’ spirit BY JOHN ALLEMANG 16 A story of her own Caterina Scorsone finds a way to give back to the world BY CYNTHIA MACDONALD Departments 4 Nota bene Dispatches from campus 16 24 Alumni at large Story arcs, dialogue and the magical muse Published three times a year by Trinity College, Editor: Lisa Paul; [email protected] BY TASSIE CAMERON University of Toronto, 6 Hoskin Avenue, Editorial Co-ordinator: Jill Rooksby Toronto, M5S 1H8 Art Direction and Design: Fresh Art & Design Inc. Office of Development and Alumni Affairs Cover Photographer: Larsen & Talbert 26 Class notes Phone: 416-978-2651; Fax: 416-971-3193 Publications Mail Agreement 40010503 E-mail: [email protected] News from classmates [email protected] near and far Trinity is sent to 14,000 alumni, parents, friends and associates of the College. Trinity College complies with the Ontario Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. We 31 Calendar protect your personal information and do not rent Things to see, hear and do or sell our mailing list. If you do not wish to receive the magazine or wish in the coming months only to receive it electronically, please contact us. SUMMER 2011 3 notabene dispatcHES FROM CAMPUS MIDT H SC O N AR HY: HY: OTOGRAP PH Recent Trin grad Celia Schmidt worked in the College’s John W. Graham Library and the Trinity Archives. She is currently doing an internship at Library & Archives Canada. Historical Significance Celia Schmidt ’10 is spending her summer in the past. complemented by my time at LAC already.” One of four students selected to do a prestigious internship at Since starting the internship on May 18, she has participated Library & Archives Canada (LAC), Schmidt is working in Ottawa, in in record-keeping methodology training for the entire Society and the Government, Aboriginal, North and Transport (GANT) Section of Governance Branch, which “was extremely exciting as it is really at the Society and Governance Branch. “Basically, I work with govern- the forefront of the Canadian archival landscape.” She adds: “I have ment records,” she says by way of explanation. also been made responsible for handling the access to information During her undergrad years at Trinity, Schmidt worked as a requests that pertain to the Indian Residential Schools system and to student assistant in the John W. Graham Library and then in the the department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development.” Trinity Archives for almost two years. “I really owe all of this to While Schmidt is enjoying her work at LAC immensely, and Sylvia Lassam, Trinity’s Rolph-Bell Archivist, who inspired me relishing the opportunity to play tourist in the nation’s capital, she with her love of archives and who shared with me the wealth of says working at the Trinity Archives has left her with a “soft spot for knowledge she possesses.” smaller archives in which the archivist has the opportunity to encoun- Currently, Schmidt is pursuing a Master of Information in ter a greater breadth of records and to engage with them, as well as Archives and Records Management through the Faculty of Infor- with donors and users, in multiple respects, rather than contributing mation at U of T, a degree that she says “has been immeasurably a single part to the whole.” 4 TRINITY ALUMNI MAGAZINE Snapshots of Reunion Creative Pursuits Trinity’s artistic side just keeps growing. The past few months saw students organize a slew of successful arts-focused events. There was a cabaret put on in early January, followed by the fifth annual Trinity art IU L show – this year called If These Walls – in early March. RIS I T In late March, there was a production of the musical EN Rent. Then, in April, this year’s edition of the Trinity STUD AR University Review was launched, and the Trinity -YE D photography club held its first official annual member N CO E S competition. Iris Liu took home the most firsts, also HY: HY: winning the inaugural Trinity Magazine Excellence in Photography Award, sponsored by the Office of Devel- OTOGRAP opment and Alumni Affairs. This award was created to PH recognize a Trinity student who has shown remarkable Didn’t get a chance to make it to this year’s fabulous reunion? dedication to the pursuit of photography throughout the Or just want to look back at some highlights from the various school year, has produced a portfolio of high-quality events and parties? Check out our online photo gallery on the images spanning a range of styles and subject matter Trinity College homepage or on our Facebook page.