by Scott Hayes
The lights are on and the writer in residence is home … and a bit ahead of her ETA too.
“This is my soft launch,” Gail Sidonie Sobat advised from her window seat overlooking the grassy knolls surrounding St. Albert Place.
The regional writer in residence has officially set herself up on the second floor of the St. Albert Public Library since July 13, approximately a month and a half before her scheduled arrival. As part of the program, she has spent 2015 in four-month stints at each of the Strathcona County and Fort Saskatchewan libraries.
Her schedule at that last one was interrupted, it seemed, but Sobat noted that it was all part of the game plan anyway. Formerly a teacher at Paul Kane, Bellerose and W.D. Cuts, she clarified that the calendar wasn’t rejigged so much as there might have been a kind of prorating of time at hand.
“I think … certain libraries contributed more funds than did others so they get more of my time,” she enthused.
She has already been getting a strong response from the public and has offered help and advice to a number of local budding authors of all stripes. She will remain in office until Aug. 13 when she is set to take a few weeks off before the fall arrives.
“September is the ‘real’ launch for Gail and that's when we'll start to have writing workshops,” stated library director Peter Bailey.
She will be conducting a series of special workshops each month of her stay, starting with Found Object, Found Art, Found Poetry on her first day back to work on Sept. 8.
She follows that up with Steampunk, Fantasy and Sword (or Lightsaber) Play on Oct. 13 and Get a Life! Writing in Role on Nov. 9. A wrap-up event called Wine and Words is slated for the evening of Dec. 14 at the University of Alberta Faculty Club.
The regional writer in residence is a program of the Metro Edmonton Federation of Libraries, a partnership between Fort Saskatchewan, Strathcona County, St. Albert and Edmonton Public Libraries. The federation works to share resources and collaborate on programs. The arrangement has been of great benefit to all, Bailey added.
Sobat’s counterpart is Edmonton Journal writer Elizabeth Withey who is spending the full year stationed in her office within the Edmonton Public Library. Bailey said that the program has had a terrific response since it started in January 2012.
“There are lots of budding writers out in our community, eager to have comments, critique, and help with their work. It is another great way the library meets the needs of the community around literacy, lifelong learning and community building.”
People can contact Sobat via email at [email protected] or by phone at 780-240-1194.
For more information about the program and to read the writer in residence blog, visit www.metrowir.com.
