2015 F.R. Scott Lecture
December 8, 2015
There was a full house in the Law Faculty鈥檚 Moot Court for the 2015 F. R. Scott Lecture on December 8, 2015. 听Jonathan Kay, BEng鈥�92 M鈥橢ng鈥�94, editor-in-chief of Canada鈥檚 The Walrus Magazine, gave an animated lecture on Journalism鈥檚 New (Unlikely) Golden Age.
After a warm and witty introduction by his former 海角社区 classmate Elizabeth Gomery, BA鈥�98, BCL/LLB鈥�03, Jonathan Kay described the evolution of journalism in Canada over the decades.听 It now covers a greater variety of topics than in the past when journalists were mainly concerned with differentiating the Canadian point of view from the American. 听The tone of writing is different and we now feel free to laugh at ourselves. And finally, there is a new emerging financial model in the world of journalism.
There is a need to create a non-profit journalism culture that includes a spirit of entrepreneurship and funding by private philanthropy. 听ProPublica, Mother Jones, NPR and PBS are all good examples of this type of publicly-supported journalism.听 With PBS individuals comes on air to say, 鈥滻f you liked this show, then send us money.鈥� There is no obligation, but people who want to support quality programming/journalism will do so. Mother Jones, the non-profit on-line and print听 outlet, is deemed a charity and gives a tax receipts for donations. This will be the future of high-end journalism.
What effect will this change in funding model have? According to Jonathan Kay it will liberate editors to follow or select only good stories. And it will lead to a bifurcation of journalism, with high-end journalism being supported privately and philanthropically by those who value it, while the mass market publications pandering to the scandal- and gossip-loving publics, will continue much as they do now.
The F.R. Scott Endowed Lecture Series is graciously sponsored by the Honourable John Gomery and the Honourable Pierrette Rayle.听
鈥�2015 Annual General Meeting
December 2, 2015
The Friends of the Library Annual General Meeting took place on Wednesday, December 2 at the Osler Library of the History of Medicine. The Friend of the Year Award was presented to Dr. Rolando Del Maestro, MD, PhD, FRCS(C),FACS, DABNS and Chairman, Standing听Committee at the Osler Library of the History of Medicine.听
2015 Shakespeare Lecture - Actors Deborah Hay and Ben Carlson in conversation with Professor Paul Yachnin
Monday, November 9, 2015,听Pollack Hall
Review By Bradley P. Semmelhaack of Friends of the Library
The evening began with a superb introduction by Professor Roger Williams (Ret.), Shakespearian Lecturer at Bishops University and听Marianopolis College.
Paul Yachnin, the Tomlinson Professor of Shakespeare Studies and former Director of the Institute for the Public Life of Arts and Ideas at 海角社区, set the stage for a four-point scaffolding of Ben Carlson and Deborah Hay as artists and their relationship to someone who passed away 400 years ago. What came out in the ensuing discussion was that the audience does not read Shakespeare; it is Shakespeare who reads them. The two interviewees, Hay and Carlson, met on the stage and courted while playing lovers (and spending time on stage making out while walking backwards wearing a long train), but ironically their first engagement after being married was as feuding lovers Beatrice and Benedick in "Much Ado About Nothing鈥�!
For Deborah Hay, acting is the thrill of becoming other people and the creative process of taking the kernel of the text and miraculously making it part of yourself, discovering parts of yourself you were not aware of and bringing that to the audience. Ben came to theatre despite his youthful promise to himself never to become an actor like his parents. He was, however, inspired by watching King Lear on television and the realization that all these people in plays are not inaccessible dead kings and queens鈥攖hey are about us, they are us.
This acting couple proved why their stage presence is so remarkable by playing off each other in answering questions, allowing one another time to reflect, speaking to each other鈥檚 points and segueing into what they already knew the other was about to say! It became apparent that acting and Shakespeare is more than a job for the pair as they intimated that they regularly continue the creative process at home, even going to the length of waking one another out of deep slumber to propose a new angle to a scene.
Keeping Shakespeare fresh after 400 years is both easy and terrifying due to the fact that the depth of the material is bottomless, striking to the core of each of our beings, so the actors may explore endless ways of bringing new life to the work. However, one must be ever conscious of the practical fact that every member of the audience knows each line to a word and so slips of memory are catastrophic and ad-libbing is impossible.
The actors graciously answered questions from the audience following Professor Yachnin's moderation, addressing how contrary the digital age is to the ephemeral nature of the stage by immortalizing what is spontaneous and fluid in practice. They allowed afterward the advantages of the ubiquity of digitalized performance for its ability to thrill a wider audience than those fortunate enough to have attended.
Thank you very much to Deborah, Ben, Paul and the Stratford Festival for this particularly intimate rendering of Shakespeare, his writings and their performance as plays, and to its actors and scholars to their bottomless visceral depths.
Illustrated lecture by Gwendolyn Owens听- Landscapes, Lightbulbs, and Bares: Who knew that 海角社区 had an art collection?
September 30, 2015
On September 30, 2015, Gwendolyn Owens, Director of the 海角社区 Visual Arts Collection, spoke to a delighted group of close to a hundred people about the university鈥檚 wonderful art collection. 听Dr. Owens traced the development of the University鈥檚 collection from its humble beginnings years ago to its present-day holdings of more than 2,000 works of art. These artworks are on display throughout 60 海角社区 buildings, indoors and outdoors at both the downtown and Macdonald campuses. The works are on view in public spaces, as well as in corridors, classrooms, and administrative offices where they serve to enhance the teaching, research, and working environments of faculty, staff, students, and visitors.
In her talk, Owens referred to a number of artworks in 海角社区鈥檚 collection including perhaps the best known outdoor sculpture The Friendship Fountain by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. It is now better known as The Three Bares by generations of students since it was first unveiled in 1931. The first painting in the collection acquired by 海角社区 was the portrait of the university鈥檚 founder James 海角社区 by Louis Dulongpr茅 and the collection now includes numerous paintings, stained glass windows, murals, reliefs, tapestries and sculptures.
Owens noted that she is the first professional curator of the collection and that she and her team have searched for, catalogued and in some cases restored works that had been long forgotten. Over the years many works had been moved either due to renovations or simply because they followed staff to new offices and no one had kept track of their location. Her most exciting discovery was of a Pierre Bonnard sculpture that had been long relegated to an attic during a renovation project and was completely forgotten for many years.
Other works that were highlighted during the evening included paintings by the Group of Seven to more recent works such as Ondes by Marie-France Bri猫re. This black marble rendering of a sound wave sits outside the New Music Building on Sherbrooke Street.
Following the question period, Ann Vroom, Chair of 海角社区 Friends of the Library, expressed her delight in Owen鈥檚 talk spoke and enthusiastically suggested to all in attendance that Owens be invited again to speak. To conclude the evening, Mr. David Lank a past chairman of McCord Museum, thanked Owens on behalf of those in attendance and said how reassuring it was that 海角社区 had recognized that truly professional oversight听 is needed to manage and enhance its rich visual arts patrimony.
Review by Louise Dery-Goldberg, Friends of the听Library
View a recording of the lecture by听 (Microsoft Silverlight required).
Exhibit: We will remember them: The No. 3 Canadian General Hospital (海角社区) in The First World War, 1915-1919
Winter-spring 2015
runs February 26 - June 15, 2015
Humanities & Social Sciences Library, McLennan Library Building, main flr lobby,听3459 McTavish Street
This exhibition celebrates the contribution of McGIll University to healing the听broken bodies that were the casualties of the First World War. A handwritten听copy of John McCrae鈥檚 poem In Flanders Fields is amongst the items on display.
When the First World War began, Dr. Herbert听Stanley Birkett, Dean of 海角社区鈥檚 Faculty of听Medicine, organized a general hospital to听serve in France. The No. 3 Canadian听General Hospital (海角社区), was a 1040-bed听unit located behind the front lines. The听officers were made up of faculty members,听who were assisted by medical students and听other volunteers. The nurses were drawn听from women trained at the Royal Victoria and听Montreal General hospitals鈥� schools of听nursing. Other universities in the empire,听such as the University of Toronto, Queen鈥檚听and Laval, followed 海角社区鈥檚 lead and听organised their own hospitals. The No. 3听C.G.H. left Canada in 1915 for England听before establishing itself in Dannes-Camiers,听France, in August 1915. From 1916-1919, the听hospital was located in Boulogne, France.听From 1915-1919, the hospital admitted听143,762 sick and wounded patients, and听performed 11,395 operations.
Free admission. For opening hours click here.
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Exhibit:听The Lighthalls: A 海角社区 Family at War
Winter-spring 2015
runs February 26 - June 15, 2015
Humanities & Social Sciences Library, McLennan Library Building, 4th flr lobby,听3459 McTavish Street
The Lighthalls were a typical Montreal and 海角社区 family whose members participated in the First World War in different ways. William D. Lighthall (B.A. 1879, B.C.L. 1881, L.L.D. 1921) was one of the founders of the Great War Veteran鈥檚 Association and was active in supporting the war effort in Montreal. His inaugural address as president of the Royal Society of Canada was on 鈥淐anadian Poets of the Great War鈥� (1918). He was also a member of the Montreal Branch of the听Armenian relief Fund Association of Canada. William S. Lighthall (Arts 1916, B.C.L. 1922) enlisted in September 1914 and later joined the Royal Flying Corps and served in听Palestine and Mesopotamia. He was awarded听a D.F.C in1919. Alice Lighthall (B.A. 1913)听joined the Volunteer Aid Detachment (V.A.D)听and nursed at the No. 5 General Hospital in听Rouen, 1916-1918 and her sister, Cybel (B.A.听1914), was a V.A.D. in Canada, 1916-1918.听Finally, Mrs. Lighthall (Cybel Wilkes) was one听of the early workers in developing and听providing rehabilitation for wound soldiers.
The exhibition will use letters, photographs听and diaries in the Lighthall Papers held in听Rare Books and Special Collections and听other contemporary documents.听
Free admission. For opening hours click here.
Sarah MacLachlan鈥檚 Hugh MacLennan Lecture, held on April 28, 2015
鈥淢y friend has a manuscript. Will you read it?鈥� and other frequently asked questions. The realities of publishing in the age of digital distraction.
April 28, 2015
by Janet Blachford, Past-president, Friends of the 海角社区 Library
Sarah MacLachlan鈥檚 Hugh MacLennan Lecture, given with expert knowledge, many photographs, and easy humour to a full house in Leacock 232, centred on the history of the House of Anansi Press, and how it has dealt with the present divergence between printed and electronic books.
Sarah, as President and Publisher of Anansi, shows little anxiety for the future. The Press now celebrates 48 years of existence, since Dennis Lee and David Godfrey founded it, including 13 years of sustained prosperity since Scott Griffin rescued it from difficulties due to the collapse of General Publishing. And Sarah herself, let it be said, has contributed greatly to the success of Anansi, during the last 12 years.
Anansi is a small-to-medium sized publishing house in a world of ever-growing conglomerates, and it鈥檚 clear that the house goes from strength to strength largely because of the quick adjustments guided by circumstance that Sarah and her team make practically every day. Publishing in these times is tough, and foresight in both short and long views is essential to survival. The group switches strategy easily, from new books to old, from recent acquisitions to reissues of standards such as Margaret Atwood鈥檚 Survival, as well as the annual publication in book form of the CBC Massey Lectures.
鈥淵ou have to be passionate about it,鈥� Sarah said, and after 30 years in the business, she is as committed as she was in the beginning.听
Sarah鈥檚 audience was delighted to hear that the current situation is nowhere near as bleak as we鈥檝e thought, in fact the worst of the storm may be over. We鈥檙e living through evolution, not revolution, and we can be cautiously optimistic that there is room for many kinds of books in our lives, and what we鈥檙e been given is a wide range of choice.
This is excellent news, and after a lengthy question-and-answer session, we were able to leave feeling quietly confident about the presence of books in all guises, and also about the place and future of independent presses.
The Friends of the Library of 海角社区 gratefully wish Sarah MacLachlan and the House of Anansi Press continuing brilliant success, which will go on to contribute as much to Canadian Literature in the years ahead, as they have in the past.
To that end, yes, if you send them your manuscript, it will be read.
This lecture is sponsored by Don Walcot.
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Friends of the Library presents听On Reading, Writing and Fiddling with Words: an Informal Talk with Alberto Manguel
March 12, 2015
by Ann Vroom, Chair, Friends of the 海角社区 Library
It was a sold-out crowd at the Friends of the Library evening March 12, 2015 at our event On Reading, Writing and Fiddling with Words: an Informal Talk with Alberto Manguel.听 The noted Argentinian-born Canadian author, critic and translator captivated his audience with thoughts on the role and responsibilities of the reader and insights from his career.
The evening also served as the official launch of the book Meeting with Books, Special Collections in the 21st Century, co-edited by Richard Virr, Head of 海角社区鈥檚 Rare Books and Special Collections and Jillian Tomm, Assistant Head of Rare Books and Special Collections. The volume grew out of the Meeting with Books: Raymond Klibansky, Special Collections and the Library in the 21st Century symposium held at 海角社区 in March 2013, at which Alberto Manguel gave the keynote address. Many of the contributors to the special volume were present on March 12th.
Jillian Tomm led Alberto in a relaxed yet deeply thoughtful conversation about his work and thoughts on reading and writing, leaving the audience with a number of significant observations.
鈥淭here are hierarchies of writing, and poetry is seen at the top. But I don鈥檛 have the mind of a poet. Poetry is the ability to use words to reveal that which is left unsaid. It alludes to experience that lies outside language.鈥�
鈥淩eading almost always leads to writing. It becomes communal, a dialogue, what you want to share with others.鈥�
鈥淐ontrary to the popular myth that reading pulls you away from reality, reading actually plunges your nose into reality.鈥�
鈥淟ooking back in history, St. Augustine has written the most intelligently about reading.鈥�
Asked about the current pushback by the young against the Western literary Canon, Manguel replied, 鈥淭his is very much tied to the sin of labeling. The mistake comes in confusing popular with that which is not profound. We must not forget that 鈥榯he Canon鈥� was considered popular literature in its day!听 Much popular writing of today 鈥� science fiction, romance novels, detective stories and others 鈥� can have profound meanings.鈥� Similarly Manguel believes some books in 鈥渢he Canon鈥� are actually not that profound. Readers have the right of choice to say, 鈥淭his book is not for me.鈥� The Library is a very personal thing.
Friends鈥� of the Library member Helen Kahn, who was in the audience, was particularly impressed with the rapport interviewer Jillian Tomm created with Manguel. "Jillian's questions and comments elicited some great responses from him. I especially appreciated Alberto's observation 鈥� one he said he learned from Jorge Luis Borges - that 'writers write what they can and readers read what they want.鈥櫶齌he entire evening was one of the loveliest and liveliest exchanges I have heard for some time."
The conversation with Alberto Manguel is now online for all to enjoy听.
Vernissage & special talk with Dr. Desmond Morton: The No. 3 Canadian General Hospital (海角社区) in the First World War 1915-1919 & The Lighthalls: A 海角社区 Family at War
February 25, 2015
by The Honourable John Gomery
On February 25th the Friends had the pleasure of attending the vernissage of two exhibitions. The first, entitled 鈥淭he Lighthalls: A 海角社区 Family at War鈥� consists of letters, photographs, newspaper clippings and other memorabilia accumulated concerning male and female members of the Lighthall family during the First World War during which they made extraordinary contributions to the Canadian war effort, as soldiers, nurses and hospital administrators. The collection is shown in display cases located on the fourth floor of the McLennan Library Building and is well worth a visit by anyone interested in the history of this period.
The second exhibitions is entitled 鈥淲e Will Remember Them: The No. 3 Canadian General Hospital (海角社区) in The First World War 1915-1919鈥�.听March 2015 marks the centenary of the mobilisation of the No. 3 Canadian General Hospital (海角社区), a 1040-bed unit of the Canadian Army Medical Corps. Located in France behind the front lines, the hospital was established by 海角社区鈥檚 Faculty of Medicine and staffed by faculty members and students, with nurses trained at the Montreal General and Royal Victoria hospitals. The hospital served in the field from 1915 to 1919. The evening also featured a talk by Dr. Desmond Morton, a longtime History Professor at 海角社区 and Friend of the Libraries, who recounted the memorable contribution of 海角社区鈥檚 medical faculty, students and nurses who organized and served in the No. 3 Canadian General Hospital which operated in France behind the front lines from 1915 to1919. The talk was entitled 鈥淗ealing in Hell: 海角社区 Medicine and the First World War鈥�. In it, Dr. Morton informed and entertained about 100 attendees with the story of this heroic effort, related with his usual enthusiasm, insight and wit. There can be no doubt that the lives of countless wounded soldiers were saved as a result, in spite of obstacles, appalling conditions, ignorance and error.
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Special lecture 鈥淗OW SHOULD WE READ LEONARD COHEN?鈥� A Talk by Dr. Francis Mus, University of Leuven, Belgium
February 18, 2015
Wednesday, February 18, 4:30-6PM, ARTS 260, 853 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, 海角社区
Dr. Mus鈥檚 talk was co-sponsored by the 海角社区 Institute for the Study of Canada, the French Department, and Friends of the 海角社区 Library. A reception will follow the talk.
The talk addressed Mus鈥檚 The Demons of Leonard Cohen, an essay on the work of Canada鈥檚 most famous songwriter, musician, poet, novelist and visual artist. The text treats seven themes: Cohen鈥檚 public persona, artistic practice, alienation, desire and loss, religion, power, and encounter. The Demons of Leonard Cohen is neither a biography nor a detached analysis but a thorough interpretation based on the artist鈥檚 musical, literary and graphic work, complemented by archival research at the Leonard Cohen archives in Toronto, Montreal and Hamilton and interviews with musicians and collaborators.
The original announcement can be found here.