Things still murky at Dark End of the Street

The Dark End of the Street was an event billed as having five authors who would "shine a light on the events, relationships and communities that exist in the darker parts of our cities and society." It took place on Wednesday night at the Waterfront Theatre and featured Sandra Birdsell, Michael Helm, Mauricio Segura, Russell Wangersky and Michael Winter with host Genni Gunn. I sat near the back in a lonely row, with my black notebook and inky-scratchy black pen, ready for grit.

Michael Winter, of both Toronto and St. John's, was the first of the two handsome Michaels (oh, the rakish charm!) to read. His new novel, The Death of Donna Whalen, is based on a true story, which Winter originally attempted as nonfiction. "I tried to do a Capote-like narrative, but that was making me feel really bad," said Winter. He still went through 10,000 or so court documents from the real murder (of Brenda Young, one can deduct from Google) but writing fiction felt less exploitive. The excerpt he read was just as excerpts should be—we got to enter the story at an accessible place where we couldn't get too lost, and were left on the tantalizing edge of things.

Chilean-born author Mauricio Segura, hailing from Montreal, was up next with his first book, Black Alley, which was recently translated into English. Even though I don't understand Spanish, I longed to hear the words in Segura's native tongue, as his second language from his mouth made the words sound as though they weren't his own. It was a reminder as to how much of literature is about musicality. If anything, the reading left me curious about Segura, a well-known journalist and commentator on immigrant issues.

Saskatchewan's Sandra Birdsell was the middle reader. Her excerpt from Waiting for Joe took place in a Walmart parking lot in Regina. Her eight books have received critical acclaim and a number literary prizes and nominations, but her reading was hard to follow. I'll admit it: I zoned. However, I’ll also confess that it could’ve just been me.

Russell Wangersky, also from St. John's, was up fourth with The Glass Harmonica, which he described as "a whodunit and who the hell didn't."  He began by showing off his book cover. "I don't feel like I belong on a dark panel. Look how cheerful my cover is," he said. "Mind you, someone gets killed with a snow shovel on page eight." And with that he resurrected the energy in the theatre that seemed to have dropped during the prior two readings.

Toronto's Michael Helm was up last with Cities of Refuge. As someone who has organized readings for the last ten or so years, Helm did something that garners points in my book every time. He began by acknowledging the VIWRF and all the work done by Hal Wake, Clea Young and others, the volunteers, the other authors and the audience (here! here!). He then read from the opening scene of his novel. "I shouldn't really have to set it up... if I did it'd mean I'd made a big mistake," he joshed. He then read the excerpt, heavy on well-written exposition and sounding like he was doing a film noir voice-over without the whiskey and cigarettes.

Readings aside, Genni Gunn guided the Q&A. She observed that all of the five books read from began with death—symbolic or real—or crime. She wanted to know why each of the authors chose their premise.

Wangersky said he started out wanting to write about witnesses. "The reverse of a mystery," he said.

Birdsell wanted to write about loss, as inspired by the US Bible belt during the economic crisis. She wanted to know how those people coped with faith during the crisis.

Segura said he wanted "to begin with an absence" and "to confront violence honestly."

The Michaels' answers, seem to have been lost in my notebook to bad handwriting. (Note to Self: Sloppy work. Room for improvement.) Winter did however comment that he was getting into too much trouble with his family and friends."

"I'm in trouble with my whole street," said Wangersky.

"I'm in trouble with my family," said Birdsell.

For a brief moment, their confessions made it feel like we were at a Writers Anonymous meeting.

The Q&A struggled a bit from there. Something about the chemistry was off. This happens in the world of readings and panels at times. You can't predict when authors are going to appear so awkward together that their body language imitates that of those who’ve just had too much dinner. It made me want each of the writers on their own—or perhaps the Michaels together and off leash.

Here are some things that stuck out for me in the conversation though. Helm talked about how "looking at an atrocity with a level gaze is hopeful." (I would've loved to hear an expansion of that.)

Birdsell said that when she was writing Waiting for Joe she had to go swimming afterwards, presumably to cleanse herself from the dark material. "We put ourselves through a great deal as writers," she said.

Gunn noted that all of the authors' books employ multiple points of view. Winter said that for him, "all first person felt like a lot of people shouting. Third person with vernacular was a better mix."

Gunn asked for questions from the audience at some point but we weren't on our toes yet and no hands were raised. I began furiously queries in my head.

Things came to life on stage again when Gunn described the protagonists in each novel as being resigned. In a rather exciting moment, Winter told Gunn that he thought she was wrong about that.

"They're all waiting for their place in the bad luck lottery," said Wangersky.

"Serious novels today are very influenced by tragedy," said Segura. "They do not win, but they do fight."

And then time was up and there was no further opportunity to ask questions, and it felt like the event hadn't yet fulfilled its promise to... to what? To illuminate why authors go down dark streets, I suppose. To talk about why it’s necessary (or not) to explore the dark side and what role edification plays (if indeed it has a role). In other words, I left feeling as though things were still murky at the dark end of the street, though if I were to meet any one of the featured authors at the end of a dark street I’d want a chance to pick his/her brain.