David Adams Richards

At VIWF event #56, Possibilities of Hope, four authors converged to discuss their new works of fiction, books written about troubled, working class men trapped in cycles of struggle. Whether pushed to violence, forced into uncomfortable scenarios or unable to access their own feelings these men are held by forces that prohibit them from moving forward.

During the ensuing conversation and question and answer period issues of violence, poverty, education and emotional communication were addressed and the words redneck and rural punctuated many a sentence.

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Last night I attended my first intimate evening – there is one each night of the festival. If you have a chance, do go. In fact, if you see this on Saturday, stop reading and get in the car. You can still get to Granville Island in time for An Intimate Evening with Aminatta Forna. The audience will be full of other authors, because the buzz amongst writers at the festival this week is that Aminatta is a writer to watch. 

In any case, last night I attended An Intimate Evening with David Adams Richards. I have long admired Richards' work. I have to say I read very little literary fiction – you may have noticed from my posts this week that crime fiction is more my thing. But I have read most of Richards’ books. He is a master at writing about the motivation behind people’s actions, and that is something every crime fiction writer needs to understand. His stories of everyday people and the choices they make, or are forced to make because of the circumstances in their lives, are utterly compelling, and completely heart-wrenching.

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Event 10: The Dish

Doug Gibson is one of the best storytellers I have ever met. Combine that
with his close friendship and working relationships with Robertson Davies,
Alice Munro, Alistair MacLeod, W.O. Mitchell and many more and you have the
makings for an entertaining evening event.

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