April 19, 2010

Copied from the BC Book Prize Tour blog:

Kari-Lynn & Kristin with students at Riverview Elementary, Quesnel (click for larger image). See more pics on Flickr.

The hardest part of any tour is when it’s time to say goodbye.

But then, change is inevitable, isn’t it? The universe widens when you meet new people and travel to new places.

Experiences such as these offer opportunities to observe and be a part of something bigger than yourself. Here are some of the tour highlights that widened my world:

• Chats with Cathleen With on the flight to Terrace: As some of you know, Cathleen and I went to school together in the creative writing department at UBC (in Alison Acheson’s class). It was wonderful to re-connect. And Hawk Air is the best airline—they still feed you lunch!
• Being taken care of in Terrace and then later in Prince George: Special thanks to the Coast Hotels.
• Returning to the Terrace Art Gallery: Cheers to the knowledgeable librarians (including Jess), to local zinester, Erika and to Anne from Misty River Books. I wrote about this gallery space in my dissertation, Authorship as Assemblage (available online), so it was intriguing to return.
• An afternoon with Sammy Robinson: Hearing about his creative process and seeing his incredible and secret work space are memories that I hope I never forget.
• Eating at Sea Masters while watching the sea lions play.
• Van rides: Cathleen, Michael, Kristin, Bryan, you guys ARE a rowdy group. I laughed until my stomach ached. I loved our joyrides. Thanks to National Car rental for making this possible. While traveling, we saw wildlife too (though we never stopped)—eagles, a coyote, and even a spirit bear!
• The Skeena Bakery and Rob’s Restaurant in Hazelton. Yummy!
• Discovering that many schools are being closed in BC—incredible, well run schools: I had heard about these closures, but thought that they were old schools that needed a lot of work (e.g., new roofs, more modern interiors, etc.), boy was I wrong! Modern and well-run schools like South Hazelton are being closed all over the province.
• Chats with Melanie and the others at the Learning Shop: I love how you are working to better the community, working with the youth of Hazelton and helping them to make a difference.
• Reading our books in special (and sometimes even magical spaces) like the Kitimat Library, The Museum of Northern BC, Books and Company, and in many of the northern schools and libraries.
• Meeting Susan Juby’s mom in Smithers: Susan Juby was one of my writing teachers. It was great to meet her mom.
• Walking around Quesnel: What a quaint and incredible community you have!
• Discovering that people all over the province just want to have fun: Thanks to all of you who wore a hat and joined the performance.
• Meeting life-long pals: It is wonderful to know that, all the mountains and rivers in the world cannot separate my new friends—whose hearts, for a moment in time, beat together as one.

Thanks to everyone involved, who helped make this tour happen. My world is newly widened.