Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

  IT IS A DOG’S LIFE IN THE WORLD OF ANDRE ALEXIS Woof. Woof. Who let the dogs out? The Crow’s Nest Theatre in downtown Toronto is quick to answer that it is Caribbean Canadian author Andre Alexis who is to blame.   For almost two weeks the Carlaw Avenue theatre has been selling out each and every performance of their new play “Fifteen Dogs”.  The new work is based on the award winning novel  by Alexis which won the Giller Prize, the  Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, and Canada Reads   back in 2015.    The book has been adapted for the stage by  Marie Farsi and has received funding in part from  The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation  and the Canadian Literature Adaptation Fund.    The play follows the book storyline which begins with two Greek Gods – Hermes and Apollo, drinking in a seedy Toronto tavern. They make a bet to what will happen when they grant 15 dogs human consciousness. They watch from above as the pups discover the pitfalls of complex thought and emotion. In this mo

David Rudder joins very elite group of noteable Caribbean people STEPHEN WEIR Next time that Calypso singer David Rudder appears on stage, the audience should give him his new dues by shouting out as loud as possible Cheers  To The Honourable King David! Earlier this month the Trinidadian Canadian performer received the Order of The Caribbean Community (OCC).  The award bestows  styling  The Honourable  upon Rudder’s name! Rudder, who is often referred as King David,  was in Port of Spain on the 10 th  of August to receive the prestigious award at the Diplomatic Centre in St, Ann’s. According to an information bulletin of Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs the decision to award 69-year old Rudder the OCC was made  back in July at the annual   Caribbean Community and Common Market   (CARICOM) Heads of Government Conference in Suriname. The Honourable David Rudder was unable to attend that event and so the presentation ceremony was moved to T&T on August 1

Ian Williams reaches the Stars with his Poems and Books By Stephen Weir One day earlier this month Trinidadian Canadian writer Ian Williams passed over from being a rising talent to that of an honest to goodness literary star.  In September the award winning poet and author was made a spokesman for Canada’s richest fiction prize, was featured in an exclusive magazine for the country’s well-heeled and oversaw the publishing of his new book of poems. Williams was born in Trinidad in 1979 and moved to Brampton with his family when he was 9.   He earned his PHD at the University of Toronto and is currently a professor of poetry at the University of British Columbia. Last year his first novel, Reproduction won the $100,000 Giller Prize and was shortlisted for two other significant Canadian book prizes. Williams’s poetry books have been shortlisted and won many Canadian Literary Prizes!  W ord Problems , his latest book is a mash-up of poetry and prose and is currently being printed

 Simone Dalton captures a top writing award Writer and Pan Player Simone Dalton is keeping a Trinidadian Canadian tradition alive.  The young writer has just won the 2020 RBC Taylor Prize Emerging Author Award making her the 5th Trinidadian Canadian to win a major Canadian writing prize in the past decade. Simone Dalton is a long-time tenor pan player with Toronto Panatics and an author that one magazine declared is one of “20 Black Writers to Read All Year Round!”. Dalton earned an MFA from the University of Guelph. Her work has been published in The Unpublished City: Volume I, and in the anthology, Black Writers Matter. In 2019, her inaugural short play, VOWS, debuted at Soulpepper as part of RARE Theatre’s production, Welcome to My Underworld. She is now working on her first memoir and is currently living in Boston. Dalton won the Award yesterday, thanks to another writer, Ottawa historian Mark Bourrie.  Early this month he won the 2020 RBC Taylor Prize for his book Bus

                         Salad Days of Literature Brings Lots Of Cabbage to Ian Williams These are salad days for Caribbean Canadian authors. Earlier this week another Trinidadian-born author won big, really big, and the country has sat up and taken notice. On Tuesday evening  Ian Williams  won the 2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize for his very first novel “ Reproduction ”, published by Random House Canada, taking home $100,000. Earlier this month Trinidadian Canadian author  André Alexis  won big as well capturing the $50,000 Writers’ Trust fiction prize for his English language novel “ Days by Moonlight ”. He is only the second author in the country to capture the award twice. Days by Moonlight  is his seventh novel. The book is about Alfred Homer who takes a Southern Ontario road trip to investigate the story of John Skennen, a poet whose ghost haunts a few souls around the province. If the two men won big, two other writers Trinidadian Canadians  David Chariandy  a

Michele Pearson Clarke Selected as Toronto’s Second Photo Laureate by City Council Toronto’s next Photo Laureate will be Michele Pearson Clarke, pending Toronto City Council approval on April 16. She will be the second photographer to hold this position. Featured widely at exhibitions in Canada and the U.S.,Michele Pearson Clarke works primarily in photography, film, video and installation. Using archival, performative and process-oriented strategies, she explores the personal and political by considering experiences related to longing and loss. Born in Trinidad and now based in Toronto, Clarke holds an MSW from the University of Toronto, and received her MFA from Ryerson. She is currently a lecturer in the Documentary Media Studies program at Ryerson University. Toronto’s Photo Laureate is the first position of its kind in Canada. It honours a photographer recognized for exceptional photography and whose work focuses on subjects relevant to Torontonians. The Photo Lau

DAVID WINS BIG ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT Photo by: Ceta Ramkhalawansingh Story by Stephen Weir  On Wednesday night Trinidadian Canadian writer David Chariandy’s award winning novel, Brother has won thi s year’s Toronto Book Awards. David Chariandy’s book is a devastating story about the love between a mother and her sons, the impact of race, masculinity and the senseless loss of young lives in Scarborough, in the violent summer of 1991. Brother was one of five books on the City of Toronto and Toronto Library‘s 2018 Toronto Book Awards shortlist. Established by Toronto City Council in 1974, the awards honour books of literary merit that are evocative of Toronto. The 2018 shortlist  Dionne Brand “The Unpublished City“  David Chariandy “Brother“  Carrianne Leung “That Time I Loved You“  Lee Maracle “My Conversations with Canadians“  Kerri Sakamoto “Floating City“ The winner of the 2018 Toronto Book Awards was announced last night at the Toronto Reference Library. This i