The organizers of the Whistler Readers and Writers Festival want you to know that “a good vocabulary is sexy as hell.” But don’t just take their word for it. Mel Hurtig, Canada’s prolific author, political activist and former bookseller and publisher, says he’s learned in his 76 years that “the most interesting people are people who read a lot.”
“Reading is an incredible gateway to knowledge and experience that other people have and it’s incredibly broadening,” Hurtig said. “…Aside from the direct beneficial impact and knowledge, it is remarkably pleasurable.”
Hurtig is set to deliver the keynote address at the seventh annual Whistler Readers and Writers Festival, which takes place Sept. 12 and 13. He said he’ll talk about his latest book, The Truth About Canada: Some Important, Some Astonishing, and Some Truly Appalling Things All Canadians Should Know About Our Country.
The statistics-based book compares Canada to other countries and its own past in an effort to illustrate how much Canada has changed — Hurtig argues for the worse — in the past 20 years. He said he’ll also discuss the current political situation and the coming federal election.
Hurtig, who moved to Vancouver about three years ago to be closer to his daughters and grandsons, opened his first bookstore in Edmonton in 1956. The chain grew into one of the largest retail book operations in Canada before he sold it in 1972 to focus on publishing. He’s most famous for publishing the Canadian Encyclopaedia.
In 1991, Hurtig again switched gears, selling Hurtig Publishers and releasing his first book, The Betrayal of Canada. With additional titles such as Pay the Rent or Feed the Kids, The Vanishing Country and Rushing to Armageddon — plus his time as the leader of the National Party — Hurtig has established himself as Canada’s foremost economic nationalist.
He said he’s starting to work on his eighth book, “a total deviation from anything I’ve done in the past,” though he wouldn’t give away any further hints.
After his talk at the Whistler festival, he’ll take questions from authors on how to prepare a manuscript, decide which publishers to send it to, and provide other tips, he said.
Hurtig’s speech is part of the festival’s opening night event, which promises to be a lively evening full of hot debate and big ideas. Before Hurtig takes the podium at the Whistler Public Library, the audience will hear from a poet, a politician and a priest on why they think words are powerful.
Whistler Councillor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden, “ski bum writer” G.D. Maxwell, and Pemberton-based pastor and doctor of theology Paul Cumin will face off in a debate affectionately titled “Who Gives a %&*&^! About Words?”
Though Hurtig isn’t part of the discussion panel, he said, “important books have had an incredibly important historical impact on events and people and how people perceive the world.”
The Whistler Readers and Writers Festival opening night debate, reception and address by Mel Hurtig starts at 7 p.m. on Friday Sept. 12 at the Whistler Public Library. Tickets are $25 and are available online at www.theviciouscircle.ca.
The festival continues all day Saturday, Sept. 13, with a range of workshops for both novice and experienced writers in three streams: Writing from Life, Fiction Writing and Non-Fiction Writing. Visit the Vicious Circle (Whistler Writers Group) website at www.theviciouscircle.ca to access a full festival program.
