Join us for an e vening with Catherine Bush and Amanda Leduc in conversation about their la test releases\, Skin by Catherine Bush and Wi ld Life by Amanda Leduc. \;
\nPresented in partnership with \;Words Worth Books.
\nAmanda Leduc is a disab led writer whose last novel\, \;The Centaur's Wife\, is "an&n bsp\;exquisite magical world\, perfectly rendered\, for [a] dark and wonde rful story about the dream life of outsiders and the disabled" (Heather O' Neill). \;Her non-fiction book \;Disfigured: On Fairy Tales\, Disability\, and Making Space \;was nominated for the \;2020 Governor General&rsquo\;s Award. Her essays and stories have appeared acro ss Canada\, the US\, the UK and Australia\, and she speaks regularly acros s North America on accessibility and the role of disability in storytellin g. Amanda holds a Master's degree in Creative Writing from the University of St. Andrews. She has cerebral palsy and presently makes her home in Ham ilton where she lives with a very lovable dog named Sitka\, who \;once ate and peed on a manuscript. (Everyone&rsquo\;s a critic\, it seems.). H er new novel\, WILD LIFE is coming in mid-March.
\nIn Skin\, Catherine Bush plunges into the vortex of all that shapes us. Summoning relationships between the human and more-tha n-human\, she explores a world where touch and intimacy are both desirable and fraught.
\nRanging from the realistic to the speculative\, Bush &rsquo\;s stories tackle the condition of our restless\, unruly world amid st the tumult of viruses\, climate change\, and ecological crises. Here\, she brings to life unusual and perplexing intimacies: a man falls in love with the wind\; a substitute teacher&rsquo\;s behaviour with a student bri ngs unforeseen risks\; a woman becomes fixated on offering foot washes to strangers.
\nBold\, vital\, and unmistakably of the moment\, Ski n \;gives a charged and animating voice to the question of how we face the world and how\, in the process\, we discover tenderness and allo w ourselves to be transformed.
\nWILD LIFE is magical realism\, full of wonder and imagination. Amanda Ledu c&rsquo\;s dazzling new novel follows two walking\, talking hyenas as they interact with humans over decades. Blurring the line between human and an imal\, these strange messengers reveal what is possible when the cages tha t contain us are broken.
\nIn 19th-century Scotland\, young Josiah i s banished by his father for seeing the divine in the animals around him a nd sent to Siberia with a small Christian mission to purge such nonsense f rom his soul. Miserably scrubbing the chapel floor one night\, Josiah is v isited by what he thinks is God in animal form. When his saviours\, a hyen a and her mate\, rescue him from a natural disaster that kills the other m issionaries and then bring him safely home\, he founds a religion based on his belief that God granted speech to the hyenas as part of a divine plan to heal and exalt the human race. The hyena pair\, Barbara and Kendrith\, aren't so sure that Josiah has it right. But with their beautiful strange ness\, they utterly transform the people they encounter over succeeding ge nerations. As Josiah's church gathers adherents\, more and more animals st art to speak to humans&mdash\;from signing baby gorillas to seductive alli gators. At first one or two rebellious pets make a break for freedom\, but then comes a mass exodus of all animals held captive\, forcing people to contend with a wildness in themselves they have spent millennia denying.\n
The end of this remarkable fairytale is both joyful and devastating \, completely dissolving the boundary between what's "human" and what's "a nimal." WILD LIFE is a breathtaking leap in Amanda Leduc's melding of soci al\, environmental and disability justice themes with fantasy and folklore . A wild ride that is both entertaining and profound&mdash\;Life of Pi on steroids&mdash\;the novel features many disabled characters and L GBTQ+ themes\, and will appeal in particular to disability justice seekers \, the neurodiversity movement\, and the Deaf community.
\n< strong>Photography Notice: Please note that photographs and video s may be taken at this event and may be broadcast\, reproduced\, and/or ma de available in print or online. For individual or small group photos\, st aff will make attendees aware of their presence and will ask permission be fore taking photos. \;
\nFor larger public events\, please note that by attending\, you are consenting to the use of your appearance\, ima ge\, and voice in print or digital productions created by the Waterloo Pub lic Library for promotional use only. Please speak to library staff at the event if you&rsquo\;d like to be excluded from any photo/video. \;
\nProgrammer: Nancy
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