Join acclaimed l ocal authors James Cairns\, Tanis MacDonald\, and Mariam Pirbhai for an af ternoon of thoughtful conversation exploring how we find meaning - and a s ense of home - in a changing world. Through essays that span topics from p ersonal and political crises to the simple act of walking or gardening\, t hese writers invite readers to consider how we move through spaces both in ner and outer: the landscapes we inhabit\, the communities we build\, and the stories that root us.
\nTogether\, they&rsquo\;ll discuss their latest works - In Crisis\, On Crisis: Essays in Troubled Times\, Straggle: Adventures in Walking While Female\, and Garden Inventories: Reflections on Land\, Place and Belonging - and the intersections between self\, place\, and resilience that run through them all. A book signing and opportunity to purchase copies will f ollow the discussion.
\nPresented in partnership with Words Worth Bo oks.
\nJames Cairns lives with his family in Pa ris\, Ontario\, on territory that the Haldimand Treaty of 1784 recognizes as belonging to the Six Nations of the Grand River in perpetuity. He is a professor in the Department of Indigenous Studies\, Law and Social Justice at Wilfrid Laurier University\, where his courses and research focus on p olitical theory and social movements. James is a staff writer at the Hamil ton Review of Books\, and the community relations director for the Paris-b ased Riverside Reading Series. James has published three books with the Un iversity of Toronto Press\, most recently\, The Myth of the Age of Ent itlement: Millennials\, Austerity\, and Hope (2017)\, as well as nume rous essays in periodicals such as Canadian Notes &\; Queries\, the Mon treal Review of Books\, Briarpatch\, TOPIA\, Rethinking Marxism and the Jo urnal of Canadian Studies. James&rsquo\; essay &ldquo\;My Struggle and My Struggle\,&rdquo\; originally published in CNQ\, appeared in Biblioasis&rs quo\;s Best Canadian Essays\, 2025 anthology.
\nIn 2022\, the Collin s Dictionary announced that its word of the year was &ldquo\;permacrisis\, &rdquo\; which it defined as &ldquo\;an extended period of instability and insecurity\, especially one resulting from a series of catastrophic event s.&rdquo\; Have we reached a breaking point\, arrived at the moment of tru th? If so\, what now? If not\, why do so many people say we&rsquo\;re livi ng through a period of unprecedented crises?
\nDrawing on social res earch\, pop culture and literature\, as well as on his experience as an ac tivist\, father and teacher\, James Cairns explores the ecological crisis\ , Trump's return to power amid the so-called crisis of democracy\, his own struggle with addiction and other moments of truth facing us today. In a series of insightful essays that move deftly between personal\, theoretica l and historical approaches he considers not only what makes something a c risis\, but also how to navigate the effect of these destabilizing times o n ourselves\, on our families and on the world.
\nTani s MacDonald is an essayist\, poet\, professor and free-range literary animal. She is the host of the podcast Watershed Writers\, and the author of Out of Line: Daring to Be an Artist Outside the Big City. Her essay &ldquo\;Mondegreen Girls&rdquo\; won the Open Seasons Award for Crea tive Nonfiction in 2021. She identifies as a bad birder\, and lives near O se&rsquo\;kowá\;hne in southwestern Ontario as a grateful guest on t raditional Haudenosaunee territory.
\nIn this wide-ranging collectio n of essays Tanis MacDonald walks the reader down many paths\, pointing ou t the sights\, exclaiming over birds\, sharing stories and asking question s about just who gets to walk freely through our cities\, parks and wilder ness. From a child spotting a snowy owl on her way to school to a young wo man watching her own distinctive walk be imitated in an acting class\, Mac Donald shares how walking has shaped her life and the lives of many others . Wry\, smart\, political and lyrical\, these essays share the joy of walk ing as well its danger and uncover the promise it offers &ndash\; of heali ng\, of companionship and of understanding.
\nMariam Pirbhai is an academic and creative writer. \;Her most r ecent work titled Garden Inventories: Reflections on Land\, Place and Belonging \;(Wolsak &\; Wynn 2023)\, won the 2024 Sarton Women &rsquo\;s Book Award for nonfiction\, was a 2024 Foreword Indies Finalist for nature writing/nonfiction\, and also received Honourable Mention for t he 2024 Alanna Bondar Memorial Book Prize. Her novel titled Isolated I ncident \;(Mawenzi 2022) won the 2024 IPPY (International Publish ers' Award) Gold Medal for multicultural fiction\, and the IPPY Silver Med al for Canadian regional fiction\, and her short story collection titled < em>Outside People and Other Stories \;(Inanna 2017) won the 2018 IPPY Gold Medal for multicultural fiction\, and the 2019 American Bookfest award for short fiction. Mariam is full professor of English at Wilfrid L aurier University\, where she teaches and researches in the area of postco lonial studies and creative writing\, and she is the author and editor of several academic studies on the literatures of the global South Asian dias pora\, including Mythologies of Migration\, Vocabularies of Indenture: Nov els of the South Asian Diaspora in Africa\, the Caribbean\, and Asia-Pacif ic. \;Mariam lives and works in Waterloo\, where she paints\, writes a nd\, of course\, gardens\, in every spare minute she can find! \;
\ nPhotography Notice: Please note that photogra phs and videos may be taken at this event and may be broadcast\, reproduce d\, and/or made available in print or online. For individual or small grou p photos\, staff will make attendees aware of their presence and will ask permission before taking photos. \;
\nFor larger public events\, please note that by attending\, you are consenting to the use of your app earance\, image\, and voice in print or digital productions created by the Waterloo Public Library for promotional use only. Please speak to library staff at the event if you&rsquo\;d like to be excluded from any photo/vid eo. \;
\nProgrammer: Nancy
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