Editor’s Note
Yves Thériault,Tayaout, son of Agaguk
As Alain Pineau has been telling you in his most recent blogs, we have numerous projects in development at the moment. One of the projects that I have been working on lately is searching for contributors for our magazine. I know few people who have time to read everything and understand the issues and browse through hundreds of pages of reports and studies, so we have decided to do that for you and ask the experts to talk about their projects and their thoughts.
Last month we had a look at the future of the cultural sector in Europe from Barbora Polavocha. This month, we present three personal columns on various cultural issues. First, our featured member, John Hobday, talks to us about one of his favourite subjects: Arts and Education. What a perfect subject for UNESCO’s inaugural celebration of the International Arts Education Week.
Second topic: Is what’s good for the reader (or consumer) really what’s good for the cultural ecosystem? Are we moving towards a “Walmartization” of culture? Those are questions raised by our friend Douglas Gibson, editor and author, who talks to us about Amazon and its impact on the availability of Canadian books. Douglas Gibson has been one of the most influential editors in Canada. He has published works by great Canadian authors like Alice Munro, Peter C. Newman, Robertson Davies, Mavis Gallant, and Alistair McLeod, to name a few! Last autumn, he wrote and published Stories about Storytellers, which recounts stories from four decades of publishing these great names. Douglas narrates his relations with Amazon both as a writer and editor. Negotiating with international giants is no cake walk! It’s a personal perspective of his experiences, but it opens the door to an interesting debate, to which we invite you to participate: share your reactions to the article on our site.
Our latest draft pick (this is the season) is Denis J Bertrand, consultant for audience development of art for the 50Carleton firm and previously the general director of Théâtre Action (2000–2004). Each month, Denis will pen an article on audience development, trends, and observations. We are proud to work with the 50Carleton firm to offer you these foods for thought.
Happy reading,
Anne-Marie Des Roches