Tag: author

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Arts and Culture

An interview with Heather O’Neill

Heather O'Neill in front of the Alphabet cafe in the Mile-End. Photo by Dalia Nardolillo/The Concordian

The celebrated novelist sat down with our Editor-in-Chief to discuss her published works and an upcoming novel. 

Montreal is ripe with celebrated authors, like Leonard Cohen, Mordecai Richler, and Heather O’Neill. On a sunny Tuesday morning in March, following a win on the Canada Reads game show, O’Neill met up with The Concordian to discuss her literary journey. 

The Concordian: Thank you again for sitting down with me. Let’s start by learning a little more about you.

Heather O’Neill: I was born here in Montreal and then my parents got a divorce. My mother took me to the American South, which is where she is originally from and I lived there with her for a while. After some years, she decided she didn’t want to be a mother anymore and sent me back to Montreal to live with my father.

TC: I’m so sorry to hear that. Through all that, when did you discover your passion for writing?

H.O.: I remember it started when I was in elementary school. I remember back when I was eight or nine, I got a journal for my birthday. I started journaling and I loved doing that. It was my favorite part of the day, getting back to my journal and describing my day. It was like the journal was the only person on my side. Afterward, in grade five, I had a teacher who was very excited about my writing. I remember she gave me this little folder and she told me to keep everything because she told me I’d be a great writer.

TC: I love that. Going into your young adult life, what was the first major inspiration for your first novel?

H.O.: Funny enough, I was in a workshop at Concordia. I wrote a short story with the characters that ended up in Lullabies for Little Criminals, Baby and Jules. I noticed that story in particular got a lot of attention and seemed to capture the attention of the readers. So I sent it to a magazine and it got published. After it got nominated for the Journey Prize, I told myself, “Okay, I have something here.”

TC: How do you feel now that your written works are now being studied in courses, like an English class that I took at Concordia?

H.O.: It’s funny because it’s just starting to hit me now, that sort of appraisal. As an artist, you don’t have a sense of the outside world. Now, turning 50 this year, I think I am slowly starting to see that impact. I have so many young women writers who have come up to me and told me that they have read my books.

TC: Which of your books do you find people come and talk to you about the most? 

H.O.: It’s hard to say, but Lullabies for Little Criminals has been around for the longest. I would say The Lonely Hearts Hotel has really struck a chord in people. 

TC: What would your advice be to young writers who are just starting out?

H.O.: I don’t know what exactly my advice would be because a novel is such a strange beast. I think people just get gripped by it and you can’t stop the writing until you finish it. It’s a lot like Narnia, you get into a novel and you don’t know how much time you’ll spend on it. When you finally finish that novel it could’ve been over a span of 10 years or even six months. The madness is real for sure.

TC: What does your writing process look like?

H.O.: I write in a very rough way, where I already have the idea of the novel in my head. It always changes as I go along. When I start the novel, I write the different scenes from different parts of the book to kind of get a feel of how it’s going to look. After that, I piece everything together into a legible book. Then I send it off to my editor and it goes back and forth four to five times.

TC: Do you currently have anything in the works?

H.O.: I have one coming out in September. This novel is my first that is not set in Montreal. It’s set in this little imaginary country and in this country, they base their entire identity on the arts. They have this incredible arts culture, but then they get occupied by another country. It’s sort of how occupying forces first destroy the artists.
Fans have been eagerly awaiting O’Neill’s next novel since her last release in 2022, When We Lost Our Heads. For updates on O’Neill’s newest creation, have a look at her Instagram account, which she shares with her daughter, @oneillreads.

Categories
Arts Theatre

Manikanetish: What it means to belong

Manikanetish theatre perfomance at Duceppe Theatre - Courtesy photo by Danny Taillon

See the play at Jean-Duceppe Theatre from March 8 to April 8

Manikanetish is based on Naomi Fontaine’s novel by the same name. An author and teacher, Fontaine has published four books and translated various others. Manikanetish is her second novel, published in 2017, and her most recent work Shuni was published in 2019. 

This play is set in Uashat, a small Inuit community in Northern Quebec close to Sept-Îles. 

Most scenes are set in a high school classroom as the protagonist, Yammie, recalls her beginnings as a teacher to her son. 

Manikanetish theatre perfomance at Duceppe Theatre – Courtesy photo by Danny Taillon

Manikanetish discusses the author’s life as a teacher, while centering the voices of the children she teaches. Themes of death, resilience and belonging dominate. 

The resilience of these children is notably highlighted by the death of several of their relatives throughout the story. 

Fontaine plays a central role in the play, though her character is taken on by another actress. She acts as a parallel to herself, an omniscient character, of what she wished she had said. 

Manikanetish theatre perfomance at Duceppe Theatre – Courtesy photo by Danny Taillon

Though originally from Uashat, coming home to her community, Yammie finds that she is not accepted. She only speaks a bit of Innu, and admits not wanting to speak it because of her accent. She struggles with having left the community to study, and upon returning notices that the community has changed: she does not know anyone and is not trusted. 

This is notable in a scene where one student is disgusted that the teacher does not know why one of the students is struggling because their parent is dying. The community is so small and close that everyone knows everything about everyone, and Yammie at first does not fit into that space. 

Manikanetish theatre perfomance at Duceppe Theatre – Courtesy photo by Danny Taillon

Along the play, the director parallels the past and the present: what Yammie’s life could have been and what it is not. She voices spending her nights alone drinking wine, with a partner back in Quebec City, not making any time for herself. 

The first part of the play is conducted by her sadness and not understanding why her dream of being a teacher in Uashat is not what she thought. The second part focuses on the students’ strength facing the various hardships thrown at them. 

Manikanetish theatre perfomance at Duceppe Theatre – Courtesy photo by Danny Taillon

As the play goes on, she slowly constructs a relationship with her class as they start to understand her intentions. 

For instance, when Yammie shouts at a student for sleeping in class, Fontaine’s character mirrors her and talks to the student in an understanding tone, offering a more sympathetic response. This serves as representation of what she wished she had said in those difficult moments. 

Manikanetish theatre perfomance at Duceppe Theatre – Courtesy photo by Danny Taillon

The audience gets to know six characters, their perils and their passions, their difficult upbringing in a remote town far from access to healthcare, and surrounded by discrimination. For instance, one student with a child brings up the injustice of their lack of access to proper medical care, while another speaks about the few future prospects they have because of the racism they suffer in school. 

The play concludes with united voices saying “our voices are heard,” both defying the public to question their existence and showing the strength of their resilience.  

Categories
Arts

Former Concordia student Karaline Alessia releases debut poetry collection

Love & Other Anxieties offers an intimate glimpse into the author’s emotions

The lockdown has shuttered many of us indoors, lending more time to catch up on some leisure reading. Montreal based poet and former Concordia student Karaline Alessia recently released her debut poetry book Love & Other Anxieties.

The book centres on the themes of love, feelings of anxiety, and women empowerment, with Alessia writing her poems as an open journal to the world. This collection offers an intimate glimpse into the poet’s emotions as she navigates through both difficult and triumphant moments.

It can be difficult to reflect on certain parts of your life,” said Alessia. “My poetry is all about my experience, and it was hard to think back on times in my life that I would have rather forgotten.”

When not writing poetry, Alessia works as a public school teacher at Westmount’s Roslyn Elementary School. In addition to this, the author runs the Caterpillar Club, a literacy centre that aims to help students who struggle with reading, writing and phonics.

Despite her busy schedule, Alessia dedicates as much time as possible to writing, whether she is scrawling ideas into a notebook, or her Notes app while on the go. 

“I had most of the book written as I had previously self published a version of it before,” she explains. “With my publisher, we decided that we wanted to republish it as an even better version.”

Alessia published her book with Ace of Swords, a Montreal-based publishing house established in 2019 by four Concordia graduates.

“The publishing aspect also took several months, as there are many different parts to publishing a book. Writing takes a long time, and you have to be okay with that.”

Alessia began writing an array of unpublished children’s books, with many ideas arising during her work as a teacher. 

“As time went on, I decided to change up my style and take a try with poetry,” says Alessia.

The author notes that if you’re looking to write poetry, it’s important to spend a considerable amount of time reading poetry as well.

I read a lot of poetry before writing. I think it’s really important to read in the genre you write for inspiration and to learn.”

Alessia suggests studying writing techniques from established authors.

“Some people see this as copying for some reason, but it’s not. It’s about learning and teaching yourself.”

To purchase a copy of Love & Other Anxieties, visit the Ace of Swords website. Those looking to stay updated on Alessia’s work can follow her on Instagram.

Categories
Arts

The Escapist: Lessons on fear and challenge

Climber and author Gabriel Filippi discusses the danger of comfort zones

As the first Canadian to climb Mount Everest three times, Gabriel Filippi has experienced both remarkable achievements and unbounded loss. Born in Lac-Mégantic, the undeterred mountaineer has been to over 40 countries and scaled six of the seven highest summits in the world, which he details in his book, The Escapist.

In 2013, Filippi, a team of 10 climbers and one guide were set to climb Pakistan’s Nanga Parbat. Recognizing the peril that lay ahead, Filippi eventually made the gut decision not to pursue the climb, keeping his daughter in mind. It was only after he returned to Montreal that he received the harrowing news: his climbing team, all 11 members, had been massacred by the Taliban.

Two years later, while at the Everest base camp, Filippi experienced Nepal’s worst disaster in history: a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that ended up killing nearly 9,000 citizens.

After jumping to the rescue of those around him and witnessing overwhelming death, he inevitably found himself heading home with the burden of survivor’s guilt. After seeking treatment for PTSD, he returned back to climbing, now with the recognition that “no climber returns from a summit the same person as when they began their ascent.”

Although he has experienced more adversity than one person could ever be prepared for, the ineffable allure of reaching a summit has been enough to steer him away from resuming the normal nine-to-five work week.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Filippi has had to put off another Everest climb, but has been busy hosting virtual conferences and motivational talks. He hopes that the anecdotes and lessons he shares can inspire others to address their own challenges, especially those struggling with the conditions brought on by COVID-19.

“I see this situation like any obstacle that comes my way: let’s adapt,” he said. 

In terms of loss, Filippi knows he has no control over what the future holds, only how he can react to the circumstances that await him.

“On expeditions I have to let go of things I do not have control of. This will help me relax, be more confident and not make stupid mistakes under stress I shouldn’t have,” he explained.

As explored in both his book and through his motivational talks, Filippi has managed to reframe his position on fear and translate challenging moments into opportunities for resilience.

“I can’t say [my] expeditions are difficult. I prefer to say challenging,” he said. “For example, spending four nights in an ice cave at 17,000 feet on Denali with only two days of food and no tent wasn’t difficult, but instead challenging.”

Filippi has realized that in the face of dread, the best — and undoubtedly most difficult — thing a person can do is to confront the fears that plague them.

“On Everest we have to cross crevasses with ladders,” he explained. “The fear is present when you show up in front of the ladder, but to conquer that fear you need to take that first step.” 

He’s noticed that people tend to remain in their comfort zone because they’re so familiar with the security, without realizing how harmful a life of predictability can be.

“My comfort zone is my enemy,” Filippi said. “I don’t want to stay there too long because nothing happens.”

To learn more about Filippi and his adventures, visit his website or pick up a copy of his book The Escapist.

 

Photo by Gabriel Filippi.

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