You are cordially invited to attend A Cross-Cultural Literary Conversation: The Call of The Wild, a literary event featuring Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Norwegian author Erlend Loe and Newfoundland author Ed Riche.
The event will take place on Thursday, Nov. 10, beginning at 2:30 p.m. in the D.F. Cook Recital Hall in the Music building on Memorial’s St. John’s campus.
Numerous stops
The public event, hosted by Memorial University in partnership with the House of Anansi Press, the Norwegian Literature Board and the Royal Norwegian Embassy, is part of a visit to Canada by Their Royal Highnesses, The Crown Prince and The Crown Princess of Norway.
Other events taking place during the St. John’s visit include a visit to the Marine Institute that will focus on safety and emergency preparedness in the Arctic and the campus’s Kongsberg simulators. They will also visit the Johnson GEO CENTRE, where Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit will tour the Polar Night exhibition with local youth and attend a forum on cold ocean research in the Arctic hosted by Memorial’s Office of Public Engagement and the University of Tromsø, The Arctic University of Norway.
Literary event
At the literary event, Her Royal Highness will talk about her hands-on engagement in the promotion of Norwegian literature, followed by a lively on-stage conversation between the two authors, which will be moderated by Dr. Noreen Golfman, provost and vice-president (academic).
While the two authors are from two different countries, their books contain many commonalities. The two write with a quirkiness and energy as they satirize contemporary culture, its consumerism and the pettiness and the perils of urban isolation.
Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit is an avid reader and an enthusiastic advocate for the joy and importance of reading. Through her project Litteraturtoget (The Literature Train) she travels by train together with Norwegian authors and other guests to large and small communities in Norway.
In these communities, she hosts engaging literary conversations and discussions at local libraries, exploring the many aspects of authorship, readership and how literature can influence your life.
Authors with commonalities
Erlend Loe is a Norwegian author whose work has been successfully published in Canada. He studied folklore, film studies and literature before becoming one of the most beloved and popular authors in Norway. His novel, Doppler, is a beguiling modern fable about a man who ventures into nature and befriends a moose named Bongo.
Ed Riche is a renowned Canadian writer for the page, the stage and the screen. His latest novel, Today I Learned It Was You, is a bitingly brilliant comedy wherein a man transitions into a deer. Mr. Riche is an alumnus of Memorial, having studied chemistry for three years before transferring to Concordia University to complete a fine arts degree.
Admission to this public event is free; seating is first-come, first seated. The authors’ discussion will conclude with a book sale/signing and refreshments in the lobby outside the hall.
Public parking will be available in lots 15 and 15B.
