L.M. Montgomery Research Group

On Monday, the three of us attended A Ryerson Showcase: The Centenary of Anne of Green Gables / A Symposium/Exhibit Organized by the Students in ACS 800 at Ryerson University. Irene Gammel’s 4th-year students did a fantastic job organizing every aspect of the event, and it was a real treat to hear their presentations as well. Two students recreated the brown gloria dress that Mrs. Lynde makes for Anne, and it’s only once you see how intricate it’s made that you realize the sheer amount of work this would have meant for Mrs. Lynde (supposing, of course, that she was an actual person). I don’t have a photo of it, but it will be on display in the Modern Literature and Culture Centre at Ryerson.

Speakers included Irene Gammel, Ann F. Howey, Helen Hoy, Elizabeth MacLeod, Leslie McGrath, Margaret Steffler, Judy Stoffman, Hildi Froese Tiessen, Paul Tiessen, and the three of us. I very much enjoyed the opportunity to reunite with several long-time friends and colleagues, so overall the day was quite enjoyable.

UPDATE: Jason has posted a number of photos of the event, which can be found here.

My review of three new Anne books—Imagining Anne: The Island Scrapbooks of L.M. Montgomery, by Elizabeth Rollins Epperly; Before Green Gables, by Budge Wilson; and Looking for Anne: How Lucy Maud Montgomery Dreamed Up a Literary Classic, by Irene Gammel—appears in today’s The Globe and Mail on pages D1 and D9 of the Books section. It can be found online here.

UPDATE: The review is no longer freely available on the Globe and Mail website, but the full text of the review can be found here.

The following panel is scheduled for ACCUTE’s 2008 Congress at the University of British Columbia:

Saturday, 31 May 2008
4:45-6:00

Anne of Green Gables: New Directions at 100

Location: Dobson Room, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, UBC Library

Organizers/Chairs: Irene Gammel and Benjamin Lefebvre

• Alexander MacLeod (Saint Mary’s), “On the Road from Bright River: Shifting Social Space in Anne of Green Gables”
• Jason Nolan (Ryerson), “Anne of the Undead: Changeling Child and the Uncanny in Avonlea”
• Alison Matthews David and Kimberly Wahl (Ryerson), “Taste and Transformation: Negotiating Codes of Fashion in Avonlea”

For more information please contact the co-chairs: Irene Gammel <gammel@ryerson.ca> and Benjamin Lefebvre <ben@roomofbensown.net>.

Heaslip House, 7th Floor, Ryerson University
Monday, April 7, 9 AM to 7 PM

Program Highlights

Patron Kate Macdonald Butler, Heirs of L.M. Montgomery, will address the audience

Organized by ASC 800 students, Ryerson University, the event involves 30 student and scholar participants from Ryerson and many other universities including University of Alberta, Brock University, Guelph University, University of London (UK), University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, and York University.

Participation by recognized scholars, creative writers, journalists, librarians such as

• Dr. Hildi Froese Tiessen (Waterloo) & Dr. Paul Tiessen (Wilfrid Laurier), Authors of After Green Gables
• Dr. Irene Gammel (Ryerson), Author of Looking for Anne
• Dr. Helen Hoy (Guelph), Author of How Should I Read These?
• Yuka Kajihara & Dr. Jason Nolan (Ryerson), L. M. Montgomery Research Group
• Dr. Benjamin Lefebvre (Alberta), L. M. Montgomery Research Group
• Elizabeth MacLeod (Toronto), Author of Lucy Maud Montgomery
• Leslie McGrath, Head of Osborne Collection of Children’s Literature, Toronto Public Library
• Dr. Margaret Steffler (Trent)
• Judy Stoffman (Toronto Star) and many more

Installation of Anne merchandise (by Ryerson student Laura Brown) and exhibits of new books, cover images, the 1934 Hollywood film, etc.

Exhibit of costume including Anne’s Puffed Sleeves Dress (reconstructed by Ryerson Fashion student Katelyn van Massenhoven)

Original research findings on Hilton Hassell, Toronto illustrator of the first Canadian cover images of Anne of Green Gables, published with Ryerson Press in 1942 and 1964 (presented by Ryerson ACS student Mandy Wilson)

Creative Performances by Anne Shirley (aka Jessica Frey)

Refreshments throughout the day and Reception from 6-7 PM
All welcome free of charge
Book prizes

For more information
www.annecentenary.com / click on STUDENTS
* To receive updates, please sign your name in the “Stay in touch” section

Contact
LAURA BROWN (16brown@ryerson.ca) OR
JULIE-ANN WASHINGTON (jwashing@ryerson.ca)
anne100@mlc.ryerson.ca
(416) 979-5000 ext. 4771

From Polskie Radio

Poland joins worldwide celebrations of the birth centenary of Anne Shirley, the heroine of a series of books by the Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery.
 
Anne of Green Gables, the first book of the series, was published on 20 June 1908.
 
The Krakow-based Wydawnictwo Literackie Literary Publishers, the Polish publisher of Montgomery’s books, organizes a special event on the eve of the anniversary.
 
It also sponsors a literary festival which comprises workshops for teachers, several competitions for children and a major exhibition at the Jagiellonian Library March-June.
 
The Literary Publishers is also to bring out a Polish translation of Mollie Gillen’s biography of Lucy Maud Montgomery. Ann of Green Gables has been translated into 36 languages. mk

For those who don’t know Mollie, who is a friend of ours, please check out Dr Mollie Gillen’s Homepage that Yuka runs.

The Modern Literature and Culture Research Centre at Ryerson University has launched a new section devoted to the Anne of Green Gables centenary. It includes information about a number of projects: Irene Gammel’s new book, Looking for Anne (due out in April from Key Porter Books and in July from St. Martin’s Press); a proposed collection of essays on Anne of Green Gables: New Directions, for University of Toronto Press; and a one-day symposium and exhibit held at Ryerson University on April 7, 2008 (Jason, Yuka and I are among the featured presenters). An article about the symposium/exhibit can be found here.

An article titled “Wilson tackles ‘daunting’ prequel to Anne of Green Gables” can be found at CBC.ca, along with an interview with the author of the recently released Beyond Green Gables.

James Adams’s article on the Anne centenary appears in today’s Globe and Mail. Also, CBC Radio 1 will air a short piece on Anne of Green Gables at 6:00 PM Eastern, featuring interviews with Yuka Kajihara, Budge Wilson, and Irene Gammel.

From The Journal Pioneer: Cavendish to get new Anne anniversary theatre—Darlene Shea.

CAVENDISH — To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the publication of “Anne of Green Gables”, a new theatre will be opening this summer in Cavendish. The Montgomery Theatre will provide a venue to present plays from the life and times of the book’s author, Lucy M. Montgomery. The idea of the theatre was hatched in the summer of 2007 when a group of tourism operators from the Cavendish area met to plan a community commemoration project to mark the centennial.The group also met with internationally acclaimed artistic director Duncan McIntosh, to come up with plans for the theatre.

This new cultural initiative will be launched on Thursday at 10 a.m. at Avonlea Church in Avonlea Village, Cavendish.

Pre-order listings have appeared on Amazon.ca and Chapters.Indigo.ca for Mary Henley Rubio’s forthcoming biography, The Gift of Wings: The Life of Lucy Maud Montgomery, to be published in October by Doubleday Canada (whose own listing for the book can be found here). More information about this book will be posted here once it becomes available.