Eva Antonel
I don’t remember the exact time
when books first cast their spell on me.
My earliest memory associated with
books is being surrounded by several
unopened ones that I had brought home
from the school library, and luxuriating
in the anticipation of what I was to find
inside. If I was able to travel back in time
and find myself again in my six-year-old
body, I’m sure I’d find every adult in the
household deeply immersed in their own
reading bliss. We were a houseful of
readers: my grandparents, my uncle, my
mother and I.
An often-told story tells of a day
when, emerging from their own
imaginary tales, the adults noticed my
three-year-old self gone, my book the only
thing remaining. This was not a matter to
be taken lightly. We lived on the third floor
of a multi-unit apartment complex right
in the centre of a large city, with countless
people walking by and a tram line
running through the centre of the avenue.
It’s no wonder that my mother flew
through each room, down the winding
stairs and onto the street within seconds
of the discovery.
That story ended well. I was found
around the corner, roaming a small
carnival that had come to town,
unharmed and unperturbed. As all good
stories do, this one shows much more
than the words tell. Being surrounded by
people who loved the written word and
made it available to me from a young age
was undoubtedly the spark that lit my
lifelong love of reading.
If you are a kindred spirit, you’ll join
me in anxiously awaiting the twelfth
annual BookFest Windsor this year, held
the weekend of November first at the
Capitol Theatre. And, if a weekend of
everything bookish isn’t enough to set
See Margaret Atwood at Bookfest
this year!
your heart aflutter, make sure you mark
the evening of November second as the
night you’ll be able to come face to face
with Canadian literary icon, Margaret
Atwood. The author of countless works of
fiction and non-fiction will be here to
promote the just-released third
installment of her trilogy, Madd Addam.
If books are something you’ve just
observed other people being enthusiastic
about, this is your chance to immerse
yourself in their world. Check out the
website Bookfest.com for the schedule of
events or their Facebook page for updates
about the preparations. You’ll find writers
and poets, local and national, as well as
winners of a local student writing contest
sharing with the audience what it is that
inspires and motivates them to write.
There will be opportunity to hear them
read from their latest work, ask them
questions about their unique writing
experiences and even have brunch while
discussing plot, character and cover
design. For the price of a fast food meal,
you’ll be able to immerse yourself in all
things literary. Fair warning: save up a
little extra for the books you’ll want to buy
on the premises and have signed by the
authors in attendance.
Looking for a lit fix before
Bookfest? Check out
Tell us on Facebook how you experienced local art this month,
or tweet us @thehubWE #artmatters
October 2013 - The HUB 9