Gaspereau Press Second Annual Wayzgoose

On Saturday October 20, 2001, Gaspereau Press will hold its second annual wayzgoose and open house in Kentville, Nova Scotia. The wayzgoose is a chance to celebrate printing, the book arts and writing. Gaspereau Press is located at One Church Avenue in downtown Kentville, Nova Scotia.

The wayzgoose will start on Saturday, October 20, with a poetry workshop hosted by poet DON MCKAY of Victoria, British Columbia. The country's leading poet, McKay has twice won the Governor General's Award for poetry. The workshop will take place in the historic Kings County courthouse in Kentville, which is now a museum and sits just around the corner from Gaspereau Press. Participants in this workshop were selected through an application process which is now closed.

The afternoon open house will kick off at 2:00 pm on Saturday with a lecture by wood engraver WESLEY M. BATES of Clifford, Ontario. Using slides to illustrate his talk, Bates will explore the role that wood engraving has played in book illustration down through the ages. The lecture will be followed by printing and binding demonstrations by Gaspereau Press staff and volunteers. Visitors will be able to try their hand at some aspects of book production and to meet many Gaspereau Press authors. Last year's open house saw close to 100 people visit the print shop.

On Saturday evening, Gaspereau Press will hold a private reception for its authors and staff, followed at 7:00 pm by a public 'town-hall' forum at Paddy's Irish Pub in Kentville. The forum will be moderated by local novelist Susan Haley and will feature a panel of Gaspereau Press authors including Don McKay, Harry Thurston and Allan Cooper. The discussion will centre around nature writing in the new millenium.

This year's wayzgoose reading will take place on Sunday, October 21, 2001 and will feature readings by Don McKay (reading from Vis a Vis: Fieldnotes on Poetry and Nature), Deanna Young (reading from Drunkard's Path) and Allan Cooper (reading from Singing the Flowers Open). Gaspereau Press has released books by all three writers this year. The readings will take place at 2:00 pm at CentreStage Theatre in Kentville, Nova Scotia.

BACKGROUND:
Gaspereau Press is a Nova Scotia owned and operated trade publisher based in Kentville, Nova Scotia. Publishing short-run editions of both literary and regional interest, Gaspereau Press produces quality paperbacks and limited-edition hardcover books aimed at the Canadian market. The press was established in 1997 by Gary Dunfield and Andrew Steeves and it is one of the few publishers in Canada that also operates a full-scale print shop, producing its own books. This hands-on approach has prompted Gaspereau Press to experiment with antiquated technologies along with modern production methods. While the majority of its books are produced using contemporary equipment, Gaspereau Press also preserves and employs many antique presses and hot-metal typesetters, and often uses them in the production of its books.

Traditionally, a WAYZGOOSE was an annual dinner or celebration given to or held by those employed in a printing establishment. In recent years, the term has been applied to gatherings of book artists. Gaspereau Press has decided to make the wayzgoose a public event, one that celebrates all aspects of the book -- writing, publishing, typography, printing, binding and reading.

Gaspereau Press would like to acknowledge the support of the Nova Scotia Arts Council for its financial support of the poetry workshop and the books arts lecture and the Canada Council for the Arts for its contribution toward the travel costs of some authors.

For more information, please contact Beth Crosby at 902.678.6002 or email info@gaspereau.com.

George Elliott Clarke, Susan Haley and Harry Thurston at the 2000 Wayzgoose.