Writers’ Union of Canada Annual General Meeting

The Writers’ Union of Canada, founded in 1973, met in Ottawa from the 3rd of June till the 7th for the Annual General Meeting. I attended four workshops on Friday, and the plenary sessions on Saturday.

What stands out in my mind from these inspiring days is the dedication and passion of the long-time members who work endlessly to advocate for writers. They care deeply about the welfare of writing and writers in this country, and those who have responsibilities for the organization give hours and days of their time along with working as writers.

I was particularly impressed with Merilyn Simonds’s presentation as she spoke about the lack of respect for artists and writers so prevalent in Canada. No other professional group is treated the way we are treated. Workers in other industries, from truckers to farmers to the oil companies, are given government subsidies, but artists are seen as unworthy of such support, are seen as asking for handouts when they seek government funding and are offered meagre “subsistence” grants. As Merilyn pointed out, for no other group is that kind of language used, language conveying that writers and artists do not deserve more than mere survival. Indeed, the average income of writers in this country is $12,000 a year, putting the lie to the strange idea that if you have your name on the spine of a book you are rich.

Writers and artists in Canada have been talking about this for years. In 1950 the artist Paraskeva Clark gave a lecture in Hamilton, Ontario in which she spoke about art as the spirit and soul of a nation (See my book, Perfect Red: The Life of Paraskeva Clark). She spoke out the government’s disregard for artists. Here we are, sixty years later, talking about the same thing and I wonder if this will ever change.










MO

MOVING HOUSE

A two-month absence. It couldn’t be helped. I abandoned most of my reading and, for sure, my writing while my husband and I packed up our place in the country in preparation for moving to Guelph. We lived in Eramosa Township for twenty-seven years and poured ourselves into the place. Our gardens and the lovely twenty acres of land gave back to us immeasurably, and leaving all that gave us much grief, even if it was the right time to make this major change.

Moving to this stone house near Guelph’s Speed River is the beginning of a new stage of our lives, and we have begun the work of make the place our own. For a number of years, the former owner did not give this house the care it deserved, so restoring the house to good health is not exactly simple. If a person were to treat him or herself the way this house was treated, I think that poor person would be hospitalized. Never mind. We are giving ourselves to the tasks that need to be done, including finding someone to repair and paint the windows, fix the stone work, paint the outside trim, install a decent shower, build kitchen cupboards and so on.

I’ve had a lot of pleasure unpacking my books and placing them on the shelves, setting up my new office, hanging things on the walls. Now I feel I can work here, even if I haven’t decided on which wall to hang some of my art. It’s all a new adventure in a beautiful room at the front of the house.

Book Launch Tonight, 25 March 2010

Yesterday afternoon I drove from my home to Porcupine's Quill in Erin, Ontario to pick up copies of the newly bound "Joyce Wieland: Writings and Drawings 1952-1971, selections of her work from the Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections at York University. On my way home from Erin, I imained Joyce sitting in the passenger seat and having a conversation. This is what I imagined.

Jane: Joyce, I think some of your drawings, which are actually cartoons, are extremely funny. I've looked at them dozens of times and I still laugh every time I look at them. Why did you use chickens as characters?

Jocye: You have to get to the point quickly in cartoons. Don't you think chickens are strange creatures and very funny? And I think they get to the point quickly.

Jane: You give them such humanity, but not in the anthropomorphic way of cute bunny-people.

Joyce: People take themselves way too seriously and I want to poke fun at people, all kinds of people, especially artists and politicians.

Jane: Well, you include "God the Father Devine" in this, too, you know.

Joyce: Yes, well those God drawings aren't chickens.

Jane: I like your irreverence, but it's lucky those drawings aren't chickens or a lot of offended people might show up at your door ready to lecture you, or worse... And so on.

You can hear all about this newly published book, and purchase copies, tonight at Ben McNally's Books, 366 Bay Street (south of Richmond Street) in Toronto.
416-361-0032 I will be there signing copies and talking about the book.

MOVING TIME

After living in Eramosa Township on twenty acres for twenty-seven years, my husband and I are moving to Guelph, Ontario to a lovely stone house with a garden Initially the old house, which is at least a hundred and forty years old, will require some improvements. I think it will be fun to take the summer to work on the house and garden and make them our own. I have loved this place in the country with my large perennial gardens, and our greenhouse where we grew some cool-weather vegetables. Now it's time to say good bye to this place when we move in mid April. I look forward to a smaller perennial garden and growing a few vegetables.

Moving is an enormous amount of work, especially when you have a large studio-workshop building full of stuff. I am sorting through my paintings and sculptures I made over the years, and packing things up. This is my focus right now, and I’ll pick up my writing after a few months. My blog ideas - a series on Canadian women artists of the past - must wait.

Meanwhile, I have a few presentations to give this month on "Perfect Red," and on the 25th of March will be the launch of "Joyce Wieland: Writings and Drawings 1952-1971 at Ben McNally Books in Toronto, from 5 - 7 p.m.

More on Joyce Wieland

Toronto artist Joyce Wieland (1930-1998) was a young adult after World War II during the 1950s. During the war, many women worked in factories or in other jobs to help the war efforts. When the war was over, they were expected to go back to keeping a spotless house and making a home for a husband and dad. (The ads during the fities included images of smiling women in tidy skirts behind a vacuum cleaner or serving Ovaltine to their husband in front of a fireplace with kids sitting quietly on a couch.)

Wieland was caught between the idea of a "happily-ever-after" marriage and her passion for her art. Her thoughts about how she wanted to live her life are written in her journals from the early to mid fifties. Here is a brief excerpt from November 1955."Why for God's sake cannot we girls be brought up to be humans instead of dependent wretches. We cannot find happiness this way. Its [sic] not like in the movies, we don't always grow up and get married and live happily. And this is the truth which kills me a little more each day and disables me - little by little."

The volume "Joyce Wieland: Writings and Drawings 1952-1971" includes many more selections from her journals, along with her sketches. This book will be published in March by Porcupine's Quill in Erin, Ontario.