Today is the first day of the 10th Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival! I'm doing a series of writing workshops today, tomorrow and Friday. Plus, I launch 121 Express later this afternoon; and tomorrow, we're launching Quebec Roots: The Place Where I Live (2008) -- that's the project I participated in along with photographer Monique Dykstra (that was when we workedwith students from St. Willibrord in Chateauguay and with the students up in Wemindji). So, it's an exiting few days coming up!
A neat thing happened at my workshop this morning. There were three students there who live near Blanc Sablon, which is near the Quebec-Labrador border, as well as about a dozen students from Marymount, a high school here in Montreal. Becky, one of the students from the Blanc Sablon area, told the others in the group that there are only 32 people in her town -- Middle Bay. One of the girls from Marymount, Shannon, was quite surprised to learn how few people live in Middle Bay. So Shannon called out: "Last year, there were 32 people in MY CLASS!" Talk about two worlds colliding -- I thought it was a lovely moment and one that I had to record in today's blog. As Greg Smith, the teacher who accompanied the students from Blanc Sablon, told me afterwards: lots can happen even in a tiny town. You know, Becky, Middle Bay sounds like a great place to set your novel!!
Okay, then, time to do a little WRITING before I head back downtown for the launch. If you're visiting Montreal for Blue Metropolis, hope you have a great time in our wonderful city. Keep your eyes peeled for our magnolia trees -- they're in full most gorgeous bloom!