All posts by Maurus Cappa

Breakfast Speakers 2025

Breakfast Speaker September 20, 2025

George Elliott Clarke, OC, ONS, FRCGS, PhD, LLD (etc.)
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Bio
A revered poet, writer, and scholar, George Elliott Clarke was born in Windsor, Nova
Scotia, near the Black Loyalist- and Black Refugee-settled community of Three Mile
Plains, in 1960. A member of the Eastern Woodland Métis Nation Nova Scotia, he’s of
Indigenous admixture—both matrilineal (Cherokee) and (likely) patrilineal (Mi’kmaq).
A graduate of the University of Waterloo (B.A., Hons.,1984), Dalhousie University
(M.A., 1989), and Queen’s University (Ph.D., 1993), Clarke is now the inaugural E.J.
Pratt Professor of Canadian Literature at the University of Toronto.
An Assistant Professor of English and Canadian Studies at Duke University, North
Carolina, 1994-1999, Clarke also served as the Seagrams Visiting Chair in Canadian
Studies at McGill University, 1998-1999, and as a Noted Scholar at the University of
British Columbia (2002) and as a Visiting Scholar at Mount Allison University (2005),
and as the William Lyon Mackenzie King Visiting Professor in Canadian Studies at
Harvard University (2013-14).
He has also worked as a researcher (Ontario Provincial Parliament, 1982-83), editor
(Imprint, University of Waterloo, 1984-85, and The Rap, Halifax, NS, 1985-87), social
worker (Black United Front of Nova Scotia, 1985-86), parliamentary aide (House of
Commons, 1987-91), and newspaper columnist (The Daily News, Halifax, NS, 1988-89,
and The Halifax Herald, Halifax, NS, 1992-2016).
He lives in Toronto, Ontario, but he also owns land in Nova Scotia. He coined the terms
Africadia/Africadian and he has pioneered the study of African-Canadian literature.
His many honours include
the Portia White Prize for Artistic Achievement (1998),
Governor-General’s Award for Poetry (2001),
the National Magazine Gold Medal for Poetry (2001),
the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award (2004),
the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Fellowship Prize (2005-08),
the Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction (2006),
the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Poetry (U.S. 2009),
establishment of the George Elliott Clarke International Scholarship at Duke University
(2018),
appointment to the Order of Nova Scotia (2006),
appointment to the Order of Canada at the rank of Officer (2008),
appointment as Poet Laureate of the City of Toronto (2012-15),
appointment as Parliamentary [National] Poet Laureate (2016-17),
appointment as a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (2017),
appointment as Life Member of the League of Canadian Poets (2021),
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appointment as Life Member of The Ontario Poetry Society (2024),
receipt of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for “Service to the Arts”
(2022),
and the receipt of eight honorary doctorates.
Website: georgeelliottclarke.net
Awards & Honours
1981—First Prize—Poetry—Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia provincial competition;
1991—Archibald Lampman Award for Poetry—Ottawa Independent Writers—awarded
to Whylah Falls as best book of poetry published by an Ottawa-based poet;
1993—Invitee—World Poetry Festival, Harbourfront Reading Series, Toronto;
1997—$12,000 Canada Council Arts Grant “B”—awarded for manuscript of Beatrice
Chancy;
1998—Portia White Prize—Nova Scotia Arts Council—$25,000 award for artistic
excellence;
1998—Bellagio Center Fellowship—Rockefeller Foundation of New York—a one-
month residency at the Villa Serbelloni, Bellagio, Italy, awarded to allow the
completion of the manuscript of Beatrice Chancy;
1999—Honorary Doctor of Laws degree—Dalhousie University;
1999—Alumni Achievement Award—University of Waterloo;
2000—Honorary Doctor of Letters degree—University of New Brunswick;
2000—Outstanding Screenwriter Award—Toronto Black Film & Video Network—
awarded for One Heart Broken Into Song (CBC-TV, 1999);
2001—Governor-General’s Literary Award for Poetry—$15,000 award for selection of
Execution Poems as best book of poetry published in English in Canada;
2002—National Magazine Foundation Gold Award for Poetry—$1,500 award for
selection of six poems published in Prairie Fire as best poetry published in any
English-Canadian magazine in 2001;
2003—Appointed by Her Excellency, The Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson, Governor-
General of Canada, to the Board of Directors of the Canada Council for the Arts;
2003—Appointed E.J. Pratt Professor of Canadian Literature at the University of
Toronto;
2004—Martin Luther King, Jr. Award—Black Theatre Workshop of Montreal—awarded
for achievement;
2004—Estelle and Ludwig Jus Memorial Human Rights Award—University of Toronto
Alumni Association;
2005—Harbourfront Centre (Toronto) Fresh Ground Commission–$20,000—shared with
composer dd Jackson to write opera, Trudeau: Long March/Shining Path.
2005—Distinguished Teacher Award—Student Administrative Council, University of
Toronto;
2005—Honorary Doctor of Letters degree—University of Alberta;
2005—African Renaissance Award—Planet Africa Television;
2005—Faculty Award—University of Toronto Black Alumni Association;
2005—Trudeau Foundation Trudeau Fellowship Prize—$225,000 award, over three
years, to support artistic and scholarly work;
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2006—Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction—Atlantic Book Awards—$1,500 award for
George & Rue;
2006—Frontieras Poesis Premiul [Prize]—Poesis [Magazine], Satu Mare, Romania—
$500 award and statuette in honour of poems in translation;
2006—Appointed by Her Honour, The Hon. Mayann Francis, Lieutenant-Governor
of Nova Scotia, to the Order of Nova Scotia;
2006—Honorary Doctor of Letters degree—University of Waterloo;
2008—Honorary Fellow of the Haliburton Society—University of King’s College;
2008—Honorary Doctor of Letters degree—Saint Mary’s University;
2008—Appointed by Her Excellency, The Rt. Hon. Michaelle Jean, Governor-General
of Canada, to the Order of Canada at the rank of Officer;
2008—William P. Hubbard Award for Race Relations, City of Toronto;
2009—Eric Hoffer Book Award for Poetry, Hopewell Publications, awarded to Blues and
Bliss: The Poetry of George Elliott Clarke, ed. Jon Paul Fiorentino;
2009—Honorary Doctor of Laws degree—Royal Military College of Canada;
2010—Honorary Doctor of Laws degree—University of Windsor;
2012—Honorary Doctor of Letters degree—Acadia University;
2012—The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal;
2012—Excellence in the Arts Award—Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
2012—Appointed by the City Council to the post of Poet Laureate of Toronto.
Honorarium: $10,000 per annum for the three-year term.
2014—Appointed Full Professor, Department of English, University of Toronto.
2016-17—Appointed by The Parliament of Canada to the post of Parliamentary
[National] Poet Laureate.
Honorarium: $20,000 per annum for the two-year term.
2017—Lifetime Achievement Award, Dalhousie University Alumni Association.
2017—Trailblazers Award—Michaelle Jean Foundation and Federation of Black
Canadians.
2017—Appointed, Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
2018—George Elliott Clarke Scholarship Fund established at Duke University,
thanks to a gift from Ms. Rebecca Gardiner.
2019—International Fellow Poets of the Year—Encyclopedic Poetry School, Beijing,
China. Statuette presented.
2021—Appointed Life Member, League of Canadian Poets;
[2022—Two GEC songs (music by Delvin E. Bernard) included on Slaight Family
Polaris Heritage Prize-winning album, We’re Still Standing (1987), by Four the
Moment];
2023—The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal;
2024—Named a “Most Notable” Alumnus of Dalhousie University;
2024—Lifetime Membership, The Ontario Poetry Society.
Collected Works
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Poetry
Saltwater Spirituals and Deeper Blues. Pottersfield Press, 1983.
Whylah Falls. Raincoast—Polestar Books, 1990, 2000; Gaspereau Press, 2010.
Lush Dreams, Blue Exile: Fugitive Poems. Pottersfield Press, 1994.
Execution Poems. Gaspereau Press. 2000, 2001; 2009.
Blue. Raincoast—Polestar Books, 2001, 2008; Gaspereau Press, 2011.
Illuminated Verses. Canadian Scholars Press—Kellom Books, 2005.
Black. Raincoast—Polestar Books, 2006; Gaspereau Press, 2012.
Blues and Bliss: The Poetry of George Elliott Clarke, ed. Jon Paul Fiorentino. Wilfrid
Laurier University Press, 2008.
I & I. Goose Lane Editions, 2009.
Red. Gaspereau Press, 2011.
Illicit Sonnets. Eyewear Publishing, 2013, 2016.
Lasso the Wind: Aurélia’s Verses and Other Poems. Illus. Susan Tooke. Nimbus Books,
2013.
Traverse. Exile Editions, 2014. 2nd printing: 2014.
Extra Illicit Sonnets. Exile Editions, 2015.
Gold. Gaspereau Press, 2016.
Canticles I (MMXVI). Guernica Editions. 2016.
Canticles I (MMXVII). Guernica Editions, 2017.
These Are the Words. [The Gospel of Tobit by GEC & Bread, Water, Love by John B.
Lee.] Hidden Brook Press, 2018. [The Gospel of Tobit= pp. 1-71.]
Canticles II (MMXIX). Guernica Editions, 2019.
Portia White: A Portrait in Words. Nimbus Books, 2019.
Canticles II (MMXX). Guernica Editions, 2020.
J’Accuse…! (Poem Versus Silence). Exile Editions, 2021.
White. Gaspereau Press, 2021.
Canticles III (MMXXII). Guernica Editions, 2022.
Canticles III (MMXXIII). Guernica Editions, 2023.
Fiction
George & Rue: A Novel. HarperCollins Canada, 2004; Secker & Warburg, 2005, Carroll
& Graf, 2006; Vintage, 2006; Random House (E-book), 2012.
The Motorcyclist. HarperCollins Canada, 2016. HarperCollins Canada (paperback),
2017.
Prose
Ed. Fire on the Water: An Anthology of Black Nova Scotian Writing. 2 vols.
Pottersfield Press, 1991-1992.
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Ed. Eyeing the North Star: Directions in African-Canadian Literature.
McClelland & Stewart, 1997.
Ed. The Dalhousie Review. Special Africadian Issue. [1999] 1997.
Odysseys Home: Mapping African-Canadian Literature. University of Toronto Press,
2002.
Directions Home: Approaches to African-Canadian Literature. University of Toronto
Press, 2012.
On Entering the Echo Chamber of Epic: My “Canticles” vs. Pound’s Cantos. Nanaimo,
BC: Vancouver Island University / Arbutus Editions, 2016.
Ed., Locating Home: The First African-Canadian Novel and Verse Collections. Toronto:
Tightrope Books, 2017.
Ed., African American Review, Special Issue on African-Canadianité, 51.3 (Fall 2018).
The Quest for a “National” Nationalism: E.J. Pratt’s Epic Ambition, “Race”
Consciousness, and the Contradictions of Canadian Identity. St. John’s (NL):
Breakwater Books, 2021.
Where Beauty Survived: An Africadian Memoir. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf, 2021.
Where Beauty Survived: A Memoir of Race, Family Secrets, and Africadia. Toronto:
Vintage Canada, 2023.
Whiteout: How Canada Cancels Blackness. Montréal: Véhicule Press, 2023.
Ed., Black Activist, Black Scientist, Black Icon: The Autobiography of Dr. Howard D.
McCurdy. Halifax: Nimbus Books, 2023.
Drama
Whylah Falls: The Play. Playwrights Canada Press, 1999, 2000.
Beatrice Chancy. Raincoast—Polestar Books, 1999, 2008.
Québécité: A Jazz Fantasia in Three Cantos. Gaspereau Press. 2003.
Trudeau: Long March / Shining Path. Gaspereau Press. 2007.
The Merchant of Venice (Retried). Gaspereau Press, 2017.
“Settling Africville.” Scripting (In)migration: New Canadian Plays. Ed. Yana Meerzon.
Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, 2019. 107-173.
Libretti
“Beatrice Chancy: An Opera Libretto in Four Acts.” Canadian Theatre Review. 1998.
“Québécité: An Opera Libretto in Three Cantos.” Canadian Theatre Review. 2002.
“Trudeau: Long March / Shining Path.” Canadian Theatre Review. 2006.
Chapbooks & Limited Editions
War Canticles. Vallum Chapbook series No. 34. Montreal: Vallum Society for Arts and
Letters Education, 2022. Poetry. 125 copies.
At Ortona: An Oratorio. One poem plus French translation [A Ortona: Un Oratorio] by
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Robert Paquin and an Italian translation [A Ortona: Oratorio] by Riccardo
Duranti. Roma: Embassy of Canada to Italy, Villa Grandi, Roma, Italia, 2018.
200 copies.
The Denouement of Poet Laureate George: Writings of December 2017. Ottawa:
Ottawa Antiquarian Bookfair, 28 October 2018. 120 copies.
Elegies: Literary and Political, 2016-2017. Ottawa: 37th Ottawa Antiquarian Bookfair,
22 October 2017. 150 copies.
Rollcall/Appel. Ottawa: Canadian Heritage / Patrimoine canadien, 2017. Bilingual. 500
copies.
Selected Canticles. Ottawa: above / ground press, 2012. Poetry. 300 copies.
To the Muse. [Includes 8 poems in Giulio Marra’s Italian translations: “Portenti,”
“Dissertazione sul Mio Nome,” “Linguaggio,” “IV.ii,” “III.iv [Il Poeta e il
Tempo],” “À Edgar Mittelhölzer,” “Autobiografia (II),” and “Testamento.”]
Presented in connection with “George Elliott Clarke: una performance di poesia e
musica, con [musicians] Gionni Di Clemente e Bruno Censori, presentazione di
Marco Fazzini,” Bar Borsa / Panic Jazz Club, Basilica Palladiana, Vicenza, Italy,
September 23, 2012. 50 copies.
Da Una Stanza. [Trans. Marco Fazzini.] Vicenza, Italy: L’Officina arte contemporanea,
September 23, 2012. 50 copies.
Da Una Stanza. [Trans. Marco Fazzini.] Vicenza, Italy: L’Officina arte contemporanea
in occasione della lettura al Teatro Comunale, 16 aprile 2012. 290 copies.
Selected Canticles. Maxville, ON: above/ground press, 2012. 100 copies.
The Gospel of X. Vallum Chapbook series No. 9. Montreal: Vallum Society for Arts and
Letters Education, 2010. Poetry. 200 copies.
Africadian History: An Exhibition Catalogue. Wolfville, NS: Gaspereau Press, 2001.
Poetry. 400 copies.
Blue (II). Included in anthology, Running with Scissors: New Poetry by 19 Young
Writers. Eds. Andy Brown & Meg Sircom. Montréal: Cumulus Press, 2001.
Poetry. 500 copies.
Execution Poems. Wolfville, NS: Gaspereau Press, 2000. Poetry. 66 copies.
Gold Indigoes. Durham, NC: Carolina Wren Press, 2000. Poetry. 500 copies.
Provençal Songs [II]. Ottawa: above / ground press, 1997. Poetry. 150 copies.
Provençal Songs. Ottawa: Magnum Book Store, 1993. Poetry. 30 copies.
Translation
Poeme Incendiare. Trans. Flavia Cosma. Oradea, Romania: Editura Cogito, 2006.
[Poetry]
[Many Kinds of Love: Heavenly, Earthy, and Hellish. Trans. of Whylah Falls.] Trans.
Tong Renshan. Beijing: International Publishing, 2006. [Poetry]
George Elliott Clarke: Poesie e Drammi. [Trans. & Ed.] Giulio Marra. Venezia, Italia:
Studio LT2, 2012. [Poetry]
Screenplay
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One Heart Broken Into Song. Feature Film. Prod: CBC-TV. 1999.
Beatrice Chancy: The Opera. Feature Film. Prod: CBC-TV. 2001.
Stage Productions
Whylah Falls: The Play. Dartmouth NS: Eastern Front Theatre, 1997, 2000; Ottawa ON:
National Arts Centre, 1998, 2000; Venice, Italy: Universite de Venezia, 2002.
Beatrice Chancy: The Play. Toronto ON: Theatre Passe Muraille, 1997.
Beatrice Chancy: The Opera. Toronto ON: Queen of Puddings Music Theatre Company,
1998, 1999; Dartmouth NS: Queen of Puddings Music Theatre Company, 1999;
Edmonton AB: Queen of Puddings Music Theatre Company, 2001.
Québécité: A Jazz Opera. Guelph ON: Guelph Jazz Festival, 2003; Vancouver, BC:
Vancouver Jazz Festival, 2003.
East Coasting, or Make It Beautiful. Toronto, ON: CBC Radio, “Words & Music
Series,” Glenn Gould Theatre, 2004.
Trudeau: Long March / Shining Path. Wolfville, NS: Summer Institute of the Trudeau
Foundation, 2006; Toronto, ON: Africanadian Playwrights Festival, 2006;
Toronto, ON: Harbourfront Centre Corporation, 2007; Halifax, NS: Pier 21
Museum and Mulan Chinese Cultural Centre, 2007; Department of Political
Science, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, 2008.
Québécité: The Play. Ottawa, ON: Pennyworth Productions, 2006.
Québécité: A Jazz Opera. Bethlehem, PA: Moravian College, 2009.
Beatrice Chancy: The Play. Toronto, ON: Tarragon Theatre, 2009.
Trudeau: Long March / Shining Path. Halifax, NS: Vocalypse Productions, 2010.
Beatrice Chancy: The Play. Winnipeg, MB: Aqua Books, 2011.
“Settling Africville.” Halifax, NS: San Family Productions, 2014.
Studies
Africadian Atlantic: Essays on George Elliott Clarke. Ed. Joe Pivato. Toronto: Guernica
Editions, 2012.
Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 459. Ed. Joe Pivato. Farmington Hills, MI:
Gale, 2020.
Recording
George Elliott Clarke: Lush Dreams, Blue Exile. Halifax, NS: Pottersfield Soundtracks,
1994. Tape.
George Elliott Clarke Koiné Opera (GECKO). Vicenza, Italy: The Art Box, 2017. CD.
The Afro-Métis Nation, Constitution. Toronto: The Afro-Métis Nation, 2019. CD.

Breakfast Speakers 2025

Breakfast Speaker October 18, 2025

Charmaine Hammond is an 11x best-selling author, professional speaker and successful business owner for the past 28 years. She currently owns two businesses. In her company Raise a Dream, she guides authors and entrepreneurs on how the power of collective influence, collaboration and sponsorship can help them sell more books, sell their creative works in bulk, and deepen their impact on the world through their written words. She also teaches how to find sponsors to help bring authors and creatives bring their events, book related projects and book tours to life. She is the Executive Producer of an award winning animated short film, Back Home Again and frequently writes for different magazines and periodicals. 
Breakfast Speakers 2025, Breakfast Speakers 2013

Breakfast Speaker November 15, 2025

 

Terri Favro
Raised in wine country and now living in Toronto, Terri Favro is the author of five novels and one work of popular science, “Generation Robot: A Century of Science Fiction, Fact, and Speculation”. Her novels include “The Sisters Sputnik”  and“Sputnik’s Children”,  which was a Globe & Mail 100 novel, CBC and Quill & Quire Best Book of the Year, longlisted for CBC Canada Reads 2020 and shortlisted for the Sunburst Prize for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic. Terri has been shortlisted for the CBC Prize in Creative Non-Fiction, and her short stories and essays have appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines, most recently in On Spec, Prairie Fire and the Dundurn anthology, “Devouring Tomorrow: Fiction from the Future of Food”. Terri also collaborates on graphic novels with visual artist Ron Edding, most recently a true crime story set in 1933 Toronto, “COLD CITY”. Terri’s new novel “The False Queen’s Archive” is forthcoming from Brain Lag Books in 2026. Terri is currently working on a folk horror novel set in a Niagara vineyard. Learn more about Terri at terrifavro.ca











 

	

	
	




	
	

				

			Book Reviews
		

			
Norman Morra Reviews Thelma Wheatley’s Latest Novel

		

			 		

	


		

		


In the most inaccurate sense, The Girls of Priory Hall could be a workplace romance. Yes, it is a romance, but not the usual type—boy meets girl—full of deception, angst, and humour. Wheatley is not repackaging the usual rom-com as in TV programs such as The Office. But the novella has the elements of a true love story: loneliness, longing, isolation, admiration, seduction and, above all, vulnerability.


 


All human interaction happens in a setting or situation. Isla Owen, the twenty-year-old something heroine, arrives at Priory Hall, the semi-remote Quebec boarding school (women only)—at Pemberton—near Sherbrooke. Fiercely independent, Isla left her working-class family in Britain to forge a life and career in Canada.  Like the Mississippi in Huckleberry Finn or New York City in The Catcher in the Rye, Priory Hall is the thread that integrates Isla into the rigours of teaching while interacting with the “old biddies,” other teachers (old and young), girl students, townsfolk, and men in this remote environment. We assume the third-person narrator is sympathetic to Isla and is not old. Wheatley’s referencing to the “biddies” throughout suggests an antipathy toward the aging women—by both Isla and the storyteller.


 


Like Huck Finn and Holden Caulfield, Isla ventures into a different world with new experiences and various characters. Unlike Holden and Huck, she encounters something different: passion, sensuality, and love. Love comes at unpredictable times and in the most unexpected places for Isla and most of us. You can meet someone crossing the street, in a coffee shop or workplace and fall head over heels. But as Tina Turner once crooned, “What’s love got to do with it?” In time, the answer to this question hits Isla hard, as it does for many; it’s reality. Love can catch you unawares, but can it keep you? Wheatley is skillful enough to make us empathize with Isla Owen—whether we want to or not. Sometimes, one feels that Isla is undeserving of our compassion, but the reader’s desire is irrelevant. Empathy is hard for any writer to elicit in the reader, and Isla’s self-absorption prevents us from connecting freely to her secret, unrequited passion—not love.


 


Miss Owen’s covert longing is for the school’s illustriously seductive but coolly reserved and self-assured administrator, Vera Annesley. The eventual affair happens in the confines of her boss’s boudoir—a boudoir like no other, replete with all the trappings of success: chic clothing, rows of expensive shoes, and a pink silk bedcover. Vera’s apartment (like her appearance) is orderly, imbued with a tastefully calm ambience but ripe for seduction.


 


There’s no doubt Vera is Isla’s boss. Because of this, Wheatley runs the risk—which she takes—of creating a power-over dynamic between the more mature  Vera and the naive but not unwitting (or unwilling) younger teacher. Is Miss Owen truly that vulnerable? Is Vera as strong and committed as she appears early in the book? Is Vera approaching the old biddie stage and needing reassurance that she still has the power to attract her object of desire? Does she still have “it?” These are the questions Wheatley plants in the reader’s mind. Moreover, who is the dominant force—the older woman—or the ingenue? Who’s controlling who?


 


It’s difficult not to explore the underlying psychological (Freudian), sociological (class distinction), political (Rene Levesque’s  Quebec liberation) and literary (Rowenna’s Difficult Term) themes that intersperse and encapsulate the storyline. Vera’s illustrious shoe collection is Freudian; Isla’s working-class Putney is leftist, and the various schoolgirl literary ghosts that recurrently haunt Isla’s unconscious surface and portray her, at times, as a drama queen. Wheatley’s referencing of Rene Levesque and the Marxist surge that morphed into the infamous and violent FLQ indicate Isla’s political convictions. Is the lowly Isla symbolic of the worker capturing the citadel of the swanky Miss Vera Annesley? Once captured, what next? The conqueror and conquered are not as straightforward as they may seem. And the politics become increasingly binding as the story evolves to its stark ending. But we can’t dismiss the psychological forces that impact Isla from within.


 


So, a lot is happening inside Isla’s psyche—with a struggle between her id, ego, and superego. The winner in this dynamic (and future ones) is the id when, on p. 136, Vera instructs Isla to remove her skimpy black panties and bra. “Take them off…slowly,” she urges while in the confines of her candlelit boudoir.  The conflux of libido and impropriety (it is a girls’ school, after all) manages to appease the reader’s urge to peek at the erotic scenes for voyeuristic pleasure. Wheatley’s subtle and suggestive artistic depictions put the likes of Henry Miller to shame.


 


However, Isla’s desire extends beyond Miss Annesley. This union is in the making throughout the early pages as Wheatley cleverly sprinkles bread crumbs, leading to the inevitable climax. On p.108, Isla nearly succumbs to Vera’s charming advances inside her tiny, unkempt room. This contrast between the women grips the reader and confirms the truism that opposites do attract. Despite the mutual attraction, Isla’s superego (conscience) pushes her away from the snuggled warmth of her breasts. Vera wisely departs, climbs the stairs to her quarters, and awaits another day. At least she has laid the groundwork for the inevitable seduction on p. 123 and 136. Patience and restraint seem to be Annesley’s hallmark traits, but that wears thin later in the book. So what’s the issue? What causes the shift in both the narrative and within Isla?


 


Frankly, Miss Owen finds men as alluring as the older grand dame, the sophisticated administrator—full of grace and cunning. Perhaps Isla’s infatuation is wearing thin. Miss Annesley does not share the same appetite; men neither interest nor intrigue her. A nearby boys’ school, Braemar, supplied the unattached Priory teachers with available male teachers that proved hit or miss. Isla’s first date with Martin Dove (ironic name) ended with Isla using her working-class smarts to dig “her nails into the back of his neck” when he overrode her unconditional “no.” Dove’s an obvious miss, but the encounter shows Isla’s power to refuse and to affirm her authentic self as the source of her strength. To refuse, to say no, is fundamental to all human freedom in the true existential sense. But this inability to refuse, to say no, dissipates and entraps her in the end. Knowing one is attractive to both sexes might imbue anyone with a heightened narcissism and hubris, something rare but not uncommon. Maybe Isla’s hubris seals her fate, but the reader can become frustrated trying to unravel the psychical, political, sociological, literary and philosophical undercurrents. I did say this was not your ordinary sitcom nor a romance paperback available at the airport confectionary store.


 


The book’s artistic strength lies in Wheatley’s unflinching description of pretty well everything. The countryside, the old biddies’ activities, Montreal, the grimy handyman Dirk, and the girls’ rooms are both mundane and vibrant-—and explode in technicolour. And, as I’ve posed, the intimate goings-on are equally masterful. But I must reiterate. The reader feels the tenderness filling these encounters between the two women. And the fetishes of bras and panties and restitching of torn nighties “ sheer and delicate” remind us of those delights inside Vera’s inner sanctum, that top-floor apartment. Does the torn nightie suggest the lovemaking was both passionate and tender? Women aside, Wheatley’s male portrayals are as convincing and accurate as those of writers Norman Mailer and Philip Roth. At times, these portrayals equal and possibly surpass Wheatley’s characterizations of fringe players, such as her chum Esme  with her stereotypical girlish series of “ugh-h-h.” The men, Ives, Andre—even Dove and the “horrid” Dirk—breathe masculinity. They are real.


 


At the book’s midpoint, things change with the introduction of Ives, a young pig farmer who whisks Isla off and sweeps her away on his motorcycle. This harmless but realistic escapade ends in a kiss that Isla savoured afterwards and— for whatever reason— related to Annesley. Did Isla know this would invoke jealousy in Vera? Here is the first glimpse of a fracture and insight into Vera’s vulnerability or fear of losing her source of joy, as she said, “my sweetest little thing.”


 


On p. 157, Wheatley paints a different picture of Vera, who is aging with “withered lips” and has bouts of indigestion that most oldsters experience. Vera is becoming less appealing but may also be tired of her ingenue when she brings another student to her “lovely big house in Boston.” Why not invite Isla, alone at Priory, over Christmas vacation? Good question.


 


Esme persuades her to see Montreal, where they enjoy the city and the nightlife. There, Isla meets the attractive, natural and sensitive Andre. The tryst differs markedly from the sweet tenderness in Vera’s arms and the battle with Mr. Dove. Despite the contrast, Isla accepts the flip side of hetero sex: the bulging penis, the condom, and the aftermath of the dreaded douche which Esme insisted she take.


 


All does not end well because Isla later spots Andre with a tall, well-dressed blonde who sneers at her and chastizes Andre for fraternizing with the enemy—Les Anglais. It’s clear Andre had used Isla as a one-nighter despite his attempt to defend her as not your typical Anglo because she supports the Quebecois and their fight for liberation from the dominant English culture. Was Andre a good choice or a wrong choice?


 


On returning to Priory in January, Isla discovers that a maid, Nellie, whom she had befriended, had hurt her hand and was no longer employable, so the school fired her. When Isla addressed this with Annesley, asking about a pension for Nellie, Vera found her concern for the underdog tedious and Isla’s attitude a breach of protocol. For Annesley, worrying about your inferiors is inconsequential. Besides, Isla had shown her rebellious side earlier in her defence of spunky Bunty McIver, who had won the first girl election “fair and square.” The biddies tried to overturn the result with a rigged vote in favour of a more “appropriate” and mature woman. Still, Isla refuses to conform to the pressure of the establishment and casts the decisive vote in Bunty’s favour. The class consciousness ingrained in Isla and the British social welfare system parallels the liberation pursuit of the working-class French Canadians of the 1960s.


 


So, with the decreasing attraction between the two heroines and their disparate personalities and political leanings, the inevitable breakup surfaces. It was time for Isla to escape “the grip of her singular passion with Miss Annesley.”


 


Nurturing a friendship with the maid Suzette—frowned upon by the old biddies and Vera—she agrees to go dancing at LaLumiere hall, close to the US border, with American men frequenting the place in search of the fun-loving French Canadian women. By chance, Ives, the pig farmer, shows up, and Isla learns that the rural inhabitants do not support the leftist policies but harbour the traditional conservative values of church and family. Isla knows Quebec is less homogenous than she thought; perhaps worker solidarity is less intense than in urban Putney. The political ideologies of the metropolitan left and rural right vie for power globally. And some who rise from humble beginnings are the first to distance themselves from their comrades.


 


The Girls of Priory Hall is a novella, not a short story nor novel, but an exploration into the leading actor’s character and psyche. Wheatley’s book reminds one of Meursault in Camus’ novella, The Outsider. Isla’s ability to say no, to question or refuse, dissolves, and she winds up—not facing the gallows as Meursault—but with an unwanted pregnancy. Unsure of the father, Ives or Andre, but it doesn’t matter, Isla bitterly departs the school and heads into the uncertainty of her vast adopted country. She also leaves behind her jilted lover, Vera Annesley, who is still stylish with her “dark brocade material” shoes. Vera ignores Isla’s apologetic hand for a final touch of warmth—the same hand that had caressed Isla-—with tenderness and affection. The reader now understands the impact of the opening scene where another girl, another Isla perhaps, mutters the word “sorry” while acridly departing Priory Hall. Indeed, history might reverse itself—first as farce-—then as tragedy.


 


“Sorry won’t cut it,” Vera said to Isla and “stepped briskly inside.” No longer lovers, no longer friends, nor two ships passing in the night where the respective captains sound out blasts of acknowledgement and respect.


 


Is life tragic or absurd, or both? We all stumble to the final curtain in our dramas, clutching our bundle of choices. The ending is neither sad nor final because we are, as some say, the totality of those choices and nothing more. And life goes on. In a sense, we are all Islas, which raises this book into the world of universal human emotions. The Girls of Priory Hall is not a woman’s book or melodrama but one for everyone, regardless of gender. Isla is every woman or man facing the unknown, and we should embrace her humanity; we did it for Huck Finn and Holden Caulfield.


 



	

	
	




	
	

				

			Breakfast Speakers 2024
		

			
Breakfast Meeting January 20, 2024

		

			 		

	


		

		








Lisa de Nikolits has been hailed as “the Queen of Canadian speculative fiction”.  


Originally from South Africa, she is the award-winning author of eleven published novels (Inanna Publications). She has appeared on recommended reading lists for Open Book Toronto, 49th Shelf, All Lit Up, The Miramichi Reader Chatelaine, Canadian Living, Hello!, the Quill & Quire, and the CBC. The Occult Persuasion and The Anarchist’s Solution was longlisted for a Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of The Fantastic and The Rage Room was a finalist in the International Book Awards, 2021. Everything You Dream is Real is a sequel to The Rage Room or read it as a standalone.  


Her short fiction and poetry have been published in various international anthologies and journals including the Crime Writers of Canada’s 40th Anniversary anthology (2022).  


No Fury Like That was published in Italian in 2019 by Edizione Le Assassine under the title Una furia dell’altro mondo.   


Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon (coming 2024), a hardboiled noir thriller, is set to be published in spring 2023 and has garnered advance praise, including this endorsement by acclaimed author Trevor Cole: “Here, finally, is a mob story from the moll’s perspective. Filled with entertaining twists and turns, and dreamers and schemers up to no good, de Nikolits’s zany new novel proves that life for a mobster’s moll may not be all fun and games, but it sure is fun reading.”   


Lisa de Nikolits has lived in Canada since 2000. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Philosophy and has lived in the U.S.A., Australia and Britain.  


Her website is: www.lisawriter.com and she has an active social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  







	

	
	




	
	

				

			Breakfast Speakers 2024
		

			
Breakfast Meeting February 17, 2024

		

			 		

	


		

		


My name is Nate Hendley and I am a Toronto-based journalist, writer, and speaker.


My latest book, The Beatle Bandit, is about Matthew Kerry Smith, a troubled young man who robbed a Toronto-area bank in 1964 disguised in a Halloween mask and a “Beatles” wig. A bank patron tried to intervene and was killed in a gunfight with Smith. This murderous heist fueled a nationwide debate about guns, capital punishment, and the death penalty.


As published by Dundurn Press, The Beatle Bandit won the Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence for Non-Fiction 2022. It was also nominated for the Toronto Heritage Book Awards 2022.


I have written several other books, primarily in the true-crime genre. Previous books have focused on organized crime, Bonnie and Clyde, gang bosses Al Capone and Dutch Schultz, wrongful murder convictions, and cons and hoaxes, among other topics.


For more information about my books and background, visit my website at http://www.natehendley.ca


I host a crime blog, which can be viewed at https://crimestory.wordpress.com/


I am a member of the Canadian Freelance Guild (CFG) and the Crime Writers of Canada (CWC).


I live next-door to Jeanne, world’s greatest girlfriend.


I do public presentations based on my books. For more information, contact me at: nhendley@sympatico.ca. (less)


 

	

	
	




	
	

				

			Breakfast Speakers 2024
		

			
Breakfast Meeting March 16, 2024

		

			 		

	


		

		
An award-winning national newspaper columnist, Lorraine Sommerfeld has been writing Motherlode for twenty years for the Hamilton Spectator and has been an automotive journalist for eighteen, currently with Driving.ca Whether she’s driving exotic cars in crazy places or telling you stories about her kids or her cats, her work is always about the people. With the release of her debut thriller novel in the summer of 2023, A Face in the Window, it’s now about scaring them, too. She began writing at 40. Before that, she got fired a lot.


 

	

	
	




	
	

				

			Breakfast Speakers 2024
		

			
Breakfast Meeting April 20, 2024

		

			 		

	


		

		


Desi Di Nardo has authored several poetry collections, and her work has been published in hundreds of journals and anthologies, performed at the National Arts Centre, featured on the TTC, printed on Starbucks cups, composed into opera, and displayed in the Prime Minister’s Official Residences of Canada. 

Desi was an editor for universities, writer-in-residence, June Callwood literacy facilitator, TDSB Italian language teacher, and the first-ever TDSB poetry instructor. She was an on-air tv host and currently is an English professor at George Brown College. She contributes in curriculum development for post secondary writing courses. 

Desi hosted Poetry Parade with Canada’s Parliamentary Poet Laureate. She conducts in-person and online writing workshops at venues like Stephen Leacock Museum, SickKids Hospital, schools, libraries, art galleries, and retirement homes across Ontario. Her writing was translated into foreign languages and is found in curriculums for schools like Vanier CHS, Michipicoten HS, and the University of Toronto. Desi’s  poetry is included in syllabi for MA English Literature programs in universities abroad such as Thiruvalluvar University and PSGR Krishnammal College for Women in India. Desi was commissioned by Desjardins to appear in commercial and to inspire and create poetry for their corporate brand advertising.