York hosts talk by celebrated writer Gary Geddes

Gary Geddes
Gary Geddes

Canadian author and poet Gary Geddes will visit York University on Nov. 1 to present a talk on his critically acclaimed book Medicine Unbundled: A Journey through the Minefields of Indigenous Health Care.

The event, titled ‘The Politics of Disease: Indigenous Health Care, a Genocide by Any Other Name’ is sponsored by the Faculty of Health and the Department of English (LAPS) and runs from 5 to 7:30pm in room 105 Life Science Building.

The talk is scheduled from 5 to 6:30pm, and will be followed by open discussions, refreshments, and a book signing running 6:30 to 7:30pm.

Geddes has written and edited close to 50 books of poetry, fiction, drama, non-fiction, criticism, translation, and anthologies. He is the recipient of several national and international literary awards, including the Commonwealth Poetry Prize (Americas Region), the fifth annual Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence, and the Gabriela Mistral Prize from the government of Chile, awarded simultaneously to Octavio Paz, Vaclav Havel, Ernesto Cardenal, Rafael Alberti and Mario Benedetti.

His non-fiction books include Sailing Home, Kingdom of Ten Thousand Things, Drink the Bitter Root, and Medicine Unbundled: A Journey through the Minefields of Indigenous Health Care. Geddes has a PhD from U of T and has taught at Concordia, Western Washington University, BCIT, and University of Missouri-St Louis and has been writer-in-residence at UBC, McMaster, and the Vancouver Public Library. He lives on Thetis Island, B.C.

All author royalties from the sale of the book will be donated towards a scholarship for an Indigenous student at the University of Victoria.

The event is free, but RSVP is required through www.eventbrite.ca/e/author-talk-the-politics-of-disease-indigenous-health-care-a-genocide-by-any-other-name-tickets-38359035909.