Writer Kerry Lee Powell will be the featured guest at the Canadian Writers in Person Lecture series on Nov. 28, when she discusses her novel Willem de Kooning’s Paintbrush.
Ranging from an island holiday gone wrong to a dive bar on the upswing to a yuppie mother in a pricey subdivision seeing her worst fears come true, these acclaimed, deftly written stories presented in Willem de Kooning’s Paintbrush are populated by barkeeps, good men down on their luck, rebellious teens, lonely immigrants, dreamers and realists, fools and quiet heroes.
Each character, no matter what his or her choices, is deeply human in their search for connection. Powell explores with a black humour a variety of themes of belonging, the simmering potential for violence, and the meaning of art no matter where it is found.
Born in Montreal, Powell has lived in Australia, Antigua and the U.K., where she studied Medieval and Renaissance literature at Cardiff University and directed a literature promotion agency. Her work has appeared in journals and anthologies throughout the U.K. and North America, including The Spectator, the Boston Review and the Virago Writing Women series. In 2013, she won the Boston Review fiction contest, The Malahat Review’s Far Horizons Award for short fiction and the Alfred G Bailey manuscript prize.
The Nov. 28 event wraps up the series for 2017, and will resume on Jan. 16, 2018.
The annual series is presented by York’s Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LAPS) and is free and open to the public. It takes place from 7 to 10pm in 206 Accolade West.
For a complete list of this year’s lineup, visit the Canadian Writers in Person Lecture Series website.