The commonly used phrase “the year has gone by in a flash” has become something of a cliché at this time of year. Looking back over the past twelve months, it certainly feels true, but perhaps it is because of our engagement in the year, much like flipping through pages of a gripping book. If we think of a quickly passing year as a “page-turner,” this cliché takes on a more positive tone.

For many, a book (like a year) is meant to be slowly savoured. Whether you prefer a page-turner or a tea-sipping epic novel, both offer stories, characters, moments, and themes that stay with us long after the book is closed. And there is always anticipation for the upcoming book, with pages filled with the excitement of the unknown. Perhaps this is how we can look upon the quick passing of 2025 and the coming of 2026.

In spring 2025, CWLC completed its program on Irish writers. “Irish Writers” was a fun theme, which offered our members Irish culture (including a lot of coarse language), writers from the past and present, and Calgary’s St. James Pub. The fall 2025 program, “Nominees for the Nobel Prize in Literature Who Never Won,” has included wonderful presentations and literary greats such as James Joyce, Margaret Atwood, Leo Tolstoy, Elie Wiesel, Janet Frame, and Mark Twain. While CWLC is currently on a break, we continue our theme and meetings on March 3, 2026. Guests are always welcome!

Robbie Burns’s poem “Auld Lang Syne” has become a familiar song shared at new year’s eve gatherings and at other events that mark significant moments of transition. Auld lang syne is literally translated to “old long since” and loosely means “for the sake of old times.” As a new year approaches, the 18th-century Scottish poem/song reminds us not to forget the friendships and experiences of the past. The new year is a good time to reflect on what has been, while welcoming what comes today and in the future.

Happy New Year and Happy Reading to All!

CWLC – posted by Mooréa G.

Auld Lang Syne by Robert Burns (1788)

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup!
and surely I’ll buy mine!
And we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

Chorus

We two have run about the hills,
and picked the daisies fine;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

Chorus

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

Chorus

And there’s a hand my trusty friend!
And give me a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

Chorus

Ernest Hemingway famously claimed, “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn. […] There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since.” How can such high praise be reconciled when The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is both one of the most beloved and one of the most controversial novels in American history? 

On Tuesday, November 18, Janet H. delivered a well-researched and passionate presentation on Mark Twain. Janet examined the man, the writer, and Huckleberry Finn’s lasting place in modern literature. Twain’s writings address the horrors and injustices of slavery, and Janet handled this sensitive subject with care and insight. 

After showing Conan O’Brien’s heartfelt acceptance speech for the Mark Twain award for American Humor, Janet admitted she knew little about the writer before her research—other than knowing he was funny. She learned numerous autobiographies exist (“shouldn’t there be only one?”) and recommended The Autobiography of Mark Twain (1959), edited by Charles Neider.

Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835 and spent his childhood along the Mississippi River in Hannibal, Missouri. Twain was adventurous, humorous, and empathetic by nature. Upon his father’s death, Twain lived a “Charles Dickens-type misery” as a printer’s apprentice. He later became a journeyman printer, a steamboat pilot, a Confederate soldier, and a newspaper reporter. Writing about fraud and corruption was dangerous, so he began using the pen name “Mark Twain” (a nautical term). His extensive travels through Europe, the Middle East, and Hawaii inspired his humorous and satirical travel writings. Twain married and had four children—only one living passed the age of thirty.

While living in Hartford, Connecticut, Twain wrote many of his classics: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), The Prince and the Pauper (1881), Life on the Mississippi (1883), and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). Huckleberry Finn tells the story of fourteen-year-old Huck, who befriends Jim, an enslaved man escaping toward freedom. Narrated in Huck’s colloquial voice, they share an eventful journey as they drift down the Mississippi River. Throughout the story, Huck struggles between his own conscience and societal prejudices. The book faced controversy as early as 1885: It was described as “coarse, trashy, inelegant, irreligious, obsolete, inaccurate, and mindless.” In later decades, it was challenged and even banned because of its racial slurs and prejudices of the time. Modern readers who defend the novel argue that Twain’s language is a deliberate critique of racism and slavery rather than an endorsement. 

Upon spending so much time with Mark Twain and his works, Janet joked that she was sad to part with her “new boyfriend.” 

Janet’s presentation wraps up the CWLC Fall 2025 session. Spring 2026 meetings will commence on Tuesday, March 3. Please refer to the program schedule for upcoming presentations on “Nominees for the Nobel Prize in Literature Who Never Won.”  

Have a wonderful holiday season and HAPPY READING!

Posted by Mooréa G.

In reference to her chosen author and to other authors showcased in the Fall 2025 program—Margaret Atwood, Janet Frame, Elie Wiesel, James Joyce, Leo Tolstoy, and Mark Twain—Sandra E. asks, “Who are we to take on the titans of literature? There is so much to say!”

On Tuesday, November 11^th, via Zoom, Sandra shared her research and interest in her literary titan, Leo Tolstoy. Sandra’s biographical overview and focused discussion of Anna Karenina offered listeners an engaging introduction to one of the greatest and most influential writers in any language. 

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was born in 1828 at his family’s estate south of Moscow. He was orphaned as a young boy and raised by relatives. Tolstoy’s semi-autobiographical novels, Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth (1852-1856), brought him early acclaim as a writer. He went on to write numerous novels and novellas, most notably War and Peace (1869), Anna Karenina (1878), and The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886).

In 1862, Tolstoy married Sofia (Sonya) and the couple had thirteen children, eight of whom lived into adulthood. Not only was Sofia a wife and mother, but also the writer’s secretary, editor, and transcriber. Sofia kept a detailed journal describing her troubled family life and her often cruel husband. Sofia’s diaries were published after her death and the life and marriage of the Tolstoys were later portrayed in the film The Last Station and in a BBC Radio series entitled “Mrs. Tolstoy, A simple Life.”

Anna Karenina famously begins with the line, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Sandra explores the novel’s three main families—Stiva and Dolly Oblonsky, Alexei and Anna Karenin, and Konstantin and Kitty Levin—demonstrating how their lives are often passionately and tragically intertwined. The novel highlights late nineteenth-century tensions between urban and rural life, love and duty, and resilience and despair.

Tolstoy fell into a profound moral and existential crisis in the late 1870s. Tolstoy turned to religion and the simple living of the Russian countryside. The character of Levin in Anna Karenina is often believed to share the same philosophy as the writer himself.

Tolstoy was nominated numerous times between 1901 and 1909 for the Nobel Prize in Literature, though he never won. When he learned of the nominations, he was relieved that he did not win as it spared him “the painful necessity of dealing in some way with the money […] generally regarded as very necessary and useful, but which I regard as the source of every kind of evil.”

In answer to Sandra’s question, “Who are we to take on the titans of literature,” the answer is simple: thoughtful, well-read members of the CWLC—including Sandra—who engage with the literary greats with curiosity and appreciation.

The Memorial Park library was closed on November 11^th in observance of Remembrance Day.

Posted by Mooréa G.

How should one approach the hugely influential and celebrated twentieth-century writer James Joyce in preparation for a forty-minute presentation? Cecilia K. did it with great control and clarity as she focussed primarily on the unsettled, short story “Eveline” from Joyce’s short story collection, Dubliners (1914). 

Unlike a Joycean lecture, Cecilia encouraged group participation and provided handouts of “Eveline” for close reading. After reading the story in its entirety, Cecilia asked discerning questions, such as “Can we describe Eveline’s final scene as an epiphany or is it more a matter of paralysis?” And, “How is paralysis used as a metaphor for Joyce’s doomed and self-defeating life of Dublin?” An in-depth discussion by the members followed each of the questions.

To assist her own close reading of Joyce’s works, Cecilia consulted Harold Bloom’s Modern Critical Views: James Joyce and The Art of the Short Story by Dana Gioia and R.S. Gwynn. She also noted and shared Edna O’Brien’s excellent introduction to Dubliners (Signet Classic, 1991 edition). 

The Irish-born writer James Joyce was a modernist writer known for his experimental writing techniques, including interior monologue and stream of consciousness. In Dubliners, Joyce portrayed “a chapter in the moral history of [his] country,” focusing on the moral and spiritual paralysis of Dublin. Many Irish readers were angered by his sentiments and of his handling of sexual and family relationships, drawing much criticism to this and other of Joyce’s works. 

Members greatly enjoyed and applauded Cecilia’s bite-sized approach to James Joyce. Now, who’s ready for Ulysses?!

Written by Mooréa G.

Shabbat Candle Sticks. Challah Cover. Spice Box. Havdalah Candle. Passover Plate. Matzah Cover.

Natashia H. began her presentation on Elie Wiesel by showing the things that had to be left behind when he and his family were deported. These are the symbols of his culture and religion.

Elie Wiesel was born in Romania in 1928. By 1944, Wiesel and his family believed they had escaped being captured by the Nazis. But, they were not so lucky. They were deported first to Auschwitz then to Buchenwald. Wiesel was fifteen. By the time he was released, he had lost his family and all connections to his religion. 

After a time spent in an orphanage in France, learning French, learning table manners, and learning how to interact with people, he wanted to regain his Jewish identity. He wanted to learn about Jewish mysticism, the essence of divinity, and understand the wisdom of God.

As an intellectual and a journalist, Wiesel became a political activist, a strong defender of human rights, and an advocate for justice. He wanted to confront hatred, write about dignity, and spread wisdom.

Wiesel asked the essential questions of our human existence: What do we do when we encounter chaos? Do we confront it or do we hide from it? How can you make a change within your sphere of influence? How can you make a difference? And, perhaps the most important question of all, how do we fight indifference?  

Natashia encouraged us to perform acts of kindness, as well as acts of critical thinking. As we do at our weekly CWLC meetings, we talk to each other, we listen, we talk about ideas, and we ask questions.

Chaos is darkness. We have the opportunity to be the light.  

Written by Sandra E.

Through a psychological lens, Joan B. delivered her inaugural presentation on the life and works of New Zealand-born writer Janet Frame. Joan’s well-researched and engaging talk clearly reflects her thirty-three years of experience as a junior and senior high school teacher.

Frame was a new discovery for Joan, and she quickly learned that books are not easily found in local bookstores or libraries. Nevertheless, Joan was successful in purchasing six titles online. Joan provided thoughtful overviews of The Lagoon and Other Stories (1951), Owls Do Cry (1957), Scented Gardens for the Blind (1963), To the Is-Land (1982), An Angel at My Table (1984), and The Envoy from Mirror City (1985). The last three books make up a three-volume autobiography, with Angel at My Table being Joan’s favourite and adapted for film by Jane Campion. Whether fiction or non-fiction, much of Frame’s writing retells her own life as a child and of her experiences in and out of psychiatric hospitals.

Frame was born in Dunedin, New Zealand and is believed—through her Scottish ancestry—to be a descendent of William of Orange. Her father was a railway worker and her mother worked as a housemaid. The Frame family moved between railway towns finding it difficult to make ends meet.

Due to stress and anxiety, Frame attempted to take her own life while training to be a teacher. She was subsequently institutionalized for a total of eight years in various psychiatric hospitals, where she was incorrectly diagnosed with schizophrenia. During her confinement, Frame wrote and published her first book, The Lagoon and Other Stories. Just days before a scheduled lobotomy, her book won one of New Zealand’s most prestigious literary awards, leading to her discharge. Reflecting on this time, Frame writes, “It is little wonder that I value writing as a way of life when it actually saved my life.”

In the following years, Frame wrote prolifically with her first novel, Owls Do Cry, lauded as “New Zealand’s first great novel” and a “modernist masterpiece.”

Following her mother’s passion for poetry, Frame found great joy in writing verse. She states, “Poetry is attendance upon the world.” Joan read two of Frame’s moving poems: “Child” and “Birch Trees.”

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in Janet Frame and her works. In celebration of her centennial birthday in August 2024, the “Janet Frame Bookshelf” exhibition in Dunedin was curated to showcase the esteemed writers literary and personal papers. Additionally, “100 Days of Janet Frame” was a radio program that broadcast one poem every day for 100 days.

Congratulations, Joan, on delivering such an insightful and enjoyable first presentation!

Posted by Mooréa G.

After a long summer break, CWLC members were eager to attend Doloris D.’s presentation on Margaret Atwood—one of Canada’s most renowned writers and icon of Canadian culture. Doloris’s presentation was a spectacular start to the 2025-2026 session and to the new theme of “Nominees for the Nobel Prize in Literature Who Never Won.”

Doloris reminded members that she previously presented on Atwood in 2012. With the club’s new theme, Doloris seized the opportunity to further her research and provide another in-depth presentation on one of her most-loved Canadian authors. 

Instead of concentrating on specific works by Atwood, Doloris chronicled the author’s upbringing and how it shapes her writing, and how her writing influences how she is perceived by the literary world—by fans, critics, and academics.

Margaret Atwood was born in 1939 in Ottawa. She was born into a close, intelligent, and active family who surrounded themselves in nature, learning, and literature. Atwood’s father, an entomologist, had a passion for the woods; therefore, the family split their time living in the northern Quebec wilderness and in the city. An early introduction to the Grimms’ Fairy Tales fed Atwood’s fascination with myth and how it relates to life. As a voracious reader, she was exposed to subjects including Canadian culture (what there was at the time) and colonialism. Pervasive gender stereotyping sparked her concern for female identity, which is addressed in many of her works. Atwood studied literature at the University of Toronto and Harvard, and her professors included Northrop Frye (literary critic) and Jay Macpherson (poet). 

Due to her public persona, her large and diverse oeuvre, and her stance on important and often controversial issues, Atwood has received labels such as “Mousy,” “Feminist,” “Man Hater,” “Dragon,” and “Sage.” 

Doloris shared that in addition to Atwood’s literary works, she is drawn to Atwood for her conservationism, dedication to helping writers, her numerous library projects, and her involvement with PEN International.

At eighty-five, Atwood has been considered a leading contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature on—perhaps—ten or more different occasions. Because nominees are not revealed for fifty years after the prize is awarded, there is no certainty if a writer has been nominated (unless they win). However, according to literary critics and various media sources, Atwood has been a “Nobel Favourite” for decades. Although Atwood has not received the Nobel Prize, she has been awarded numerous prizes including the Governor General’s Award, Giller Prize, and Booker Prize. 

The prolific, masterful, edgy, and humorous Margaret Atwood will be a guest speaker at Wordfest this December in Calgary.

Posted by Mooréa G.

CWLC members received the exciting news of the 2025-2026 program theme at the winter Holiday Party, and it’s time to announce the theme to all.

The topic of “Nobel Prize Winning Authors” has been chosen a number of times throughout our history. When I was compiling the complete list of programs, I wanted to include the year that the author won the prize, and that’s when I discovered authors we assume had won had not done so. Some of these authors include HG Wells, Aldous Huxley, Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekov, James Joyce, Henrik Ibsen, and Marcel Proust. As a result, an interesting topic presented itself: “Nominees for the Nobel Prize in Literature Who Never Won.”      

The Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded annually since 1901, is not without controversy. While nominators are kept secret for fifty years–presumably to avoid controversy and biases–rumours often circulate about who has been nominated. The awarding institution, the Swedish Academy, has four times awarded the prize to its own members. The committee is often criticized for being white, male, Euro-centric, and being prejudice against writers whose political views are in direct opposition to theirs. Three writers have declined the prize. In 2018, three members of the committee resigned in response to a sexual misconduct investigation involving two board members, and no laureate was chosen.

Despite the controversy, the Nobel Prize in Literature is still regarded as an important achievement in an author’s life and a recognition of the significance of a full body of work. We look forward to hearing from our members about their chosen authors.  

To view the 2025-2026 Program schedule, please go to the PROGRAM section of the website.

Written by Sandra E., Program Chair

What a lively and informative program the CWLC and its members provided over the 2024-2025 year. The theme, Irish Authors, opened literary doors to a rich group of both celebrated and lesser-known writers. Our presenters selected writers and their works that were historical and fact driven, steeped in Irish culture, humorous, spooky, autobiographical, fearless, profanity laden, and often bleak and depressing.

On Tuesday, April 22, Margaret S. wrapped up our program with her candid presentation on Anne Enright. Margaret began by stating that while she appreciates Enright’s skillful writing, she does not enjoy the gloomy, melancholic narratives of Enright’s novels. Dysfunctional families, tragedy, trauma, and the complexity of relationships and identity are reoccurring themes. Within her discussion of these dark topics, Margaret sensitively found ways to make her audience laugh.

Margaret discussed four novels beginning with the 2007 Booker Prize winner, The Gathering (2007), a story that deals with family, suicide, secrets, and redemption. Margaret praised The Green Road (2015) and The Pleasure of Eliza Lynch (2002) for Enright’s shining prose. “Startling and amusing” is how Margaret cooly described some of the graphic and sexually explicit scenes in The Pleasure of Eliza Lynch. Margaret’s favourite of the four novels is Actress (2020). The vivid portrayals of the Irish theatre companies during the 1930s and 40s were of great interest to Margaret. As the narrative moves back and forth in time, the novel often takes place during The Troubles (1968-1998). Margaret lived in nearby Scotland during this time of conflict and violence and recalled her concerns for her own safety while working as a young secretary. 

Enright was born in Dublin in 1963. After studying in Victoria, B.C. on a two-year scholarship she continued her studies at Trinity College Dublin then received an M.A. in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. Enright worked a brief time as a television producer then began her writing in earnest in 1993. Enright has received numerous awards and nominations primarily in Ireland and in the UK. In October 2024, Enright was a guest speaker at Wordfest in Calgary. She was joined by Irish writer Roddy Doyle and interviewed by Marina Endicott. Several CWLC members were in attendance.

With great resolve and continued reading, Margaret moved beyond her dislike of Enright’s gloomy narratives and shared with her audience an informative and engaging presentation on this bestselling, award-winning Irish author. Whether giving a presentation or actively listening to a presentation, the CWLC emboldens independent thinking and encourages members to explore and move within and beyond their reading comfort.

Please watch the “Program” section of the CWLC website to learn about the theme for our upcoming 2025 -2026 program beginning on October 7, 2025.

Posted by Mooréa G.

On Tuesday, April 15^th, Anita M. gave an engaging presentation on Irish writer Edna O’Brien. While Anita has a soft voice and a gentle manner, she doesn’t hesitate to tackle writers who have difficult, weighty, and often controversial stories to tell. Anita has presented on writers Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Susan Brownmiller, Rex Murphy, George Jonas, among others. 

Edna O’Brien was born in 1930 and spent many of her adolescent years educated in an Irish boarding school run by Catholic sisters. O’Brien received no formal education in writing; however, she read and observed the style of “great writers,” such as Tolstoy and Thackeray. She was greatly influenced by James Joyce: both the writer and his works. In 1959, O’Brien moved to London with her husband. By this time, she had already developed a writing style “with wide variations adapted for various venues and topics.” 

O’Brien’s six decades of writing produced twenty novels, non-fiction books, short-story collections, dramas, and children’s stories. She wrote mostly while living in London; yet, her ties and literary focus remained mainly in Ireland. In her later years, O’Brien kept her focus on women and girls though expanded to different parts of the world, such as in her final novel, Girl, which tells the story of the abducted schoolgirls in Nigeria. Anita states, “Injustices in Ireland and abroad are highlighted with writing sometimes considered too honest, too raw and too emotional. She wrote passionately about the plight of abused and compromised women and girls, female sexuality and redemption.”

The autobiographical novel The Country Girls (1960) is a frank portrayal of the stifled and silenced female experience in Ireland in the 1950s onward. While the story is published as a single book, it is also part of The Country Girls Trilogy that contains three novels and an epilogue: The Country Girls, The Lonely Girl (1962), and Girls in Their Married Bliss (1964). The novels centre on two Irish schoolgirls, Cait and Baba, who spend their teenage years in a convent school then leave for Dublin as young women. All three novels were banned by the Irish Censorship Board and purportedly burned for their sexually explicit content and their commentary on the Catholic Church and Irish society.

Anita also discussed James Joyce (1999), Country Girl: A Memoir (2012), The Little Red Chairs (2015), and Girl (2019). Anita read compelling excerpts from the novels, and Anna Q. joined Anita to read a passage from the biography James Joyce. From the chapter “Once Upon a Time,” O’Brien pokes fun at her literary inspiration calling him a “lecher” and a “Joyce of all trades.” While she has fun with the “bullock-befriending bard,” O’Brien’s biography illustrates her lifelong admiration and deep connection to the much-celebrated, Irish writer.  

Upon Dame Edna O’Brien’s passing in 2024, Irish President Michael Higgins expressed his great sorrow at the passing of “one of the outstanding writers in modern time.” 

Posted by Mooréa G.