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Geddes to read tonight at NIC

Gary Geddes reads from his much-anticipated book Drink the Bitter Root: A writer’s search for justice and redemption in Africa.
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Author Gary Geddes reads from Drink the Bitter Root: A writer’s search for justice and redemption in Africa

Experience an evening of thought-provoking literature with acclaimed author Gary Geddes on Jan. 11 at North Island College, where he will read from his much-anticipated book Drink the Bitter Root: A writer’s search for justice and redemption in Africa.

Based on his trauma and human rights interviews with victims of violence, Drink the Bitter Root is a provocative, emotionally charged account of Geddes’s travels in sub-Saharan Africa.

The stories Geddes brings back are at once haunting and uplifting, stark and sometimes unbearable. A blend of history, reportage, testimonial and memoir this book is a condemnation of the horrors spawned by greed and corruption and an eloquent tribute to human resilience.

Geddes has written and edited more than 40 books and won a dozen national and international literary awards, including the Commonwealth Poetry Prize (Americas Region), the Lieutenant-Governor's Award for Literary Excellence (BC), and the Gabriela Mistral Prize from the government of Chile.

“From 15 Canadian Poets to Skookum Wawa to 20th Century Poetry and Poetics, Gary Geddes has raised the literary profile of both our province and nation, and has long been considered one of Canada’s most important men of letters,” writes Carla Funk, past poet laureate for the city of Victoria.

“In whatever genre he pursues, Geddes writes with eloquence and intense awareness of mystery within the commonplace, and the single human voice singing inside the crowd. He tells the truth, in all its rawness and splendour.”

After completing a postgraduate diploma in education at Reading University in the U.K, followed by an MA and PhD in English at University of Toronto, Geddes taught English briefly at the University of Victoria (1972-1974). He taught English and creative writing widely throughout Canada to support his passion for writing, but mainly at Concordia University in Montreal from 1978-1998.

Born in Vancouver, Geddes is the author of two bestselling travel memoirs, The Kingdom of Ten Thousand Things and Sailing Home.  He now lives on Thetis Island.

Geddes’ reading will begin at 7:30 p.m. this Wednesday in the Stan Hagen Theatre on NIC’s Comox Valley campus.  All are welcome and copies of Drink the Bitter Root will be available for purchase at this free, public event.

For more information on this reading or the Write Here Readers Series, call Susan Auchterlonie at 250-334-5271.

— North Island College