Authors @ Acadia Kicks Off

Authors @ Acadia Kicks Off
Submitted

The 2019-2020 Authors @ Acadia Series kicks off on Wednesday, September 18 with a reading by Sarah Faber in the Beveridge Arts Centre (Room 132). An exciting new voice in Canadian literature, Faber is originally from Toronto and studied creative writing and English literature at Concordia University in Montréal before making her home in Cape Breton. In addition to All Is Beauty Now, she has published work in literary journals, including Matrix and Brick.

Set in Brazil in the 1960s, Faber’s first novel, All Is Beauty Now, offers a gripping portrait of an upper-crust couple, Dora and Hugo, as they come to terms with the disappearance of their eldest daughter. The mystery plot juxtaposes the beautiful surface of upper-class life in Rio de Janeiro against the family’s desire to keep Hugo’s worsening and violent struggle with bipolar disorder under control. While Faber’s beautiful writing reflects the opulence of the novel’s setting, her talent comes through in her exploration of mental illness, colonialism, and class within her historical setting. Published by McClelland & Stewart, All Is Beauty Now won the Margaret and John Savage First Book Award in the 2018 Atlantic Book Awards competition.

Organized by the Department of English & Theatre, Authors @ Acadia hosts public readings by poets, novelists, and academics throughout the school year. This year’s series will also feature poets Madeline Bassnett (October 7) and Basma Kavanagh (January 22), scholar Lyn Bennett (November 6), and poet and publisher Andrew Steeves (February 29).