issue 25 // volume 43 Creative Writing department's annual anthology 1s out > Book launch of ‘Pearls 36’ Caroline Ho Arts Editor he Douglas College Creative Writing department has launched the 36th annual edition of Pearls, an anthology of student-written works from a variety of genres and a range of courses in the department. The release of the volume was celebrated at a book launch event that took place last Friday evening in the Studio Theatre, where 10 students read selections from their writings published in Pearls 36. An audience full of faculty, fellow students, and other guests got to hear these writers share their poems, narratives, stories, and scripts aloud. After a brief welcome by much- adored Creative Writing chair Elizabeth Bachinsky, she handed the podium over to the writers. Each student’s presentation was prefaced by a short introductory spiel by one of the department’s instructors, who lauded their students’ creativity and ability to impress even these seasoned writing teachers. The first reading of the night was by Alexandra Atleo, who presented a poem about professions. Her piece is a delightful read on paper, but aloud it was even wittier, paced perfectly to flow from line to line. Several students shared excerpts from personal narratives, written about their own experiences. Glenda Leznoff, who teaches Personal Narrative along with Screenwriting and Fiction, told attendees that this genre is challenging in that it demands a lot of risk-taking from the writer to open up about intimate details in published anthology form, and in front of a sizeable audience. Cayenne Bradley read a touching narrative about some inner demons in her family. Keaten Campbell also shared a segment of a narrative that he wrote, drawing listeners into his struggles to discover a sense of home. Less filled with personal detail—but no less touching—were the excerpts from fictional stories read at the launch. Amy Groves’ story about an audacious old granny and her disabled dog had the audience chuckling along to the heartwarming tale. Amanda Marier’s self-described “dark and twisty story” set the nightly scene of a woman’s smoking habit, an excerpt that was all the more enrapturing due to the abrupt point at which she paused the reading. Pearls 36 also contains speculative fiction, a genre which is relatively new to Douglas College and has only been taught in the department for a few years. Speculative fiction often includes aspects that are scary, fabulous, and magical; the first of these was definitely present in the excerpt read by Rohman Barisoff from arts // no. 7 €¢ The Douglas College Creative Writing Department has launched the 36th annual edition of Pearls, an anthology of student-written works from a variety of genres and a range of courses in the department. his story, which included pain, a dog, and a discomforting dental problem. Vannesa Romein presented part of a picture book, although she told the audience that they would have to use their own imaginations to supply the pictures, which were easy enough to envision with her charming tale of a complacent king and his knight. The book launch even included readings from a screenplay, a format of presentation that gives a considerably different experience compared to reading a script in print or watching it acted out in film. Carson Marquardt’s screenplay follows a hitchhiker picked up by a woman with a surprise in her trunk. The screenplay was brought to life rousingly as Marquardt and guest readers flitted between scene directions and dialogue. Near the end of the event came the presentation of the Maurice Hodgson Creative Writing Award of Distinction, given in honour of the late Maurice Hodgson, who was the head of the Creative Writing Department for many Murderous Mary Poppins > ‘Keeping Mum’ movie review Jan Prchal Columnist I eeping Mum (2005) is a British dark comedy about a nanny who comes to help a troubled family by violently eliminating the sources of their conflict, and encourages positive behaviour changes in the way only British nannies know how to do. However, there is no magic at play here, besides the odd comedic moment in a reasonably entertaining, well-paced, and well-acted film. The film is set in the sleepy British town of Little Wallop, where the vicar Goodfellow, played by experienced bumbler Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean), is completely oblivious to the dissatisfaction of his wife, the nymphomania of his daughter, and the low self-esteem of his son. Enter Grace Hawkins, an old nanny whose arrival brings about the miraculous silencing of the neighbour’s barking dog, and other such miracles follow. However, it becomes apparent to the viewer, and later to members of the family, that the sudden disappearance of the neighbour's dog, and then of its owner, are the result of nanny-committed murder. It is difficult to pinpoint a best moment in the film, since none of the set- pieces truly thrive. Watching the killer nanny hurt the young son’s bullies by cutting their bike brakes isn’t so much hilarious as it is almost oddly satisfying. The cast of this comedy is certainly one of its strong suits. Needless to say, © Maggie » Smith kills years. Bachinsky explained that usually the department chooses two students to recognize, Gold and Silver, but this year the faculty was so impressed that they had to name two Gold recipients: Hannah Ewing and Blake Rayment. The two talented writers gave short speeches of appreciation for the incredibly supportive and welcoming Creative Writing community before reading from their own works. Rayment shared a segment from his personal narrative about his painful experience with kidney stones as a child, a story of cringe-inducing hilarity. Ewing read a part of her fictional piece featuring a young woman who is pondering, among other things, the fragility and futility of life. Hearing all of the works read aloud by their writers adds a new level of intimacy to the pieces. Many of the presenters chose to end their excerpts on cliffhangers, giving audiences extra incentive to pick up a copy of Pearls 36, which is available in the campus. it (pun intended) as the doting nanny who helps the family solve its issues. You suspect something is up early on with her scheming looks, which become more pronounced as the extent of her criminality becomes more explicit. The female cast is rounded out with Kristin Scott Thomas as the neglected wife and Tamsin Egerton as the daughter. The third act presents an entertaining twist or two, which shows the women of the family coming together to deal with the threats they face. With the male cast, Atkinson sells the clueless vicar, and if anyone has seen Atkinson’s “devil sketch” (highly recommended), this performance comes across as entertainingly ironic. Patrick Swayze plays a horny American golf instructor who is eagerly trying to seduce the vicar’s wife. Almost every word of dialogue he speaks is loaded with innuendo. It’s fairly amusing to see Swayze play something of an exaggerated parody of characters from his younger days. Keeping Mum isa perfect comedy for those with a dark sense of humour, and perhaps for up-and-coming psychopaths. Great British comedy acting, and one intentionally ridiculous American performance, make for a well- paced—if fairly mediocre—comedy.