Drop into Indigo Kelowna to meet author Susan Blacklin and get a signed copy of Water Confidential: Witnessing Justice Denied-The Fight for Safe Drinking Water in Indigenous and Rural Communities in Canada
Join us in celebrating the Toronto launch of Keiko Honda's Accidental Blooms. Keiko's memoir was among the 46 works of Canadian nonfiction selected to be read in fall 2023 by CBC. Admission is FREE. ALL are welcome to attend. Books will be available for purchase, of course, the author will be signing! Reserve your spot here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/join-us-for-the-launch-of-accidental-blooms-by-keiko-honda-at-flying-books-tickets-838038775537?aff=oddtdtcreator
Review:
“Keiko Honda is sharing much more than a memoir. She is sharing a philosophy of love and care in a time of anxiety and uncertainty. She shares a journey of possibilities when adversity strikes with life-altering challenges. This book is both an evocation as well as an example of ‘seeing with the heart.’ Our world is a better place for Keiko Honda’s generous gift(s).”
—Bernard Perley, associate professor for Critical Indigenous Studies, UBC
About the author: Keiko Honda is a scientist, writer, community organizer and painter. She holds a PhD in international community health from New York University, but when she suddenly contracted a rare autoimmune disease that confined her to a wheelchair for life, she had to leave her career in research at Columbia University in New York. After moving to Vancouver in 2009, Keiko started hosting artist salons, for which she was awarded the City of Vancouver’s Remarkable Women award in 2014. Shortly thereafter, she founded the Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society to bridge generations and cultures through the arts and to offer members of marginalized communities in Vancouver opportunities for artistic self-discovery. She teaches the aesthetics of co-creation in the Liberal Arts and 55+ Program at Simon Fraser University. She lives in Vancouver, BC, and enjoys watercolour painting and hosting her salons.
Join Bronwyn Preece, the author of knee deep in high water: riding the Muskwa-Kechika, expedition poems, for a reading at the Whistler Public Library. The event is free. All are welcome.
Funded by the National Public Readings program/TWUC
Vera Maloff shares Pete Maloff's recollections of Doukhobor leader Peter Lordly Verigin. She will be joined by fellow Doukhobor writer & editor Fred Samorodin.
May 18th
2 PM
Brilliant Cultural Centre: 1876 Brilliant Road, Castlegar
Fundraising pie and chai event to follow
Join SUSAN BLACKLIN for the Saskatoon launch of WATER CONFIDENTIAL: WITNESSING JUSTICE DENIED (CAITLIN PRESS).
This event will be hosted live in the Travel Alcove and also available as a simultaneous YouTube stream.In Water Confidential, Susan Blacklin recounts her decades-long dedication alongside her late ex-husband, Dr. Hans Peterson, to secure safe drinking water for First Nations and rural communities in Canada. Beginning with Peterson's pioneering research in 1996, they established the Safe Drinking Water Foundation (SDWF), developing innovative water treatment technology and educational programs. Despite progress, many communities still lack access to safe water. Blacklin advocates for federal regulations and transparent science-based policies to address the ongoing crisis. In this timely memoir, Blacklin reflects on her fundraising, activism, and negotiations with governments, while underscoring the urgent need for equitable access to clean water.“Dr. Hans Peterson was an ally to the nation. Our message to other First Nations Leaders is to search for those allies, not just consultants, but experts that care because they will go the distance for your people. Our message to Canadians is to be those allies because if First Nations communities thrive, so does Canada." —Chief John Machiskinic, Yellow Quill First Nation“That Hans and Sue had to undertake what they did is an indictment of Canada’s attitude to Indigenous communities, even when it comes to basic human rights.” —Dr. John O’Connor, family physician, and health advocate, Northern AlbertaSusan Blacklin was born near London, UK, and later moved to Canada. She supported her late ex-husband, Dr. Hans Peterson, in founding the Safe Drinking Water Foundation; they devoted fifteen years of their lives to bringing safe drinking water to First Nations and rural communities.