194.

I met the co-founder of Greenpeace. Yes, that's right. I did. He's pretty cool.

How did this happen? Well, Alesha Pilloud and I were sponsored to go to Words on the Water this weekend. Basically, a group of very talented authors from around Canada come and discuss their books and there's music and food and it's all quite prestigious. Anyway, Rex Weyler was one of the authors there and I got to talk to him for a bit. He's pretty groovy. Not what I expected though.

I also got to meet Richard Van Camp. He's such a sweetie! He did a creative writing workshop at my school last year that I didn't go to. Despite this, he came up to me and asked if he knew me from somewhere. Basically, even though I hadn't actually talked to him, he recognized me from Carihi. It was pretty rad. He gave Sarah Khan, Alesha, and I each a stone (mine was purple) and told us to add him on Facebook. He's really awesome. 

Lorna Jackson was another one of the authors. She's also the one that did the writer's workshop at Robron on Friday morning which I attended. She's hilarious. She's pleasant, vibrant and a lot of fun to be around. I hope she comes back.

Another of the authors was a man named Wayde Compton. His work generally focuses on black history and oppression. He's very well versed (haha) in his subject matter and has some interesting work. The only thing that turned me off it was the hip-hop beat he had written into his poetry, but that's just because I'm not a fan of hip-hop. His message and words were fabulous though.

Marilyn Bowering, Marjorie Doyle, John Gould, and Mary Novik also attended. Marilyn is a poet and novelist with one of the most beautiful reading voices I've ever heard. Her poetry is fluid, exquisit and enigmatic. Marjorie's a novelist from New Foundland with a knack for having her audience clutching their sides in laughter. John Gould, the master of very very short stories uses an interesting combination of imagery, satire, and hyporbolic dialogue to create something hilarious, or an image you'll never forget. Last but not least, Mary Novik is a novelist who spins historic fact and fiction into a web easy to become tangled in.

As I'm sure you can see, I really enjoyed being there and in the presence of so many talented people. I'm assuming a lot of people enjoy this considering most sessions were sold out. I hope I can go again next year.