aliciam's blog

An excerpt of Anne of Green Gables has made a trip that most of us only dream of. Bob Thirsk, a Canadian astronaut who will be spending the next six months on the International Space Station, took a page of the classic book into space with him in honour of Koichi Wakata, a Japanese astronaut also on board the ISS.

Canadian Press Coverage

In 2008, Anne fans everywhere celebrated the 100th birthday of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. Though Anne has always been recognized as a Canadian classic, her story is loved the world over. In 100 Years of Anne with an “e”: The Centennial Study of Anne of Green Gables, Holly Blackford has brought together an international community of scholars who situate L. M. Montgomery’s novel in its original historical and literary context, discuss its timeless themes, and explore its aesthetic and cultural legacy across time and place. Blackford’s collection certainly proves Anne’s international appeal, gathering contributors from Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, and the United States. Their essays explore diverse themes such as L.M. Montgomery’s career and writing practices, her influence on Canadian fiction, shifting views and definitions of childhood, domesticity, identity and place, and Anne on film. This new look at the beloved red-headed orphan will appeal to any reader who just can’t get enough of Anne.

If you're looking for a new way to experience all things Lucy Maud, why not take in a play from her era at the Montgomery Theatre? Located in an historic church in Avonlea village, The Montgomery Theatre is presenting two classic comedies about love for the 2009 season; Private Lives and Fourposter. For more information, including performance schedules and ticket prices, please visit the official Montgomery Theatre website.

Simon Lloyd, Special Collections Librarian at UPEI, recently gave a presentation on "Making Maud Feel at Home: Collecting L.M. Montgomery at the University of Prince Edward Island" to the Kindred Spirit's Literary Society in Minnesota. To see pictures of his visit, and to access the text and slides of Simon's presentation, please visit the Shining Scrolls Online.

The questions for the 2009 Avery Scholarship are now available for interested students and can be found here.

The Avery Scholarship is open to students attending a Prince Edward Island high school who are planning to study English at the University of Prince Edward Island in September 2009.

The latest edition of the L.M. Montgomery Literary Society's Shining Scroll newsletter is now available! To read it you can go here: Shining Scroll: December 2008, or to read the October edition you can go here: Shining Scroll: October 2008.

The University of Guelph will be hosting a three day Lucy Maud Montgomery conference from October 23 to 25, 2008 in celebration of 100 years of Anne of Green Gables. The conference is aptly titled "From Canada to the World: the Cultural Influence of Lucy Maud Montgomery" - it will celebrate the author's life and influence on Canada and the world.

The University of Guelph is the natural home for such an event, which will attract researchers, academics and enthusiasts from around the world, as we house the largest collection of Montgomery memorabilia in Canada.

To get your copy of "Magic Island: The Fictions of L.M. Montgomery" visit the Oxford University Press website here.

L.M. Montgomery grew up in Prince Edward Island, a real place of “politics and potatoes.” But it’s her fictional island, a richly textured imaginative landscape, that has captivated a world of readers since
1908, when Anne of Green Gables became the first of Montgomery’s long string of bestsellers.

In this wide ranging and highly readable book, Elizabeth Waterston uses the term “magic” to suggest that peculiar, indefinable combination of attributes that unpredictably results in creative genius. Montgomery’s intelligence, her drive, and her sense of humour are essential components of this success. Waterston also features what Montgomery called her “dream life,” a “strange inner life of fancy which had always existed side by side with my outer life.” This special ability to look beyond the veil, to access vibrant inner vistas, produced deceptively layered fictions out of a life that saw not just its share of both fame and ill fortune, but also what Waterston calls “dark passions.”

To get your copy of "Storm and Dissonance: L.M. Montgomery and Conflict," ed. by Jean Mitchell, please place an order through the Cambridge Scholars Publishing page.