Ottawa Public Library Launches Online Indigenous Book Club

June 2, 2017

The Ottawa Public Library (OPL) this week announced the launch of an online Indigenous Book Club to celebrate National Aboriginal History Month and Canada 150.

Take part in OPL’s Indigenous Book Club!

Ottawa (May 31, 2017) – To celebrate National Aboriginal History Month, and as part of our Canada 150 programming, the Ottawa Public Library (OPL) is hosting an online Indigenous Book Club all month, and inviting readers to join in live online chats with the authors of the featured books, scheduled June 12 to 14, 2017.

The two books selected for this exciting OPL first are The Outside Circle, by Patti LaBoucane-Benson, and Amun, from author and editor Michel Jean.

To get the Indigenous Book Club conversation going, weekly blog posts with information about the books and the authors will be shared on the OPL website and on Facebook. Everyone is invited to leave a comment, or answer the weekly questions directly on the OPL Facebook posts, or on the Indigenous Book Club blog posts. All participants who leave a comment will be entered to win two tickets to see Buffy Sainte-Marie at the National Arts Centre on July 3.

Live online chats:

The Indigenous Book Club will culminate with three live online chats with the authors of the two books and a special guest from the Ottawa Aboriginal community:

• Monday, June 12, 12:00 p.m.: live chat with Vera Wabegijig, a nishnaabe poet, blogger, and anishnaabe language enthusiast, who lives in Ottawa. She is the author of Wild Rice Dreams. She will be discussing the book The Outside Circle – in English
• Tuesday, June 13, 7:15 p.m.: live chat with The Outside Circle author Patti Laboucane-Benson – in English
• Wednesday, June 14, 7:30 p.m.: live chat with author and editor of Amun, Michel Jean – in French

Participate in these live online chats by going to the Indigenous Book Club webpage at BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca/ibc.

More about the featured books:

The Outside Circle, by Patti LaBoucane-Benson

In this important graphic novel, two Aboriginal brothers surrounded by poverty, drug abuse, and gang violence, try to overcome centuries of historic trauma in very different ways to bring about positive change in their lives. Powerful, courageous, and deeply moving, The Outside Circle is drawn from the author’s twenty years of work and research on healing and reconciliation of gang-affiliated or incarcerated Aboriginal men.

Amun : nouvelles, directed by Michel Jean

Amun is a gathering of 10 short stories written by talented Aboriginal writers from different backgrounds, nations and ages. Their stories, varied and each of them distinct, will carry you  through various territories and eras. They will make you live a variety of emotions, from sadness to nostalgia, from extramarital love to maternal love, from melancholy to self-acceptance. This captivating collection will introduce you to many Aboriginal realities.

The Ottawa Public Library (OPL) is the largest bilingual (English/French) public library system in North America, with 34 branches, physical and virtual at BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca, mobile libraries, and a vending machine library service. OPL’s mission is to inspire learning, spark curiosity, and connect people. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook. Contact us at 613-580-2940 or InfoService@BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca. If it’s out there, it’s in here!