Four Readers on November 4th

Bob Snider's latest book from Gaspereau Press is On Performing. At Lit Live he will read and perform his famous and well-loved songs.

Allan Briesmaster reads from his latest book of poetry Interstellar, recently released by Quattro Books.

Marilyn Gear Pilling has recently published Cleavage: a Life in Breasts and The Life of the Four Stomachs. Both are books of new poetry from Black Moss.

Mira McEwan will read poems from her new collection Ecstatic.

Bob Snider

Singer-songwriter Bob Snider has played on the street and in the concert hall. He's been called a "national treasure", a "living legend" and "author of some of the best Canadian songs of the decade".

Born and raised in Toronto, he spent several years as a resident of Nova Scotia before returning to Ontario in 1986. To date he has released seven albums, most recently A Maze in Greys (2007) and Stealin’ Home (2002). Snider tours widely and has appeared at shows and festivals across North America. His first book, On Songwriting, was published by Gaspereau Press in 2005.

In his follow-up book, On Performing, Snider is at turns self-deprecating and jokingly grandiose, providing tips for effective performing and stories from the trenches. With thoughts on everything from stagefright, interruptions, timing and humour, to venues, bookings, organization and encores, Snider’s prose is itself a lesson in performance.

Allan Briesmaster

Allan Briesmaster is a freelance editor specializing in poetry and non-fiction. He was centrally involved in the weekly Art Bar Poetry Reading Series from 1991 until 2002, and is now one of the organizers of the monthly Toronto WordStage reading series. He lives in Thornhill, just north of Toronto, with his wife Holly, a visual artist. Two recent books, Pomona Summer, from Hidden Brook Press, and Galactic Music, from Lyricalmyrical Press, have included Holly's collages and pen-and-ink drawings. The Other Seasons, also from Hidden Brook, came out in May of 2006. Allan's poems have appeared in many journals and anthologies, and he has read his poetry to audiences from Victoria to Halifax. He is an active member of The Ontario Poetry Society, the League of Canadian Poets, and the Toronto Renaissance Conspiracy poetry group.

Allan's latest book, Interstellar, from Quattro Books, was launched in the spring of this year. It reflects his ongoing interests in environmental matters, the impact of media and the arts, and a lifelong fascination with science - especially astronomy and cosmology.

Marilyn Gear Pilling

Marilyn Gear Pilling lives in Hamilton and grew up in Waterloo, Ontario, but her roots are in Huron County. Pilling's short fiction and poetry have won and been shortlisted for national awards and her poetry has been broadcast on CBC radio. Her latest poetry books are Cleavage: A Life in Breasts and The Life of the Four Stomachs from Black Moss Press.

Cleavage is the journal of one woman’s life as told through her breasts. The tone is humourous and irreverent, but a more serious theme underlies the book – one which sees the breast as an agent of connection, at all ages, rather than as an object of shame or dehumanization.

Mira McEwan

Poetry by Mira McEwan has appeared in Proem, Transitions, Re-Visions, Hydra, and the U.C. Review. She holds a Master’s degree in literature, with a concentration in British Romanticism and American Transcendentalism. She is also a registered nurse. Mira spent several years teaching literature and creative writing, and now divides her time between nursing and writing. Her literary influences include Rumi, Sharon Olds, and William Carlos Williams. Currently she is working on a manuscript of short stories. Mira lives in Upstate New York with her husband, daughter, and two cats. Ecstatic is her first collection from the publisher Allbook.