Daybreak Alberta

The debut book of poetry for Alberta writer, A.B. Dillon, garnered some early praise with Matronalia winning the Alberta Writers' Guild award for poetry. Her newest work is called Murmuration and one of the poems in it, entitled Miss Mercy, was long listed for the CBC Poetry Prize. Murmuration explores the past through patterns in colour and even in the flight paths of birds. A.B. (Angela) spoke with Russell from her home.

According to The International Energy Agency, Canadians drive some of the most polluting cars in the world with carbon pollution from transportation increasing by nearly 30% over the two decades, thanks to a growing appetite for SUVs and trucks. Like many players in the Renewal Energy sector, transportation is under going a change, according to Markham Hislop, a journalist and founder of Energi Media, and the host of the podcast Energi Talks.

What pushes people to push themselves? It's a question which a new book from Banff's Bernadette McDonald attempts to explore in the lives of mountain climbers in "Winter 8000." Daybreak's books reviewer, Angie Abdou, has a look inside the pages.

A young Canadian woman on a journey to experience Canada's vast boreal forest through her life in the wild. However, she also has her own story of her inner self, and Alberta writer Trina Moyles, tells the story in a new memoir detailing her daily life, work and adventures as a seasonal smoke spotter in northern Alberta. The book is called "Lookout: Love, Solitude, and Searching for Wildfire in the Boreal Forest." and Russell spoke with Trina from from her home in Peace River.

Angie Abdou is Daybreak's Alberta books reviewer, and for the month of March, she joins Russell to discuss "Locations of Grief: An Emotional Geography" (collected essays edited by Catherine Owen).

CBC Radio, in conjunction with the Alberta Writers Guild, produced a series of short stories telling some of the impressions Alberta writers had in the early days of the Covid-19 outbreak. The Guild had sponsored a contest to get Albertans creating new work, and in the Spring of 2021, 8 of those stories, including a Top 3 finalist, were chosen to produce for broadcast. Here are those 8 stories, produced by Allan Boss.

On a cold day, you wouldn't be blamed for looking for something to do inside and where you can stay warm. On February 6, the Southern Alberta Art Gallery is screening two movies by Lethbridge film-maker, Dana Inkster, including one she made in 1999, "Welcome To Africville" a film that told some of the story of a legendary black community in Halifax. A few years later, Dana did a documentary called "Ladies of the Saturday Night," telling the tale of brothel workers during Drumheller's mining boom. Ahead of the showings, Russell spoke with Dana Inkster via Zoom.

For more than thirty years Cheryl Foggo has chronicled the story of the thriving Black community on the Prairies, including pioneers who lived, worked, and raised families in the west. Her documentary which tells the story of one memorable man, John Ware, is available for free starting February 8 on the website of the National Film Board, nfb.ca. "John Ware Reclaimed" explores the life of a Black rancher who settled in Alberta in the 1880's. Cheryl Foggo joins Russell by phone to chat about the film and her work.

The movie theatre business has been gutted during COVID 19 - with revenues down, 70, 80, 90 per cent. And with so many of us making the move to high def streaming from the comfort of our homes, guest host Paul Karchut asks the CEO of Landmark Theatres, which has 46 theatres across Canada and is headquartered in Calgary, what the future holds for his industry.

Our regular travel columnist Kim Gray speaks with guest host Paul Karchut, about the state of the travel industry during COVID-19, and the ways that she's still scratching the travel itch while following the strict travel guidelines.