Vine Awards Panel 3: Memoir & Motherhood

Authors Sharon Kirsch, Rachel Matlow, Myriam Steinberg, and illustrator, Christache in conversation with Zelda Abramson.

The Koffler Centre of the Arts is delighted to present three virtual panels featuring shortlisted Vine Awards authors on November 16, 17 and 18, 2021. The third panel features the 2021 Vine Awards shortlisted writers – Sharon Kirsch, Rachel Matlow, Myriam Steinberg, and illustrator, Christache – in conversation with juror Zelda Abramson. Themes surrounding memoir, motherhood, and lived experience will be at the forefront of this engaging conversation.

To see the full 2021 Vine Awards shortlist, click here.

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Koffler Centre of the Arts · Vine Awards Panel 3: Memoir & Motherhood

The conversation has been transcribed for accessibility purposes. Please click here to view.

SHARON KIRSCH is the author of What Species of Creatures (2008), her debut book of literary non-fiction inspired by vivid traditions of animal writing—the fable, children’s stories, and classifications by naturalists. A writer and an editor, she has published fiction, narrative non‐fiction, and journalism, most recently in subTerrain and Room magazines. Sharon is originally from Montreal and has lived in the US and the UK, the latter as a Commonwealth Scholar for postgraduate study in Middle English literature. She is a graduate of the Humber School for Writers Correspondence Program, and is currently based in Toronto.

Sharon Kirsch, The Smallest Objective (New Star Books) is shortlisted in the 2021 Vine Awards History category.

A lantern slide, a faded recipe book, a postcard from Mexico, a nugget of fool's gold — such are the clues available to the narrator of The Smallest Objective as she excavates for buried treasure in her family home. Together, these objects belonging to several Jewish personalities afford an intriguing vantage point on 20th‐century Montreal — from a Runyonesque character well-known by the city's gossip columnists to a Lithuanian botanist versed in the fossil record to a young woman whose newfound opportunities mirror the promise and ambiguities of the city itself. As the narrator struggles with her mother's failing memory and final decline, unexpected secrets are revealed and expired truths exposed.

RACHEL MATLOW (they/them) was a long-time producer on the arts and culture program Q on CBC Radio, where they also worked on Spark and The Sunday Edition. Their audio documentary Dead Mom Talking won a 2016 Third Coast award and a 2017 Gabriel award. Rachel has written for The Globe and Mail, National Post, and The Believer. They play chess every weekend and is forever planning their next long-distance hike.

Rachel Matlow, Dead Mom Walking (Penguin Random House Canada) is shortlisted in the 2021 Vine Awards Non-Fiction category.

A whip-smart and darkly funny memoir about an unconventional family, the limits of wellness fads, and the mother of all catastrophes.

Rachel Matlow’s eccentric mom, Elaine, never quite followed the script handed down to her. Her bold out-there-ness made it okay for Rachel to be their genderqueer self and live life on their own terms. But when Elaine decides to try to heal her cancer naturally, Rachel has to draw the line. What ensues is a tug of war between logical and magical thinking, an odyssey through New Age remedies ranging from herbal tinctures and juice cleanses to a countryside ayahuasca trip, and a portrait of a mother and child who’ve never been physically closer or ideologically further apart.

MYRIAM STEINBERG is currently a writer. In her past life, she was a visual artist, and event organizer. For 11 years, she was the brains and brawn of the In the House Festival, which brought live performances of all kinds into people’s living rooms and backyards throughout her hometown of Vancouver, Canada, and was nominated for the YWCA Women of Distinction Award for this work. Her first book, Catalogue Baby, chronicles her years spent trying to conceive a child as a single woman in her forties.

CHRISTACHE is a freelance illustrator based in Vancouver, Canada where he lives with his partner, Jill and their 2 cats, Wally and Morris. He also performs as an actor, improv comedian, clown and puppeteer. He works often with youth, regularly teaching kids cartoon classes as well as drama and improvisation classes. Catalogue Baby is his first graphic novel.

Myriam Steinberg, illustrations by Christache, Catalogue Baby: A Memoir of (In)fertility (Page Two Books) is shortlisted in the 2021 Vine Awards Non-Fiction category.

A deeply moving tragicomic graphic memoir about a single woman's efforts to conceive in her forties.

A few months after Myriam Steinberg turned forty, she decided she couldn’t wait any longer to become a mother. She made the difficult decision to begin the process of conceiving a child without a partner. With her family and friends to support her, she picked a sperm donor and was on her way. But Myriam’s journey was far from straightforward. Beautifully illustrated by Christache, and told with humor, honesty, and courage, Catalogue Baby is one woman’s story of tragedy and beating the odds, and is a resource for all women and couples who are trying to conceive.

ZELDA ABRAMSON is Professor Emerita, Sociology Department, Acadia University. As a public sociologist, she strives to combine academic research with social activism. The daughter of Holocaust survivors who settled in Montreal after the War, Zelda grew up immersed in the spoken and unspoken challenges survivors faced as they immigrated and assimilated into Canadian society. Her commitment to public sociology, and her particular interest in reconstructing overlooked stories and voices, led her to undertake this research on the lives of Jewish immigrants to Montreal after WWII. The Montreal Shtetl: Making Home After the Holocaust, co-authored with John Lynch, was shortlisted for the History prize at the 2020 Vine Awards.

The Vine Awards for Canadian Jewish Literature are made possible by a generous donation from:

Lillian and Norman Glowinsky Family Foundation

The 2021 Vine Awards programs are co-presented by the Miles Nadal JCC and the Centre for Contemporary Literature, Holy Blossom Temple. All 2021 Vine Awards shortlisted titles can be purchased from benmcnallybooks.com.

The Koffler Centre of the Arts is dedicated to accessibility. CART live captioning will be provided at this event, and a transcript and video/audio recording will be available afterwards on the Koffler website. This Zoom event is in webinar format, meaning all event attendees will be off camera. We will do our best to accommodate additional access needs; if you have questions or concerns, please contact our access point person, Mary, at manderson@kofflerarts.org

Photos

Sharon Kirsch (photo Joy von Tiedemann).

Rachel Matlow (photo by Tanja Tiziana).

Myriam Steinberg (photo by Diane Smithers).

Christache.

Zelda Abramson.