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Talks Offered by Heather Kirk |
Heather Kirk occasionally travels to schools, libraries, conferences, and elsewhere to give talks about her work. Her talks are about one hour in length. She prefers to speak in classrooms or libraries rather than gymnasiums. The maximum size of audience she recommends is 60. Her talks are suited to high-school students and adults. Here are some of the topics she covers. |
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Talk 1. Who Were the Whiteoaks and Where Was Jalna? |
For almost 80 years, since a novel titled Jalna by Canadian author Mazo de la Roche won an major international prize for best novel in 1927, the secret has been kept. When de la Roche died in 1961, eleven million copies of her 16 Jalna novels had been sold around the world in 93 languages. The books had been made into a Hollywood movie and a hit play that wowed London, England and went to Broadway. Still, only de la Roche and her cousin and companion, Caroline Clement, knew who had inspired the fictional family named Whiteoaks that lives for a century on an imaginary estate called Jalna somewhere in southern Ontario. Four biographers failed to reveal the secret. But the fifth, Heather Kirk, thinks she has found it, and she is willing to talk! In this one-hour, illustrated talk, Heather will reveal some of the startling new facts that emerged during her extensive research into the background of de la Roche and Clement.
Some reviews of this talk:
"Thank you for a most informative evening," wrote Brad Rudachyk, Ph.D., Simcoe County Historical Association.
"Thank you for a fine & well-researched presentation," wrote Wally Bremner, Orillia Museum of Art and History. "The historical wing of the museum was delighted."
"Thank you so much for visiting. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we have," wrote Debra Mann, Innisfil Public Library.
“Thank you again for your presentation yesterday. . . . I had a very enthusiastic voice mail from one attendee who said she hung on your every word! My co-worker and her mom were also very impressed with all of your research and the way in which it was presented,” wrote Bernadette Preyde, Information Services, Aurora Public Library. |
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| Talk 2. Bringing Wacousta Back to Life. |
This talk is about Canada’s first novelist, John Richardson, and his best-known work, Wacousta. Heather explains how she helped Richardson tell his famous tale better. Heather’s talk is suitable for anyone interested in Canadian literature and history. Heather has about 80 visuals on overhead transparencies to illustrate her talk. Heather’s new version of Wacousta preserves Richardson’s work carefully, but it is fun, fast-paced, and truly exciting. Heather spent one year rewriting Wacousta. She went slowly and carefully, sentence by sentence, trying to retain as much of the original as possible. She also made research trips, interviewed experts, studied maps, and perused articles and books. |
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Talk 3: Write About What You Don’t Know! |
This talk describes the personal background to Heather’s novels Warsaw Spring and A Drop of Rain and her nonfiction book, Be Not Afraid: The Polish
(R)evolution, “Solidarity.” How does an English Canadian write about Polish people? Slowly and carefully! Illustrations show some of Heather’s sources of inspiration and information, as well as her manuscripts at various stages.
Some reviews of this talk:
“Wonderful!” said Pat Elliott, organizer, Literacy Lights the Way conference of the Simcoe County District School Board, June 4, 2002. Ms. Elliott was conveying what teachers and librarians had said about the talk Heather gave twice at this conference.
“When the audience asks a lot of questions afterwards, that’s a good sign,” commented Anne Dorsey, organizer of the talk Heather gave at the Barrie Public Library.
“Very good!” said teacher-librarian Erika Garrett and English teacher Jane Robinson, organizers of Heather’s talk at Eastview Secondary School in Barrie.
Organizers of Heather’s talk at Bear Creek Secondary School and St. Peter’s Secondary School, both in Barrie, were also pleased with this talk. |
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How to obtain funding for Heather’s talks:
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Heather is a participant in the Writers-in-the-Schools Program funded by the Ontario Arts Council, and the National Public Readings Program funded by the Canada Council. Thus, schools and other organizations can obtain funds to subsidize her fee.
Please visit Writers Union of Canada for more information about these programs. Go to www.writersunion.ca and click on "Readings." |
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How to obtain further information about Heather’s talks: |
Please see the contact section of this website for information about how to get in touch with Heather. Heather can also talk in general about writing fiction, writing non-fiction, and writing for children |
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