The next Electric Mermaid live reading event on Wednesday, July 26 at Char’s Landing will feature Port Alberni’s own Gwynne Hunt.
Hunt is the published writer of five books: bruises & bad haircuts (poetry), rampage; the pathology of an epidemic (research, non-fiction), Unlocking the Tin Box (memoir), Through My Lens (research, fiction), Coddiwomple (poetry).
She is also the host of W.O.W. (women on writing) Canada, a support site for women writers, and was the owner/operator of the Main Artery art store for six years in Port Alberni. She is now the manager of two non-profit art centres, Art Matters, in Port Alberni and Abbotsford, and has been the artistic director for 20 years of Fringe Festivals in Port Alberni, Abbotsford and Mission.
She produced and directed “The Vagina Monologues” for 15 years, raising $90,000 for non-profit women’s resource centres and friendship centres. She has also written, directed and produced many of her own plays.
Hunt has hosted Spirit to Heal workshops for women healing from abuse and violence, has been an instructor and teacher at University of the Fraser Valley and a teacher and mentor for the Fraser Valley Brain Injury Association, collaborating with clients in a classroom setting with writing and performance art.
With host and emcee Derek Hanebury’s literary guidance, plus a host of authors through the open mic, Electric Mermaid promises to keep poetry and prose fans engaged. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and open mic runs from 6-8 p.m. Admission is $10. See www.charslanding.com/events.