THIN AIR

In September each year, Winnipeg welcomes writers from Canada and around the world for a week of readings, lectures, interviews, conversations, book launches, and other events. That week of literary feasting—which reaches out into the rural areas of the province as well—is THIN AIR, the Winnipeg International Writers Festival. With programming for adults and children, in English and French, THIN AIR is an infusion of energy into the thriving literary culture of this city.

Click here for the THIN AIR website

BIG IDEAS: Grammar Matters?

In her slim book, Grammar Matters: The Social Significance of How We Use Language, local linguistics professor and language lover, Jila Ghomeshi, takes a long view of the way our attitudes about language shape and are shaped by our ideas about ourselves and the world we live in. Expect a few surprises!

Jila Ghomeshi is an Associate Professor of Linguistics and former Director of the Institute for Humanities at the University of Manitoba. As an academic, she teaches and works on syntax. She has published op-ed pieces on language and had a bi-weekly radio column on linguistics for CBC Manitoba for two years. The surprising intensity of people’s opinions about language use provides the impetus for Grammar Matters: The Social Significance of How We Use Language (Arbeiter Ring).

By exploring our opinions and prejudices about language use, Ghomeshi brings the discussion out of the classroom and into the community. Jila Ghomeshi lives in Winnipeg.

The Carol Shields Auditiorium

Millennium Library, Winnipeg