"Writing Canada" with Dave Bidini

Oct. 28, 2019

Thank you, Tamas. I’m delighted to have the opportunity this evening to welcome the Wilfrid Laurier University Visiting Writer – Mr. Dave Bidini.

The Laurier Visiting Writer series stands out as a particularly special initiative for me as it was begun under my tenure as provost and vice-president, academic.

Laurier has a proud tradition of inviting noteworthy Canadian writers to engage with our institutional and local communities as public intellectuals during an intensive one-week visiting writer residency.

The goal of this immersive experience is for visiting writers to share their creativity, while fostering dialogue with students, faculty, staff, and the public about their work and the meaning of that work within a wider context.

From his richly-drawn background of music, literature and reporting, Dave Bidini is well-positioned to offer a broad and interconnected perspective that fits well with the interdisciplinary approach we take at Laurier.

Over the course of this week, he will be working with students across the Waterloo and Brantford campuses in classes as diverse as English, Music, Journalism and Kinesiology. He’ll also be engaging with those of use who consider ourselves to be perpetual students.

My hope is that we will all make the most of Dave’s time at Laurier and use his example as inspiration for our own creative endeavours.

Now, before I invite Dave up, I would like to recognize the people who have made it possible for him to be here. The faculty and staff on the visiting writer selection committee include Tamas Dobozy, Tanis MacDonald, Tarah Brookfield, Mary Andraza, Sally Heath, John Fraser, Kathy Kiehl and Devan Katsoff.

Now without further delay, I would like to turn the podium over to the 2019 Wilfrid Laurier University Visiting Writer, Mr. Dave Bidini.