Many people find home in the West Kootenay, but their routes to the region can differ greatly.
Ross Klatte and Tom Wayman, the authors respectively of two recent books on finding home in the Kootenays — a novel and a memoir — will read from and discuss their work Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Slocan Legion, 502 Harold St., in Slocan.
Balfour author Klatte’s novel, Waiting for the Revolution, is an account of 1960s-era young people trying to find happiness in communal living in the Kootenays. Klatte, who came to the area in 1970, won the CBC Literary Competition for non-fiction in 1990, and one of his short stories was shortlisted for the Journey Prize in 2011.
Winlaw author Wayman’s memoir, The Road to Appledore or How I Went Back to the Land Without Ever Having Lived There in the First Place, covers Wayman’s adventures and misadventures since moving to the Slocan Valley in 1989. In 2022, Wayman received B.C.’s George Woodcock Award for Lifetime Achievement in the literary arts. In 2015, the Vancouver Public Library named him a Vancouver Literary Landmark, with a plaque on the city’s Commercial Drive honouring his efforts to foreground people writing for themselves about their daily employment and its effects on them on and off the job.
The reading is free by donation, and sponsored by the Slocan Community Library. The library, an all-volunteer initiative, is at 710 Harold St. The library is open Thursday 1-5 p.m., Friday 7-9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
