Left to Die by Gary Collins
Date: Apr 11
2:30 pm
- 3:30 pm
Where: Theatre
Coffee & Culture
2024 marks the 110th Anniversary of the historic convergence of ice, seals, and men in late March 1914 and the grim reminder of the dangers of the hunt.
Join award-winning author, Gary Collins as he shares his personal connection to the dramatic stories of men, both young and old, from all over the province that year to pursue the annual seal hunt. Among the vessels that took them to the ice was the S.S. Newfoundland, a wooden-walled steamship captained by Westbury Kean. With no wireless aboard the ship, the stage was set for seventy-eight of the men who went over the side and their fates sealed.
Tickets: $12 (plus HST). Free for Rooms Members. Get your tickets online or by calling (709) 757-8090. Includes admission to the exhibitions and a coffee from The Rooms Café.
About the Author:
Gary Collins was born in Hare Bay, Bonavista North. He spent fifty years in the logging and sawmilling business with his father, Theophilus, and son, Clint. Gary was once Newfoundland’s youngest fisheries guardian. He managed log drives down spring rivers for years, spent seven seasons driving tractor-trailers over ice roads and the Beaufort Sea of Canada’s Western Arctic, and has been involved in the crab, lobster, and cod commercial fisheries. In 2016, he joined the Canadian Rangers.
Gary has written numerous books, including the award-winning children’s illustrated book; What Color is the Ocean, which he co-wrote with his granddaughter, Maggie Rose Parsons.
Gary’s first novel, The Last Beothuk, won the inaugural NL Reads literary competition, administered by the CBC, and was long-listed for the International Dublin Literary Award.
Gary’s latest work, Away from My Island: The True Story of Eliza Gill is a story of family, heroism, and ultimate sacrifice
Events & Programs
How do place, identity, and art intersect, and what do their points of intersection tell us about this place we call home?
In this talk, Rhea Rollmann will explore the significance of queer and trans art in Atlantic Canada with particular emphasis on the work of Erica Rutherford as well as iterations of queer and trans art in NL. There will be an opportunity for questions after the talk.
Tickets: $12 plus HST. Free for Rooms members. Get your tickets online or by calling 709-757-8090.
About the Presenter:
Rhea Rollmann (she/her) is an award-winning journalist, writer and audio producer based in St. John's, NL, and is the author of A Queer History of Newfoundland (Engen Books, 2023). She is a founding editor of The Independent NL and her journalism has appeared in Briarpatch Magazine, CBC, Xtra Magazine, Chatelaine, PopMatters, Riddle Fence, Macleans and more. Her academic work has been published in the Journal of Gender Studies, Labor Studies Journal, Canadian Woman Studies, Journal of Work and Society, Canadian Theatre Review, Canadian Review of Sociology, Screen Bodies and elsewhere. She also has an extensive background in labour organizing and queer/trans activism, and she is Station Manager at CHMR-FM, a community radio station in St. John's.