The Kreisel Lecture (Part 2/3): The Call of Place
Summary
In this episode of Alberta Unbound, host Paula Simons presents Part 2 of the 2026 Kryal Lecture, featuring Trinidadian-Canadian novelist Shani Mootoo and Franco-Manitoban author Lise Gaborieau-Diallo. Mootoo explores hybridity and the immigrant writer’s experience, while Gaborieau-Diallo discusses ethical responsibilities in writing from minority linguistic and geographic spaces. Both speakers examine how place, identity, and language shape Canadian literature.
Topics discussed
Introduction to the Kryal Lecture and speakers
Shani Mootoo: Arrival in Edmonton and 9/11
Literary influences from Trinidad to Canada
Hybridity, outsiderness, and the immigrant writer
Canadian literatures as a parallel landscape
Introduction of Lise Gaborieau-Diallo
Subjectivity and the Franco-Manitoban experience
Space vs. Place and modes of inhabitation
Ethical writing and the poetics of relation
Writing responsibly in a contested landscape
Conclusion and upcoming panel discussion
Listen ad-free on Castria