I enjoyed sharing the podium with Ian Thomas Shaw and other Guernica writers for the book launch of “The Afrikaner” in Montreal (May 1) at Paragraphe Bookstore, as part of the Blue Met Festival. I am also glad that the festival allowed me to meet again the writer 
Alberto Manguel after I had interviewed him for my previous book. Then it was time to discover Montreal by night and the music played at the “Mariposa Café”, in the NDG (Notre Dame de Grâce) suburb (courtesy, among others, of the duo “Antonio and Luigi,” soloist Jean-Francçois D’Outremont and guitarist-cum chef-cum owner Victor Labelle). Labelle tells musicians, “Beginner or expert, you get the same support from me and the audience. You don’t have to be polished. It’s not about the individual performance; it’s about the collective experience. Leave your ego at the door.” What a wonderful encouragement also for us writers! Check Labelle’s interview here: https://themontrealeronline.com/2012/08/cafe-mariposa-a-sixties-kind-of-place-in-the-21st-century/?fbclid=IwAR0UmXBVtd6b7BfXZDcDIesNDZvfG97O9QFE-ejAZ7YvFtjiXi_OoQjxcXE https://lnkd.in/eHfX5Yx theafrikaner booklaunch montreal authors
https://blogs.ubc.ca/afrikaner/follow 
