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From the Gallows, An Enquiry into the Career of Louis Riel
Each February, Havana's International Book Fair transforms the old Spanish fortification San Carlos de La Cabana that overlooks the Havana harbour into one of the biggest book parties in the world. The book fair takes place in Havana for 10 days before continuing on to other cities for two more weeks. It is considered Cuba's premier cultural event, as well as the event with the highest attendance in Cuba: the XX International Book Fair drew over 2.3 million people, and sold 1.7 million books sold. Canadian author Margaret Atwood presented a special compilation of 67 stories she had written for Cuba at the fair.
This year's fair will pay tribute to the Bicentennial of the rebellion organized by Jose Antonio Aponte against the Spanish colonial empire and the Centennial of the Colored Independent Party members' uprising. In that same anti-colonial era, the Métis leader Louis Riel led a struggle for democracy and land rights in the Canadian Northwest. When Anglo-Canadian forces attempted to arrest Riel, he and his followers established a provisional government. Attacked by Canadian troops the Métis government fell and Riel was tried for High Treason. Found guilty, Louis Riel was executed November 16, 1885.
The trial and execution of Louis Riel divided Canada and remain at the centre of controversy 127 years later. Long-time Riel activist and Canadian educator, David Doyle, will introduce the anti-colonial struggle of the Métis Nation in Western Canada and the fate of their leader, Louis Riel, to Cuba at the XX1 International Book Fair. David Doyle has long supported the call for an inquiry into the career of Louis Riel and will be presenting an overview of Mr. Riel's career at the fair on February 17, 2012. Mr. Doyle will present his video, On the Trail of Louis Riel, and introduce the 15th anniversary, updated edition, of his book, From the Gallows, the lost testimony of Louis Riel. While in Havana, Mr. Doyle will also be presenting at a forum on Writing and Contemporaneity at Casa de las Americas and rendering a dramatic re-enactment of Riel's trial at UNEAC (the Cuban Writer's Union). As a member of the Canada-Cuba Literary Alliance (CCLA) he is scheduled for a book reading at the University of Havana, where he will also be presenting at the Xl Canadian Studies Symposium, Las Cooperatives en Canada.
David Doyle (B.A. M.Ed.) is a specialist in Aboriginal education. Formerly a manager of education in the Yukon Territory, principal of First Nations schools and Fellow of the Canadian Plains Research Centre, University of Regina, he has collected First Nation and Métis oral history and written extensively on First Nations education and the legacy of colonialism in the Americas. Mr. Doyle is seeking international literary representation as well as holding discussions with publishers while in Havana.
Invited to this year's international book fair in Havana as a member of the Canada Cuba Literary Alliance, David Doyle of Summerland presented a dramatic re-creation of the trial of Louis Riel for the Cuban Writers Union based on his newly revised From the Gallows, An Enquiry into the Career of Louis Riel (NorthWest Educational Productions $20). Doyle was a First Nations school principal in Mount Currie and in Chemainus.
978- 09867767-1-7
[BCBW 2012]
This year's fair will pay tribute to the Bicentennial of the rebellion organized by Jose Antonio Aponte against the Spanish colonial empire and the Centennial of the Colored Independent Party members' uprising. In that same anti-colonial era, the Métis leader Louis Riel led a struggle for democracy and land rights in the Canadian Northwest. When Anglo-Canadian forces attempted to arrest Riel, he and his followers established a provisional government. Attacked by Canadian troops the Métis government fell and Riel was tried for High Treason. Found guilty, Louis Riel was executed November 16, 1885.
The trial and execution of Louis Riel divided Canada and remain at the centre of controversy 127 years later. Long-time Riel activist and Canadian educator, David Doyle, will introduce the anti-colonial struggle of the Métis Nation in Western Canada and the fate of their leader, Louis Riel, to Cuba at the XX1 International Book Fair. David Doyle has long supported the call for an inquiry into the career of Louis Riel and will be presenting an overview of Mr. Riel's career at the fair on February 17, 2012. Mr. Doyle will present his video, On the Trail of Louis Riel, and introduce the 15th anniversary, updated edition, of his book, From the Gallows, the lost testimony of Louis Riel. While in Havana, Mr. Doyle will also be presenting at a forum on Writing and Contemporaneity at Casa de las Americas and rendering a dramatic re-enactment of Riel's trial at UNEAC (the Cuban Writer's Union). As a member of the Canada-Cuba Literary Alliance (CCLA) he is scheduled for a book reading at the University of Havana, where he will also be presenting at the Xl Canadian Studies Symposium, Las Cooperatives en Canada.
David Doyle (B.A. M.Ed.) is a specialist in Aboriginal education. Formerly a manager of education in the Yukon Territory, principal of First Nations schools and Fellow of the Canadian Plains Research Centre, University of Regina, he has collected First Nation and Métis oral history and written extensively on First Nations education and the legacy of colonialism in the Americas. Mr. Doyle is seeking international literary representation as well as holding discussions with publishers while in Havana.
Invited to this year's international book fair in Havana as a member of the Canada Cuba Literary Alliance, David Doyle of Summerland presented a dramatic re-creation of the trial of Louis Riel for the Cuban Writers Union based on his newly revised From the Gallows, An Enquiry into the Career of Louis Riel (NorthWest Educational Productions $20). Doyle was a First Nations school principal in Mount Currie and in Chemainus.
978- 09867767-1-7
[BCBW 2012]
Submitted on February 5, 2012 in By David.
