Written by Shauntay Grant, illustrated by Susan Tooke
North Preston is one of our country’s largest and most important African Canadian communities. Writer, musician, and broadcaster, Shauntay Grant has written a rich and celebratory poem about North Preston and her memories of growing Up Home. The book is beautifully illustrated by artist Susan Tooke who modeled Shauntay’s characters from people she met in the community. The original (acrylic on Arches watercolour paper 140 lb. cold press) paintings created for the book will be exhibited in the Education Gallery at AGNS from April to June and will then begin aprovincial tour with the Black Cultural Centre where they will remain on view for the summer. It is true that we do not know who we are until we know where we came from. We should be encouraged to share our favourite memories of our childhood days in our own communities. To this end, and to complement the celebration of this important publication, the Black Cultural Centre, the Nova Scotia Department of Education, and AGNS will partner in a series of writing and art workshops for young people in the North Preston area and at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, around the notion of their own Up Home.
Susan Tooke and Shauntay Grant have been involved in ArtsSmarts programs throughout Nova Scotia and most recently they worked with students from Nelson Whynder Elementary School in preparation for the Up Home celebration on April 30th. Students presented their own “Up Home” interpretations through words and art work. Shauntay Grant and musician Marko Simmonds performed at this event. The exhibition of Susan’s original paintings will be on view at the Black Cultural Centre this summer.
For more information about Shauntay Grant’s book, please visit www.nimbus.ns.ca.
UP HOME WINS TWO ATLANTIC BOOK AWARDS
Best Atlantic Published Book Award ($5,000)
Sponsored by Friesens Corporation
Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration
(April 16, 2009) – The 2009 Atlantic Book Awards were presented at a gala celebration Wednesday, April 15 at the Alderney Landing Theatre in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The event, co-hosted by author and CBC Radio host Stephanie Domet and actor/humorist Bill Carr conferred nine awards in a celebration of Atlantic Canadian writing and book publishing. Children’s picture book, Up Home(Nimbus Publishing), by author Shauntay Grant and illustrator, Susan Tooke, was a double-winner.
from www.bookcentre.ca website 2009 Atlantic Book Awards
SHAUNTAY GRANT AS POET LAUREATE
Media Release
New Mayor’s Poet Laureate Announced
(Wednesday, April 22, 2009) – Mayor Peter Kelly is pleased to announce the appointment of Shauntay Grant as the Mayor’s Poet Laureate 2009/10.
“Shauntay embodies all of the attributes we were looking for in a new Poet Laureate,” said Mayor Kelly. “In addition to being an accomplished artist whose work is of relevance to HRM residents, she shares her talent with others by conducting writing, performance and choral music workshops for schools and community groups, and is actively involved with several arts organizations.”
As an advocate for poetry, language and the arts, Shauntay will attend events across the municipality to promote and attract people to the literary world. With the assistance of HRM Cultural Affairs staff, she will engage the community in activities, programs and events that demonstrate the positive impact of literature, poetry, and spoken word. The Poet Laureate’s term also includes the creation of a legacy project.
Shauntay takes the reigns from outgoing Poet Laureate, Lorri Neilsen Glenn. For more information on the Mayor’s Poet Laureate program and Shauntay Grant, visit www.halifax.ca/culture/publicart/poetlaureate.php.
Excerpted from HRM www.halifax.ca Shauntay Grant as Poet Laureate
