Québec en toutes lettres

Posted: Friday Oct 30, 2020

Québec City was the first French-speaking city to be designated a UNESCO City of Literature in 2017. Québec City is one of the oldest European cities in North America. The ramparts surrounding Old Québec are the only remaining fortified city walls in the Americas north of Mexico and because of this UNESCO declared the area a World Heritage Site in 1985.

The literary festival "Québec en toutes lettres" is held each year at the Maison de la littérature which promotes literature and authors, both at home and abroad. The festival has been running for 11 years and incorporates literary shows, public readings, conferences, indoor and outdoor exhibitions, performances and film. According to our colleagues in Québec, in 2019, more than 200,000 people attended the various activities.

Due to pandemic concerns the festival held on October 24, 2020, became a virtual 12- hour event. Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature was asked to take part by submitting 10 short videos (2-3 minutes each) of Dunedin poets reading their own works. Timing could not have been better as we had just completed The Possibilities Project (conceived by Liz Breslin) held during New Zealand’s lockdown period. Attracting writers from Dunedin, other parts of New Zealand and the global community, it garnered wonderful exposure for all those who took part. We already had videos of exceptional quality to submit for inclusion to the project and were delighted that our applications were accepted. The Dunedin writers who represented Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature were Liz Breslin, Michelle Elvy, Anna Hoek-Sims, Kirstie McKinnon, Emma Neale, Jilly O’Brien, Jenny Powell, Laura Williamson, Annabel Wilson, Iona Winter, whose videos were complied into one film by Jill Bowie, Digital Outreach Coordinator at Dunedin Public Libraries.