"Canada is above all an idea of what a country could be, a place of imagination. In spite of a recurring desire to find outside inspirations, it is very much its own invention." John Ralston Saul

Cultural Philosopher and Writer John Ralston Saul Visits York U. To Dialogue with Prof. / Writer Bruce Powe on Diverse Range of Issues -- From the Future of Canada's Monarchy, to the Role of the Novel in the Canadian Psyche, to Questions of Corporatism and Nationalism

TORONTO, November 5, 1999 -- With Australia facing an historic referendum this weekend to decide whether to cut ties with the British Monarchy and become a republic, many Canadians -- including His Excellency John Ralston Saul -- will be keeping close tabs on the results. That issue will be only one of many that Saul, cultural philosopher and award-winning novelist, will discuss with York U. Prof. and writer Bruce Powe during a visit to York University Mon., Nov. 8, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

At a free public forum at Winters College Senior Common Room (Room 021), Saul and Powe will touch on a wide range of topics: the future of the Monarchy in Canada; Quebec separatism; the role of literature in the Canadian psyche; nationalism; reflections on the Trudeau legacy; and the influence of corporatism in Canadian society. Saul and Powe will also invite the audience to join in on their discussion.

"John Ralston Saul is an extraordinary literary figure, and one of Canada's leading social and cultural thinkers," said Powe. "His visit and our discussion will elicit crucial and chronic questions about our identity as Canadians, and prompt debate among audience members around issues that defined us in the past, and whose future importance is up for grabs," he said.

Saul is the author of the best-selling Reflections of a Siamese Twin: Canada at the End of the Twentieth Century (Viking Penguin, 1997), Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West (Penguin, 1993) and The Doubter's Companion.(Penguin, 1995) Saul's growing impact on political and economic thought in Canada and internationally was firmly established with his 1995 Massey Lectures. The resulting book, The Unconscious Civilization, (Anansi Press, 1996) won the 1996 Governor General's Literary Award for Non-Fiction. He has recently been named a Chevalier in the prestigious French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Saul is married to Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada.

Powe is the nationally-renowned author of such bestselling books as A Canada of Light (Sommerville House, 1997) Outage: A Journey into Electric City (Random House, 1995), and The Solitary Outlaw (Sommerville House, 1997). Powe was the driving force behind last year's widely acclaimed York University conference The Trudeau Era -- Culture, Media, Politics and Rethinking McLuhan, a conference held at York March 1997.

WHO:

His Excellency John Ralston Saul, cultural philosopher, novelist

York University Professor and author, Bruce Powe

WHAT:
A dialogue and group discussion on diverse range of issues: future of Monarchy in Canada; the role of the novel on the Canadian psyche; nationalism; corporatism

WHEN:
Mon., Nov., 8, 1999, 3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m.

WHERE:
Winters College, Senior Common Room (Room 021), York University, 4700 Keele Street

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Prof. Bruce Powe
Academic Advisor, Winters College
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 77446
email: bpowe@yorku.ca

Ken Turriff
Media Relations Officer
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086
email: kturriff@yorku.ca
YU/117/99