Anne of Green Gables

[Fernan]

Any Lucy Maud Montgommery fans in this Forum?

 

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first publication of Anne of Green Gables. This will not be news to LMM's fans of all ages.

 

To mark this anniversary, Canada's National Library has set up a special exhibition at their main building on Wellington Street in Ottawa. A few pages of the original manuscript are on display at that exhibition, as well as a copy of the book, in every language it has been translated, as well as a copy of the first edition of every book she wrote.

 

Also, a few weeks, at the Ottawa Writers' Festival, Kate Macdonald Butler was invited to make two presentations on her grandmother, Lucy Maud Montgommery, one to a group of school children, and another to an audience of adults. The first one was also open to anybody who was interested, including adults. Mrs. Macdonald Butler spoke simply about who her grandmother was, how she worked, to the kids, and invited their questions.

 

When the questions started dying down, I remembered the manuscript pages I had had to chance to contemplate before the conference. I said I had noticed that they were handwritten, and would she know what type of instrument she used to write the book : she told us that her grandmother wrote her books with a dip pen, explaining what that meant to the kids : dipping your pen in the inkwell frequently to write by hand... no computers, no copy-paste... the expression on the kids' faces was something to behold. You could read it on their faces : what the hell are they talking about? Clueless...

 

A century has passed...

 

 

Fernan

 

[Ghost Plane]

Some of my favorite books when I was a kid.

[petra]

Wow. I adored the Anne of green gables books when I was young. I can't imagine writing entire volumes with a dip pen...

[Have Fun]

Wow. I adored the Anne of green gables books when I was young. I can't imagine writing entire volumes with a dip pen...

 

You should try clay tablets

[CasmiUK]

I love those books and re-read them all often.

 

I've got quite a liking for young Emily of New Moon as well..........

[Ondina]

I used to love those books.. must get them for my own kid. Yes, what you remark about the total ignorance of kids and writing instruments is not a joke but a worrying reality. And not talking about dip pens here: many of them hardly write, they type.

[stevlight]

I use dip pens in my class of 4 year olds! I also have some reform pens on the way to let them use. I showed them my fountain pen the other day--to fill it-- and they are fascinated!! One mom said that her boy asked for a fountain pen for christmas. So not all of them will be clueless to the joys of ink.

[Penache]

I was lucky enough to be in Prince Edward Island this summer for a friend's wedding and there were lots of special events for the 100th anniversary. We went to the Anne of Green Gables museum and picked up some momentos as well. PEI is quite lovely and it brought to life the wonderful words of LMM I'd read as a child. If any of you have the chance to visit, PEI makes for a lovely, relaxing vacation.