Angie Abdou has coined a new phrase: “Sports literature” – for people who love both sports and books. Her book The Bone Cage, which was a finalist for the CBC Canada Reads contest, is about two athletes training for the Olympics – one a swimmer, and the other a wrestler.
Abdou, who is one of the featured presenters at this year’s Shuswap Writers’ Festival in May, is herself a former competitive swimmer. She is also intimately familiar with the world of wrestling.
Her book deals with themes of struggle, solitude, and the influence of landscape – all themes which one reviewer says are “very Canadian.”
Through the eyes and experiences of her characters, the book examines the physical and mental aspects of struggle – a topic that features in sports literature.
From Fernie, Abdou was drawn to the fit lifestyle and mountain culture of the town – where skiing, cycling, hiking, running and yoga are part of the way of life.
She commutes to a full-time job teaching at College of the Rockies in Cranbrook, and brings her teaching skills and insights to the writers’ festival.
She is offering two workshops – a threehour intensive workshop on writing authentic characters, and a shorter, informal session which will be of interest to both readers and writers. The festival takes place at the Prestige Harbourfront Resort May 27 to 29. For more information and to register, go to www.saow.ca
