On Tuesday, I went to hear Wayne Johnston at the Unikkaarvik Visitors Centre in Iqaluit. The Centre also houses the Library. In preparation, I had signed out The Navigator of New York. I was surprised to learn that there are two Wayne Johnstons; same name, same birthdate.
Last night it was Wayne Johnston, performing artist and librarian who showed up. His literary performance was entitled Ten Cities: the past is present. He selected ten cities where he had lived. He was returning to each city, seeking to understand the effect of memory on place. It was twenty years since he was last in Iqaluit. While in town, he planned to visit ten different locations that he recalled from the past.
Wayne organized his presentation in alphabetic order, from A to Z, Accra to Zagreb. In between, we visited Geneva, Kathmandu, London, New York, Ottawa, Toronto. Each city and individual locations triggered recollections, new observations, writing and painting. These memories were organized by place. They included a collage of events that happened over a life span.
After the presentation, I inquired about access to his collection of memories. In time, the memoir will be available in both book form and online.Ten Cities
This format raised a number of interesting questions about how you organize your thoughts in space/time. It reminded me of the work of my brother who had developed a series of videos about his life; in his case, organized chronologically. To organize events by place leads to thoughts about maps and geography. Often, when discussing ideas, I am led to putting things into context: Where were we living there? and when?
Wayne started his presentation with a quotation from Dylan Trigg from The Memory of Place.
My sense of place for Iqaluit reflects a number of visits over almost eight years. Each time, there is the opportunity to observe the community, changes in a growing family, and changes in myself (with age).
The alphabetic organization, A-Z, perhaps reflects the influence of Wayne’s career as a librarian. The painting and the writing showed us the performance artist.
My final thought relates to identity. Unless you are there, at the same time and place, you will not know who shows up. Or you can be there, at the same time and place, and still, you do not show up.
Acknowledgements
Wayne Johnston for his presence in Iqaluit. Jane Borecky who asked me to forward a note to Wayne Johnston.
References
Dylan Trigg. The Memory of Place
Wayne Johnston. The Navigator of New York
Wayne Johnston. Ten Cities: the past is present. Presentation on April 16, 2019.
Peter Maher. The DAD videos. produced by Jason Maher.
Ernest Blair Experiment 