This coming Sunday marks the launch of the latest chapter in the story of Vancouver's written history, in fact a few of them! Vancouver Confidential is a fantastic new book published by Anvil Press filled with stories from our city's history. Edited by John Belshaw, it's filled with stories from a number of local historians including our very own Lani Russwurm, author of Vancouver WAS Awesome which made it to #2 on the BC Bestsellers list last year, and Jason Vanderhill who heads up Illustrated Vancouver and has been posting historical gems on V.I.A. for years.
Head down to The Emerald this Sunday at 6PM for the launch. 20's to 40's attire is encouraged, and you'll be certain to be rubbing shoulders with some of Vancouver's "hottest historians"!
Learn more about the book HERE and the launch event HERE.
ABOUT VANCOUVER CONFIDENTIAL:
Vancouver Confidential is a collaboration of artists and writers who plumb the shadows of civic memory looking for the stories that don’t fit into mainstream narratives. We honour the chorus line behind the star performer, the mug in the mugshot, the victim in the murder, the teens in the gang, and the ‘slum’ in the path of the bulldozer. By focusing on the stories of the common people rather than community leaders and headliners, Vancouver Confidential shines a light on the lives of Vancouverites that have for so long been ignored.
This collection takes a fresh look at the raw urban culture of a port city in the mid-twentieth century. These were years when Hastings and Main was still a dynamic commercial hub, when streetcars thrummed through the city streets, and when ‘theatre’ meant vaudeville and burlesque. Street gambling and illegal boozecans peppered the map, brothels and bootleggers served loggers and shoreworkers, and politicians were almost always larger than life.
This ensemble of writing and art illuminates aspects of a city that was too busy getting into trouble to worry about whether it was ‘world class.’
Vancouver Confidential includes essays from Tom Carter, Aaron Chapman, Jesse Donaldson, James Johnston, Lani Russwurm, Eve Lazarus, Diane Purvey, Catherine Rose, Rosanne Sia, Jason Vanderhill, Stevie Wilson, Will Woods, Terry Watada, and John Belshaw.
