On a chilly evening in Old Ottawa South, an eager crowd gathered to hear award-winning Canadian journalist Carol Off speak about her latest bestseller on Nov. 13.
Off released her book titled, At A Loss For Words: Conversation in the Age of Rage, on Sept. 3.
The book addresses six words recently distorted in common language, including “freedom” and “democracy,” and examines whether they can reclaim their original meanings and values.
More than two months after the book’s release, Adrian Harewood, a Canadian journalist and associate professor at Carleton University, interviewed Off about her book at Southminster Church.
“[Off] is arguably one of the most important journalists of her generation and it is an absolute honour to have this opportunity to chat with her,” Harewood said. “This is a conversation that needs to be happening in this moment, everywhere, but the fact that it’s happening in Ottawa is something to be cherished.”
The Ottawa International Writers Festival, which holds festivals twice a year featuring different authors and their literary works, organized the event.
“Carol is unquestionably a national treasure,” said Sean Wilson, the festival’s artistic director.
“She’s been in our bedrooms and kitchens and cars for a couple of generations now,” Wilson said, referencing Off’s 16-year tenure as the host of CBC’s As It Happens.
Wilson said the festival has a dual mandate: to bring people “that everybody already loves” to the public, while also helping attendees discover new authors.
Off’s event garnered a crowd of about 100 people from the Old Ottawa South area.
“It was such a strong feeling of community in that room,” Off said. “These were people who genuinely thought that, yes, the world is in a really bad place right now, but we are sitting in a really good place to make a difference.”
With the current political climate in the United States, Off said she hopes people understand they are not alone, and that everybody has feelings of despair and fear at times.
“What I tried to offer [the audience] was the idea that we are in this together and we are not going to let things slide into the dark place that it seems to be going to in the United States,” she said.
Harewood said Off’s book, while grappling with a lot of “big ideas” and distortions in language, is accessible and should be read far and wide.
“I hope people find pleasure in it to read, and I hope they pick it up and share it with their friends and their loved ones,” he said.
Featured image by Georgia Looman/The Charlatan.
