The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

4 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, August 1, 2000 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" A Canadian voice in Ireland Poet Owen Neill will participate in Irish writers' fest By Jeff Mitchell Port Perry Star When writers from across Ireland gather on an Island retreat to read and discuss their works next month, a Canadian voice will be heard among them. Owen Neill of Port Perry has been invited to participate in readings and workshops during the Let Me Take You To The Island Writers' Weekend Festival, to be held on Rathlin Island in Ireland, beginning Sept. 14. Mr. Neill, who has become well- known for his works of poetry, participa- tion in writers' groups and letters to local newspapers since moving to Port Perry several years ago, has been asked to return to the festival after taking part on an informal basis while visiting Ireland last year. "I was the only foreign writer there," said Mr. Neill of last year's festival. He made an impression with organizers, who have invited him back for the sec- ond edition of the event. Mr. Neill was in Ireland to continue an ongoing search into his roots, and to introduce his book My Wild Colonials, based on his family's history in Ireland and emigration to Canada after the First World War. His descriptions of Canada appealed to workshop participants, as did his desire to trace his family tree back to its origin. Mr. Neill's poems, invoking strong images of family ties as well as the Irish experience off the island, struck a chord with audiences at the festival. "We were invited to read poems, and of course my work had a Canadian theme, along with a family connection theme," said Mr. Neill. » Ee Port Perry-based poet Owen Neill, seen here on a visit to the Orkney Islands last summer, is returning to Ireland this fall to participate in a national writers' festival. He's the only foreign writer invited to take part. "They're always interested in what the Irish are doing in other parts of the world," said Mr. Neill. When he returns to the festival this year, Mr. Neill will continue to build upon the Canadian experience theme. He'll read from his collection Six Windows of the Giant, published in 1991, works that reflect his experiences growing up in Port Arthur, in Northern Ontario. He'll also lecture in schools on the subject of wolves, a topic he travels throughout Canada to speak on. "The theme, | think, will be what makes a Canadian a Canadian," said Mr. Neill, who admits that he, like many of his fellow Canucks, doesn't have a con- cise answer to that eternal question. "I've been thinking about that all my life, and 1 still don't know," he said. "I guess that's how we define our- selves: We live here, but we don't know who the hell we are." It has been during his travels in Ireland that Mr. Neill has been struck by that contrast between the two countries; while Ireland is rich in oral history, mythology and antiquities, Canada is a new country, still constructing a her- itage, one generation at a time. He was particularly taken by the Orkney Islands, a remote collection of rocky outcroppings in the North Atlantic. Life there has retained its simple, slow pace for centuries, virtually uninterrupt- ed by the hustling progress of the out- side world, said Mr. Neill. "There you have visible and oral roots from 1,000 years ago," said Mr. Neill. "they are so remote they have remem- bered who they are, and what they are, up until today." The return trip to Ireland will also allow Mr. Neill to continue tracing his family tree, an exercise at which he's been very successful so far. Family lines run deep and strong in Ireland, so he has been able to track down a large number of folks to whom he's directly related. Through them he has begun to assem- ble the genealogical record he pursues so passionately. 'Wrinkle Pageant' raises funds for Cancer Society By Jeff Mitchell Port Perry Star Their tongues were firmly in cheek, but residents and staff at Community Nursing Home also had their hearts in the right place when they held what they call a "Wrinkle Pageant" to raise funds for breast cancer research. Residents and workers at the Port Perry home joined together to participate in the event, which saw them vying for nominations in a number of creative categories for the event. Each nomination cost those watching a dollar. Resident Pat Lydiatt, 83, an organizer of the event, chose breast cancer research as the beneficiary of the fundraiser. More than $230 was raised and delivered to Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation representa- tive Carole Keys recently. Mrs. Lydiatt, a breast cancer survivor, said the illness has a tremendous impact on many women. "You're never cured," said Mrs. Lydiatt, who underwent successful treatment, including intensive radiation, in Toronto 37 years ago. She said 45 minutes of radi- ation treatment a day left her exhausted, but that after enduring it, she emerged a can- cer survivor. After five years, she was declared cancer-free, but never forgot her ordeal. Mrs. Lydiatt also lost her husband Walter to cancer. About a dozen residents and 18 staff members took part in the Wrinkle Pageant. Community Nursing Home resident Pa Lydiatt presents Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation representative Carole Keys with a cheque for $236, proceeds of a kle Pageant" held recently at the home. Mrs. Lydiatt - who just happens to have won the Sexiest Legs category - is a breast cancer survivor. has