“It was great, Judith. Or at least, I hear it was. I was stranded on Fogo Island!
But people were very moved by it and were grateful to have the opportunity to
honour Paul. Steve Brunt and I also had a Paul moment on stage–we put out
the fishing rod he used last year…I read a bit from the book about Des Walsh
and then we played the Friendly song–which got stuck in the middle and stopped!
Then picked up again. Quite a moment! hope your summer was/is great. xoxo”

Here’s the Western Star review of the event too >>

Canadian author and musician remembered at Woody Point Writers festival
Published on August 24th by Katherine Hudson

Stephen Brunt and Shelagh Rogers at Writers at Woody Point Festival

Stephen Brunt and Shelagh Rogers seen on Saturday August 21, 2010

Special Features

• MUSIC VIDEOS including CLAIRE by The Rheostatics; HEY, HOLLYWOOD by Paul Quarrington; ARE YOU READY performed by Sharon Riley and Faith Chorale
• SHORT FILMS including the award-winning  PAVANE directed by Paul Quarrington; plus ANGEL TAKES ALL and SEVENTH SEAL REDUX
• INTERVIEWS by MARGARET ATWOOD, PAUL GROSS, JOHN KRIZANC, ALISTAIR MACLEOD, NINO RICCI plus a conversation with Booker Prize winning author RODDY DOYLE
• PHOTO GALLERIES from behind the scenes MAKING LIFE IN MUSIC, intimate PORTRAITS OF AN ARTIST and an exclusive collection illustrating Quarrington’s last book, CIGAR BOX BANJO

The DVD can be ordered through Producer Judith Keenan using PayPal by Email.
Paul Quarrington Life in Music DVD w/ Special Features
$20 CAD plus HST includes shipping within Canada

ABOUT THE FILM >> Paul Quarrington Life in Music

Director Bert Kish has done a masterful job revealing the inner life and work of this renaissance artist – writer, teacher, musician, filmmaker – delivering both humourous and poignant insights into what it takes to live a creative life.

… funny, defiant and moving… – James Reaney, QMI Agency

… A fascinating look at an eclectic artist whose impending death led him to embrace both his life and his art.
 – TV Week

… the artist’s last year of life was his greatest work. - The Globe and Mail

… a fitting send-off tribute to a Canadian great – National Post

… one of our country’s leading artists – Calgary Herald

The DVD will be available at each of the screening events taking place this coming fall – subscribe to the RSS feed for this site for updates!

Leacock Summer Festival, Orillia – Sun. July 25

Haliburton Forest Festival - Sat. Aug. 21

Thin Air: Winnipeg Writers Festival – Sat. Sep 25

WordFest: Banff-Calgary Intl Writers Festival – Sat. Oct 16 & Sun. Oct 17

Vancouver International Writers Festival – Fri. Oct 22

Paul Quarrington The Songs (CD) and Cigar Box Banjo (book) will also be available at each venue.   More screenings across the country to be announced soon!

Paul Quarrington posthumously received the honorary degree Doctor of Letters from Nipissing University, North Bay Ontario Canada. His daughter, Carson Quarrington accepted the honorary degree and delivered the convocation address to graduates of Nipissing’s Faculty of Arts and Science and Concurrent Education program on Thursday, June 10, 2010.  Her presentation was moving, insightful, and elegant indeed.

Profile:  Paul Quarrington: His final year was his greatest work by John Barber

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/paul-quarrington-his-final-year-was-his-greatest-work/article1584668/
A remarkable memoir reveals a writer and musician determined to face down death with courage and flair.

A genius at living // Cigar Box Banjo:  Reviewed by Mark Kingwell

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-cigar-box-banjo-notes-on-music-and-life-by-paul-quarrington/article1584522/
Paul Quarrington, author and musician, embraced both life and the inevitability of death

Bittersweet notes on music and life (Book Excerpt)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/bittersweet-notes-on-music-and-life/article1584674/
In his memoir Cigar Box Banjo, Paul Quarrington writes that upon learning of his lung cancer, he drove to the Scarborough Bluffs, ‘stumbled out to the shore and bawled like a baby’

A final song

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/a-final-song/article1584596/
In a Globe and Mail exclusive, listen to a song Paul Quarrington wrote about the end being near. The song is one of three on a CD included with Quarrington’s memoir, Cigar Box Banjo

Paul Quarrington: When his many passions merged into a love of life

Read more: http://arts.nationalpost.com/2010/05/29/paul-quarrington-when-his-many-passions-merged-into-a-love-of life

And Phil Marchand’s review of Cigar Box Banjo

Open Book, by Philip Marchand: Cigar Box Banjo, by Paul Quarrington

Read more: http://arts.nationalpost.com/2010/05/29/open-book-by-philip-marchand-cigar-box-banjo-by-paul-quarrington

Paul Quarrington believed every day was an opportunity to live the creative life to the fullest.  This summer, fans have the opportunity to enjoy that philosophy to the fullest, with the release of works in all three of his favourite art disciplines – writing books, making music, and wrapping arms around everything for the screen.

Cigar Box Banjo: Notes on Music and Life

Memoir, Greystone Books, May 29, 2010

Paul Quarrington: Life in Music

Documentary Film, May 29 on Bravo! Canada
DVD release, BookShorts, August 2010
National Screening Tour, BookShorts Literacy Program, Sept, Oct, Nov 2010

Paul Quarrington: The Songs

Solo Music CD, June 8, 2010
14 tracks, Cordova Bay Records

In 1989, his novel Whale Music won the Governor General’s Award for Fiction. His novel Galveston was shortlisted for the prestigious Giller Prize in 2004. In 2009, the Writers’ Trust of Canada awarded Quarrington the Matt Cohen Prize for a distinguished lifetime contribution to Canadian literature. Quarrington also taught creative writing for more than 20 years, served as the Chair of the Writers’ Union of Canada and was a board member of both PEN Canada and Fringe Theatre Toronto. Quarrington died from lung cancer on January 21, 2010.

The other honorary degree recipients include Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo, local artist Jack Lockhart, women’s advocate Marsha Greenfield and Jon Dellandrea, most notably known for university advancement, and Former Ontario premier Mike Harris.

The announcement was made Friday May 21, 2010 by the university’s interim vice-president of academic and research Errol Aspevig, who said all six are an “extraordinary group of individuals being honoured.”

A committee of the senate, which includes board members, students, faculty and alumni, decides who receives honorary degrees. Nominations are made by the committee and accepted from outside sources. The list of candidates are taken to the board of governors for approval.

For more information, visit http://baytoday.ca/content/news/details.asp?c=37061

Date: Monday May. 24, 2010

TORONTO — Months after his death, Paul Quarrington is still finding new ways to surprise.

The multi-hyphenate author, musician, filmmaker and playwright died of lung cancer in January. But the work is still coming. This spring will see the release of his first solo CD and a new memoir, while a documentary about his final months will air on television.

And as they survey his latest spate of creative works, those close to Quarrington continue to marvel at the friend they’ve lost.

“The reception, it’s just overwhelming, the sense of ‘thank you,’ and ‘I didn’t know that,”‘ said Judith Keenan, a close confidante of Quarrington’s and the producer of “Paul Quarrington: Life in Music,” a documentary that will air on Saturday (Bravo, 7 p.m. ET).

“These are people talking to me — ‘I’m a high school friend of Paul’s and I didn’t know that about him.’ Or his brother would say, ‘I didn’t know that about him.’ They’re all discovering things about this gentleman.

“I think just the way he constructed his life, it’s people finding doors to walk through they didn’t know existed. It’s increased the value of this trifecta of products coming out at the same time.”

And these final creative works exist thanks to the tireless effort Quarrington put in during the months and days that would prove to be his last.

Quarrington was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer last May, a fatal condition he would succumb to in January at the age of 56.

In between, he worked at a prodigious pace to complete his projects. Rather than being defeated by the diagnosis, he almost seemed buoyed — in the film, he refers to it as a “gift,” because the knowledge that his time was limited served as motivation to work furiously to complete a staggering career of accomplishments.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE ON CTV.CA or in any of the many print and online media outlets across the country!