The Confederation Centre Public Library is pleased to announce that Mr. Haruo Matsumaru, Reading Instructor at the ASAHI Culture School in Tokyo, will be giving a Japanese reading of passages from the L.M. Montgomery novel Anne of Green Gables.
Mr. Matsumaru will be accompanied by his colleague, Ms. Sayuri Nishikawa, who is also a Reading Instructor at the ASAHI Culture School. The event will take place Friday, July 10, at 2 p.m. in the Confederation Centre Art Gallery. Julia Lenardon, an actor from the Montgomery Theatre in Cavendish, will be on hand to recite the same passages in English.
Following the reading, there will be time for questions, and a reception will be hosted by the Friends of the Confederation Centre Public Library. A translator will be available to assist with questions for Mr. Matsumaru and Ms. Nishikawa.
Mr. Matsumaru won this trip to Prince Edward Island for submitting the winning essay in a special essay contest offered jointly by the Canadian Tourism Commission, Tourism PEI and Japanese publisher Shincho-sha. The contest was offered last year in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the publication of Prince Edward Island’s most famous novel. Mr. Matsumaru’s essay explored “Anne's voice” in the novel.
In his hometown of Tokyo, Mr. Matsumaru holds reading recitals at local halls and community centres, and gives reading training to teachers and public. Ms. Nishikawa gives reading training to teachers, actors/actresses, voice actors, anchors, as well as giving private lessons. During their stay on Prince Edward Island, Mr. Matsumaru and Ms. Nishikawa will be visiting many of the locations of particular interest to fans of Anne and L.M. Montgomery, as well as other points of interest on the Island.
“I want to congratulate Mr. Haruo Matsumaru for his winning essay submission, which illustrates true appreciation for Anne’s rich voice,” said Hon. Carolyn Bertram, Minister of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour. “We are fortunate that Mr. Matsumaru and Ms. Nishikawa are able to share with us a sample of this story that has touched so many Japanese people. I encourage Islanders and visitors to drop into the Confederation Centre Public Library on Friday and experience this special reading.”
The Confederation Centre Public Library is grateful to partners, the Montgomery Theatre, the L.M. Montgomery Institute and the Confederation Centre Art Gallery, for supporting this special event. Julia Lenardon has the lead role in Maud of Cavendish, which is playing at Green Gables House this summer. The play was written by Anne Kathleen McLaughlin.
More information, including hours of operation, for any of the 26 public libraries in Prince Edward Island can be found online at www.library.pe.ca