The concept of "social prescribing" seems to be having a bit of a moment these days. You know, the idea of treating depression, anxiety and other mental health and mood-related problems by recommending an art gallery visit, a play, a film, a book, a walk in the woods or a contemplation of the heavens. And while I've never visited a licensed art therapist, music therapist or whatever other kinds of therapists are out there, I do tend to select experiences like the above as an integral part of my self-care.

For me, the month of March has been particularly rich in these experiences, what with a film, an art gallery visit, concerts, bookstore and library visits, book club meetings, a lunar eclipse and a play.

That play was Lauren Gunderson's Silent Sky, performed at the Gladstone Theatre by the Three Sisters Theatre Company,and described on the programme as "the almost-true story of the women who changed our view of the cosmos".

The main character is Henrietta Leavitt, an astronomer in the "girls' department" at Harvard Observatory in the early twentieth century. While originally hired as a human "computer" relegated to mapping and labelling stars and barred by reason of gender from accessing the telescope or doing serious astronomical research, she persists in pushing the limits and ultimately develops a system for measuring the stars and proving that there is more out there beyond the Milky Way. Indeed, she was up for a Nobel Prize but died before it could be awarded to her. That much we know.

But "almost true" is not the same as historical fact, and there was a certain amount of creative and dramatic licence at work too. Most of this was done through the supporting characters - the love interest, Peter Shaw; and Henrietta's sister, Margaret. It doesn't in any way minimize Henrietta's achievements, nor did it interfere with my enjoyment of the play, which I thought was really excellent. But it did pique my interest in learning a bit more about the real story. And here's one of the articles I found:

https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/arts-culture/480762-she-discovered-how-to-measure-the-universe-then-her/

I loved the use of music in the play, and the highlighting of the music of real-life female composers of the 19th and 20th centuries, lost to or neglected by history: Au Crépuscule, by Mel Bonis (1858-1937; from what I read about her, she deserves a play in her own right!); Valse Tender, by Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944); and Thriller Rag, by May Aufderheide (1888-1972). I plan to seek out other music written by these three composers.

In any case, Silent Sky will be playing at the Gladstone Theatre in Ottawa until March 29. If it sounds like your thing and you live in or will be in the area, there's still time to see it!
...especially when you can't go to the theatre!

But in this era of pandemic lockdowns, even those wonderful sprawling second-hand book sales are a thing of the past and, I hope, the foreseeable future. But hark! What if there be a way to boost both literary arts in one fell swoop? Behold, the Gladstone Theatre's online auction, which I mentioned here on May 21:

https://blogcutter.dreamwidth.org/tag/gladstone+theatre

After looking at their array of offerings, I ended up bidding on a box of books. No one upped my bid, so the books were mine. Denis from the Gladstone delivered them to our door yesterday. It was like Christmas in June!

In numerous entries in this blog, I've discussed my hauls from various book sales of yesteryear:

https://blogcutter.dreamwidth.org/tag/book+sales

As for the Gladstone box, it contained 22 books (11 fiction and 11 non-fiction). Here's what I got:


FICTION

1. Jeffrey Archer - Only Time Will Tell (2011)

2. Julian Barnes - Arthur and George (2005)

3. Deborah Crombie -Leave the Grave Green (1995)

4. Elizabeth George - This Body of Death (2010)

5. Sue Monk Kidd - The Book of Longings (2020)

6. Susan McMaster - Haunt (2018) poetry

7. Ian McEwan - Machines Like Me (2019)

8. Peter May - I'll Keep You Safe (2018)

9. Delia Owens - Where the Crawdads Sing (2018)

10.Alexander McCall Smith - The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds (2012)

11.Peter Swanson - 8 Perfect Murders (2020)


NON-FICTION

1. John Adams - Old Square-toes and his Lady: The Life of John & Amelia Douglas (2001)

2. Margaret Atwood - Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing (2002)

3. Emily Carr (writer/illustrator) - Emily Carr & her Dogs Flirt Punk & Loo (this ed. 2013)

4. Mark Ellwood - A Complete Waste of Time: Tales & Tips about Getting More Done (1997)

5. Helen Forsey - A People's Senate for Canada: Not a Pipe Dream (2015)

6. Adam Hochschild = King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror & Heroism in Colonial Africa (1998)

7. Naomi Klein - No is Not Enough: Resisting the New Shock Politics & Winning the World We Need (2017)

8. Brian McGarry - From Paupers to Prime Ministers: A Life in Death (2012)

9. Princeton Historical Society - Princeton History: Journal of the Historical Society no. 6 (1987)

10.Gloria Steinem - My Life on the Road (2015)

11.Margaret Visser - Much Depends on Dinner (1986)


There's a mixture of hardcover books and paperbacks but they were nearly all in fine condition. Also of interest to me were the dedications in some of the books and the selection of bookmarks. There was one from Place Bell Books (remember them?), one from Books in Canada on Sparks Street (they may be gone now too), one depicting Ottawa heritage structures and one advertising Independent Bookshops and the Ottawa Citizen Literacy Foundation. Plus a couple of the basic Indigo & Plum Plus bookmarks.

I don't think I've read any of them, but I've definitely read other books by most of the fiction authors and some of the non-fiction ones too. Surprisingly enough with several of the non-fiction authors I haven't read, I'm very much looking forward to reading them even though I probably never would have chosen to buy them - for example Brian McGarry's book and the one about the Senate by Helen Forsey (daughter of the late senator Eugene Forsey, who incidentally was an enthusiastic user and supporter of government libraries!)

One book I have on the go now is How We Read Now: Strategic Choices for Print, Screen & Audio, by Naomi S. Baron. It's very interesting but for bedside reading, I think maybe I'll dip into one of the mysteries from that box. Lots of choices there!
No doubt about it, the arts are suffering big time during this pandemic. If you're like me, you're probably itching to get out to a play, a movie or a concert and that just hasn't been possible during lockdown. But many performing arts organizations have come up with creative ideas for keeping their heads above water until we can safely go out on the town. Take, for example, the Gladstone theatre:

https://www.thegladstone.ca

Until Sunday at 5PM, you can view and bid on some interesting items in their virtual silent auction: original artwork, clothing and accessories, books, professional services of various kinds and some intriguing but affordable antiques like an old radio, an inkwell and even one of those little bobbing animals that move up and down in a glass of water or other beverage of your choice.

You can also rent their marquee for 24 hours to broadcast a (tasteful) message of your choice, be it birthday greetings, words of encouragement or whatever.

While regular theatre performances have been suspended, I have some hope that the small outdoor patio might soon be allowed to operate again.

The Gladstone is a registered charity and offers quite a range of valuable community services for arts lovers. Visit their website for more details!

I also want to highlight the Mayfair, which with the closure of the Bytowne, is now Ottawa's only repertory cinema. They too have had regular operations halted during the pandemic but have devised some creative survival solutions. And this weekend, you can tune in to one or both of their online concerts with a wide-ranging lineup of Ottawa talent. Details here:

https://mayfairtheatre.ca/ottawa-songwriters-uplifting-the-mayfair-fundraiser-event/
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