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Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Peter Gzowski, flying into Halifax for a one-day visit to Nova Scotia. He’s launching his 27 locations, three-week tour for his latest book, The Morningside Years. Although Haligonians no longer wake up to Gzowski’s gruff voice and witty humor, they still fill auditoriums to say, “thank-you” for his part in creating a Canadian culture.
More on this story: (Links)
Gzowski’s stay in Halifax
The price of success
Gluing Canadian culture
Gzowski’s support of local writer
Gzowski’s fans on Gzowski
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Morningside
Tribute to Gzowski and Morningside
Gzowski’s Stay in Halifax
Gzowski woke up at 4:30 am before zipping into Halifax on October 28. He spent the day before, October 27, in St. John’s, Newfoundland, where he performed an evening event at the Christina Parker Gallery.
Gzowski surprised fans with an impromptu book signing at Frog Hollow Books on Spring Garden Road in the morning; but, die-hard fans didn’t miss out. The gruff journalist moved on to the McInnes Room at Dalhousie University to promote his new book, The Morningside Years. The book is a collection of memorable moments during his fifteen-year stint as the host of the CBC morning show, Morningside.
“An Evening with Peter Gzowski” was set to begin at 7:30 pm. By 7:00 pm, members of the sold-out 600 person audience were waiting for their hero. People could not sit still. Students and seniors alike were turning around, anxiously waiting for their friends to arrive, saving seats, and drinking cups of Tim Horton’s coffee they’d snuck in.
A large applause resounded throughout the room when Gzowski made his appearance. Wearing a tweed coat and holding a black pen, he did not disappoint his fans. Gzowski read excerpts from The Morningside Years and engaged the crowd with comical anecdotes from his life.
Following the one-hour talk, a long line of people rushed to have Gzowski sign the books they purchased there. He managed to sign every book before he was whisked off by a This Hour Has 22 Minutes camera crew.
“I’m so excited!” says King’s College student, Alyssa Levy after waiting to get her new Gzowski book signed.
In addition to promoting his book, the event raised $550 for literacy. The proceeds went to Word on the Street and Frontier Challenge.
The Price of Success
Although people are flocking to see him during his book tour, Gzowski is still known as a regular guy. He, however, has a slightly different view of himself.
“Did I neglect to point out I’m a Canadian sex symbol?” says Peter Gzowski to a crowded audience at Dalhousie University.
“It happens often. I will get approached. It happens everywhere, airports, hotel lobbies, everywhere. I’m approached by a gorgeous, live, tawny-hair, long-legged young woman who comes up to me shyly and says, ‘Excuse me, aren’t you Peter Gzowski?’ and I equally shyly reply, ‘yes, indeed I am.’ The young woman invariably, until today, says ‘my mother is your biggest fan.’”
“But this changed today,” say Gzowski, “the same event took place but my mother had become (long pause) ‘my grandmother.’”
Since retiring from Morningside, Gzowski remains very busy.
This year, Peter Gzowski was one of the three jurors for the Giller Prize Award, a prize given to Canadian writers. The other jurors this year were Monie Bernard and Mavis Gallant. Each time, the jurors met at one of the three juror’s houses. This time they went to Mavis Gallant’s home in Paris. At 63 years-old, it was the first time Gzowski headed off to Paris.
Gluing Canadian Culture
To many audience members, Gzowski is a true Canadian. Although, he admits he’s finally made it to Paris, he’s spent most of his life traveling his own country and filling his radio program with thousands of interviews about Canadian people.
“We are finally in this country learning to honor our own,” he says, in part referring to a recent tribute for famous writer and on-stage performer person W.O. Mitchell. W.O. Mitchell appeared for the last Morningside.
Gzowski made a point of interviewing almost every up and coming writer, musician, and artist in Canada. He’s interviewed Margaret Atwood, Margaret Laurence, Leonard Cohen, and many more. Many of his fans say Gzowski and Morningside created a sense of Canadian cultural identity.
“I’ve listened to him for almost the whole time he’s been on air. I miss Peter Gzowski so much. He’s the glue that kept Canada together,” says Eleanor Healy, a fan of the Canadian icon.
At age 63, Gzowski’s not retiring but Morningside is over. He’s recently completed his fifth book about the program entitled, The Morningside Years.
Gzowski will be back on CBC radio between and 8 and 9 pm starting next January in a show called Voices of the 21st Century. He says he’s excited to have the opportunity to continue to speak with some of the smartest minds of our times.
Gzowski’s Support of a Local Writer
Children’s writer, Sheree Fitch, was the opening speaker for Peter Gzowski during “An Evening With Gzowski” at Dalhousie University.
Fitch was poet laureate for Gzowski during six golf tournaments. She also joined Gzowski with many others in the winning battle against a proposed additional eight per cent tax on books in the Maritimes.
She says Gzowski was her inspiration. “When I was 24 years-old, a closet writer, rejected time and time again…one day I listened to Peter Gzowski. He made me sit up and listen and I said to myself, maybe it’s possible…I told my son right there and then, one day he’s going to interview me…That dream came true.”
She says her fondest memory of Gzowski was on a trip to Pond Inlet in the North. She was acting as Gzowski’s poet laureate for one of his golf tournaments for literacy.
“Peter was sitting in a tiny library with eight Inuit kids and a few mothers reading Rudyard Kipling,” she says. “That’s what Peter’s all about. He has a love for words.”
Peter Gzowski is a known advocate for literacy. He’s raised millions of dollars for literacy through a series of golf tournaments he founded in 1986. The tournaments have taken place across Canada, including Inuvik, where fluorescent golf balls were used on the ice.
Gzowski wanted two things to happen each tournament. He recognized an adult learner from each community who learned to read as a result of the promotion of literacy. Also, he chose a poet laureate to read. A poet laureate is a person who is designated to create a poem for a specific event.
Gzowski Fans on Gzowski
Although Peter Gzowski stayed in Halifax for only one day, his visit left a great impact on those who saw him speak. Here are some of the things people said:
“He’s done more for Canada than any other person to keep Canada together as a country; so down to earth. We are all going to miss him terribly. “ Elizabeth Murray, Halifax, Nova Scotia
“He’s been a good voice of the country for many years and he has feet of clay.” Walter Brown, from St. John’s, Newfoundland
“I grew up in a house where CBC was on all the time. I’m an example of how the myth that only our parents listened to Morningside is not true. “ Michael Cart, King’s College student, Halifax, Nova Scotia
“He asks the questions we wanted asked. I’m in a little workshop working away like the rest of us, he was the warm lifeline of communication to link us to the rest of Canada.” Peter Armstrong, Halifax, Nova Scotia
“There’s nobody like him.” Cheryl Armstrong, Halifax, Nova Scotia
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