#Jamie2026 in Stratford

September 1, 2026 – Thank you, dear family and friends, for joining us at the Stratford Perth Museum for Jamie’s (James Reaney’s) 100th birthday.

Your tales of Jamie – some from Jamie, some from others – made this a day to remember. Special thanks to Betty Jo Belton, Jerry Prager, Alice and Tim Lambrinos, Jeff Culbert, David Stones, Ron Dodson, Dorothy Chamberlin, Hilary Neary, Kelly Macintosh, and Eileen Armstrong for their wonderful readings and memories.

Thanks to master printer and compositor Stephen Sword, we were able to hand out a printed broadsheet of James Reaney’s 1965 poem “Gifts” to our guests — thank you, Stephen.

Special thanks also to family members and ace photographers Elizabeth Wallace Reaney and Ian Chunn for sharing their photos of Jamie’s 100th birthday party, and to Harry Ten Shilling for their amazing cake and cupcakes!

Our grateful thanks to the Museum’s Managing Director, Kelly McIntosh, for all her work coordinating and planning this event. Thanks also to Reagan MacMillan, Collections Coordinator, for curating the display of mementoes from James Reaney’s life and work.

Note: Readings for the first half of our event were from James Reaney’s 1992 Autobiography, and the readings for the second half were from both Margaret Atwood’s 2009 article “Remembering James Reaney” (Brick Issue 82) and Atwood’s 2025 memoir Book of Lives, and from Donald Hair’s 2022 memoir A Professor’s Life.

#Jamie2026 in London

September 3, 2026 – Thank you all for coming to the London Public Library to see James Reaney: Listening to the Wind, a 1996 documentary from Lockwood Films on James Reaney’s life and work.

Nancy Johnson, the film’s producer, was on hand to answer questions from the audience. For her and her late husband, director Mark McCurdy, the film was a labour of love. Many more hours of film were shot than ended up in the final version in their effort to capture both the life and spirit of their subject.

Our thanks to Nancy Johnson, producer, and Marion Johnson, writer, for their wonderful work, and to Alannah Vanderburgh-Oakley of the London Public Library for her coordination and assistance.

#Jamie2026 is our year-long celebration of James Reaney’s life and work in honour of his centenary. We are grateful to the Stratford Perth Museum and the London Public Library for their support of this event.