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UID:30049-0@www.visitcalgary.com
DTSTAMP:20260811T100512Z
DTSTART:20260827T010000Z
DTEND:20260827T020000Z
SUMMARY:An Evening with Tom Symington
DESCRIPTION:A conversation and Q+A with Tom Symington\, author of Not So No
 rmal: Memoirs of a Gay Boomer\, and Our Past Matters author\, Kevin Allen.\
 n\nAbout the book\n\nGrowing up in post-World War II Alberta in a stable\, 
 loving home\, Tom Symington didn’t feel that he was “different.” Evad
 ing early pressures of romance and sexual exploration\, repressing instance
 s of name-calling (“femmy”)\, and hostility from schoolmates\, Tom was 
 almost able to believe in a world that valued the rights and freedoms of al
 l citizens. From Calgary to Sierra Leone to France\, this candid\, heartbre
 aking memoir braids the evolution of gay rights in Canada with the life jou
 rney of one individual. Following high school\, as Tom entered university a
 nd became a teacher\, he was forced to reconcile his sexual orientation wit
 h the prevailing social and legal environment in Alberta\, Canada\, and the
  world beyond. As decades passed\, “femmy” merged with “gay\,” “q
 ueer\,” and “LGBTQ+ community” in a rallying movement and an enduring
  struggle towards pride and self-acceptance against the current of societal
  expectations and discriminatory legislation. Not So Normal is as much a co
 ming-of-age odyssey and a celebration of selfhood as it is a grave reminder
  that there is still much work to be done in the realm of human rights\, an
 d an urgent call to action to recentre love in our increasingly diverse and
  divisive world.\n\nAbout the Authors\n\nTom Symington grew up\, attended u
 niversity\, and became a secondary school teacher in Alberta (Wild Rose Cou
 ntry). He went on to travel\, volunteer\, work\, and study in Sierra Leone\
 , Europe\, the United States\, and Québec\, earning a Diplome d'études pr
 ofessionnelles (DEP) en céramique and becoming a translator after completi
 ng a Graduate Diploma in Translation at McGill University. Not So Normal is
  available from Friesen Press (books.friesenpress.com) and all bookstores.\
 n\nKevin Allen is a fourth-generation Calgarian who has been documenting an
 d profiling queer people and events for 30+ years. Kevin started the Calgar
 y Gay History Project in 2012 to uncover and preserve stories from Calgary�
 ��s 2SLGBTQ+ past (www.calgarygayhistory.ca). The Project has achieved nati
 onal recognition and led to the award-winning documentary film: Gross Indec
 ency: The Everett Klippert Story\; and the best-selling book Our Past Matte
 rs: Stories of Gay Calgary. Additionally\, Kevin works as a senior election
  administrator for both Elections Canada and the City of Fernie.\n\nhttps:/
 /www.visitcalgary.com/events/an-evening-with-tom-symington\n\nhttps://shelf
 lifebooks.ca/events/6011120260826
LOCATION:Shelf Life Books\, 1302 4 St Sw\, Calgary\, Alberta\, T2R 0X8
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