Discourse
“Persuasion is achieved by the speaker's personal character when the speech is spoken as to make us think him credible.” Aristotle
I grew up in a household where debate, discourse and conversation was loud, insistent and always expected. “How will you understand the world around you and what you think and value without discussion?” my father would ask and go on to remind me, “but you have to have facts and speak truthfully from your own experience, be prepared to listen to others and perhaps change your mind.” His words encouraged me to value discourse, form opinions (some would say I have one about everything), listen intently and be respectful of others even as their opinions differed from my own. These tenets have been at the heart of the Whistler Writers Festival since its inception in 2002.
Now entering its 18th year, the Festival continues to be committed to discussion and healthy, provocative and thoughtful debate with as broad and inclusive an audience as possible. And to reiterate and cement this ideal, we have made our theme this year: Discourse.
As this is the Thanksgiving weekend and only a few days before the Whistler Writers Festival, I wanted to acknowledge how grateful I am to our volunteers, our community leaders, and other influencers, and most importantly our audience, who have come through time and time again with wonderful questions for our authors and your willingness to listen to and debate books and their various subjects. Thank you for reiterating why conversation is so important.
Please come join us the weekend of October 17th to 20th. Tickets on sale: whistlerwritersfest.com
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