Letter from St. John’s 03 | Craig Francis Power
http://goodreads.timothycomeau.com/stjohns/
“What is wrong with Newfoundland? You may have noticed that since the initial outcry over Gordon Laurin’s firing things have been unsettlingly quiet in St. John’s. For a few days, there was a great deal of local and even (gasp) national news coverage of Laurin’s dismissal, and there was also a real sense of the art community pulling together during a rough period. Despite how disheartening Laurin’s firing was, we were all in this fight together. We were really pissed off. It felt good. That seems like a long time ago. […] There hasn’t been a word from any of the local arts organizations about Laurin’s firing since. […] Part of the problem with this tiny art community in St. John’s is that the people who are here REALLY want to remain for the rest of their lives. It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that there are about six art jobs in this town, and if you want one of them someday, you’d better not be too critical of anything. You certainly should not embarrass a corporation like The Rooms, who could at some future point supply you with a cushy government job with a dynamite pension and benefits to boot.”