Gallery Vertigo is inviting the public to a reading by Stephen Henighan, author of The Path of the Jaguar, Saturday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.
The author of three novels and three short story collections, Henighan’s work has been published in more than 45 magazines and anthologies on both sides of the Atlantic.
He has been a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Canada Prize in the Humanities, a McNally Robinson Fiction Prize, a National Magazine Award, and a Western Magazine Award.
Henighan teaches Spanish-American literature at the University of Guelph.
Set in 1997, as Guatemala emerges from 36 years of civil war, The Path of the Jaguar follows Amparo Ajuix, an energetic young Mayan woman, who sees a chance for a better life for herself, her husband and her children. She charts an intricate path between her indigenous Mayan culture and Cakchiquel-Maya language, and the alluring opportunities of the nearby tourist town of Antigua.
Yet barriers block Amparo’s path: her village is divided between Catholics and Evangelical Christians, her husband suspects that their second child is not his.
As Amparo’s culture erodes and her hopes confront seemingly insurmountable obstacles, she resorts to both traditional wisdom and personal determination to take a decision about her children’s future that no mother should have to make.
Henighan will be available to talk about his creative style and answer any questions after his reading. Refreshments will be served. Vertigo is located at #1-3001 31st St.