The CBC literary award winners were announced last month. Sarah de Leeuw, from Prince George, BC, won first prize for her creative nonficion story Columbus Burning.
Sparked by the burning of the downtown Columbus Hotel last August. Her writing is a poignant snapshot of Prince George. de Leeuw tells a story of loss and despair suffered daily by the old, the mentally challenged and the natives, all forgotten street people common in any city. Except, de Leeuws street people have faces they make the headlines of our daily news. Prince George may be a city with an excess of 90,000 people but it is still small enough that I know the families of some of the people portrayed in her story.
Despite the writing, which is excellent and the recognizable Prince George landmarks it's the closeness I feel with some of her characters which make this story, for me anyway, unforgettable..
Enroute magazine is publishing a different winning story in each issue. de Leeuw’s story is in the latest issue. You can read it here
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