A Child's Christmas in Hamilton

"We knew it though, that he would come, that he did come, that he will always come.  We knew from our joy and his merriness, the elation in our hearts rising like the height of his sleigh as it soared over the Skyway Bridge, his magnificent reindeer running on the cold, Ontario night-air, south-westerly careening above and across Burlington bay."   

I had always been a great fan of Dylan Thomas' prose A Child's Christmas in Wales.  From the age of four it had always been a family tradition to watch the short Canadian/UK film translation, starring Denholm Elliott as the nostalgic Welsh grandfather, regaling his grandson with the story of what Christmas was like when he was a boy.

As such, it was in 2009, or so, that I had first thought it would be fun to write a similar prose, written in a Thomas-style, on the experiences of being a child celebrating the holidays in 1980s Hamilton (the same time when I would have first heard Thomas' piece).  Therefore, I began what would become A Child's Christmas in Hamilton.

Unfortunately, despite starting it, it quickly fell to the back-burner until November 2012, when factor[e] design initiative was considering unique, philanthropic projects it could pursue in the holiday spirit.  I pitched it as an endeavour that could simultaneously showcase our in-house talents for writing, illustration, print-design, and layout, while also being sold locally in Hamilton, Ontario for a charitable cause.  It was accepted, and once again, the project was underway.  

With illustrator Chelsea Robinson, and designers Michelle Hayward and Parker Martin covering layout and design, factor[e] published the book in December 2012, and for the past two years has been sold at various locations locally during the holiday season.  With all proceeds going to the local charity, City Kidz.

This was an exciting, and well received project to be apart of.  Moreover, it re-solidified my interest in personal, creative-writing.  An interest that frequently wavers in my motivation.  My hope is that we can continue to put it out, year after year, and see it grow as a traditional holiday story, woven into the culture and heritage of Hamilton.  However, even if it just makes someone smile, considering their own happy holiday memories, I'd be glad for it. 

For more on my reasons for undertaking this project, see here.

"Buildings build a city, and people populate it, but cities are truly made by stories.  Our identities, and indeed Hamilton’s identity, is shaped by shared experiences in a shared geography.  There are many tales of Hamilton, many factual and many fictional, many small and many big, many short and many long.  The more we write them down and share them with each other, contributing to our mutual culture, the more we can understand each other, where we have been, and where, as a city, we are going together. ...Read More" (Stories and The City, factor[e] blog, December 2012)

See below for local coverage it received upon its release:
CBC - Hamilton
MonkeyBiz.ca