Tattrie’s flying fingers Writer displays travellers’ tales on monitor at Halifax airport By BILL POWER Staff Reporter At Halifax Stanfield International Airport on Saturday, the Halifax woman was just one of hundreds of people anxiously checking the arrivals board, double-checking watches and fiddling with cellphones. "My son is on his way from British Columbia, but right now we’re not sure of his whereabouts," the woman pronounced as she scurried away toward the arrivals area. Airport writer-in-residence Jon Tattrie listened carefully and before his visitor was out of sight, he was clicking away at a laptop computer wired to an oversize monitor that was catching glances from more than a few curious viewers in the midst of one of the busiest travel days of the year. Within moments, the protagonist in his novel-in-progress was responding to this new input and heading in a new direction. "I was told about 15,000 people will fly in and out of the airport today. I wish I could talk to every one of them, because it seems everybody has a story," said the writer, as he neared the conclusion of his experiment in storytelling. Mr. Tattrie, 32, was in the main concourse of one of the busiest airports in the country baring his creative soul, and developing his characters and story line, in front of whomever stopped to read from the monitor or from his blog. "People are thrilled with the idea of seeing their stories told," he said. The novelist and freelance writer spent the better part of two days working on a short story on a big screen. As he approached the conclusion of his experiment, the story was well past the 5,000-word mark. "I’ve come up with something that incorporates many of the little bits of information I’ve heard," he said. He said he was pleasantly surprised with the number of people who stopped by to say hello and to share a story. He was not sure if his written work would appear in print like his recent novel Black Snow, A Story of Love and Destruction. And the possibility of any meaningful profit from the undertaking also seemed remote. "The important thing is, I’ve learn that despite all the technology and the many distractions, a good story still has strength," said the writer. Mr. Tattrie, undertook the project with the blessing of the Halifax International Airport Authority. (He received a stipend in exchange for presenting his story on the airport website.) He was inspired to experiment with public writing by Alain de Botton, a British writer who devoted a week to a similar arrangement at London’s Heathrow Airport. It is worth noting that while a group of curious travellers chatted with Mr. Tattrie, the nearby video-game arcade was empty. The writer said he deliberately selected the busy Christmas travel period for his experiment. "Everybody travelling this time of the year seems to have the objective of arriving by Dec. 25th and they must contend with many frustrations and delays along the way. It is endlessly fascinating to me that people subject themselves to all this at this time of year." The writer’s completed short story is to be posted on the airport website on Tuesday. Published: 2009-12-20 |