The historic, beautifully renovated yellow brick building on Sherbrooke that stretches from Atwater to Wood, once the motherhouse of Congregation Notre-Dame, is the home turf of one of this city’s prime educational institutions.

Dawson College is bursting at the seams, with about 10,000 day and evening students. Because of its location, extensive and innovative programs and dedicated, creative teachers, it has become so popular it has rented rooms at the nearby AMC Forum to accommodate the overflow. There are many reasons the college has achieved its reputation, and English teacher Ann Lambert is one example. One of Montreal’s top playwrights, Lambert belies the cliché that those who can, do, and those who can’t, teach. Not only does she do both, winning awards and accolades for her work, she brings her creative impulse and drive into the classroom.

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When Montreal writer Eric Siblin began exploring the possibilities of a productive working life outside The Gazette, neither he nor any of his friends imagined he would find his path in the narrative counterpoint of the Bach Cello Suites, their resurrection and the men who made this music one of the great creative achievements in the classical repertoire.

One of the paper’s most talented writers, an assiduous researcher with broad journalistic interests, Siblin profiled visionary architect Moishe Safdie, Rosie Douglas, the ex-revolutionary who became the premier of Dominica, and Montreal-trained piano virtuoso Marc-André Hamelin for Saturday Night magazine.

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Home and hearth: The warmth of my small apartment is mainly fueled by the bookcases that dominate it. It’s here that my array of reference books and other “keepers” rest, ready to serve me when needed.

That is a very comforting feeling, as many of these books are unavailable free on the Internet (although they all remain in print), despite Google’s growing ministrations. When I discover an artist and want further info on where to go next, these books represent my lifeline. Without further ado, welcome to my world:

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