Ottawa writer Chris Robinson new book Hockey Culture

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Ottawa Writer Explores Hockey Culture in New Book

Ottawa - Local writer Chris Robinson will launch his new book, Stole This From a Hockey Card: A Philosophy of Hockey, Doug Harvey, Identity & Booze, at 2:00 pm on Sunday, October 23 at Collected Works Bookstore & Coffeebar, 1242 Wellington Street in Ottawa, ON.

Partly a fragmented biography of legendary Montreal Canadiens defenceman Doug Harvey, Stole This from a Hockey Card probes for answer to how one of hockey's greatest players could also lead one of the most tragic and mysterious personal lives. Chris Robinson juxtaposes these investigations with his own beginnings as a troubled youth who found relief in the cardboard identities put forth by hockey cards and by his own identity as a street-hockey hotshot. Another means of escape for both men became alcohol, a facet of hockey culture thoroughly examined by Robinson's skeptical eye.

Robinson is the Artistic Director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival. He also writes the "gonzo" column "The Animation Pimp" for Animation World magazine, and for many other international publications. His books include Between Genius and Utter Illiteracy: A Story of Estonian Animation; Ottawa Senators: Great Stories from the NHL's First Dynasty; and Unsung Heroes of Animation.

Admission to the book launch is free. For more information about the event, phone Collected Works at 613-722-1265 or visit www.collected-works.com.

"Using hockey-its history, its lore, its on-the-ice actuality-as a means of framing, structuring, 'getting a handle on' one's own life is a brilliant caprice. But more than literary whim, in the hands of Chris Robinson this approach begets page after riveting page of hot-dang copy-and makes such perfect sense it feels inevitable. A doozy of a book!"

-Richard Meltzer, author of Autumn Rhythm and A Whore Just Like the Rest

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