Stange remembered with Conspiracy

A conspiracy has been uncovered to honour professor Ken Stange. Last night at the White Water Gallery, the Conspiracy of Three held a memorial reading in honour of the late professor Stange, who was a fixture in the local reading series since it’s inception. The Conspiracy of Three is North Bay’s local reading series by and for Canadian writers. It was founded in 1988 by poet Gil McElroy. Stange, a noted and creative writer of poetry, short fiction, novels, non-fiction and essays, was involved from the beginning, serving as host from 1995-97. The group meets monthly on the second Tuesday at the White Water Gallery. There is no cost or membership fee and anyone can participate. The name refers to its “underground” character and established format of three twenty-minute sets per evening, including the open set where anyone may contribute a brief reading or performance and new writers are encouraged to try out new work. Local writers, while not being paid, have enjoyed exposure and support through presenting at the Conspiracy of Three. Funding for out-of-town writers has been sought from Canada Council and Nipissing University.  Sponsored writers include Souvankham Thammavongsa, Angie Abdou, Lee Maracle, Tim Lillburn, Katerina Fretwell, Roger Nash, David Solway, Carol Malyon and Bruce Meyer, among others. Hosts have included Ian McCulloch, Stange, Denis Stokes, Barry Grills, Kevin Smith, Janet Calcaterra, Doyali Islam and (currently) Laurie Kruk. Professor Stange taught Psychology at Nipissing for 41 years, and was particularly noted for his Psychology of Art course.  Aside from his written-word prowess, Stange was also an accomplished visual artist, enthusiastic cyclist, devoted dog owner and computer innovator. His contributions to Nipissing University and to the North Bay community were enormous and influential. Peace in Complexity (with notes from Dr. Laurie Kruk)