Playlist 16+

16+ adult content: language, sexual themes.

The presentation will be co-presented by the Jeanne & Peter Lougheed Performing Arts Centre and Chester Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life at the University of Alberta

Do you still remember every word of every song that ever changed your life? Are you already humming the tune of the first song that really made you cry? Do you still know all of the lyrics that you copied onto the pages of your journal in grade eight? Writer and performer Ivan Coyote has crafted a playlist of stories that sing to us about how they managed to discover a coded but very possible queer future hidden in the music coming out of the AM radio in the kitchen, lurking in their parent’s record collection, and leaking out of the lyrics in their elementary school musical.

Combining Coyote’s equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking stories with long-time collaborator Clyde Petersen’s artwork, Playlist will have you hitting rewind on your own list of songs that helped shape you.

Reviews

Coyote has long worn their heart on their sleeve, but here, in words that feel like a whispered confidence, they reveal the true depths of their integrity, their honesty, and their, dare I say, soul. . . . a vital reminder of the value not only of connection, but of every story, every voice.

Toronto Star

Coyote ought to be recognized as one of Canada’s great humorists, although often the stories are the laughing-through-tears variety. A lot of grit and a lot of heart.

Globe and Mail, Jade Colbert

There is a courageous vulnerability in Coyote’s writing, in which they offer up their own stories in the hope of fostering connections and overcoming prejudice…The book is hilarious, heart-breaking, uplifting. It is, in other words, profoundly human.

Understorey Magazine, Michelle Deines

About the Chester Ronning Centre

The Ronning Centre offers event programming that features thoughtful religious perspectives on contemporary issues. Public figures are invited to share their experiences and stories to deepen knowledge about how religion and public life intersect. The Centre is located in Camrose, offering unique opportunities for the rural community to engage these figures and their ideas. In particular, the Centre fosters dialogue that gives a platform for equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization in the University and wider community.