Vancouver man-about-letters George Fetherling is keeping exceedingly good company these days. Later this month George will be launching his new book of poetry, The Sylvia Hotel Poems (Quattro Books), at, where else, the Sylvia Hotel. Not only that, the hotel has agreed to put a copy of the collection in every room, which means that guests will be able to choose between Fetherling and the Bible when they are looking for solace and/or inspiration.
The launch festivities take place at the Sylvia bar on March 23, 6-8 pm.
Like George, the Sylvia is an English Bay landmark. It was built in 1912 as an apartment block and was named for the owner's daughter, Sylvia Goldstein. In 1936 it converted to an apartment-hotel and then during the '60s into a full-service hotel. Until 1958 it was the tallest building in the West End but a more important historic achievement was that it opened the first cocktail bar in the city, in 1954.