Eight years in the making, Empire of the Word is a compelling look inside the act of reading and traces its impact on more than five thousand years of human history. Introduced and narrated by one of the world's great readers, Canadian writer Alberto Manguel, the series traces reading's origins; examines how we learn to read; exposes censors' attempts to prevent our reading; and finally, proposes what the future might hold for this most human of creative acts.
All 4 episodes of Empire of the Word are available to watch online on TVO's » Documentaries Video Player
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Wed. Nov. 25 @ 10:00PM
Exploring the genesis of the written word, from primitive animal paintings on cave walls to the invention of portable writing... » Read more
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Wed. Dec. 2 @ 10:00PM
In a prosperous western nation such as Canada, we take the ability to read for granted, yet one in six Canadian adults can't... » Read more
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Wed. Dec. 9 @ 10:00PM
Readers and writers the world over have been punished and persecuted for expressing their ideas or by simply carrying the wrong book... » Read more
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Wed. Dec. 16 @ 10:00PM
How will the technological revolution change the way we read? Will electronic texts like cellphone fiction replace the traditional... » Read more
... its pages have been scattered across the known world, hidden, buried and suppressed. The document, at least what we know of it, is a text of tremendous power and beauty that has never been fully translated into any modern tongue.
You, the player, are a friend of I.P. Burroughs, a writer on the run for 20 years whose life's work is to assemble, decipher and publish the Bhava Sutra Manuscript. Your task is to unlock the secret code of the Sutra by following a trail of clues through destinations around the globe, and in I.P. Burroughs' secret blog. Play along and be the first to unravel the ancient text and conclude the mystery, December 16, 2009.
Chapter 1: Toronto, Canada • Chapter 2: Alexandria, Egypt • Chapter 3: Herculaneum, Italy • Chapter 4: Istanbul, Turkey • Chapter 5: Berlin, Germany • Chapter 6: London, England • Chapter 7: Dehradun, India • Chapter 8: Toronto, Canada
Empire of the Word Online is an interactive Alternate Reality Game. It is fantasy, but the story it tells derives from histories of real, courageous people who have risked all to preserve and defend the freedom to think, write, and read freely.
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