A Glowing Dream: A Memoir

Filled with fascinating, personal anecdotes and peopled with colourful characters from Winnipeg’s past, Roland Penner’s A Glowing Dream: A Memoir takes the reader on a historic, and often tumultuous, journey. Drawing on memories and archival materials, Penner connects the political dots from his paternal ancestors who emigrated to Southern Russia at the time of Catherine the Great to his own political activities. His father Jacob Penner’s family arrived in Winnipeg in 1904, partly due to the threat of Siberian exile, or worse, for his socialist and political activities. Penner grew up with parents (who met at a reception for Emma Goldman in 1908) who were watched by the RCMP because they were considered dangerous subversives. Taking us from the often-romanticized early days of Winnipeg’s North End to life in the public sphere, Penner tells of his role in such momentous political milestones as Manitoba’s new human rights legislation, legislation Penner counts as his crowning achievement. As former government house leader and Attorney General, Penner shares the tribulations and triumphs of standing one’s ground and fighting for what he believed to be right.