From teenage German immigrant to author

Annelinde Kelly was 15 years old when she immigrated to Canada from Germany after the Second World War.

It was a lonely time in her life. She couldn't speak English and other kids ridiculed her because she was German.

To deal with her feelings, she put pen to paper and began writing poetry and short stories. It's a habit Kelly, now a retired Cambrian College gerontology professor, has always continued.

Two years ago, White Mountain Publications — a small printing press located in the Northern Ontario community of Cobalt — included two of Kelly's poems in an anthology.

Encouraged, Kelly decided to look through 50 years of her writing to see if she had enough for a book. It turns out she had not only enough for one book, but likely a trilogy.

Kelly's first book, “Take the Time” — also published by White Mountain — features poetry, thoughts of the day and short stories about a variety of subjects, including history, aging, death, spirituality and silliness.

One of her poems, “Eyes of a Child's War,” explores what it's like to be a child in a war-torn country, something she experienced first-hand.

“A lot of people talk about things they're going to do, and unfortunately things happen in life, and then you think back 'I should have done that when I was younger, when I had the time,'” Kelly said.

“So I decided not to be one of those people. I wanted to publish my book.”

A launch for “Take the Time” takes place from 2-5 p.m. Sept. 26 at Cambrian College's Fontaine Bleu Dining Room.

The event includes a book signing and reading by Kelly, and a performance by local musician Patricia Cano. While the book, which costs $15, isn't yet in stores, it will be available for purchase at the book launch.