2 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 PEOPLE TZEPORAH BERMAN At the Bali climate conference, her eyes were opened to the key chal- once chained herself to a log lenge of our age: climate change. barge in Vancouver harbour Walking the Devastated by the lack of progress to protest exportation of raw at the Copenhagen climate confer- ence, she co-founded PowerUp logs and was the first per- green way Canada and then joined Greenpeace son to carry the Olympic International. Later, with ForestEthics, she took forests. Berman has negotiated with She was once described as “Cana- torch via an electric vehicle. on Victoria’s Secret with a well-pub- CEOs and political leaders to help da’s Queen of Green” in a Reader’s BY KLAUS SMITH licized photo of a chainsaw-wield- reshape policies and practices, while Digest cover story and the Utne ing lingerie model, pressuring the confronting the wood and paper- Reader recognized her as one of 50 S THE FOUNDER OF FORESTETHICS catalogue manufacturer to stop us- purchasing practices of some of the Visionaries Who Are Changing Your A and PowerUp Canada, ing paper made from old-growth largest corporations in the world. World. Tzeporah Berman has co- A month into her job at written her memoir, This Greenpeace International, Crazy Time: Living Our the cap blew off the BP oil Environmental Challenge well in the Gulf of Mexico, (Knopf $32), with Mark spewing up to 100,000 bar- Leiren-Young, to recall rels of oil into the ocean her self-educational journey daily. Never a dull mo- from its beginning during a ment. trip to Europe to her present “If you’re going to cam- position as a co-director of the paign, and protest, and climate and energy program blockade, and do direct ac- at Greenpeace International. tions,” she says, “you have In the early 1990s, to be willing to talk to all Berman joined the protests the players and work out so- to save the endangered rain- lutions. Otherwise, that’s forests of Clayoquot Sound not campaigning, it’s just on Vancouver Island as part The Royal BC Museum has named complaining.” of the largest act of civil diso- 978-0-30739978-6 bedience in Canada’s his- Tzeporah Berman as one of 150 people who tory—facing criminal have changed British Columbia’s history. See page 31 for reviews of more charges to do so. environmental books.

KEEPING ’EM IN STITCHES There’s more to embroidery than doilies.

AFTER HER BREAKTHROUGH sions and feelings toward the city and its women (tattoos are optional)—have been “Yarn Bombing has worked its way into neighbourhoods onto the map. reclaiming the ancient craft of knitting in the popular veracular. It has been used in topseller, Yarn Bombing: The Art The unusual embroidery projects fea- the name of feminism, pranksterism and cell phone campaigns in Ireland, men- of Crochet and Knit Graffiti, tured in the book tell the embroiderers what art. tioned by Queen Latifa on Martha Leanne Prain has set her tools (embroidery needles and floss), stitches, Yarn Bombing provided cultural incen- Stewart, used by Arthur Black in an and skills (e.g. hand sewing) are required, tives to stitch together a sweater for a park- essay, and even been the subject of a sights on revolutionizing embroi- but they do not provide in-depth instruc- ing meter. Knit a scarf for a tree trunk. Add Threadless t-shirt.” dery in Hoopla: The Art of Un- tion. So if you are looking for comprehen- woollen bolo balls to a statue. “Yarn Bombing successfully connected sive information on stitches and patterns, Crochet anyone? Let no fire hydrant knitters with the world of street art,” Prain expected Embroidery (Arsenal this book isn’t for you. Hoopla is geared to be nude. told BCBW. “I am hoping that Hoopla: $29.95), with images by photog- idea-generating rather than instruction. ✍ The Art of Unexpected Embroidery receives a ✍ IN 2011, SALES OF YARN BOMBING WERE similar response from stitchers. Modern rapher . Jeff Christenson THE ORIGINS OF HOOPLA CAN BE TRACED BACK boosted by an article on the front page of crafters are not just hobbyists; they are art- to the days when Leanne Prain co- the New York Times Style section in May; ists, anarchists, advocates, protesters, and BY LAURIE NEALE founded a ‘stitch and bitch’ called Knit- followed by stories in the Associated Press, rabble-rousers. OLLOWING A CHAPTER ON THE HISTORY ting and Beer in Vancouver. Mandy the Today Show’s blog, Forbes magazine, and “Both books strive to propel those who Fof embroidery, Leanne Prain presents Moore and Prain’s sub- Time. A third printing was make handicrafts to broadcast political or 28 projects and profiles for inspiration— sequent Yarn Bombing: The necessary in the summer of social statements, and to create positive real people doing their badass art. Portland Art of Crochet and Knit 2011. change in their communities. I hope that artist Johnny Murder, for example, Graffiti (Arsenal $19.95) “When I pitched Yarn Hoopla will inspire stitchers to explore the began a web-based forum to develop, en- included “20 kick-ass pat- Bombing: The Art of Crochet age-old tradition of embroidery as a mod- courage, and nurture men who embroi- terns” for knit and crochet and Knit Graffiti,” says ern method of communication and art.” der. His stitching often focuses on what he installations, aka works of Prain, “I had confidence that ✍ calls “ugly” people saying unexpected yarn that can be, ahem, do- it would appeal to a niche WE GAVE THE WORLD GREENPEACE, TERRY FOX things. nated to public spaces. group of crafters. Over the and the Miracle Mile. Now B.C.-inspired Liz Kueneke uses mapping to Taking their cue from past few years, I have been knit graffiti and offbeat embroidery is a probe the relationships between people graffiti artists, a new gen- astounded with the fervor worldwide social phenomenon. and their environments. She creates a map eration of mostly urban that Yarn Bombing has re- Yarn 978-15515-22555; Embroidery 978-1-55152-406-1 of a city, then she travels to that city and knitters, with ninja-like Leanne Prain: ceived from mainstream me- revolutionary Laurie Neale is completing the Print Futures invites people to embroider their impres- stealth—almost entirely dia and non-crafters. program at Douglas College.

Publication Mail Agreement #40010086 Contributors: Hannah Main-van der Kamp, John Moore, WINTER Joan Givner, Sage Birchwater, Laurie Neale, Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: BC BookWorld, For this issue, we gratefully Mark Forsythe, Louise Donnelly, Roxana Necsulescu, 2011-2012 3516 W. 13th Ave., Vancouver, BC V6R 2S3 acknowledge the unobtrusive Cherie Thiessen, Shane McCune, Joseph Farris assistance of Canada Council, a Produced with the sponsorship of Pacific BookWorld News Writing not otherwise credited is by staff. BC Issue, Consultants: Sharon Jackson, George Maddison continuous partner since 1988. Society. Publications Mail Registration No. 7800. BOOKWORLD BC BookWorld ISSN: 1701-5405 Photographers: Barry Peterson, Laura Sawchuk Vol. 25, No. 4 Proofreaders: Wendy Atkinson, Tara Twigg Advertising & editorial: BC BookWorld, 3516 W. 13th Ave., Design: Get-to-the-Point Graphics. Deliveries: Ken Reid In-Kind Supporters: Publisher/ Writer: Alan Twigg Vancouver, B.C., V6R 2S3. Tel/Fax: 604-736-4011 Simon Fraser University Library; Email: [email protected]. Annual subscription: $25 All BC BookWorld reviews are posted online at Editor/Production: David Lester www.abcbookworld.com Vancouver Public Library.

3 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 PEOPLE N OJIBWAY FROM THE He always gets Wabasseemoong First his interview A Nation in Northwestern Ontario, Richard Wagamese, nce referred to as “the Swiss who lives near Kamloops, has been army knife of broadcasting” Oby TV Guide, media gadfly named the 7th recipient of the Terry David Mulligan, with help George Ryga Award for Social from Province scribe Glen Schaefer, has recalled more than 40 years of Ca- Awareness. nadian pop culture programming for his memoir Mulligan’s Stew: My Life… Wagamese received his award in So Far (Heritage $19.95). An RCMP of- Summerland from the George Ryga Cen- ficer who became a DJ, VJ, interviewer, tre for his non-fiction collection One Story, actor and wine aficionado, TDM—as One Song (D&M $29.95) in which his Richard he likes to be known—was an ob- characters variously gain wisdom from wolf Wagamese server of, more than a participant in, tracks, lighting a fire without matches, and the Summer of Love. He interviewed learning about Martin Luther King from a Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and grade five teacher. Frank Zappa before hosting the It’s one of four new books he has pub- One Story out CBC music-video program called lished this year. Good Rockin’ Tonite. Later, he became The final judge, Andrew of four wins a VJ and producer for the long-running of Gaspereau Press, selected Steeves MuchWest series for MuchMusic. This Wagamese’s book from a shortlist of five George Ryga Award goes to Richard Wagamese led to acting stints in Hollywood mov- titles assembled by a panel of readers. The ies made in Vancouver, alongside four competing titles were A Room in the into modern-day life,” Steeves wrote. Newspaper Award for Column Writing at stars such as Jodie Foster and City by Gabor Gasztonyi (Anvil); “Though drawing unflinchingly on his the Calgary Herald in 1990 and the 2007 David Duchovny. Working with Wool: A Coast Salish Legacy experiences as a native man, a child of resi- Canadian Authors Association MOSAID Terry David Mulligan has since and the Cowichan Sweater by Technologies Inc. Award for Fiction for his Sylvia dential school survivors, a homeless person collaborated with Olsen (Sono Nis); Invisible Chains by and an addict, Wagamese writes with hon- novel Dream Wheels. Michael Bublé, Benjamin Perrin (Penguin) and The esty and pathos without becoming en- This year Wagamese has also published Bryan Adams, Tiger by John Vaillant (Knopf). snared in sentimentality. Yet it is not a book a novel, Indian Horse (D&M $22.95), The Diana Krall, “Wagamese artfully weaves sixty-some focused on hardships, victimhood or sur- Next Sure Thing (Raven Books $9.95) and Jason Priestly, short essays into an unpretentious philoso- vival; rather, One Story, One Song is a frank a poetry collection, Runaway Dreams Sarah phy of life rooted in personal observations and frequently mirthful testament to the (Ronsdale $15.95). Runaway Dreams is re- McLachlan, and experiences, transposing an under- viewed on page 23. prospect of a way forward; a reminder of and many others. standing of traditional Ojibway principles our responsibility to live principled lives.” One Story 978-1-55365-506-0; Indian Horse 978-1-55365- Terry David Mulligan 402-5; The Next Sure Thing 978-1-55469-900-1; 978-1-926936-89-5 (humility, trust, introspection and wisdom) Previously Wagamese won a National Runaway 978-1-55380-129-0

4 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 5 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 I Just Ran Percy Williams, World’s Fastest Human Samuel Hawley

The untold story of the Canadian who came a struggle to deal with fame and the harsh out of nowhere to win double gold in the realities of elite amateur sport. When asked to 100 and 200 metres at the 1928 Amsterdam explain the secret of his speed, Percy himself Olympics. It begins as the Cinderella story of would only shrug and say: “I just ran.” This an inexperienced young runner who seizes the is the story he did not want to tell. With 45 title “World’s Fastest Human,” then takes us b&w photos. behind the headlines to reveal the personal struggle of this reluctant and enigmatic hero, 978-1-55380-126-9 332 pp $23.95

The Inverted Spit Delaney’s Pyramid Island Bertrand Sinclair Jack Hodgins Here in a new edition for the first time since Back in print! — the collection of short stories 1924 is Sinclair’s finest novel: an account of that started Jack Hodgins off on his award- British Columbia at the time of WWI, with an studded literary career. Winner of the Eaton’s array of unforgettable characters and a gripping Book Prize and finalist for the Governor account of the corruption of the new financial General’s Award, it placed British Columbia sector in Vancouver. definitively on the literary map of Canada.

978-1-55380-128-3 290 pp $18.95 978-1-55380-111-5 200 pp $18.95

Runaway Beckett Dreams Soundings Richard Wagamese Inge Israel Having gained an impressive reputation for In her new collection of poems — her fourth his novels and nonfiction as a Native writer with Ronsdale — Inge Israel slips into the who explores contemporary First Nations life, mind of Samuel Beckett to explore his life and Richard Wagamese now presents a debut the sources of his novels, plays and poems, collection of stunning poems, ranging over especially his belief that language (mis)informs topics such as nature, love, jazz, spirituality all that we know. and the residential school experience. 978-1-55380-112-2 100 pp $15.95 978-1-55380-129-0 132 pp $15.95

Young Adult Books

Ghosts of the Run Marco, Broken Torn from Pacific Run Trail Troy Philip Roy Norma Charles Jean Rae Baxter Patrick Bowman In his fourth volume in the When Marco witnesses his In 1780, in the middle of In this unusual rewriting of Submarine Outlaw series, father being kidnapped in the American Revolution, Homer’s Odyssey, Alexi, a young Alfred travels though the Buenaventura, Colombia, he stows 13-year-old Broken Trail Trojan boy, is captured by the Northwest Passage on the way away on a freighter to Vancouver is caught between conflicting hated Greek, Odysseus. Forced to to Saipan in the South Pacific, to find help. Marco has to evade worlds. White by birth but sail with him to Ithaca, Alexi where he sees the results of the drug dealers, security guards and Oneida by adoption, he must must choose whether or not to war in the Pacific and learns to the “authorities” who would choose between two ways of help the Greeks when they come to terms with the dark return him to Colombia — into the life. Or is there a third and encounter the Cicones, the Lotus side of human experience. arms of his father’s kidnappers. better way? Eaters and the Cyclops. 978-1-55380-130-6 978-1-55380-131-3 978-1-55380-109-2 978-1-55380-110-8 254 pp $11.95 186 pp $11.95 240 pp $11.95 200pp $11.95

Available from your favourite bookstore or order from LitDistCo Ronsdale Press Visit our website at www.ronsdalepress.com

6 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 PEOPLE

Joe and Katie BY SAGE BIRCHWATER Hilda’s grandmother, Nancy Swanson, was Schuk are the partner of Williams Manning, the first set- ranchers at ohn Schreiber lived as a child Crazy Creek in tler at Puntzi Lake, who died during the the Tatlayoko Chilcotin War uprising. in an encampment called Valley. In the eight stories and two essays that com- Darfield, near Barriere, but he prise Old Lives, we are also introduced to the J infamous Theodor “BS” Valleau, the notori- mostly grew to adulthood in iso- ous Eagle Lake Henry, trapper Annie lated West Coast logging camps of Nicholson, Bern Mullins, Donald Ekks, Emily northern Vancouver Island, the son Lulua, Pete McCormick and the despicable Donald McLean. of a woodsman and guide-outfitter. ✍ A FAN OF JOSEPH CAMPBELL, SCHREIBER Once he had discovered the Chilcotin in describes the Chilcotin through mythological the late-1960s, he faithfully returned there eyes. He says the old stories have an element of year after year to hike the old trails, explore The Myth “myth time” that makes them profound. He the back country, and talk to the people he laments how western society has interpreted met who lived there. “myth” into a synonym for lie. Upon taking early retirement in 2001, Finder “We shouldn’t turn off mythologizing,” he Schreiber recorded some of his encounters writes. “In the world of mythology, everything and knowledge of the Chilcotin for Stranger John Schreiber strikes it rich is alive. If we embraced that more, maybe we’d Wycott’s Place (New Star 2008). His follow- be more respectful.” up volume, Old Lives in the Chilcotin in the Chilcotin. Schreiber credits anthropologist James Backcountry (Caitlin $22.95) likewise sets a Teit for preserving the mythological record place for the reader at the kitchen table of of the Interior First Nations people. “There is 93-year-old Joe Schuk, and his wife, power in myth,” he writes. “It’s more than just Katie, 85, who still operate their ranch telling a story.” beside Crazy Creek in Tatlayoko Valley. To generate word-of-mouth publicity, Typically, Joe confesses he can’t lift a quar- Schreiber has been a guest of the Quesnel Mu- ter of beef like he once did. Katie smiles wryly seum, the Quesnel City Council Chambers, at the comment that ranching is a habit they Books & Company in Prince George, the Tatla can’t seem to quit. Lake Library, Open Books in Williams Lake Their neighbours in the West Branch Val- and Nuthatch Books in 100 Mile House. ley, Lee and Bev Butler, have a ranch 978-1-894759-55-7 on Bluff Lake. After emigrating from the Tatla Lake librarian United States, Lee’s father homesteaded there Roma Shaughnessy Sage Birchwater is one of the leading in the 1920s and married his part-Tsilhqot’in with John Schreiber. journalists and authors of the Cariboo- wife, Hilda McKill. Chilcotin. He lives in Williams Lake. SOMETHING FOR EVERY READER ON YOUR LIST

Freddy’s War Happiness Economics Cravings Measure of the Year Somebody’s Child Judy Schultz Shari Lapeña Comfort Eats and Favourite Treats Reflections on Home, Family, Stories About Adoption “Wartime love stories are the “Happiness Economics is . . . a Debbie Harding and a Life Fully Lived Edited by Bruce Gillespie stuff of cliché, but there’s no false joy to read even though it deals Rediscover the joys of your Roderick L. Haig-Brown and Lynne Van Luven sentimentality in Freddy’s War. with serious topics—written in favourite decadent dishes, guilt- “I think he explains himself well in Foreword by Michaela Pereira With a cool reporter’s eye, Schultz a way that doesn’t drag your free, with chef Debbie Harding’s this book. Justice is common sense In Somebody’s Child, twenty-five draws on her deep knowledge spirits down. It’s an oddly hopeful delicious, easy-to-follow recipes. and decency—and it should also contributors each discuss their of China, and of prairie social and frequently funny read that Cravings offers tantalizing recipes recognize the beauty in everyone experience of the adoption history, to craft an understated, reminded me of the late, great that give you the tools to control and everything. And perhaps process. Some share stories of elegiac story of loneliness, loss, Paul Quarrington in all the best everything that goes into your that’s what Measure of the Year heartbreak; others have discov- and dislocation.” ways.” —The Globe and Mail food, while also satisfying every accomplishes most. It’s a classic of ered joy; some have searched for —Paula Simons, Edmonton Journal taste, from salty and sweet to spicy its time, and a book for the future.” closure. Finally, a collection that and crispy, and even savoury. —Brian Brett, author of Trauma Farm captures the many unforgettable faces and voices of adoption.

AVAILABLE IN FINE BOOKSTORES OR AT: DISTRIBUTED BY HGDISTRIBUTION.COM BRINDLEANDGLASS.COM | TOUCHWOODEDITIONS.COM 1.800.665.3302

7 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 New books from UBC Press

Oral History on Trial The Many Voyages of First Person Plural Recognizing Aboriginal Narratives Arthur Wellington Clah Aboriginal Storytelling and the in the Courts A Tsimshian Man on the Ethics of Collaborative Authorship Bruce Granville Miller Pacifi c Northwest Coast Sophie McCall A powerful argument for the Peggy Brock An innovative, interdisciplinary inclusion of Aboriginal oral histories An unprecedented account of the study of the nature, signifi cance, in Canadian courts of law. tensions of empire – as experienced and impact of ‘told-to’ narratives in January 2012 by a Tsimshian man who moved in debates about Indigenous voice and 978-0-7748-2071-4 pb $29.95 both colonial and Aboriginal worlds. literary and political sovereignty.

January 2012 January 2012 978-0-7748-2006-6 pb $29.95 978-0-7748-1980-0 pb $32.95

Transforming Law’s Family Westward Bound Faith, Politics, and Sexual Orienting Canada The Legal Recognition of Planned Sex, Violence, the Law, and the Diversity in Canada and Race, Empire, and the Transpacifi c Lesbian Motherhood Making of a Settler Society the United States John Price Fiona Kelly Lesley Erickson Edited by David Rayside and A hard-hitting reconsideration A timely and important book that Moves beyond the myth of Canada’s Clyde Wilcox of Canadian foreign policy that draws on the unique voices of mild West to reveal the intimate role A timely, remarkable discussion documents the dynamics of race lesbian mothers to explore the legal that sex, violence, and the criminal of the interplay between faith and and empire in the Transpacifi c from dimensions of planned lesbian courts played in the making of a sexual diversity in Canada and the the 1907 race riots to Canada’s early motherhood. settler society. United States. involvement in Vietnam. January 2012 January 2012 January 2012 January 2012 978-0-7748-1964-0 pb $29.95 978-0-7748-1859-9 pb $34.95 978-0-7748-2010-3 pb $34.95 978-0-7748-1984-8 pb $34.95 Law and Society Series Law and Society Series

The Freedom of Security Corps Commanders Governing Canada in the Age of Five British and Canadian Generals Counter-Terrorism at War, 1939–45 Colleen Bell Douglas E. Delaney An important, highly critical study of An eloquent historical analysis that Canada’s “war on terror.” provides the most cogent picture to January 2012 date of command and leadership at 978-0-7748-1826-1 pb $32.95 the corps level. Law and Society Series January 2012 978-0-7748-2090-5 pb $34.95 Studies in Canadian Military History Series Published in association with the Canadian War Museum

ǀĂŝůĂďůĞĨƌŽŵĮŶĞŬƐƚŽƌĞƐŶĞĂƌLJŽƵ͕ŽƌŽƌĚĞƌŽŶůŝŶĞat www.ubcpress.caͮĨŽůůŽǁƵƐŽŶƚǁŝƩĞƌ@UBCPress

8 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 LETTERS

Swamp Angel—which I have never even there was a large Training and Education Cover me heard of. I am the grandson of the family Department offering a vast array of classes WHAT FUN I HAD RIDING THE BC FERRIES ALL that owned the Harkley and Haywood and activities to people, and matching their summer ... on the cover of your magazine! business and my father is still alive at 92. It abilities to help them learn and experience Thank you. I’m a long-time reader and operated from 1923 to the early 1980s. more. Residents regularly and frequently subscriber to BC BookWorld, and I count I’d be fascinated to learn more about Wil- left for classes and jobs in the community. on it for keeping up-to-date on literary son’s connection to the store and “someone There were summer camps and residents news. This summer I learned that you have who worked there.” Can anyone enlighten who travelled as far as the eastern US to very many readers just as devoted as I am. me? take part in Special Olympics. Terms such Everywhere I went from June through Dave Harkley, Western Manager, as ‘morons’ have been taken from the his- August, I ran into people excited to tell me Ski Canada Magazine toric record, they have not been in use for they read your coverage of The Canterbury Pemberton 50 years. The writer’s unfortunate habit of Trail. I just learned that The Canterbury [Your best bet would be Ethel Wilson’s biog- mixing historic quotes with later issues is Trail has gone into a second printing, and rapher David Stouck. His Ethel Wilson: A misleading to say the least. I’m sure that is partly due to the wonder- Critical Biography (UTP, 2003) replaces a There are many objective quotes from ful exposure it got in your magazine. Many, much earlier study by Wilson’s colleague professionals around the world, testifying many thanks. Keep up the fabulous work Desmond Pacey and a more recent portrait to the high quality of care and education promoting BC writers. by her intensely loyal friend Mary McAlpine available at Woodlands. Those of us who Angie Abdou, Looking good called the The Other Side of Silence. We will worked there with open minds and caring Fernie forward this request directly to David Stouck hearts resent this revisionist view of a re- THE AUTUMN ISSUE OF BC BOOKWORLD LOOKS for you – Ed.] source that served the province well for I’m so excited fantastic—what great coverage for libraries! more than a century. Thanks for doing this. We’ve alerted our The other side At one point emergency planning was EVERYONE READS BC BOOKWORLD! YOU CAN’T membership via our listserve so I hope you required. The executive director was happy imagine how many excited comments I will have lots of fan mail! And the ad for The BC BOOKWORLD I AM DISTRESSED THAT YOU to comply but she said, “It will be redun- have received since the publication of Library Book looks great—well designed, would give prominence to such a biased dant. If there is an emergency the staff will Erinna Gilkison’s review of In the Embrace and right up front. Thanks for this as well. view of Woodlands—a centre spread, no have taken all the residents home with of the Alligator in your Summer issue! Con- Errin Morrison, less—with no thought of giving a fair hear- them.” sequently sales of my new book of Cuban Executive Director, Port Moody, ing to the other side of the story. That was the level of caring at Wood- stories are soaring. It’s great to have a re- British Columbia Library Association I worked at Woodlands for 16 years and lands. view that keeps on going in multiples for the care given to residents was exceptional. Valerie Adolph, three months and reaches the enormous Enlighten me It compares more than favourably to any Delta captive audience of summer travellers on care one would get in a present-day acute Letters or emails: BC BookWorld, BC Ferries. BIG THANKS for this, and I JUST STUMBLED ACROSS YOUR ABCBOOKWORLD care hospital in BC. 3516 W. 13th Ave., Van., BC V6R 2S3 for your inspiring service to BC readers website and was very intrigued by the bio To say there were only “at best” 12 [email protected] and writers. on Ethel Wilson and the references to teachers for 1500 students might have been Letters may be edited for clarity & length. Amanda Hale, Harkley and Haywood Sporting Goods true at one point back in history. To my Hornby Island and hand-tied flies, etc., in her novel knowledge, from at least 1975 onwards More letters on page 18 Congratulations! A fine crop of Victoria writers … and one illustrator

WINNER OF THE City of Victoria WINNER OF THE Bolen Books Butler Book Prize Children’s Book Prize

Jack Hodgins Kristi Bridgeman (illustrator) The Master of Happy Endings Uirapurú thomas allen publishers oolichan books

HATS OFF TO THE OTHER NOMINEES... HATS OFF TO THE OTHER NOMINEES...

John Schreiber Carla Funk Arthur John Stewart Sarah N. Harvey Old Lives: In the apologetic Odd Ball Chilcotin Backcountry turnstone press Death Benefi ts caitlin press thistledown press orca book publishers

Stephen Hume A Walk with the Sylvia Olsen THANK YOU TO OUR PRIZE SPONSORS: Rainy Sisters Working with Wool City of Victoria, Butler Bros. Supplies and Bolen Books. harbour publishing sono nis press Thank you also to our supporters: The Union Club of British Columbia, The Greater Victoria Public Library, Island Blue, The Magnolia Hotel & Spa, Marriott Victoria Inner Harbour Hotel and CBC Radio-Canada.

These two juried prizes of $5,000 each are awarded annually. The Victoria Book Prize Society administers the prizes. Guidelines and details: www.victoriabookprizes.ca

9 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 LET BOOKS RULE THIS YULE!

Mulligan’s Stew My Life . . . So Far Terry David Mulligan with Glen Schaefer A galloping romp down the many roads TDM has travelled, from Mountie to music man to wine mentor. Heritage House $19.95

Raptors of the West Chariots and Horses The Pathfinder Lost Nuke Captured in Photographs Life Lessons from an Olympic Rower A.C. Anderson’s Journeys in the West The Last Flight of Bomber 075 Kate Davis, Rob Palmer and Nick Dunlop Jason Dorland Nancy Marguerite Anderson Dirk Septer A collection of some of the most remarkable, An honest, intimate look at the reality of “A long-overdue, comprehensive account In 1950 a USAF bomber carrying a nuclear action-packed raptor photographs ever taken, high-level sports. One man’s story about of one of British Columbia’s pioneering but bomb crashed in BC’s Coast Mountains, accompanied by insightful commentary. learning that winning can’t be everything. often overlooked explorers.” —Derek Hayes, not in the Pacific Ocean as reported. Heritage House $29.95 Heritage House $22.95 author of Historical Atlas of Canada What really happened? Heritage House $19.95 Heritage House $19.95

Cocktail Party Guide The Man Who Was Smugglers of the Birds of Vancouver Island to Green Energy Hanged by a Thread West Coast A Photographic Journey everything you need to know to converse and Other Tales from BC’s First Lawmen Tales of Contraband and Crooks Glenn Bartley intelligently about alternative energy Cecil Clark Rosemary Neering “His beautiful photographs capture and hold still those fleeting moments birders live for.” Annette Saliken with Martin G. Clarke Classic cases of the lawmen who upheld the Dramatic tales of a shadowy world of —Ann Nightingale, Rocky Point Bird peace and the criminals who disrupted it—a midnight drops, hidden caches and This primer explains the different kinds of Observatory green energy and tells you how to make vivid window into frontier society. secret codes. Glenn Bartley Nature Photography $35.95 eco-friendly choices. Heritage House $9.95 Heritage House $9.95 Heritage House $16.95

The Incomparable Honeybee The Insatiable Bark Beetle Ethical Water The Beaver Manifesto (An RMB Manifesto) (An RMB Manifesto) (An RMB Manifesto) (An RMB Manifesto) Dr. Reese Halter Dr. Reese Halter Merrell-Ann Phare and Robert Sandford Dr. Glynnis Hood In this updated bestseller, Dr. Reese Halter Dr. Reese Halter offers a unique, scientific This ground-breaking, provocative work re- For hundreds of years, Canadians have had continues his passionate crusade to save the perspective on how various types of bark defines Canada’s relationship with fresh water, a conflicted, often-times violent and bloody most important of flower-visiting animals: beetles negatively impact BC’s trees, while offering ways to ensure the sustainability relationship with this tenacious water steward. the honeybee. ecosystems, economy and future. of our water supply for the future. This entertaining book examines why. Rocky Mountain Books $16.95 Rocky Mountain Books $16.95 Rocky Mountain Books $16.95 Rocky Mountain Books $16.95

AVAILABLE WHERE FINE BOOKS ARE SOLD OR FROM HERITAGEHOUSE.CA HERITAGE GROUP DISTRIBUTION RMBOOKS.COM 1.800.665.3302 HGDISTRIBUTION.COM

10 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 GIFT BOOKS METRO VANCOUVER QUIZ SO LONG CHUCK. OUR QUIZ HONOURS B.C.’S MOST ENTHUSIASTIC AND BEST-LOVED HISTORIAN 586-1214

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CITY

Canadian commandos land onto Kitsilano Beach in 1943, rehearsing in case of enemy attacks. One of 500 pictures in The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver.

1. How much did it cost to pay to park for huck is back—for the last time. The Master Gatherer of all things forests and prompted an aerial spray pro- an hour at Vancouver’s first parking me- pertaining to the Lower Mainland, Chuck Davis, died in Novem- gram over much of the city in 1992? ters in 1946? 24. What TV star caused an uproar in ber, 2010, having almost completed his third and most compre- 2. In February of 1960, The Marco Polo, C Vancouver when he slagged the city on a run by brothers Ales and Hank Louie, hensive book about the city he loved. With the help of Allen Garr and U.S. talk show? opened the first Chinese food smorgas- Elaine Park, The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver (Har- 25. What did Vancouver police consta- bord. How much did it cost for a bour $49.95) is a monumental, 512-page work, as unparalleled as its au- ble Mel Millas get to keep after taking his 10-course dinner? dog for a walk in Clinton Park? 3. Why did riot police sent by Mayor Tom thor. All material for this quiz is derived directly from the book.978-1-55017-533-2 26. Who dropped the puck at a 2002 Campbell brutally attack more than 1,000 exhibition game between the Canucks and people in Gastown in 1971 during the so- 14. Who was the yo-yo world champion 19. Who was the longest-playing BC Lion San Jose Sharks at GM Place dressed in an called Gastown riot? who also hosted Call of China, the first in the team’s history? elegant burgundy suit? 4. The Gastown Steam Clock is possibly Chinese-Canadian radio program in 1951? 20. What Vancouver sports team set a 27. Which Vancouver bridge had con- the most photographed object in the city, 15. What North Vancouverite released a record for most consecutive losses struction costs that were four times its origi- but why was it made? debut self-titled album in 1980, at age 21? during an inaugural season? nal budget by the time it was built in 1954? 5. The CPR brought over 17,000 Chi- 16. What nightclub closed its doors in 21. What artist drew almost 100,000 28. What were 70 squatters protesting nese workers to build the western section 1981 after 44 years of hosting world-re- visitors during a three-month exhibition when they erected a tent city above West of the transcontinental railway for less than nowned artists ranging from Louis at the Vancouver Art Gallery? Vancouver in April of 2006? half the salary of the non-Chinese. How Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald to The 22. Why did engineers agree to make a 29. Which department store was the first many Chinese workers died in total and Doors and Tina Turner? curve around an ivy-covered fir tree dur- to open on Sundays? for every mile of track they constructed? 17. Why did Vancouver schoolchildren ing the construction of the Trans-Canada 30. Where did Rick Hansen begin and 6. What did the Vancouver City Police circulate a petition in 1947? Highway through the Fraser Valley? The end his Man in Motion world tour to raise use to make their police badges in 1886? 18. Which North Shore mountain intro- curve in the road exists to this day. money for spinal cord research? 7. What organization started out in Van- duced the world’s first double chairlift, sav- 23. What pest, originating in Europe and 31. Which family financed the construc- couver with four ladies known as the Hal- ing hikers a two-to three-hour hike? Asia, was feared would do damage to our tion of the Lions Gate Bridge? lelujah Lassies in 1887? 32. What act of vandalism enraged the 8. Who scored the first-ever goal for the citizens of White Rock in 1950? Vancouver Canucks? 33. What shopping centre opened in 9. How did Greenpeace get its name? 1950 as the first regional shopping centre 10. Whose ashes are buried in an un- in Canada? marked location within the Stanley Park 34. What is the length of Vancouver’s Seawall? longest wet spell, which began on January 11. What boxer defeated Canadian 6, 1953? champ George Chuvalo on May 1, 1972 35. Why was 1955 the blackest year for at the Pacific Coliseum? the Vancouver Police Department? 12. What Vancouver-born athlete repre- 36. What Vancouver attraction opened sented Canada at the Olympics and be- in 1956 and was the very first of its kind came the winningest professional sports in Canada? coach in Vancouver’s history, later inducted 37. What band played the first rock ‘n’ into both the Canadian and U.S. Soccer roll concert in Vancouver, which the Van- Halls of Fame? couver Sun called “the ultimate in musical 13. What artist ran for mayor and gar- depravity” in 1956? nered 2,685 votes during the 1974 elec- Marilyn Monroe being interviewed by CJOR radio’s Monty McFarlane (right) and tion without saying a word? Darwin Baird, during a stopover at Vancouver International airport in 1953. Quiz answers on next page

11 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 4 juries. ANSWERS

4 nominations. 1. 5 cents 2. $1.50 3. The crowd was protesting against po- lice harassment and stricter laws against “Her style is deceptively smoking marijuana. conversational and easy, 4. It was erected in 1977 as a solution for but with the simultaneous the steam venting from the Central Heat exuberance and discipline Distribution Plan. The clock itself has of .” never been steam-powered. a true prodigy 5. More than four for every mile of track, —Scotiabank Giller Prize 600 Chinese immigrants in total. Jury Citation 6. American silver dollars with one side smoothed down and engraved with the PHOTO words Vancouver City Police. 7. The Salvation Army WARNER 8. Barry Wilkins, number 4, during the third period against the Los Angeles Kings, CHARLES on October 9th, 1970. Canucks lost 3-1. The “mile of the century” thrilled 9. As he was leaving an organizational spectators at the 1954 Empire Games meeting for Irving Stowe’s Don’t Make A as Roger Bannister and John Landy— Wave Committee in 1970, Bill Darnell, up to then the only two runners who Finalist for the had broken the four-minute barrier— who was a field worker for the federal gov- competed against each other for the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize ernment’s Company of Young Canadians, first time. Amazingly, both again broke responded to Stowe saying “Peace” by say- the barrier, with Bannister surging Finalist for the 2011 Governor ing, “Let’s make a green peace.” ahead to win after Landy made the mistake of looking back. General’s Literary Award for Fiction 10. Jimmy Cunningham, who was most closely associated with building the Stanley Finalist for the 2011 Man Booker Park Seawall for 38 years (1917 to 1955). O’Brien. Within a year, the actor and the 11. Muhammad Ali entire TV show relocated to Los Angeles. Prize for Fiction 12. Bob Lenarduzzi 25. Millas found a backpack stuffed with 13. Mr. Peanut secured 3.4 percent of $1 million cash in a garbage can in April Finalist for the 2011 Rogers the vote under the election banner “Elect 1999. Because no claimants could prove Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize a nut.” ownership, Officer Millas was awarded the 14. Harvey Lowe. He also opened the contents in December of that year. Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret on Hastings in Queen Elizabeth II dropped her first www.thomasallen.ca 26. 1953. NHL puck on October 6th at GM Place, 15. Bryan Adams escorted to centre ice by Wayne Gretzky. 16. The Cave Supper Club 27. The Granville Street Bridge 17. They wanted to end the wartime taxes 28. Members of the Coalition to Save Ea- on candy. The price of chocolate bars was gle Ridge Bluffs at Horseshoe Bay aimed lowered from 8 cents to 7 cents. to save the Bluffs and Larsen Creek 18. Grouse Mountain opened the world’s wetlands from the construction of the ex- first double chairlift on December 1, 1949. panded four-lane Sea to Sky Highway. 19. Kicker Lui Passaglia appeared in 236 29. Woodward’s Department Store in games and accumulated 2,312 points, 1984. more than any other pro footballer. 30. At the Oakridge Mall 20. Vancouver Grizzlies made NBA his- 31. The Guinness family, famous for their tory when they lost 23 consecutive games dark Irish beer, purchased the land and in 1995-96. paid for the bridge, in return for land in 21. An Andy Warhol exhibit—includ- the British Properties in West Vancouver. ing his famous set of ten pictures of Marilyn 32. Vandals painted White Rock’s white Monroe—became the most popular ex- rock black. hibit in the Vancouver Art Gallery’s his- 33. West Vancouver’s Park Royal Shop- tory in 1995. ping Centre 22. Charlie Perkins had dedicated the tree 34. 29 days. to fallen comrades in World War I and 35. The city learned of police chief Walter stood guard over the tree during the con- Mulligan’s systemic collection of payoffs struction of the highway. Public outcry from bootleggers and bookies. resulted in rerouting the Trans-Canada. 36. The Vancouver Aquarium 23. Gypsy moths 37. Bill Haley and the Comets. DJ Red 24. David Duchovny of The X-Files com- Robinson hosted the June 27th concert at plained that Vancouver was too rainy, on a the Kerrisdale Arena for 6,000 fans who 1997 episode of Late Night with Conan screamed for more. 23378 VPL , COLLECTIONS

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VPL A crowd of 3,500 witnessed western Canada’s first airplane flight in Richmond’s Minoru Park on March 26, 1910. Perhaps overcome by the grandeur of this moment, pilot Charles K. Hamilton (far right) later made the gesture of pitting his biplane against a racehorse—unfortunately for his reputation, the horse won.

12 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 new from ANVIL PRESS Who Killed Janet Smith? Shag Carpet Action by Edward Starkins by Matthew Firth Foreword by Daniel Francis These are absurd, raunchy, Who Killed Janet Smith? funny stories whose sharp, examines one of the most salty characters are boldly infamous and still unsolved credible and wonderfully murder cases in Canadian rendered by one of Canada’s history: the 1924 murder of most adventurous and twenty-two-year-old Vancouver courageous fiction writers. nursemaid Janet Smith. “[Firth] writes bravely about the “Starkins cuts away at the layers way we live now, and for that ISBN: 978-1-897535-85-1 • $24 he should be congratulated.” with the delicacy of a neurosur- ISBN: 978-1-897535-84-4 • $18 406 pps. • Non-Fiction • Avail.. — Quill & Quire (starred geon. What he uncovers almost 160 pps. • stories • Avail. Vancouver125 Legacy Book defies belief.” review) — Quill & Quire

A Credit to Your Race Mayan Horror: by Truman Green How To Survive the End of Vancouver Noir: Vancouver 1930-1960 the World in 2012 by Diane Purvey & John Belshaw Set in Surrey, circa 1960, A Credit to Your Race is a by Bob Robertson This was an era of intensified concern disturbing and convincing with order, conformity, structure, and When the Mayan Calendar portrayal of how the full runs out on December 21, restrictions. The photographs—many weight of racism could of which have never been published in 2012, all manner of calami- come to bear on a young, tious chaos may be coming book form before—look like stills from interracial couple. a noir movie, featuring detectives with our way. Will you be ready? chiselled features, tough women, “If isolation is a key theme of This timely volume gives black B.C. writing, Green’s and bullet-ridden cars. you all the vital informa- ISBN: 978-1-897535-86-8 • $18 protagonist Billy Robinson is ISBN: 978-1-897535-87-5 • $20 ISBN: 978-1-897535-83-7 • $25 160 pps. • Novel • Available. the most fully-drawn 160 pps. • Humour • November tion you’ll need to come 224 pps. • 100+ b/w photos • November Vancouver125 Legacy Book expression.” through smiling after —Wayde Compton Armageddon wreaks havoc on the world. www.anvilpress.com • [email protected] available to the trade from utp | repped by the lpg the press with the urban twist

No Tame Cat Cinemazoo An HBC Captain’s Voyages between London & My Urban Safari Victoria 1865–1885 Gary Oliver Robert J. Harvey with Wendy Bancroft Drawn from family history and 600 pages Many of the animals seen of HBC log books, this novel tells the in movies have been sup- gripping tale of an intrepid sea captain’s 16 plied by Gary Oliver. Not demanding voyages around Cape Horn. only is he their wrangler, 978-1-926991-03-0 $24.95 but also their protector. Follow his adventures (and Attack of the Manorwood Brigade misadventures) on the road Magnath Chronicles to Cinemazoo. Douglas May 978-1-894694-62-9 $24.95 The adventures of Smidge and his friends www.cinemazoo.com are woven into a powerful tale where bravery, love and family loyalty are tested against a brutish rat king and his relentless army. 978-1-894694-99-5 $14.95 New Liberalism www.granvilleislandpublishing.com Matthew Kalkman Tel: 604 688 0320 Toll Free: 1 877 688 0320 If a society is to maintain itself and evolve, a Publishing Books that Make a Difference Liberal responsibility to future generations New Authors Welcome must be taken into account. New Liberal- ism is this next step in the evolution of the Liberal paradigm. 978-1-926991-04-7 $19.95

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13 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 1(:LQWKHEHVWVHOOLQJ:KLWHZDWHU&RRNVVHULHV  ȱ ȱ ’‘ȱ  ‘Ž••Ž¢ȱŠ–œ žœȱ›Ž•ŽŠœŽȱŠ—ȱŠ•›ŽŠ¢ȱŠȱ‹ŽœœŽ••Ž›ǰȱ‘’Ž ŠŽ›ȱ˜˜”œȱ ’‘ȱ›’Ž—œȱŽŠž›ŽœȱŽŠœ¢ȱ˜ȱ–Š”Žǰȱ–˜ž‘Ȭ ŠŽ›’—ȱ –ŽŠ•œȱ‘Šȱ ’••ȱ’–™›ŽœœȱžŽœœȱ’—ȱ‘Žȱ‘˜•’Š¢ȱœŽŠœ˜—ȱŠ—ȱ‘›˜ž‘˜žȱ‘Žȱ¢ŽŠ›ǯȱ‘Ž••Ž¢Ȃœȱ™›ŽŸ’˜žœȱ‘’Ž ŠŽ›ȱ Œ˜˜”‹˜˜”œȱ ‘ŠŸŽȱ ‹ŽŒ˜–Žȱ ˜›Ȭ˜Ȭ–˜ž‘ȱ •ŽŽ—œȱ ˜›ȱ ‘Ž’›ȱ ž—’šžŽǰȱ Ž•’Œ’˜žœȱ Š—ȱ ˜˜•™›˜˜ȱ ›ŽŒ’™Žœȱ ŽŠœ’•¢ȱ ž™•’ŒŠŽȱ‹¢ȱ‘˜–ŽȱŒ˜˜”œǯȱ‘’Ž ŠŽ›ȱ˜˜”œȱ ’‘ȱ›’Ž—œȱŠœȱŠȱ—Ž ȱ’–Ž—œ’˜—ȱ˜ȱ‘Ž••Ž¢ȂœȱŠ Žœ˜–Žȱ›ŽŒ’™ŽœDZȱ ’Ȃœȱ–˜›Žȱž—ǰȱ–˜›ŽȱŒŠœžŠ•ǰȱŠ—ȱž••ȱ˜ȱȱœŠ›Ž›œǰȱœ˜ž™œǰȱœŠ•ŠœǰȱŽ—›ŽŽœȱŠ—ȱŽœœŽ›œȱ‘Šȱ™Ž˜™•Žȱ ’‘ȱǯȱ’‘ȱ œž——’—ȱŸ’œžŠ•ȱŠ™™ŽŠ•ǰȱ‘’œȱ ’••ȱœž›Ž•¢ȱ‹Žȱ˜—Žȱ˜ȱ‘Žȱ–˜œȱœ˜ž‘ȱŠĞȱŽ›ȱŒ˜˜”‹˜˜”œȱ˜ȱ‘ŽȱœŽŠœ˜—ǯȱ şŝŞŖşŞŗŗŚŘŚŗŞȱȱǞřŚǯşśȱȱ™‹ȱ•’Œ˜—ȱ ˜•’—œȱ

 ȇȱ ›˜–ȱ’ŒŠ›˜ȱŒŽ‹‹ŠȇœȱŽ’Ž››Š—ŽŠ—ȱ ’Œ‘Ž—

ŽŠž›’—ȱ›ŽŠœž›ŽȱŠ–’•¢ȱ›ŽŒ’™Žœȱ›˜–ȱ Š•¢ǰȱŒ‘Žȱ’ŒŠ›˜ȱŒŽ‹‹Šȱ‹›’—œȱ¢˜žȱ’—œ’Žȱ Š—ȱŠž‘Ž—’Œȱ Š•’Š—ȱ”’Œ‘Ž—ȱ ’‘ȱ›ŽŒ’™ŽœȱŠ—ȱŠȱ™Šœœ’˜—ȱ˜›ȱŒ˜˜”’—ȱ‘Šȱ‘ŠœȱŽŸ˜•ŸŽȱ ˜ŸŽ›ȱ ‘›ŽŽȱ Ž—Ž›Š’˜—œǯȱ ŽŠ›—ȱ ‘Žȱ œŽŒ›Žœȱ ˜ȱ ˜——Šȇœȱ ˜™•ŽĴȱŽȱ Š—ȱ ŠœŠȱ Š’˜•’ǰȱ œ’–™•ŽȱĚȱŠŸ˜ž›ž•ȱ’œ‘Žœȱ¢˜žȱŒŠ—ȱ–Š”Žȱ ’‘ȱŽŠœŽȱŠ—ȱŒ˜—ęȱŽ—ŒŽǯȱ‘Šȇœȱ–˜›Žȱ ’••ȱ ’—œ™’›Žȱ¢˜žȱ˜ȱŒ›Š—”ȱž™ȱ‘Žȱ˜™Ž›ŠȱŠ—ȱž›—ȱ¢˜ž›ȱ”’Œ‘Ž—ȱ’—˜ȱȈŠȱŽ••ŠȱžŒ’—ŠȈǯȱ şŝŞŖşŞŜŞŜŜřŜŚȱȱǞŘŚǯşśȱ™‹ȱ”Š—ŠŠ—ȱ —œ’žŽ A Season of Family and FRIENDS...

 ȱ    ȱ   ȱ’Ž›Š›¢ȱ—‘˜•˜¢ ‘ŽȱŠŸŽ—ž›˜žœȱ•’Žȱ˜ȱ˜—›Šȱ Š’—ǰȱ —›Žȱ Ž›Š›ǰȱ’˜› Š—ŠŠȇœȱ›ŽŠŽœȱ–˜ž—Š’—ŽŽ› Ž’‘ȱ˜ Ž•• ‘’œȱŽŸ˜ŒŠ’ŸŽȱ‹˜˜”ȱ˜ȱŽœœŠ¢œȱŠ—ȱ™˜Ž–œȱ›˜–ȱ •’Ž›Š›¢ȱ•ŽŽ—œȱ’œȱŠ—ȱŽ¡Œ’’—ȱ‘›’œ–Šœȱ’Ğȱȱ —ȱŗşŖşǰ˜—›Šȱ Š’—ȱ‹ŽŒŠ–Žȱ‘Žȱęȱ›œȱ˜ĜȱȱŒ’Š•ȱ ˜›ȱŠ••ȱ›’Ž—œȱŠ—ȱŠ–’•¢ȬȬ—˜ȱ“žœȱ˜›ȱŠ‘Ž›œǯȱȱ –˜ž—Š’—ȱž’Žȱ˜›ȱ‘Žȱ—Ž •¢ȱ˜›–Žȱ•™’—Žȱ ˜ȱ ›ŽŠȱ Š›Š›Žȱ  ˜˜ǰȱ —Ž•Šȱ Š›Ž›ǰȱ •ž‹ȱ ˜ȱ Š—ŠŠǯȱ ‘’œȱ ‘’œ˜›’ŒŠ•ȱ —˜ŸŽ•ȱ Ž••œȱ ›žŒŽȱ ‘Š ’—ǰȱ ——’Žȱ ’••Š›ǰȱ ’—œ˜—ȱ ‘Žȱ œ˜›¢ȱ ˜ȱ Š’—ȇœȱ Řśȱ ¢ŽŠ›œȱ ’—ȱ Š—ŠŠȱ Š—ȱ ‘ž›Œ‘’••ǰȱ ›Š—£ȱ ŠĤȱ Šǰȱ ˜›’œȱ Žœœ’—ǰȱ •’ŒŽȱ ›ŽĚȱŽŒœȱ‘ŽȱŽŠ›•¢ȱŠ¢œȱ˜ȱŠ•™’—ŽȱŠŸŽ—ž›Žȱ’—ȱ ž—›˜ǰȱ ˜›ȱ ˜›ŽŒŠ’ȱ ’Œ‘•Ž›ȱ Šœȱ ‘Ž¢ȱ Ž¡™•˜›Žȱ ‘ŽȱŠ—Š’Š—ȱ˜Œ”’Žœǯȱ Š’—ȱ‘ŠœȱŠ—ȱŽ—ž›’—ȱ Šœ™ŽŒœȱ ˜ȱ ‘Ž’›ȱ Š‘Ž›œȱ ’œȱ ˜ȱ ˜™Ž—ȱ –Š™œȱ ˜ȱ •ŽŠŒ¢ȱ ’—ȱ ‘Žȱ ˜Œ”’Žœȱ Š—ȱ ’œȱ œ’••ȱ ˜—•¢ȱ ™˜œœ’‹’•’¢ǯ ›Ž–Ž–‹Ž›Žȱ ˜›ȱ ‘’œȱ –˜ž—Š’—ŽŽ›’—ȱ œ”’••œȱ şŝŞŖşŞŜśśśŚŖŚȱȱǞŘŝǯşśȱ™‹ȱŠ›Ž–˜’›ȱ›Žœœ Š—ȱŒ˜•˜ž›ž•ȱœŽ—œŽȱ˜ȱ‘ž–˜ž›ǯ şŝŞŖşŞŗŘŗŚŜŘŝȱȱǞŗşǯşśȱ™‹ȱ’•ȱ ˜›œŽȱ›ŽŽ” ȱ ȇȱ ȱ Š›¢•ȱ–’‘ȱ ȇȱ Š—ȱŠŒ’ęȱŒȱ˜ŠœŠ•ȱ’›•’—Žœ Ž’‘ȱ˜›Š—ȱ ’‘ȱž‘ȱ ›˜—ȱ’Š• ŠŒ”ȱŒ‘˜ęȱŽ• Ž’——’—ȱ’—ȱŗşŚŗǰȱžŠȇœȱ•˜œŽȱŒŠ™ž›Žœȱ‘Žȱ Ž¡›Š˜›’—Š›¢ȱ œž›Ÿ’ŸŠ•ȱ œ˜›¢ȱ ˜ȱ ‘Žȱ Ž ’œ‘ȱ ˜›Žȱ ‘Š—ȱ Šȱ ‹’˜›Š™‘¢ȱ ˜ȱ Š›¢•ȱ –’‘ȇœȱ ›˜—ȱ Š–’•¢ȱ Š—ȱ ‘Ž’›ȱ —Ž’‘‹˜ž›œȱ ž›’—ȱ Ž¡Œ’’—ȱ Ěȱ¢’—ȱ ŠŸŽ—ž›Žœǰȱ ‘’œȱ ‹˜˜”ȱȱ ‘Žȱ Š£’ȱ ˜ŒŒž™Š’˜—ȱ ˜ȱ ’‘žŠ—’Šǯȱ ˜›–Ž›ȱ Œ‘›˜—’Œ•Žœȱ ‘Žȱ –˜œȱ œ’—’ęȱŒŠ—ȱ ™Ž›’˜ȱ ’—ȱ ’›ŽŒ˜›ȱ ˜ȱ ‘Žȱ ˜–Ž—ȇœȱ Žœ˜ž›ŒŽœȱ Ž—›Žȱ ȂœȱŒ˜ŠœŠ•ȱŠŸ’Š’˜—ȱ’—žœ›¢ȱ ‘Ž—ȱ›Ž’˜—Š•ȱ Šȱǰȱ‘Žȱ•ŠŽȱž‘ȱ ›˜—ȱ’Š•ǰȱ ’‘ȱ ›’Ž›ȱ œŽ›Ÿ’ŒŽȱ‹ŽŒŠ–Žȱ‘Žȱ›˜•Žȱ˜ȱ‘ŽȱĚȱŽ•’—ȱ’›ǰȱ Ž’‘ȱ˜›Š—ǰȱŽ••œȱ‘’œȱ‘Š››˜ ’—ȱœ˜›¢ȱ˜ȱ•’Žȱ ‘Ž—ȱ‘Žȱž›ȱ Š›ȱ‹Ž ŽŽ—ȱ’›ȱŠ—ŠŠȱŠ—ȱ ž—Ž›ȱŠ£’ȱ›ž•Žǯȱ ȱ’œȱŠȱ›’™™’—ȱŠ—ȱ›Š–Š’Œȱ Š—Š’Š—ȱ ’›•’—Žœȱ ›Žœ‘Š™Žȱ ‘Žȱ ’—žœ›¢ǰȱ œ˜›¢ȱ˜ȱ‘Žȱ›’ž–™‘ȱ˜ȱ‘Žȱ‘ž–Š—ȱœ™’›’ǯ Š—ȱ ‘Ž—ȱ •˜—ȱ Š–’•’Š›ȱ —Š–Žœȱ ’œŠ™™ŽŠ›Žȱ şŝŞŖşŜşŞŝŗŖŗşȱǞŗşǯşśȱ™‹ȱ‘ŠŸ•ȱž‹•’œ‘’— ˜›ŽŸŽ›ǯ şŝŞŖşŞŗřŗřşŗŝȱȱǞřŚǯşśȱŒ•ȱȱ˜Šœ˜ ȱȱȱ Š—ŠŠȂœȱ ȱ ȱ ‘Žȱž——’—ȱ’–Žœȱ˜ȱ ȱŒ ž‘ ȱŽ•Ž‹›Š’˜— ŽĴȱ¢ȱ ŽŠ—ȱŒ ž‘ȱǭȱ˜‹ȱ’¡˜— Žœȱ™Š›Œœȱ—Š’˜—Šž¡ȱžȱŠ—ŠŠDZȱ Š—Œ˜žŸŽ›ȇœȱȱ ȱŒ ž‘ȱ’œȱ‘Žȱ ˜›•ȂœȱŠœŽœȱ ž—ŽȱŒ·•·‹›Š’˜— œŽ—’˜›ȱ•˜—ȱ’œŠ—ŒŽȱ›ž——Ž›ǯȱȱ Ž›ŽǰȱŒ ž‘ǰȱ ’‘ȱȇœȱ˜‹ȱ’¡˜—ǰȱŽ••œȱ˜ȱ‘Ž›ȱ›Ž–Š›”Š‹•Žȱ ‘’œȱ Ž¡šž’œ’Žȱ Œ˜ěȱŽŽȱ Š‹•Žȱ ‹˜˜”ȱ ŒŽ•Ž‹›ŠŽœȱ ŠŒ‘’ŽŸŽ–Ž—ȱ ‘’Œ‘ȱ ‹ŽŠ—ȱ ’—ȱ ‘Ž›ȱ ęȱĞȱ’Žœȱ ‘Žȱ •ŽŠŒ¢ȱ ˜ȱ Š—ŠŠȇœȱ —Š’˜—Š•ȱ ™Š›”œȱ ’‘ȱ ‘Ž—ȱ œ‘Žȱ ›Š—ȱ ‘Ž›ȱ ęȱ›œȱ –Š›Š‘˜—ǯȱ Œ ž‘ȱ ‹›ŽŠ‘Š”’—ȱ ™‘˜˜›Š™‘œȱ ˜ȱ ˜ž›ȱ —Šž›Š•ȱ ‘Šœȱ œ™Ž—ȱ ‘Žȱ •Šœȱ ‘›ŽŽȱ ŽŒŠŽœȱ ’——’—ȱ •Š—œŒŠ™Žǯȱȱ —Œ•žŽȱ’—ȱŽŠŒ‘ȱ‹˜˜”ȱ’œȱŠȱȱ ‘ž—›Žœȱ˜ȱ›ŠŒŽœȱŠ—ȱœŽĴȱ’—ȱ ˜›•ȱ›ŽŒ˜›œǯȱȱ Š’˜—Š•ȱ Š›”œȱ Š¢ȱ Šœœȱ ǻŸŠ•žŽȱ Šȱ ž™ȱ ˜ȱ ȱ ’œȱ Šȱ Œ˜ž›ŠŽ˜žœǰȱ ’—œ™’›’—ȱ Š—ȱ œ˜–Ž’–Žœȱ ǞŚŚǯŖŖǼǯȱ›’—Žȱ˜—ȱ™Š™Ž›œȱ›ŽŽȱ˜ȱęȱ‹›Žȱ›˜–ȱ ‹’ĴȱŽ›œ ŽŽȱ Š•Žȱ ˜ȱ ęȱ—Žœœǰȱ •’Žȱ Œ‘Š—Žœǰȱ Š—ȱ Ž—Š—Ž›Žȱ˜›Žœœǰȱ’ȇœȱȱŠ—ȱŽ¡ŒŽ••Ž—ȱ’Ğȱȱ˜›ȱ Ž¡™Š—’—ȱ ˜—Žȇœȱ ›ŽŠ•–ȱ ˜ȱ ™˜œœ’‹’•’’Žœȱ ˜›ȱ Œ˜›™˜›ŠŽȱŒ•’Ž—œǰȱŠ–’•¢ȱŠ—ȱ›’Ž—œǯǯǯ ™Ž˜™•Žȱ˜ȱŠ••ȱŠŽœǯ şŝŞŖşŞŜŜŜŗŚŖŘȱȱǞřŚǯşśȱŒ•ȱȱȱŠ—˜™¢ şŝŞŖşŞŜşŖśŚŖŝȱǞŗŞǯşśȱȱ™‹ȱ”Ž™ȱŽ’Š

$OO&DQDGLDQ&KULVWPDVERRNV ‘Žȱ’‘ȱŽ˜›ŽȱŠȱ  ȱ ’—•ŽȱŽ••œ  ȱ   ›˜¢ȱ˜ —œ’— ›˜¢ȱ˜ —œ’—

ŽŠŽ›œȱ ˜ȱ Š••ȱ ŠŽœȱ ’••ȱ Ž—“˜¢ȱ ‘Žȱ ŽŠ›—ȱ Š‹˜žȱ ŽŠŒ‘ȱ ™›˜Ÿ’—ŒŽȱ Š—ȱ Ž››’˜›¢ȱ Šœȱ Š—Š’Š—ȱ ›ŽŽ›Ž—ŒŽœȱ ’—ȱ ‘’œȱ ‘ž–˜›˜žœȱ Š—Šȱ“’—•Žœȱ‘’œȱ Š¢ȱŠŒ›˜œœȱŠ—ŠŠȱŽ•’ŸŽ›’—ȱ ŸŽ›œ’˜—ȱ ˜ȱ Šȱ ‘˜•’Š¢ȱ œŠ—Š›ǯȱ ‘Žȱ ’Ğȱœȱ˜—ȱ‘›’œ–ŠœȱŸŽǯȱ —ȱŠ—’˜‹ŠǰȱŠ—Šȱ‘Šœȱ Œ‘’•›Ž—ȱ ’—ȱ •˜—ȱ “˜‘—œȱ Š›Žȱ œ—žȱ ’—ȱ ‘Ž’›ȱ Šȱ œŒŠ›Žȱ ‘Ž—ȱ ‘Žȱ Š•–˜œȱ •Š—œȱ ˜—ȱ Šȱ œ•ŽŽ™’—ȱ ‹Žœȱ ‘’•Žȱ Ÿ’œ’˜—œȱ ˜ȱ ™˜ž’—Žȱ Š—ŒŽȱ ’—ȱ ™˜•Š›ȱ ‹ŽŠ›ȱ Š—ȱ ’—ȱ  ǰȱ ˜ž—’Žœȱ Š›Žȱ ’—ȱ ‘Žȱ ‘Ž’›ȱ ‘ŽŠœǯȱ Š—Šȱ ›Ž™•ŠŒŽœȱ ‘’œȱ ›Ž’—ŽŽ›ȱ œŠ‹•Žœȱ ŽŠ’—ȱ ž›”Ž¢ȱ ’——Ž›ȱ ’‘ȱ ——Žȱ ˜ȱ ’‘ȱŠȱŽŠ–ȱ˜ȱ‹ŽŠŸŽ›œȱ ’‘ȱ—Š–Žœȱ•’”Žȱ ›ŽŽ—ȱ Š‹•Žœǯȱ ›Ž£”¢ǰȱ›žŽŠžǰȱ˜˜—’ŽȱŠ—ȱ˜˜—’Žǯ şŝŞŖşŞŜŞŞşŘŗşȱȱǞŗşǯşśȱ‘Œȱ˜•¢•˜ şŝŞŖşŞŜŞŞşŘŘŜȱȱǞŗşǯşśȱ‘Œȱ˜•¢•˜

6DQGKLOO%RRN0DUNHWLQJ/WGa'LVWULEXWLRQIRU6PDOO3UHVV ,QGHSHQGHQW3XEOLVKHUV —’ȱǛŚȱȬȱřřŖŞȱ™™Š•˜˜œŠȱ˜Šǰȱ Ž•˜ —ŠǰȱȱŗȱŘśȱȱȊȱȱ‘DZȱŘśŖȬŚşŗȬŗŚŚŜȱȱȊȱȱŠ¡DZȱŘśŖȬŚşŗȬŚŖŜŜȱȱȊȱȱ–Š’•DZȱ’—˜ȓœŠ—‘’••‹˜˜”œǯŒ˜– ŸŠ’•Š‹•ŽȱŠȱ¢˜ž›ȱ•˜ŒŠ•ȱ‹˜˜”œ˜›ŽȱȱȊȱȱ ǯœŠ—‘’••‹˜˜”œǯŒ˜–

14 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 GIFT BOOKS

THE WHALING PEOPLE OF THE WEST COAST ✍ illustrations, the book traces the history of of Vancouver Island and Cape Flattery NATIVE CARVERS SUPPLYING CURIOS FOR THE model totem poles from the end of the (Royal BC Museum $19.95) provides an Pacific Northwest souvenir trade in the late 19th century to the present time. Editors intimate look at the culture of more than 1800s created the first model totem poles. Michael D. Hall and Pat 20 First Nations, including the Nuu-chah- Over time, totem poles came to be per- Glascock have included contributors nulth (formerly called Nootka), Dididaht, ceived as generalized icons of “Indian life” such as Robert Davidson, Kate Pacheedaht and Makah, who live along and Native groups all across North America Duncan, Charlotte Townsend- the west coast of Vancouver Island and began making model totems for the ever- Gault, Aaron Glass, Aldona Cape Flattery in Washington. As whaling expanding tourism industry that attended Jonaitis, and Christopher societies, they have had a unique relation- the popularization of automobile travel. W. Smith. 9780295991498 ship with the sea. By the middle of the 20th century, totems ✍ Co-authors Eugene Arima and were being produced by a variety of non- WITH A FOREWORD BY TYEE EDITOR Alan Hoover present the activities, tech- Native groups, including Boy Scouts and David Beers, Claudia Corn- nologies and rituals of the Whaling People, hobby crafters. Today, Native artists in both wall’s At the World's Edge: Curt Lang’s as well as their beliefs about the natural and the United States and Canada have revi- Vancouver, 1937-1998 (Mother Tongue PHOTO supernatural forces that affected their lives. talized the model totem pole tradition, shar- $29.95) is a tribute to beat poet and painter With 70 black and white photos and draw- ing it with a growing fine art audience. turned Renaissance man SLADE Curt Lang ings, The Whaling People features 12 narra- Carvings and Commerce (UWP / UBC who met Malcolm Lowry as a teen- DON tives collected from First Nations elders, each Press $60) recreates the exhibition at the ager and befriended poets Al Purdy, Curt Lang, Judith Copithorne illustrated with original art by Hesquiaht Mendel Art Gallery in Peter Trower, John Newlove, and Fred Douglas at a UBC artist, Tim Paul. 978-0-7726-6491-4 ✍ Saskatoon in the and Jamie Reid; artists David literary reading, 1963 summer of 2010. Marshall, Roy Kiyooka, IN 2008, RICK JAMES BEGAN INVESTIGAT- Containing three and Fred Douglas; two patents, and started several compa- ING the loss of the American steamer Geo. hundred colour and musicians Glenn nies, within the high-tech industry. He also S. Wright in January of 1873, thought to MacDonald, and developed hardware and software for the have gone down near Cape Caution. It Al Neil. railroad industry that today is used all over required research into the Alert Bay area of A street photog- North America. At the World's Edge includes that era, including the life of Alert Bay rapher in the early Lang’s unpublished photographs of Van- storekeeper Alden “Wes” Huson, the 1970s, Curt couver, as well as previously unpublished only person who was able to communicate Lang later built drawings, paintings, and poetry. Claudia with the First Nations people who had en- boats and fished Cornwall draws on conversations during countered the wreckage. The British Naval in the Prince her (and her husband’s) twelve-year ship that arrived to investigate the sinking Rupert vicinity. friendship with Curt. 978-1-896949-17-8 refused to confer with Huson after the Brit- In his forties, he ish captain saw an American flag flying atop was awarded his store. Huson, an ex-Yankee, was not al- Also Received lowed on board. As a result the fate of the Geo. S. Wright remains a mystery. With more than 100 remarkably detailed James’ research forms the basis of his paintings, Voyages to the New World and book West Coast Wrecks & Other Mari- Beyond (D&M $55) by artist and former sea- man Gordon Miller depicts 500 years of time Tales (Raincoast Chronicles $24.95), sailing voyages to new worlds from the which includes background on how Wreck mid-15th to 19th centuries with scholarly Beach in Vancouver got its name. respect and astonishing clarity. 978-1-55365-573-2 978-1-55017-545-5 ------The Third Crop: A personal & historical jour- “Tait-tats-toe,” ney into the photo albums & shoeboxes a Tseshaht man, of the Slocan Valley 1800s to early 1940s (Sono Nis $24.95) by about 1864. From Rita Moir. 978-1-55039-184-8 The Whaling People of ------the West Coast of Front Lines: Portraits of Vancouver Island & Caregivers in Northern British Columbia (Creekstone / Cape Flattery Sandhill $32) by Sarah de Leeuw & photographer Tim Swanky. 978-0-9783195-4-0 ------Hockey’s Originals: Great Players of the Golden Era (Greystone $45) by Mike Leonetti. 978-1-55365-966-2 ------A Thrilling Ride: Vancouver Canucks’ 40th Anniversary Season (Greystone $19.95). 978-1-926812-91-5 ------British Columbia’s Magnificent Parks: The First 100 Years (Harbour $44.95). by James D. Anderson. 978-1-55017-507-3 ------Feeding the Family: 100 Years of Food and Drink in Victoria (Royal BC Museum $29.95) by Nancy Oke and Robert Griffin. 978-0-7726-63-42-9 ------Raptors of the West: Cap-

4814 tured in Photographs (Herit- - PN

age $29.95) by Kate Davis, Rob Palmer & RBCM

; Nick Dunlop. 9781927051030 ------PHOTO Birds of Vancouver Island: A Photographic Journey

GENTILE (Bartley / Heritage $39.95) by

Glenn Bartley. 9780981321219 CHARLES

15 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 GIFT BOOKS Going for Broca First Lilith, then Esther

S A SCHOOL GIRL IN BUCHAREST, Lilian Broca knew her Jew- A ish identity was better left hid- den. In 1958, her family immigrated to Israel, then onto Canada in 1962. Since the late 1960s, having married and moved to Vancouver, Broca has frequently looked to mythological and biblical stories of cou- rageous females to inspire her art. Broca’s The Lilith Series, about the leg- endary character created before Eve, served as the basis of a book co-authored with Joy Kogawa. Now Broca, as a mo-

This classic Fred Herzog photo of the foot of Main Street, Vancouver, in 1968 is from Fred Herzog: Photographs (D&M $60), a second collection of Herzog’s down-to-earth but inspiring images, mostly urban, taken over five decades. It includes text by Douglas Coupland, Sarah Milroy, Jeff Wall and Claudia Gochmann. 978-1-55365-558-9

saic artist, has been inspired by the story of of Esther’s story about both sacrifice and Esther agrees to Mordechai’s request to risk Esther, a young Jewish girl who became female empowerment. Broca’s Queen Esther her life by approaching the king unin- queen of Persia, saving her people in the Mosaic Series, seven years in the making, vited—an act for which she is liable to be fifth century BC. also benefits from contributions by sentenced to death. With a preface by Judy Chicago, Sheila Campbell and Linda Coe. For Broca, Esther’s story also “exempli- The Hidden and the Revealed: The Grudgingly competing in a beauty pag- fies a successful intermarriage of two people Queen Esther Mosaics of Lilian Broca eant to select Persia’s new queen, in accord- from different cultures, namely Jewish and (Gefen $35) is a 200-page coffee table ance with her foster father Mordechai’s Persian…. My unexpected discovery that book designed, in Chicago’s words, “to put wishes, Esther is chosen by King one of the earliest if not the earliest written the woman’s voice back where it should Ahashvayrosh (aka Xerxes) and placed in reference to mosaics occurs in the biblical have been in the first place.” his harem. She does not divulge her Jewish Book of Esther, in the passage describing A new book on Esther, in a Byzantine A lyrical prose-poem by Yosef upbringing and beliefs, as advised. King Ahashvayrosh’s palace, further con- style, will be featured at the Jewish Wosk, using Esther’s elder-sage voice, has When the evil Haman plans to exter- tributed to my decision to return to this Book Festival, November 27. been added to this lavish reinterpretation minate Jews without the king’s knowledge, powerful, singular art form.” 978-965-229-560-6 ARSENAL PULP PRESS

HOOPLA WE SURE CAN! Leanne Prain Sarah B. Hood An astonishing alt-embroidery book by the co-author of Celebrating the new “Canvolution”: new Yarn Bombing. preservationists reinventing the lost art of jams and 978-1-55152-406-1; $29.95 pickles. 978-1-55152-402-3; $24.95 STAN DOUGLAS: ABBOTT & CORDOVA, 7 AUGUST 1971 THE ONLY POETRY THAT MATTERS Stan Douglas Clint Burnham A stunning art book on the Vancouver artist’s photo A history of Vancouver’s seminal Kootenay School of installation about the Gastown Riot. Writing. 978-1-55152-429-0; $23.95 978-1-55152-413-9; $40.00

THE INVERTED GAZE François Cusset; trans. by David Homel The queering of the French literary canon by American CROSSINGS scholars, by the author of French Theory. 978-1-55152-410-8; $17.95 Betty Lambert A Vancouver 125 Legacy Book: Betty Lambert’s devastating 1979 novel about a destructive relationship. 978-1-55152-427-6; $19.95

BEAUTY PLUS PITY Kevin Chong Kevin Chong’s fi rst novel in ten years: a tragicomic modern immigrant’s tale. CLASS WARFARE 978-1-55-152-416-0; $17.95 D.M. Fraser A Vancouver 125 Legacy Book: D.M. Fraser’s extraordinary stories about Vancouver’s disenfranchised. 978-1-55152-428-3; $15.95 arsenalpulp.com | BLOG: arsenalia.com Celebrating forty years of publishing in 2011

16 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 featureview MEMOIR

MAKING The first time I said it, I didn’t A LIFE IN add that I probably never would. Later I didn’t add, “except you.” It was in my head, but I had no idea LOVE & ART what it meant. Smith urges Rule to find re- Joan Givner on lief in solo sex, and assures her that women do fall in love with Jane Rule’s lost each other, but insists that she and found memoir. have her first sexual experience with a man, lest she become a lesbian. When the two finally Taking My Life by Jane Rule (Talonbooks $19.95) have sex, it is Smith’s guilt that Rule finds most disturbing. Their ANE RULE BEGINS HER MEMOIR relationship endures through- of her formative years, Tak- out Rule’s college years, even as Jing My Life by expressing Rule loves other women, and “moral and aesthetic” after Smith moves to the east misgivings about the project. coast, where she and her hus- Poor health has ended her ca- band (with whom Rule has a brief reer as a novelist and left her feel- sexual encounter) have three ing “not just directionless but daughters. unconvinced that there is one.” Although the book covers Rule states that she is turning to only Rule’s first two decades, it autobiography because there is ends with a strong sense of reso- “nothing else to do.” lution. The emotional confu- The misgivings are under- sions of the previous years have standable, for this is not only the receded. She is in a mutually sat- most self-revelatory of her works, isfying relationship with an Eng- but one that exposes vulnerable lish woman, living in London, friends and family to public scru- working on a novel, and her fu- tiny. In doing so, she goes against ture looks promising. her expressed concern for main- ✫ taining the privacy of her ARTHUR RULE MARRIES A COLLEGE acquaintances and correspond- friend of his sister, in a ceremony ents. she describes as “blackly humor- No doubt her reservations ous.” Before the ceremony his explain her decision not to of- words to his sister, “Remember, fer the document for publica- kiddo...you can run your heart tion. At the same time, she has out, but I can beat you standing clearly affirmed her belief in its still,” suggest that he sees even importance by placing it in her his marriage as a way of triumph- archival collection at UBC— ing over his sister. from which editor Linda M. Ann Smith’s life is falling Morra has retrieved it for publi- apart. Although her neighbours cation with or without Rule’s see her as a model of serenity, permission (that matter is not she has been hospitalized for clarified in the introduction). “melancholia,” and her husband ✫ says he will commit her to a men- JANE RULE CAME FROM AN AFFLUENT tal institution again if necessary. family whose many headstrong Rule leaves for England fearful and colourful characters con- for the physical safety of Smith’s tribute to the lively account of three children. her early years. But it is gener- ✫ ally the painful and conflicted ALL BIOGRAPHERS, EDITORS AND relationships that define us. Ac- literary executors, face ethical cordingly, it is two “troubled and questions, as they weigh privacy troubling” relationships that issues and authorial wishes form the over-arching theme of against the claims of cultural and this narrative. literary history. Given Jane Rule’s The first is with the older iconic stature, and the fact that brother Arthur Rule, who was every prominent writer is a con- the cherished companion of tested site, the decision to pub- Rule’s early years. The bond Jane Rule portrait by her lover Ann Smith. lish this manuscript in its entirety between them was so close that and with the names of key fig- she thought of them as an yearned for the rest of nately unheeded) said Smith’s attitude to her four- ures unchanged, is sure to be de- inseparable unit—Jane-and- her life to regain the af- that Rule’s moral char- teen-year-old student moved bated. Arthur—like the parents they fection of those early acter made her unfit from professional to personal to The prudent course might were named for. Sadly, the bond years. for the college. intimate, and drew Rule into the have been, as Rule probably in- was broken when Rule was five, Rule acknowledges The teacher, how- vortex of her teacher’s own tended, to wait for a future bi- and the peripatetic family left that her relationships ever, who exerted the emotional turmoil. The intensity ographer to place its contents the eastern United States for with teachers had a most influence during of the friendship was such that within the context of the fiction. California. From that moment, strong erotic charge. “I Joan Rule’s adolescence, fifty years later, Rule recalls frag- But biographies are long in the Arthur changed into a disturbed couldn’t have known was Ann Smith, a ments of their conversation: making, their successful comple- youth, whose erratic behaviour that first year in high GIVNER graduate of Wellesley “Nancy says you have a crush tion never assured, and without destroyed family harmony and school how much I presented College and The Art Institute of on me,” Ann said one day. them literary reputations quickly made his sister miserable. He be- myself to my teachers as a po- Chicago (two of her three por- “That’s stupid,” I answered fade. came hostile to the family, was tential lover,” she writes. She traits of Rule grace the book), hotly. Scholars and devotees of expelled from schools, charged notes of one Miss Espinosa, a eleven years Rule’s senior. When “What’s stupid about it?” Rule’s work can, therefore, be with vandalism, and often in trou- principal, “...we wooed each they met, Smith lived alone, wait- “Crushes are stupid. I love you, grateful for this valuable re- ble with the police. There are other as stupidly and negatively ing for the return of her soldier but I don’t have a crush on you.” source. 978-0-88922-673-9 hints that a crippling rivalry with as children pulling each other’s husband. Her own childhood Later Smith tells Rule that she his sister, aggravated by the fa- braids.” Espinosa’s influence was had been unsettling, involving and her husband have sex at least Joan Givner is the author of two ther’s invidious comparisons, ex- partly responsible for her failure frequent moves, an alcoholic fa- twice a day, and Rule responds biographies and an autobiography, acerbated his problems. to be accepted at Stanford, and ther, and a sexual relationship that she doesn’t love anyone The Self-Portrait of a Literary Whatever the cause, his sister a letter to Mills College (fortu- with an older brother. “that way.” Biographer.

17 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 LETTERS

I foresee two practical uses for e-read- publishers have literally made six-figure Utopia or anathema 1 ers. First, a featherweight e-reader would investments in an attempt to move with THANK YOU FOR YOUR PHRASE “THE spare a student from having to carry the times and help take the works they uglification of reading” in the special issue around a heavy armload of books. Second, have published to a whole new genera- about ebooks and libraries. YES, that is digital copies could make available the tion of readers. right on. As for so-called e-readers, the more thousands of out-of-copyright, rare books In my experience, many of the more of those little mechanical hard-edged bor- that are gathering dust on “Special Collec- seasoned authors understand this, and I ing homogenous implements I see, the tion” shelves in public libraries. A few times believe that the majority of published writ- more I rescue old hardcovers from thrift a year I find myself frustrated by being ers are more than willing to work with their and secondhand stores. Why would I want inconvenienced to read a book in a “Spe- publishers in this uncertain time to find a to read something that I cannot mark up, cial Collection” by having to go to the main sound approach to the future—a future let rain fall in, wear out, share, spill wine library to read the book in-house. I’d be where, as with paper books, the author on, take to the tub and in a backpack? delighted to pay a small fee toward the does the writing and the publisher does I just cannot see the charm of those e- cost of digitizing “Special Collection” the publishing. Over the past 15 years, I readers. Efficiency? Maybe. But a love ob- books. Rodger Touchie have had very few conflicts with authors ject? Never. I’d rather travel the world with Meanwhile, our Kobo lies on our cof- and would never publish a digital edition one worn-out paperback of War and Peace fee table as we continue to contentedly neighbourhood stores, perhaps a combi- of a book against an author’s will, even if than 100 ebooks on an instrument. read conventional paper books. nation of new, used and remaindered. My contractually entitled to do so. Mutual It was a great issue. It gave me nostalgia Derek Wilson hope is that we are not seeing the end of trust and respect remain as important as about the bookmobile. My parents—who Port Moody the book, except from Amazon. ever in the author-publisher relationship. were prodigious readers but too poor to I look forward to the next edition, get- Over the past decade I have had the buy books—came to Canada in 1955 Utopia or anathema 3 ting back to promoting interesting read- honour of serving on the executive of the when I was eight. Myself and my siblings ing in whatever format one chooses. I, for Association of Book Publishers of BC and learned to read English fluently and I CANNOT DISPLAY one, hope there is room for us both but do the Association of Canadian Publishers (I quickly thanks to the bookmobile. the recent issue not need to make my lovely customers am a past-president of both) and I know Hannah Main-van der Kamp with the headline think we are outdated. that the member publishers of those or- Powell River with the word Cathy Jesson ganizations work very hard on behalf of eBOOKWORLD Black Bond Books, Surrey their authors to do right by them while Utopia or anathema 2 on the cover, featur- publishing and promoting their books, be ing the gloomy Utopia or anathema 4 it in print or electronic form. REGARDING YOUR FEATURE CALLED EBOOKS: predictions of Paul Rodger Touchie “ Cathy Jesson future world utopia or anathema.” A few Whitney. I wish THE FEATURE “LIBRARIES, EBOOKS & YOU” Publisher, Heritage House months ago my wife and I received a Kobo more balance was provided. (BCBW Autumn 2011) seemed intent on e-reader as a joint birthday gift. I have We are fighting the good fight and do portraying Canadian book publishers as Utopia or anathema 5 mixed feelings about this gadget. I was not need to encourage more to go digital. bad guys out to claim digital rights, create delighted to be able to download an out- There is no future in this [digital] world ebook editions and pay their authors un- YOUR BC BOOKWORLD (AUTUMN 2011) of-print, 1940 children’s story book that I for bricks and mortar stores; this is an Ama- fair royalty payments. interview with Paul Whitney is terrific. I've enjoyed as a child so that I may read it to zon world. The digital world has no eco- It seems to me there is still a lot of mis- been asked to produce a talk in Ottawa my grandchildren. However, downloading nomic model for booksellers. This has information floating around and that some about what the government could/should is mediated through either Kobo Desktop proved true for my fellow booksellers south writers and their representatives, includ- be doing to help Canadian writers and or Adobe Digital Editions software. Both of the border. This is Amazon’s game. ing those at the Writers’ Union of Canada, publishers, and your interview is full of of these make me feel like I have “Big I am just back from Europe where book- should look at some of the realities and useful information. Brother” looking over my shoulder at the stores of the small variety seem to be doing challenges that their publishers face these Douglas Gibson contents of my Kobo. just fine. I think we may see a return to days. In the past couple of years, trade Toronto

BCTOPSELLERS* The Third Crop Manufacturing National Park Nature A personal and historical journey into the photo albums and shoeboxes of Photography, Ecology, and the Wilderness Industry of Jasper the Slocan Valley 1800s to early 1940s (Sono Nis $28.95) by Rita Moir (UBC Press $29.95) by J. Keri Cronin Here's Mike Empire of the Beetle With Junkyard Granny, Whistling Bernie Smith, the Robertson Screw- How Human Folly and a Tiny Bug Are Killing North America's driver, Pancakes and Eternal Truth (Harbour $32.95) by Mike McCardell Great Forests (D&M Publishers $19.95) by Andrew Nikiforuk

Whitewater Cooks with Friends City of Love and Revolution (Sandhill Book Marketing $34.95) by Shelley Adams (New Star Books $24) by Lawrence Aronsen Exit Buying Real Estate in the US Nominated for the 2011 Governor General’s The Concise Guide for Canadians Literary Award for French to English (Self-Counsel Press $18.95) by Dale Walters translation of fiction. (Anvil Press $20) by Nelly Arcan The End of the Line We Sure Can! A Durrant Wallace Mystery How Jams and Pickles (Touchwood Editions $18.95) Are Reviving the Lure and by Stephen Legault Lore of Local Food (Arsenal Pulp Press $24.95) Taking My Life by Sarah B. Hood (Talonbooks $19.95) by Jane Rule Mulligan's Stew Alligator, Bear, Crab My Life... So Far A Baby’s ABC (Orca $9.95) (Heritage House $19.95) by Lesley Wynne Pechter Leslie Nielsen by Terry David Mulligan on the set of with Glen Schaefer Naked Gun 33 1/3 The Inverted Pyramid with Terry David * The current topselling titles from (Ronsdale Press $19.95) Mulligan, author of 15 major BC publishing companies, by Bertrand Sinclair Mulligan’s Stew in no particular order.

18 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 A quarterly forum for and about writers; # as well as a series about the origins of 45 3516 W. 13th Ave.,B.C. Vancouver, publishing BC V6R 2S3 houses • [email protected] history—Share the Flame: The Official Retrospective of the Olympic Torch Relay fell far short of replicating the success of The Expo Celebration. LOOKOUTLOOKOUT ✍ IN THE PRE-DIGITAL AGE, WHITECAP OFTEN PRINTED TENS of thousands of colour books. But with the advent of White is the colour, digital photography and the subsequent shrink in de- mand, colour book printing shrunk to around 3,000 a run. Burch once said, “Colour books haven’t quite gone publishing is the game the same way as encyclopedias and the atlas, but they are not as fast as they once were.” In one way, Michael Burch has been a B.C. publisher ahead of his time. As the founder In 1994, Whitecap moved to its current North Van- couver headquarters on Lynn Avenue. In 1996, Nick and owner of Whitecap Books, he has long self-identified as a publisher who is fond of “at- Rundall, previously the marketing director of Cana- tacking the marketplace that the bookstores don’t reach.” As conventional bookselling outlets dian Book Marketing Group, joined Whitecap as a part- ner. In the new position, he ran the sales and marketing are being threatened by ebooks and Amazon, now trade publishers must improvise, as Burch division for Whitecap in Ontario and eventually became has done, to target unconventional markets and specialty book sales. Here Laurie Neale vice president of Whitecap, handling authors and ac- counts in eastern Canada. Rundall was an important ad- profiles Burch and Whitecap Books, a company that has produced almost 1,000 titles since dition, as Whitecap authors increasingly lived outside of 1977. Currently Whitecap specializes in culinary, wine, gardening and gift books—but Burch B.C. got the wheels turning with a classic book about a B.C. railroad. Colleen MacMillan joined Whitecap in 1988, climbed to the position of publisher and then left in 1997. ICHAEL BURCH STILL PLAYS COMPETITIVE Whitecap increasingly shifted its collective sights towards soccer, so it’s easy to assume he must have cookbooks after Robert McCullough’s arrival in Mnamed his company, Whitecap Books, after 1990. In 2001, McCullough became publisher. the Vancouver soccer franchise that was hugely success- Under McCullough’s watch, Whitecap snagged the ful in the ’70s when his imprint was founded. Or else it likes of Anna Olson (pastry chef on the Food Net- was named for foaming ocean waves, as the current Van- work); Michael Smith (of TV’s Chef at Home), couver Whitecaps’ soccer logo would seem to suggest. Curtis Stone (of Take Home Chef), Anthony In fact, Burch chose the name Whitecap Books while Sedlak (of The Main), and Roger Mooking (of driving one morning toward the North Vancouver, im- Everyday Exotic) and many other Canadian culinary per- pressed by the snow-capped peaks of North Shore Moun- sonalities. McCullough remained publisher until 2011, tains pointing above the fog and cloud. As a native Brit, when he left Whitecap to work at Random House. Burch rather than a British Columbian, those looming moun- has resumed his position as publisher. tains struck him as quintessentially West Coast, and he According to Burch, Whitecap’s recipe for success in- has gravitated towards them, operating Whitecap Books cludes five critical ingredients. First, dream up something from North Vancouver since the mid-1980s. original; second, be the first to publish a book on the Previously a maritime engineer for steam turbines in subject (like Whitecap’s book on Princess Diana); third, England, Burch got started in publishing with a job in know current trends and choose the right topics for the sales and marketing for Methuen Publications in To- right time; four, choose authors that are promotable, like ronto in 1971. After moving to Vancouver in 1974 to the exuberant Roger Mooking; and five, pursue authors open a Methuen branch office, he started his own book who are tuned into the “pulse,” while maintaining ties sales commission agency one year later with Norman with proven authors. Adams. After several years with Adams Burch Ltd., “We’ve always been Burch stresses that in the foodie realm, success largely he struck out on his own with Whitecap Books in June market driven, is determined by the fourth ingredient: an author’s per- of 1977. sona is instrumental to a book’s promotability. “Publish- In those early days, Burch liked to joke that his books commercial publishers ing culinary books is like high fashion,” he says. “What’s were about pictures, not words, but Whitecap didn’t at Whitecap.” in today is gone tomorrow. It’s hard to keep up with it.” start off by concentrating on gift books. The first title he Burch contends that advances in technology—namely published from his home, when he was Whitecap’s lone MICHAEL BURCH the Internet and ebooks—have not done irreparable dam- employee, was a B.C. classic called McCulloch’s Wonder: LAURIE NEALE PHOTO age to Whitecap books. “For us it’s still a healthy busi- The History of the Kettle Valley Railway by Barrie The production team secured headquarters in an of- ness. We’re not scared of many things,” he says. Whitecap, Sanford. Often reprinted during the past 34 years, it fice right outside the Expo grounds, working with to its credit, has striven to keep abreast of technology reputedly still sells more than 2,000 copies per year. Murray’s partner, Marthe Love, who assigned pho- throughout its lifetime by fully embracing the possibili- In the late seventies, Burch graduated to an office in tographers and liaised with the Expo 86 staff. The late ties technology presents. the basement of Douglas & McIntyre. Relocating to the CBC host David Grierson, then a freelance jour- Currently, Whitecap is working with eBOUND and North Shore and establishing a small warehouse, Burch nalist, was assigned to interview people and write the the Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP) to have e- produced numerous successful trade titles such as text accompanying the photos. Michael rights built into author contracts, as well as getting older Michael Kluckner’s groundbreaking Vancouver Morissette, as photography coordinator, sifted authors to sign e-rights addendums. Beyond that, White- the Way It Was and the first full-colour book on Vancou- through more than 100,000 images submitted by more cap recently signed a contract with Apple that will de- ver, by Duncan McDougall, which he says sold than 50 photographers. liver high-design books right into the hands of iPad users, over 25,000 in 1978/79. It worked. The book was released just six weeks after a move that was initiated by Whitecap alone. Then along came the 1986 World Exposition and Expo 86 closed. Most of the signatures for that book “It’s tough right now,” says Burch, “with only having Whitecap responded with a blockbuster coffee table book, were printed in stages, so that when Expo closed, the last one superstore system, in Canada, to put your books into— The Expo Celebration: The Official Retrospective Book, an signatures were added. The Expo Celebration reputedly Indigo. That’s becoming a bit tedious at times, with some enormous and complicated undertaking—unprec- sold 50,000 copies within three weeks, rising to 150,000 of the unilateral decisions they inflict on the rest of their edented in B.C. publishing. Burch has likened “event copies overall. industry.” But he remains optimistic as Whitecap scruti- publishing” to mounting a military campaign. A similar process was undertaken for Diana: A Trib- nizes the food and wine industry for up-and-coming stars. A so-called instant book, The Expo Celebration was ute to the People’s Princess, by Peter Donally. Pho- “We’re always looking for something new,” Burch says. initiated by Burch and photographer Derik Murray, tographers lined Diana’s funeral route and the resulting Burch’s wife and Whitecap’s comptroller, Kristina president of Murray/Love Productions. Together they 175-page book was the first one published after her Stosek, insisted on signing the authors of Quinoa 365, approached Expo boss Jim Pattison who later gave death, another huge seller. Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming. Sales three days of his time, unpaid, to help promote the fin- But so-called “event publishing” is always a precari- this year have reportedly zoomed to 100,000 worldwide. ished product. The contract for the book was with a ous gamble. When Burch and Derik Murray joined Burch says Whitecap sifts through about 25 submis- company called Expo Souvenirs from Seattle who held forces with Petrocan to document and celebrate the 88- sions per week. the print material rights at Expo 86. Royalties were paid day winter torch relay from St. John’s to Calgary for the You can have your cake and publish the recipe for it, to Expo Souvenirs. Calgary Olympics—the longest Olympic torch relay in too.

19 BC BOOKWORLD • LOOKOUT • WINTER • 2011-2012 GIFT BOOKS

Red Irish lord with sulfur sponge

Opalescent nudibranch Harbour seal

S STATED IN THE INTRO- Melibe, a kind of snail with no shell, are mollusks. Melibe trap plankton within an expansile “oral duction to Beneath hood,” whereas jellyfish use stinging cells in their tentacles to immobilize and capture their prey. Like Cold Seas (Greystone Melibe, jellyfish contract rhythmically and are largely A transparent, making them difficult to photograph. $45), underwater photographer “Many wonderful jellyfish are found in these All creatures great & small & wet cold waters, but one in particular stands out. Once, David Hall combines the in- while photographing rockfish in the kelp bed at such work is glossed over. tively illuminate these six-inch animals when most Hunt Rock in Queen Charlotte Strait, I became quiring and exacting eye of a sci- The emphasis for Beneath Cold Seas has been of the light emitted by my flash units passes right aware of something very large drifting toward me, placed on the other-worldliness of the photos, with through their transparent bodies? swept along by the current. It was a huge lion’s entist with the soul and vision of minimal commentary, and sparse captions. It is a “If you want to photograph hooded nudibranchs mane jellyfish nearly three feet in diameter, with visual plunge, a dive into exotica. in the Pacific Northwest, timing is critical. In British ten-to fifteen-foot tentacles trailing behind it. an artist to produce uniquely ✍ Columbia’s Queen Charlotte Strait, Melibe first ap- Cyanea capillata is the largest jellyfish in the world, HERE THE INTREPID UNDERWATER EXPLORER EXPLAINS pear on the kelp in early to mid-September. They and this individual was by far the largest I had ever beautiful underwater images that his obsession with miniature creatures called the grow rapidly, reaching full size and maximum popu- seen. hooded nudibranch, or Melibe leonine, and he also lation density within two weeks; yet less than two “I approached the massive animal cautiously. educate as much as they inspire. recalls an encounter with the largest species of octo- weeks later they have all but disappeared. Cyanea possesses an especially powerful sting, and pus in the deep. “Unfortunately, when Melibe make their brief the neoprene hood and dive mask I wore left much It’s not just hype. “Imagine a bull kelp forest in which the plants appearance, bull kelp, the dominant marine plant of my face unprotected. The jelly’s many long, trans- Hall’s astonishing imagery of underwater life re- are completely covered with ghostlike animals ex- in the area, is usually dying back and not very pho- parent tentacles were difficult to keep track of as I veals the West Coast as never seen before. All pho- panding and contracting rhythmically, and you will togenic. Perhaps one year in five or ten the kelp approached with one eye glued to the viewfinder of tos were taken in British Columbian waters, and have some idea of what I witnessed. It was like a survives in relatively good shape until the my camera. nearly all had to be taken within a few feet of their scene from a science fiction movie, and I knew that nudibranchs have arrived in large numbers. At this “I made dozens of photographs of the magnifi- subjects. I had to find some way to capture it on film. time it becomes possible to capture images that are cent animal. The changing pattern of light filtering Hall’s technical prowess in lighting the under- “Fifteen years later I am still trying. both unique and spectacular. through the choppy surface and the rhythmic con- water wilderness of the Pacific Northwest, making “Why is it so difficult? For one thing, conveying “The transparent and rhythmically contracting tractions of the jellyfish meant that no two photo- sea life appear magical, both above and below the a sense of movement in a still photograph can be Melibe may look like jellyfish, but this resemblance graphs would look the same. None of them would water—sometimes simultaneously—is not discussed like trying to convey the rhythm of a tango with a is deceiving. Jellyfish are cnidarians — stinging ani- truly convey the grace and beauty of a living jelly- in the text, and the physical stamina required for single musical note. For another, how can I effec- Adult male wolf-eel Miigrating sockeye mals related to sea anemones and corals — whereas fish, but I was determined to try.” 978-1-55365-870-2

20 BC BOOKWORLD • LOOKOUT • WINTER • 2011 21 BC BOOKWORLD • LOOKOUT • WINTER • 2011 BC AUTHORS MAKE READING EASY!

Orca Book Publishers has been providing quality short novels for reluctant and avid readers alike for nearly 10 years. Who is a reluctant reader? Someone who, for whatever reason, does not like to read or doesn’t consider themself a reader. Orca has two series of short, high-interest novels for either middle-schoolers or teens with age-appropriate storylines to bring reading back into their lives: Orca Currents and Orca Soundings. And for adults who are looking for great writing in an easy-to-read format, Orca has created the Rapid Reads series.

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FARMED OUT FALLOUT THE NEXT SURE christy goerzen nikki tate THING Fourteen-year-old Maddie, Can slam poetry help Tara richard wagamese an artist with big-city dreams, deal with the guilt of not Cree Thunderboy has a is forced to volunteer on an saving her sister? knack for picking winners. organic farm. “Entertaining and accessible… But can he pick the next “Goerzen writes well from a teen It is refreshing that this is not sure thing? perspective, capturing Maddie’s at all a story about a depressed “A clever puzzle that features

smart-alecky but self-conscious teenager, but the story of 978-1-55469-900-1 $9.95 pb a young man seeking to 978-1-55469-976-6 $9.95 pb 978-1-55469-976-6 978-1-55469-910-0 $9.95 pb 978-1-55469-910-0 attitude, especially toward her a survivor. Recommended.” make his way.” oblivious mother.” —Booklist —CM Magazine —Library Journal

STUFF WE ALL GET SHATTERED FIT TO KILL k.l. denman sarah n. harvey james heneghan Fifteen-year-old Zack, a sound- After March shoves her boyfriend For women in the West End, color synesthete, is on a mission and he ends up in a coma, she tries it’s become too dangerous to find a musician he can relate to. to figure out what it means to have to be fit. Stuff We All Get is a gentle a perfect life. “A quick read for those critique of celebrity culture “Harvey’s story is easily consumed that like to watch crime in North America. and should have great appeal for TV shows, the plot is very FROM THE AUTHOR OF teens that don’t often pick up a book, $9.95 pb 978-1-55469-907-7 action-oriented and will 978-1-55469-845-5 $9.95 pb 978-1-55469-845-5 978-1-55469-820-2 $9.95 pb 978-1-55469-820-2 Me, Myself and Ike, SHORTLISTED especially those who think they keep the reader guessing.” FOR THE 2010 GOVERNOR GENERAL’S aspire to life in the fast, gritty lane. —VOYA AWARD LITERARY Recommended.” —CM Magazine LIVING ROUGH REDLINE cristy watson alex van tol Poe, a homeless young teen, To numb the guilt she bears struggles to keep his living after the death of her best friend, The latest from situation a secret. Jenessa turns to speed—in the “A realistic novel that involves form of street racing. teen issues to which its intended “Taut and intense, this offering audience can relate...The plot, will appeal to readers who are dialogue, and characters make this looking for a fast read with 978-1-55469-893-6 $9.95 pb 978-1-55469-893-6 978-1-55469-434-1 $9.95 pb 978-1-55469-434-1 book interesting and well worth non-stop action.” the read for a broader audience —Library Media Connection than just reluctant readers.” —CM Magazine BC INFILTRATION sean rodman www. Bex is into “urban exploration” AUTHORS and going where he’s not reaching supposed to go. “This short novel will appeal to reluctant readers with its fast SOMETHING reluctant pace and adventurous scenarios.” —Library Media Connection FOR THE WHOLE readers $9.95 pb 978-1-55469-985-8 .com FAM I LY!

22 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 reviews POETRY

Runaway Dreams by Richard Wagamese (Ronsdale $15.95) ORN OJIBWAY, RICHARD HOW AN INDIAN PRAYS Wagamese was lost to his B roots as a teenager but was reborn to his culture as an “To see the world as altar”—Richard Wagamese adult. Generous in spirit, Runa- way Dreams amounts to The land is power- that you really have to really the story and not disavowed. an autobiography in fully present. “Geo- want to “My skin is broken territory and fifty poem/chapters, graphies become us when it doesn’t just come to you my heart went along for the ride.” not a chronological ac- we inhabit them enough.” you have to crave it, yearn for it But now, he values the small cer- count but rather a Wagamese now lives ache for the luxuriant whisper…” emonies, like standing at the sink moving back and forth near Kamloops in a The poems in Runaway are doing dishes. “I am older now and through the journeys, whitey suburb, and introspective but not self-ab- quiet feels better on the bones than Ursula Vaira both inner and outer, Hannah gazes lovingly at the ter- sorbed, intimate, nature imbued, noise and the only fight in me is the that Wagamese has MAIN-VAN DER KAMP rain. On the land, “har- respectful and reverent. struggle to maintain it all, to keep it SONGS THEIR taken. mony happens on it own.” Along with love poems to his close to my chest … never thought I’d Wagamese is not sentimental “when you open your eyes there’s wife and his geolocale, see that.” 978-1-55380-129-0 PADDLING BRINGS about being “Injun” (his term). nothing before you but the land Wagamese, 55-year-old, speaks And See What Happens: The Journey He is realistic about East Hast- and its absolute stillness with compassion about the con- Poet and birdwatcher, Hannah Main Poems by Ursula Vaira (Caitlin $16.95) ings squalor and the challenges there’s the sound of wind and fused 17-year-old runaway he -van der Kamp lives on the Upper faced by First Nations commu- water was. Foster care and adoption, Sunshine Coast, attentive to the ab- N HER FIRST BOOK OF POEMS, nities. He writes of the scars and and as you push to hear it you residential school, urban squalor solute stillness in the sound of wind Ursula Vaira recounts the story of three hazardous trips. wounds that will never be com- discover and abuse are part of and water. I And like all good journeys, ends pletely erased. But the over- each one a different person than whelming impression is not one she was at the beginning. of bitterness but of gratitude and The first and most extraordinary awe. of the three personal journeys de- Words such as “love, discov- scribed in Ursula Vaira’s And See ery, shadow, transcend, song, What Happens: The Journey Po- dancing, heartbeat, purify and ems is a 30-day, 1000-mile pad- wound, the circle of wholeness” dling expedition in a First Nations have been so over-used in writ- canoe from Hazelton to Victoria. Vaira was the only woman to take ing about the “healing journey” part. that they are losing their power. Challenges are huge and read- Soon these words will turn up in ers need a steady heart. Along the advertisements for spas, choco- way we encounter the sadness of a late and all-inclusive vacations. culture nearly destroyed and are Wagamese gets away with us- reminded of a time when indig- ing them because of the particu- enous singing and dancing was larity of his story and his punishable by imprisonment. response. His apparent lack of Engaging titles for the poems egoistic “my story” telling in- include “How Many Embraces can a Humble Man Endure?” and “Cape cludes fetching phrases such as Caution and the Spiritual Canoe.” “the sudden spray of heron from a It’s a remarkable narrative that tree,” “streak of an owl flays back the downplays her gender in favour of skin of night” and “loon call wob- serving as a documentarian for all. bles.” The second adventure is one of At times the repeated use of solo living in an isolated cabin in words like “honour” risk becom- northern B.C. In 17 ten-line ing banal but he surmounts that ghazals, Vaira enters deeply into because of his raw honesty, a solitude to discover not loneliness stance of awe, and his sly hu- but big questions about the nature of love. mour. His elders’ tales have a The last section describes subtle rather than a ha-ha, fun- kayaking around Cape Scott from niness. Port Hardy to Zeballos in rough con- Without being self-deprecat- ditions. This is one plucky poet. ing, Wagamese tells of his own Tuck this small volume into your fumbling efforts to become a watercraft or solo backpack. The “reborn Injun” and the way hints about danger and safety are tribal humour was used to de- not just about weather and geogra- flate him. He tells on himself as phy. Fresh cougar tracks also turn “warrior” now being the one up in metaphysical travels. who brings in the firewood and 978-1-894759-58-8 plants annual bedding plants. Kirsty Elliot There are Trickster stories, LOUIS LOUIS grandfather stories and spiritual Louis: The Heretic Poems rhetoric. Some of the poems Do City Girls? by Kirsty Elliot by Gregory Scofield (Nightwood $18.95) contain sections that are remi- AMONG THE FERNS ORN IN MAPLE RIDGE, B.C., INTO A niscent of the teachings of me- Do city girls True by Kirsty Elliot (Leaf $15.95) Métis family of Cree, Scot- dieval mystics such as Meister carry flashlights? tish, English and French de- Eckhart. It’s a universal lan- N THE COVER OF TRUE, A B Or is everything lit up scent, Gregory Scofield never guage, not limited to medieval young woman in a all the time? knew his father—who later turned Christians or to indigenous spir- Ogreen slip, green boa, out to be Jewish. His maternal an- ituality. and green boots wades through cestry can be traced back to the fur “Nothing is truly separate. Do you have to get a manicure a green creek in a green land- trade and to the Métis community Every one and every thing car- if you live there? scape. That would presumably of Kinosota, Manitoba, established ries within it the spark of Crea- Do people look at your cuticles be Kirsty Elliot, the charmingly in 1828 by the Hudson's Bay Com- tion and exists on the sacred and think things? affectionate and unpretentious pany. Having been involved in the Louis Riel Métis Council and taught breath of that Creation.” young mother/poet on mouldy First Nations and Métis poetry at This is spiritual writing in the Do you need to wear three hundred dollar boots Lasqueti Island. A tree nymph, Brandon University in Manitoba, he best sense of the word: inviting, to feel cool there? sprightly and gutsy, even she has has evoked the personal side of connecting, gracious about sor- cravings for Vitamin D in the Will the old sneakers that you glued sequins onto Louis Riel’s row and sorrowful in the right endless rain. character for places. In reference to a Gospel still be as pretty? This little volume, without Louis: The Her- account of “Jesus wept,” solemnity or artifice, is a mix of etic Poems. Wagamese confesses his grati- Do city girls ever pee outside? the dreamy and the sensible. Scofield has re- tude for pain, “and salvation that Tinkling on the starry grass Greenly wet and irreverent, the turned to live in comes/ with the acceptance of it/ when while having a little moment to think style and content is quintessen- Maple Ridge. you learn to hold it/ you can learn to tially coastal. A memorable de- 978-0-88971-262-1 about something? Gregory Scofield let it go/ it’s how an Indian prays.” but. 978-1-926655-23-9

23 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 THE VIKINGS RETURN

Icelandic Immigration to Canada, 1870-1920 Marian McKenna

THE VIKINGS RETURN presents the story of Icelandic immigration to Canada from 1870 to the First World War. Written in a narrative style, the author delves into heretofore untapped treasures of information in provincial and federal archives to explore and bring to light the hardships and trials as well as the successes and accomplishments of these early immigrants.

Is it not clear that now, as perhaps never before in this troubled world, what is most needed are adventurers with a new vision who have the courage and the fortitude to seek new horizons? Laura Goodman Salverson, from the fi rst editorial of Th e Icelandic Canadian magazine, 1942

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24 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 featureview NON-FICTION

refused to concede or Another task that tried to keep his name in the not the qualities required for the It’s a safe bet that most Canadians throw his support to an- Turner found distaste- public eye while avoiding public cutthroat competition of na- under 40 have little recollection of other candidate. The ful was the implemen- criticism of his former col- tional politics.” B.C.-based John Turner who was “195 club” formed the tation of the War leagues. But several speeches And a good thing, too. the prime minister from June to core of a political net- Measures Act in Octo- and articles critical of the Lib- Trudeau’s retirement lasted ex- September of 1984. work that would stand ber 1970 in response to eral government increased the actly as long as it took for Clark Turner’s short term as PM was by him at his next run FLQ kidnapping and gulf between Turner and to self-destruct. Trudeau roared only 10 days longer than that of Sir for the leadership, Shane murder. Trudeau. back with another majority in Charles Tupper in 1896, making though Litt says it was McCUNE Yet none of these This growing enmity, and the 1980, once more putting on ice him the second-shortest serving never the well-oiled po- affronts to his own prin- way proxies for the duellists any prime ministerial ambitions Canadian leader in history. Many litical machine outsiders liked to ciples was enough to push him waged war for the next few years, Turner might have had. people under 30 have no idea who imagine. to resign, so why did he suddenly provides some of Elusive Destiny’s He had other consolations. he is. Following the 1968 landslide, quit as finance minister in 1975? richest material, at least for those According to Litt, in 1983 Turn- Our reviewer Shane McCune re- Trudeau named Turner justice Litt hints it might have been of us political junkies who can’t er’s law firm was billing more ports Carleton University historian minister. Litt reminds us that it disappointment at Turner’s in- get enough of this stuff. than $20 million a year, and Turn- Paul Litt’s brisk account of Turn- fell to Turner, a Catholic, to guide ability to coax labour and busi- Given his 11 years as a dau- er’s personal income was reput- er’s life and times is well-paced, the through Parliament legislation ness to agree to voluntary wage phin waiting for the king’s exit, edly around $350,000 annually. characters are vividly drawn and the stiffening penalties for drunk driv- and price controls, or to spur it came as a shock to the Liberal He raked in six figures just in di- research is exhaustive. ing, relaxing the ban on abor- his cabinet colleagues to greater system that when Joe Clark rector’s fees from the 17 corpo- formed a minority government tion and legalizing homo- spending cuts to rein in inflation. rate boards on✫ which he sat. Elusive Destiny: The Political Vocation sexuality — though he didn’t ex- But then the author concedes it in 1979 and Trudeau announced of John Napier Turner by Paul Litt actly celebrate those ideals. just wasn’t in Turner’s interest his retirement, John Turner said WHEN TRUDEAU FINALLY RETIRED IN (UBC Press $39.95) “The conduct contemplated to stay. he would not seek the leadership. 1984, Turner, after some hesita- in this clause, homosexual acts “He had done everything he “If he truly lusted after power, HE HEADING ON PAUL LITT S tion, deigned to let his name ’ this was his moment to jump in, introduction to Elusive between consenting adults in could do in federal politics, short stand for nomination. He con- fight for the prize, and seize his Destiny is “The right man private, is repugnant . . . to the of being prime minister, and that veyed an attitude of a party stal- T great majority of the people of job wasn’t available.” destiny,” Litt writes. “Instead, he at the wrong time.” wart who had been waiting long was ambivalent and hesitant— Throughout the book Litt Canada,” he told the Commons. For the next few years Turner continued on page 27 keeps circling back to that theme, that Turner was a great prime minister manqué, thwarted by bad luck and bad timing. One can just as easily argue that Turner was one very lucky guy. His widowed mother snagged a civil service job during the De- pression and was able to send her son to private schools, where he was a popular and accomplished scholar and athlete. After the war his mother married a wealthy in- dustrialist and the family settled in a Point Grey mansion with an indoor pool. He was a big man on campus at the University of B.C., hosting fraternity parties and writing a sports column in the Ubyssey un- der his new nickname, Chick. He was also a track star, bound for the 1948 Canadian Olympic trials until a car crash wrecked his knee. He earned a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford, where he made contacts that would prove invaluable. His step- father’s connections landed him a job in a prestigious Montreal law firm. Political contacts helped him sidestep the Quebec bar exams. He became friends with Robert Kennedy, attended Canadiens games with Maurice Duplessis and dated Princess Margaret. Not exactly a hard-luck story. He won his first election cam- paign in Montreal in 1962, aided THETHE TINTIN MANMAN in part by computer analysis of the riding by the smart and mon- ied Geills Kilgour, whom he mar- ried in 1963. Just three years later he ran ASAS DAUPHINDAUPHIN for the Liberal Party leadership, casting himself as the bold young champion of a new generation. First B.C.-based “I’m not bidding now for your consideration at some vague Prime Minister convention in 1984 perhaps when I’ve mellowed a bit,” he John Turner announced with eerie presci- ence. “My time is now and now is finally gets no time for mellow men.” his bio But the new generation was falling hard for Pierre Trudeau, 10 years Turner’s senior. Trudeau won on the fourth ballot with 1,202 votes to 954 for Trade and Is John Turner (seen here with Pierre Trudeau), now 83, a tragic figure of Shakespearean proportions, or just a guy with Commerce Minister Robert Win- a pretty good life — more than 25 years of it in public service — who happened to have bad luck at being prime minister? ters and 195 for Turner, who had

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New from the Royal BC Museum

The Whaling People of the West Coast of Vancouver Island and Cape Flattery Eugene Arima and Alan Hoover $19.95

An intimate account of the traditional ways of the Nuu-chah- nulth (formerly Nootka), Ditidaht, Pacheedaht and Makah peoples, who enjoyed a highly organized culture for centuries before Europeans arrived. This important book explores the Whaling People’s unique relationship with the sea and the drastic changes they faced when Europeans arrived. It features 20 traditional narratives by First Nations elders, illustrated by the celebrated Hesquiaht artist Tim Paul. 978-07726-6491-4 6 x 9, pb, 272 pages, 95 photographs, drawings and maps Other Royal BC Museum books on the Whaling People …

Out of the Mist Nuu-chah-nulth Voices, Treasures of the Nuu-chah-nulth Chiefs Histories, Objects & Journeys Martha Black Edited by Alan Hoover $39.95 $42.95 978-07718-9547-0 978-07718-9458-7 Royal BC Museum books are distributed by Heritage Group.

www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/publications

26 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 featureview NON-FICTION continued from page 25 prime minister they didn’t really to adjust to the new political en- enough and now expected his like or trust because, compared vironment . . . . due, but he had been a private with his rival, he seemed a less “He was no longer the lean citizen for almost nine years and embarrassing representative of and hungry up-and-comer but had not even taken baby steps the nation.” an elder who felt he had paid his toward building a campaign ✫ dues and deserved respect. Years machine. FOLLOWING THE ELECTION DEBACLE, of adulation in the private sec- Litt quotes one party insider many thought Turner would re- tor had reinforced this mindset, after another describing the ut- sign immediately, and many instilled habits of indulgence, ter chaos of Turner’s campaign. thought he should. Litt recounts and conditioned him to defer- His supporters and the press had stunning incidents of brazen ence rather than dissent. Ironi- been expecting a slick machine back-stabbing by supporters of cally, the post-1984 Turner oiled and ready for the flick of a Trudeau and Chrétien, who seemed something of the switch. What they saw instead was campaigned openly for a lead- ‘mellow man’ the young Turner rust. ership review at the party’s 1986 had warned against in One journalist wrote that convention. 1968.” Turner on a campaign swing The author singles out Keith Litt says little about Turner’s “creaked and scraped and stum- Davey, the Liberals’ longtime family life, offering only occa- bled like the Tin Man waking up in “rainmaker” and a Trudeau loy- sional glimpses of Geills, who by Oz and looking for an oil can.” alist who eventually shifted his most accounts played a major The term “yesterday’s man” allegiance to Chrétien. Litt flatly role in Turner’s decision-mak- began to crop up. states Davey spread rumours that ing. The author obliquely ac- Turner somehow defeated Turner, like his mother, had knowledges rumours that Jean Chrétien to win the nomi- Alzheimer’s, and contends that Turner was too fond of Scotch, nation, but he still looked un- inaccuracies in Davey’s 1984 au- but neither confirms nor denies comfortable campaigning, tobiography smack of a rushed them. By and large he sticks to especially on TV, where his job to hit the bookstands in time politics and politicians. sweaty face, alarmingly intense for the 1986 convention. “If Turner had been elected eyes and constant throat-clear- But the anti-Turner forces in 1984 or 1988, in all likelihood ing bark made him too “hot” for overplayed their hand, produc- he would have been a successful the “cool” medium. ing a backlash that scotched any prime minister,” Litt insists. And then there was the bum- thought of a leadership review. It depends how you define patting. On Friday the 13th of That might have been a mistake. success, perhaps. The cruel but July, during a campaign event in During the 1984 election campaign, John Turner appeared on the Jack Turner entered the 1988 cam- obvious question is: Why read a Edmonton, CTV cameras Webster radio show in Vancouver, after Brian Mulroney had refused. paign with his party still in disar- biography of a man who seems caught Turner patting party ray. He more than doubled the noteworthy only in the degree president Iona Camp- 40 seats, their lowest ever (until elections did not depend on the party’s seat total to 82, but that of his political failure? agnolo on the behind. The net- 2011). candidate’s image on TV and still left Mulroney with a second Turner was a competent ad- work didn’t run the footage un- In the aftermath, pundits of- treatment at the hands of jour- majority. Turner resigned soon ministrator who wanted to be til a few days later, when he did fered various explanations of the nalists. afterward. PM, not because he had any the same to a female party offi- Liberal collapse. Turner had mis- That world had evaporated ✫ great vision for Canada, but be- cial in Quebec. takenly taken the party to the 24 years earlier during the ELUSIVE DESTINY WAS WRITTEN WITH cause it’s good to be king. “Turner had been warned right, allowing Mulroney to out- Nixon-Kennedy debates, and Turner’s co-operation, and he Ditto for Chrétien and Paul about patting bums during the manoeuvre him toward the cen- many politicians less experi- agreed to speak about it at the Martin. leadership race,” Litt writes. “The tre. Or he was doomed by enced and less likeable than Economic Club of Canada in And if Jean Chrétien was warning didn’t register, because pent-up resentment of Pierre Turner (Bill Bennett, Gordon November. It may not be a warts- Cassius to Turner’s Caesar, the he thought he needed no advice Trudeau. Or the media had Campbell and Stephen Harper, and-all portrait, but for an au- same could be said of Brian on gender relations. There were ganged up on him unfairly. to name three) have engineered thorized biography it has an Mulroney’s earlier ouster of Joe a number of strong women in Litt finds a measure of truth electoral success despite a nota- ample supply of cringe-inducing Clark or, for that matter, Paul his life, and he treated them with in all of these theories, but al- ble lack of warmth or wit. vignettes and critical observa- Martin’s subsequent knife job respect. He encouraged women lows that “some of the blame Nonetheless Litt nails the tions. on Chrétien. to enter politics and strongly must be laid on Turner.” And electorate’s attitude at the chap- “When he returned to pub- Litt even suggests Turner’s endorsed women’s causes.” what were Turner’s sins? Being ter’s close: lic life, he could be remarkably painstaking rehabilitation of the But Litt does note that too high-minded, the author ar- “Canadians ended up with a maladroit even after he had time Liberal party laid the ground- Turner made things worse by gues. Turner didn’t want to be work for its return to power. But refusing to apologize, which al- “seen as grasping for power.” He come on—the 1993 election re- lowed the issue to fester, in con- tried to micro-manage the cam- “Turner had been warned sult was all about Mulroney. If trast with Brian Mulroney’s paign not because he was a con- about patting bums during you’re looking for a Greek apology for the “old whore” pa- trol freak but out of “a misplaced drama of hubris and retribution, tronage remark about Bryce sense of responsibility.” the leadership race,” Paul Litt gather the chorus around the Mackasey. Feminists produced After saying that it is facile to writes… Feminists produced party that nosedived from 169 “bum shields” and reporters blame the media, Litt claims seats to two, not the one that fell dubbed Turner’s campaign mere “missteps” such as bum-pat- “bum shields” and reporters from 147 to 40. 978-0-7748-2264-0 plane “DerriAir.” ting and wilting in the debate dubbed Turner’s campaign Turner was already sinking by “might have been incidental un- “ Shane McCune is a former Province the time of the debate. The Lib- der different circumstances”— plane DerriAir. columnist who freelances from erals emerged from the vote with namely, a world in which Comox.

Reading the 21st Century Telling It to the Judge Books of the Decade, 2000–2009 Taking Native History to Court STAN PERSKY ARTHUR J. RAY

The state of the world, books, and reading. An expert witness’s account of using Native history to make Native law. “What makes Reading the 21st Century so appealing is Persky’s facility with the essay-review form.” Quill & Quire

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28 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 reviews KIDLIT

Double or Nothing by Dennis Foon (Annick $12.95) DON’T OFFEND

N DENNIS FOON’S APTLY TITLED THE TIGER teen novel, Double or Louis the Tiger Who Came From the Sea YOU BET YOUR LIFE by Michal Kozlowski & Sholto Walker Nothing, we enter the high- I (Annick $8.95) stakes adrenaline-rush life of Kip. It’s not drugs or alcohol that gets Kip high—it’s gambling. It’s not drugs or alcohol that gets HAT LOOKS LIKE A GIANT Kip high—it’s gambling. And in Now technology has upped the ante in his addiction. pumpkin, smells like this revised version of Foon’s W saltwater and snores? 2001 novel, unlike a kicks in and he’s back It’s Louis the Tiger Who Came decade ago, technol- in the game. Working From the Sea and he’s quite ogy has upped the three jobs to pay for the content to snooze in front of ante in addiction. first semester of univer- the fireplace and loll in the While other kids sity, Kip’s got it figured bathtub. But Ali and Ollie, and let high school turn out now. Any betting their parents, must find a way— them into “nodding he does will be with a don’t offend-the-tiger way— zombies,” Kip has the other people’s money. to get Louis back to his watery perfect antidote for He’ll get a degree and home. The author Michal Mr. Cheeseman’s become a stockbroker. Kozlowski also sits on the board droning take on Foon, who in- of Geist magazine. 978-1-55451-256-0 Hamlet. Spike life cludes potato peeler with a little bet. Dennis Foon and driver for an auto Maddy, ALL SYSTEMS JOE “I say the Cheese crusher company on does a belch in the next twenty his resume, is the founder of fifteen-year-old The Captain Joe Series by Emily Madill (Em & Joe Books Co $11.95) seconds.” Vancouver’s Green Thumb city girl that she Five bucks? Theatre for Young People and is, would prefer ESPITE DEGREES IN PSY- His friend Bongo coughs up the author of The Dirt Eaters, chology and busi- ten and suddenly Mr. Freewalker, and The Keeper’s to keep and stay ness, Emily Madill in- Cheeseman has Kip’s unwaver- Shadow, which make up the D “as far away sists motherhood is the most ing attention. young adult Longlight Trilogy. creative and challenging job “Will he, won’t he, will he, Life, Above All, a screenplay from manure she’s had to date. Her series of won’t he?” Foon wrote for an adaptation of as possible.” four Captain Joe books encour- Bongo touches his wallet, im- Allan Stratton’s Chanda’s Secrets, ages children to cultivate ac- agining the dollars he’s about to was nominated for best foreign countability and empower- win. Or lose. Kip knows how it language film at the 2011 Acad- ment at a young age. They are works. Losers panic, they get emy Awards. 978-1-55451-348-2 designed to help generate self- worried. They stop having fun. esteem by helping children Losers buy lottery tickets COUNTRY TEEN learn conscious control of their when the chances of getting hit Farmed Out by Christy Goerzen thoughts and moods. by lightning are a “hundred (Orca $9.95) Captain Joe to the Rescue times better” than winning the introduces Captain Joe who big one. N FARMED OUT BY CHRISTY employs an invisible ‘thought- Losers are the panhandlers Kit Goerzen, Maddy’s mom’s zapping wand’ to select healthy brushes off. How they ended up I idea of adventure, not to thoughts. Captain Joe Saves the hitting bottom is a “mystery,” but mention a dose of mother- Day teaches children to elimi- not a mystery he can be bothered daughter bonding, is a week on nate self-limiting beliefs as Joe to figure out. an organic farm feeding goats, saves himself from a swampy pit. ✫ mucking out stalls and braiding Captain Joe’s Gift teaches chil- THEN HE MEETS SASSY, INDEPENDENT garlic. dren about the importance of Joey and Kip knows he’s met “You’ve never felt earth be- Cover art from Farmed Out (Orca) being authentic and believing “the” girl. It’s icing on the cake tween your fingers,” she trills. in themselves. Captain Joe’s when her father “the King” turns Maddy, fifteen-year-old city girl ter isn’t so bad after all. ers in the Orca Current series. Choice similarly stimulates chil- out to be an actual magician that she is, would prefer to keep Anna can’t stand hippies ei- Her first, Explore, deals with a dren to choose thoughts that and, even more tantalizing, a it like that and stay “as far away ther. Maddy’s been dragged to troubled teen who chooses an feel good. The four books are whiz at the racetrack. from manure as possible.” enough Wild Women Weekends outdoor adventure rehab pro- sold together as a set, with a One afternoon with “the Her big plan is to use the re- that she’s come up with what she gram over juvenile detention. teacher’s guide. www.emilymadill.com King” and Kip walks maining summer vaca- calls the DDP factor Past occupations for Goerzen, Rescue 978-0981257907; away with five hundred tion to come up with —drums, dreadlocks and a library communications man- Captain Joe Saves the Day 9780981257914; bucks. Soon, though, the winning entry in an patchouli. “DDP! That totally ager, include book reviewer, Captain Joe’s Gift 978-0981257921; those afternoons at the art magazine contest describes the volunteers,” Anna television writer and book- Captain Joe’s Choice 978-0981257938 track aren’t quite as and nab first prize. cries, and with their mutual seller. 978-1-55469-910-0 Louise Donnelly writes from Vernon profitable. But Kip’s That’s her idea of ad- scorn she and Maddy begin to not worried about loan- venture—a one-week warm to each other. ing money to King. Louise all-expenses paid trip to Meanwhile, Maddy’s vegetar- Emily Madill “…when he’s flush New York City with ian mother has discovered the with sons again, he’ll pay me DONNELLY passes to all the art gal- goats she’s thoughtfully named Joe 4.5 years back. Double. It’s a total win-win leries and her artwork on the (she names everything) are meat and situation.” magazine’s cover. animals destined for a short ap- Jake 1.5 years Still, the fickle “Goddess of “We’ll be VOF-ers,” her pearance on various restaurant Gambling” demands her due mother adds--referring to Volun- menus and she’s ready to call it and Kip finds himself withdraw- teer Organic Farmworkers. quits. But Maddy’s just realized ing more and more from his Maddy barely has time to pack Frida Cowlo, Anna’s beloved university fund to bankroll a des- her treasured Andy Warhol t- prize-winning uni-browed 4-H perate yet still hypnotically com- shirt before they’re rattling off Jersey, could be her ticket to the pelling King and his own to the Okanagan Valley in an an- Big Apple. No one else would escalating attraction to the ca- cient Dodge Colt her mother think to submit a portrait of a sino. calls Dave. cow. Then Kit discovers on-line Pressed into service as a Vol- When the inspirational cow gambling. “It’s a gimme, a no- unteer Organic Farmworker suddenly dies, Maddy makes one brainer… King didn’t know (“only” four hours a day), Maddy of the biggest sacrifices of her when to quit. He kept going af- finds herself stuck with her young life. She leaves behind her ter he lost his nerve.” But not flaky, tarot-card-reading, pink- finished, certain-to-win portrait Kip. “No stars in these eyes.” He unitard-clad mother, the hus- for a grieving Anna and, with it, puts down three hundred. “I’ll band-and-wife farm owners who any chance to make the dead- know by tomorrow night how remind her of the “creepy” paint- line for the contest. On the Fri- much I’ve cleaned up.” ing, American Gothic, and their day before school starts, though, With the education fund hostile daughter, Anna. Plus Maddy gets a startling surprise cleaned out and hit with there’s no cell phone service. But in the mail. the startling news of King’s sui- the grub—plum jam, fresh eggs, ✫ cide, Kip is briefly derailed. Then homemade bread—is amazing FARMED OUT IS CHRISTY GOERZEN’S the optimism of a born gambler and, as it turns out, the daugh- second book for reluctant read-

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30 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 featureview NON-FICTION

BY JOHN MOORE “Agriculture is the new golf,” The Urban Food Revolution by Peter he writes. That chapter Ladner (New Society $18.95) THE GNAWING heading isn’t as whimsical as it first seems. I laughed when I read OOD IS THE NEW OIL. TIME Ladner’s admission that he’d magazine and The Walrus REVOLUTION IS AT HAND ripped up his Kitsilano front Fin Canada both ran cover In large cities all over North America— the ‘taking back’ lawn to plant fruit trees, vegeta- stories in September on the so- bles and berries because a few cial and environmental issues af- of urban turf by green and leafy things is gaining momentum. years ago I, too, started replac- fecting food supply and quality. ing decorative hedges with rows But feeding large urban global warming and runaway table with a dollop of worked to get the issue of blueberry bushes and rasp- populations isn’t a new problem. technology (genetically modi- aerosol whipped top- of food security onto berry canes, replacing ornamen- When civil war broke out in fied foods) have leapt from our ping whose label as- the council table and tal shrubs with fruit trees, digging ancient Egypt between Cleo- TV screens into our frying pans. sures us it is an “edible also served as a liaison up more lawn and planting more patra and her brother, Rome’s ✫ oil product.” Big cities to the Vancouver potatoes (the herbaceous bor- Julius Caesar intervened and AFTER READING THE OPENING CHAPTERS become places where Food Policy Council. der you can eat). made Egypt a Roman protector- of Peter Ladner’s The Urban Food only the rich can afford Partly as a result, Van- Growing and eating your ate, but not out of the goodness Revolution, most urbanites and to enjoy ‘authentic’ couver has a food char- own food is a heck of a lot more of his heart. Caesar was thinking suburbanites will likely agree with foods. ter and added over satisfying than whacking a ball of an organ a bit lower in the his perspective: “The growing Increasingly all our Peter 2,000 food-producing around, (or mowing) a vast ex- toga. Rome was already so popu- gap between our immediate environmental prob- Ladner community garden pensive and inedible patch of lous it was dependent on im- world and the distant worlds that lems are connected— plots as part of the grass. ported Egyptian grain—the feed us is starting to gnaw at peo- but as Peter Ladner convincingly 2010 Olympic and Paralympic ✫ bread for its circuses. ple. They see pieces of their lives points out that might actually be Games legacy. ANYONE WHO GREW UP IN VANCOUVER The magnificent pre- fraying, and they see how much a good thing; because the solu- The Urban Food Revolution over the last four or five decades, Columbian cities of Central of that disintegration is related tion to one problem could go a grew out of Ladner’s activism. It like Ladner, has also seen the America were “mysteriously” to the food they eat—or don’t long way toward solving others. provides a fascinating and well- process of ‘food desertification’ abandoned by their occupants. eat. They see the most primal el- ✫ researched overall guide to a first hand. Vancouver’s hinter- Excavation of the surrounding ement of personal survival put THE TOWN OF LADNER, WHERE movement that is gaining mo- land used to be the Fraser Val- farmland has since suggested the into the hands of underpaid for- Peter Ladner grew up, was mentum in large cities all over ley, “bottomland” rich in topsoil more likely explanation for their eign workers, a few large corpo- named for his great grandfather. North America and Europe— spread by the Fraser River for demise was that Mayan cities sim- rations, and distant mega-farms Ladner is qualified to write the ‘taking back’ of urban turf millennia. Local produce was so ply out-grew the ability of their and processors dependent on about food and the environment by green and leafy things that are abundant it supported a food- hinterlands to feed them. diminishing supplies of cheap oil not because he’s a farmer, (he’s good for you. processing and export business For centuries, as long as most and water.” not), but because he’s had the The process embraces every under the Fraser Vale label, un- people on the planet lived on World class cities have world experience of watching a small approach from the very simple— til 20 years ago. the land, in rural villages or small class problems and one of them rural village, surrounded by such as window-boxed tomatoes In the 1950s and ’60s when I country towns, the occasional is that they have become “food farms, gobbled up and paved and herbs or turning your lawn was a kid, Richmond was divided urban catastrophe was small deserts” where the only dessert over to provide suburban hous- into a potato patch—to the in- up into small holdings intensely potatoes. But then the Industrial on the menu is strawberries that ing as an aggressively expansion- genious—such as rooftop gar- cultivated by Chinese farmers Revolution in Europe and North travelled two ist Metro Vancouver pursues its dens on buildings. Socially who sold to local supermar- America created multiple large thousand dream of becoming a “world complex; neighbourhood com- kets—which now get their pro- cities filled with people who had miles to the class city,” as local journalists munity gardens on vacant lots ac- duce from California or left the hard agricultural life for never tire of saying. tually appear to reduce crime Mexico—or off the backs of jobs in manufacturing and trans- A journalist who was drawn and ameliorate homelessness by trucks that would just come to portation. into local politics and served providing food and a sense of our neighbourhoods in North Humankind has temporarily two terms as a Vancouver pride and satisfaction to local or West Van and park, drop solved the problem of feeding city councilor, Ladner people. the tailgate and draw a itself by industrial ingenuity— crowd of housewives with devising railroads and refrig- baskets and bags. eration, breeding plants and Most of the animals for higher yields and rich fertile longer storage life, but (and limited) lo- usually at the expense of cal land that pro- flavour and nutritional duced the vegetables value. I ate as a child is now “You are what you under asphalt and eat,” said back-to-the- concrete, covered by land hippies in the six- houses and condos, sacrificed to ties. Much earlier the rising land taxes and real estate 18th century gour- speculation. mand Jean Anthelem But The Urban Food Brillat-Savarin had Revolution provides the suste- said, “Tell me what nance of hope for change. you eat and I will tell 9780865716834 you what you are.” Now, for about five Novelist and critic John Moore decades, we have been doesn’t play golf in the living in a state of high Garibaldi Highlands. anxiety, as the problems of energy, clean water,

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31 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 reviews NON-FICTION Experts want more with an illicit field trip made by Fraser in 2005, born of frustra- control of dinosaur tion, after which all casts and finds and make no tracings made were confiscated. With scrupulous fairness and bones about it objectivity, Vivien Lougheed has written a gripping cautionary BY MARGARET THOMPSON tale about human mismanage- Sidetracked: the struggle for BC’s fossils by Vivien Lougheed (Creekstone Press $21) ment. Sidetracked raises important OST PEOPLE WILL ADMIT TO questions about the roles of the a fascination with dino- amateur and the professional, M saurs. They can under- about acknowledgement, about stand the thrill of stumbling training of para-professionals, across skeletal remains pre- and the responsibilities of gov- served in rock or being the first Vivien Lougheed ernment. to follow the ghostly tracks of at Donjek Glacier It explains the need for con- some ancient creature since the in Kluane sistent definition and legislation, day it squelched across a muddy National Park. and timely protection of fragile shoreline millions of years be- remains from the elements and fore. mercantile interests. As Vivien Lougheed makes Without clearly defined leg- clear in Sidetracked: The Struggle islation, amateurs, who may or for BC’s Fossils, paleontology owes FOSSILFOSSIL FUELEDFUELED DEBATEDEBATE may not have paleontological a great deal more to amateur en- PHOTO expertise, and who may want thusiasts than most other nothing more than recognition SPEED branches of science, for they are of their part in the find or some the ones who often make the dis- LEO minor role in its extraction, will coveries. but “swirling debate” is an under- the discovery by amateurs—two tion and professional practice continue to come up against But who should govern con- statement to describe the tug of of them small boys—of a governing the extraction, study professionals with their own con- trol of fossils? How quickly must war over the Monroe Dinosaur number of fossilized remains, and disposition of fossils. cerns, often legitimate, but some- amateurs cede ground and find- Trackway in Kakwa Provincial mainly in north-eastern BC. Having made this background times venal, and a bureaucracy ings to experts? Park, 44 miles north of McBride. Lougheed establishes the im- clear, Lougheed returns to the that by its very nature is inflex- “Paleontology,” according to That conflict is at the heart portance of the vertebrate fossil story of the Kakwa trackway. ible, confusing and glacially slow. Stephen Jay Gould at the outset of Lougheed’s closely re- record in the area, as well as the This is a saga of hope and frus- As Lougheed makes clear, sci- of Sidetracked, “though imbued searched account of the discov- fragility of some of the finds, in- tration, of compromise offered ence—the pursuit of knowl- with the usual swirling debate so ery and ensuing battles over the cluding another trackway which and either ignored or ob- edge—is all too easily characteristic of all interesting Kakwa trackway—first discov- simply collapsed and disap- structed, of promises made and “sidetracked” by human frailties. science, is a relatively friendly ered by Bryan Monroe and Gar- peared before it could be docu- broken, of the politics of grants 978-0-9783195-5-7 profession.” net Fraser on a hunting mented and studied. and municipal ambition, of aca- True enough. And there are expedition in 2000. Like amateur enthusiasts, demic turf wars and the mighty Margaret Thompson has written lots of examples of cooperation The first chapters whet the readers will find themselves con- clash of egos. numerous non-fiction books, most and even altruism in Sidetracked, reader’s appetite by recounting fronted by the maze of regula- These conflicts culminate recently Adrift On The Ark.

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32 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 reviews FICTION

Shelter by Frances Greenslade future and, in her case, it quently and ironically, she is soon ready lost her father and mother, (Random House $29.95) seems more of a liability without it. so what more could possibly hap- than an asset. Her sense Shelters take many forms in pen? Like their surroundings, ET IN WILLIAMS LAKE AND THE of foreboding pre- the novel: a car, a tent, a shack, a the characters are roughly Chilcotin, Frances Green- cedes the death of tree house, a trailer, a snow cave, hewn, largely unknowable. Al- Sslade’s debut novel, Shel- her beloved father in even just a hole in the ground; though their actions are often ter is mostly about two sisters in a logging accident. all are capable of providing predictable, you never get to search of their mother. Shortly before his comfort and security. know the whys, hows or whens. The tale spans four years in death, he teaches After her husband’s It’s a plot-driven novel in which the 1960s and early 1970s, in her the importance death, Irene seems unable— the supernatural seems oddly Duchess Creek, a fictional small of shelter. Together or just unwilling—to continue commonplace. community a little beyond they construct a lean- renting their little home. She The book falls into three sec- Williams Lake in the rolling to from a tree, eventu- abandons Duchess Creek for a tions: food, water, and fire, but Chilcotin hills, a land of harsh ally taking refuge in it summer job, followed by camp- while food, water, and fire, winters, hot summers, forests, during a subsequent down- ing in the wild Bella Coola valley, abide, the greatest of all is shel- grasslands and mountains, and pour. If she ever gets lost, he taking her girls with her. Some- ter. Although some may find the tough, independent people. tells her, it’s shelter that must thing happens during plot overly predictable, The Dillon family lives in a come first, before this camping trip that and the situations a tad shabby, unfinished little cabin food, water or has repercussions and stereotypical, Shelter with no indoor plumbing, scant fire. Subse- leads to more trouble. promises to be a hit electricity, no refrigeration, and Trouble #2. with many, with rights scanter still, insulation. The Eventually the having been already mother, Irene, cooks on a wood girls are dropped sold in the U.S., Ger- stove. off at a dreary Cherie many, Holland and the Patrick works with a partner home in Williams U.K. at a small sawmill, and the family Lake, to board THIESSEN ✫ squeaks by. Mealtime is redolent with the unhappy Bea ORIGINALLY STARTED IN 1992 WHEN with the smells of fried bologna, and her wheelchair- Frances Greenslade was com- venison, tomatoes and boiled bound husband, Ted, a pleting her MFA degree at UBC, turnip. TROUBLE family acquaintance. Shelter was completed while care- Still, it’s a shelter, and the Jenny and Maggie wait taking a large, remote property Dillons seem happy enough. for their mother to get near Chilliwack with her new hus- Maggie and her older sister, settled and send for band. The manuscript sat on the Jenny, are close. Irene seems like them, but it never hap- back shelf while life intervened. the perfect mother: adventur- COMES IN pens. After the couple moved to Sas- ous, frightened of nothing, in- How could a de- katchewan and she had her son, dependent and caring. Patrick, voted mother leave Greenslade re-wrote Shelter over a moody but gentle drunk who her children be- a two-year period. likes to disappear, shares special THREES hind? Where has Greenslade’s husband is par- experiences and confidences THREES she disappeared tially responsible for the moody, with his favourite, Maggie, and to? beautiful, yet temperamental set- shows his love for his wife by jerry- Tough people, tough All of Irene’s ting. When Greenslade met him, rigging her a bathtub on the times and tough love correspond- he beguiled her with tales of grow- fringe of the forest. ence with Jenny ing up in the Chilcotin, instilling The girls go off to school comprise Chilcotin and Maggie has in her a need to see this unknown daily on the school bus. Part-time stopped, along land. While exploring there in jobs don’t seem difficult for coming-of-age tale with the their VW van, Greenslade began them to come by. The sunny cheques she to imagine the sisters in the novel, Jenny is popular, and the intro- was sending Jenny and Maggie. spective Maggie is mature be- for the girls’ Shelter was preceded by a yond her years, content but Debut novelist board. Now travel memoir, A Pilgrim In Ire- suspicious that things are about Frances Jenny is 15 land: A Quest for Home, winner of to get worse. And so they do. Greenslade and Maggie the Saskatchewan Book Award At age ten, Maggie Dillon sits teaches at 13, with no for Non-Fiction, and a birthing uneasily on the fringes of life, Okanagan mother in memoir, By the Secret Ladder: A waiting for her perch to topple. College in sight, and Trou- Mother’s Initiation. 978-0-307-36031-1 She also suspects that trouble re- Penticton. ble #3 is about to ally does come in threes. She has manifest itself. Cherie Thiessen reviews fiction an innate ability to foresee the Maggie has al- from Pender Island. FROM IRAQ WITH LOVE

The Circle by Manolis (Libros Libertad $23) ther complicated when the two guidance of his wealthy uncle ing up in Greece, children were of them fall in love with Ameri- Ibrahim Mahdi, he learns not to routinely taught to hate the ORN IN CRETE, THE PUB- can women. Emily and Jennifer be prejudiced against the Ameri- Turks, their former occupiers. lisher, poet and novelist are the wife and daughter of cans that he meets in his daily “When a child hears this again Bknown as Manolis moved Matthew Roberts, a member of life in L.A. and to avoid punish- and again,” he says, “you carry it to Thessaloniki for his childhood, the CIA unit that had a direct ing Jennifer for her father’s in- inside you no matter what be- and went on to receive his Bach- role in the decision to go to war volvement in the war. nign form it might be in, and it elor’s degree in political science with Iraq in 2003. The artful writing conveys a comes out eventually.” from the Panteion Uni- The relationships be- sense of humility that all the char- Driving a cab in Vancouver versity of Athens. He tween the Iraqi men and acters share. Hakim and Talal do in the 1980s, Manolis once served in the armed the American women not monopolize the dialogue. picked up a fare who asked him forces for two years be- manage to be both sub- There is an overarching under- where he was from, and in re- fore immigrating to tle and passionate. Argu- standing provided to all the char- turn he asked the passenger his Canada in 1973, where ably the strength of the acters. Even Matthew Roberts, country of origin. When the man he took classes in Eng- story is that Manolis the CIA member, is written with answered Turkey, Manolis said lish literature at Simon Roxana takes care to neither a high degree of compassion the intensity of his reaction to PHOTO Fraser University. NECSULESCU overemphasize or un- rather than judgment. the man shocked him, especially

Manolis now writes in derplay the importance TWIGG ✫ as he was in his 30s and an other- both English and Greek. of differing nationalities. Manolis looks at war THE CIRCLE WAS CONCEIVED SHORTLY wise mature, rational person. Primarily set in Pasadena and Manolis’ background in po- after the beginning of the war in Nothing passed between the Los Angeles, his new novel The etry is apparent throughout. ing its wings to the heights of the Iraq: “It’s a look at war from the two men, but it did inspire a story Circle features two Iraqi men, When describing the love affair sky.” point of view of the citizen, what that was published in a Greek Hakim and Talal, who are study- between Talal and Emily, he As the novel unfolds, Hakim happens to him once the bombs magazine, and that story has pro- ing in the United States. The writes: “Talal sits listening to the gains a greater awareness of hor- stop falling,” Manolis told Surrey vided the context for The Circle. third-person narration follows song of the wind through the rific events that transpired dur- Now. 9780978186524 the relationship of the two men small park where they sit, a song ing the American/Iraqi war. He Learned hatred for a previ- as well as their relationship with that unfolds slowly and methodi- also learns to gradually accept ous national foe is something Roxana Necsulescu is a contribut- America, which becomes fur- cally like a majestic eagle spread- the past and move on. Under the Manolis knows firsthand. Grow- ing editor to BC BookWorld Express

33 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 WHO’S BRITISHCOLUMBIA WHO is for Arcan

THE TOPSELLER FROM ANVIL PRESS IN Vancouver these days is a translated novel, “Miss Canada” from a Red Star Line Exit (Anvil $20), by escort sex worker poster that personified the sort of new and novelist Nelly Arcan who hanged Canadian immigration promoters herself in her Montreal apartment on Sep- hoped would settle Canada. tember 24, 2009, having just completed From Selling Canada by Daniel Francis. Exit, her fourth novel, called Paradis clef en main in French. Arcan’s first semi-autobi- ography novel about sex, Putain (2001), translated in English as Whore (2004), was a finalist for two of France’s most prestigious literary prizes. Literary stardom followed. Translated by David Scott Hamil- ton, Exit has received a Governor Gener- al’s Award nomination. 978-1-897535-66-0

(D&M), Vancouver Kids (Brindle & Glass) can childhood infused with guns, Repub- by Lesley McKnight and Wayde lican politics and dissent. In response to Compton’s After Canaan (Arsenal is for Francis the moral quagmire of Vietnam, Gayton Pulp). Compton is the new writer-in-resi- has become a passionate Canadian ecolo- dence for the Vancouver Public Library, gist attached to rugged landscapes. DAN FRANCIS’ SELLING CANADA: THREE sponsored by Yosef Wosk. 9781554688296 Okanagan 9781897522813; Facing 978-1-897235-79-9 Propaganda Campaigns that Shaped the Nation (Stanton, Atkins & Dosil $45) re- calls, with extensive illustrations, how the is for de Groot national government mounted propa- Nelly Arcan ganda campaigns to convince European immigrants to populate the prairies, to en- JAN DE GROOT’S GOAL IN PURCHASING A 140-foot gaff-rigged ketch named Raven courage young Canadian men to enlist in was to provide sailing adventures for un- World War I and to attract tourists to visit derprivileged kids in B.C. He had no idea Canada’s awe-inspiring natural wonders is for Blanchet his voyage to bring it home to Vancouver with the completion of the Canadian Pa- from the Bahamas, with a crew of 31, cific Railway line in 1885. 978-0-9809304-4-3 ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN SCOTLAND IN 1961 would result in a sailing memoir of par- when its author was 70 years old, anormal distress, The Riddle of the Raven: W. Wylie Blanchet’s The Curve of A Sailing Ship Possessed by a Ghost (Sono is for Gayton Time (Whitecap $24.95) is the most en- Nis $15.95). Built in 1920, the Raven during bestseller about sailing and cruis- was seemingly haunted by the ship’s origi- ing along the Pacific coast of Canada. This nal owner who was crushed to death be- DON GAYTON HAS WON THE 2011 PEACE CORPS Visakha (pronounced VishAkhA) Travel Book Award for his quirky and lyri- lives near Ashcroft in Sharanagati unlikely classic, re-released for a 50th an- tween the ship and a dock. 1-55039-183-6 Vedic Village, a community of niversary edition, recalls Blanchet’s 15 sum- cal exploration of his home territory, devotees who live in service to Swami mers with her five home-schooled children Okanagan Odyssey: Journeys Through Terrain, Terroir and Culture (Rocky Prabhupada. The word Sharanagati aboard a 25-foot by 6.5-foot cedar means surrender in Sanskrit. launch named Caprice. The anniversary is for Evans Mountain $16.95). Having volunteered edition contains new photos, a new intro- with the Peace Corps in Colombia in the late 1960s, Gayton has since merged fic- duction and an afterword by Eileen THE ROBERTS CREEK PROPERTY OF ONE OF tion and non-fiction for Man Facing West Blanchet. 978-1-77050-037-2 B.C.’s most venerable authors, Hubert (Thistledown $18.95), recalling an Ameri- is for Harmony Evans, went up for sale this year. Evans and his wife built their seaside home in “I FIRST HEARD OF BHAGAVAD-GITA WHEN I 1926. Robert Bakewell of San was trekking with my then boyfriend (now is for Christie Francisco reports that his father, Ernest husband) John in the Himalayas way Bakewell (1898-1983) met Evans back in the summer of ’71,” writes A FORMER SKATEBOARDING ATHLETE AND during the early 1930s, and soon after- Visakha Dasi. Having moved with writer for Color magazine, Michael ward quit his managerial position at the her family in 1999 from Los Angeles to Christie of Galiano Island earned his mill in Ocean Falls to run for the BC legis- the Saranagati Village, in the Venables Val- MFA from the UBC creative writing pro- lature in 1933. He was elected under the ley, near Ashcroft, B.C., under the name gram and produced his first collection of banner of the newly founded CCF for the of simply Visakha, she has written a con- linked short stories, The Beggar’s Garden former provincial coastal electoral district templative and humorous memoir, Har- (HarperCollins $24.99), about disparate of Mackenzie. Evans shared Bakewell’s Faded polaroid mony and the Bhagavad-gita: Lessons from lives in the Downtown Eastside of Van- political sympathies and they became close of Don Gayton, a Life-Changing Move to the Wilderness couver. First reviewed in B.C. BookWorld, friends. Bakewell’s eldest son, David, mar- Peace Corps (Torchlight $14.95) to demystify the age- it has earned him the City of Vancouver ried one of Hubert Evan’s two daughters, volunteer, old wisdom of the Bhagavad-gita, the im- Book Prize. Also shortlisted were Lynne Elizabeth. The property has remained Colombia, 1966. mortal Hindu text, revered by 850 million Bowen’s Whoever Gives Us Bread in the Bakewell/Evans family ever since. people. More info: abcbookworld.com. 978-0-9817273-5-6

34 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 is for Intermedia

INTERMEDIA PRESS, MAINLY MANAGED BY Ed Varney and Henry Rappa- port, was an experimental Vancouver lit- erary press in the 1960s and ’70s. It was an outgrowth of Vancouver’s Intermedia Society (a collective of artists, poets, danc- ers, musicians and film-makers) that pro- duced a groundbreaking series of exhibitions, performances and public in- Bernadette McDonald is the terventions. Michael de Courcy founding vice-president of Mountain has assembled an extensive video archive Culture at the Banff Centre and the of Intermedia material, including music by author of seven books on the Al Neil Trio, called An Intermediate international mountaineering. Revolution, now freely available via his website, www.michaeldecourcy.com Boardman Tasker Prize. Established in 1983, the annual £3,000 award com- memorates the lives of Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker, two is for Jeck young British adventurers who perished while climbing Mt. Everest. The LLOYD JECK OF CLEARWATER HAS SELF-PUB- Boardman Tasker prize is given to the au- lished his second book of B.C. interior his- thor of an original work which has made tory, British Columbia Trails Heading an outstanding contribution to mountain North (Majeck $22.95), about little- literature. The prize will be awarded in No- known pioneers. He explains, “Two years vember at the Kendal Mountain Festival ago, a northern friend sang me a song about in Kendal, England. No Canadian has ever a young miner who frequented the won it. 978-1-926855-608 Omineca gold fields in the 1870s. This miner, Hugh Gillis by name, was born in Prince Edward Island in 1835. The song cut deep and left unanswered ques- is for Nobby tions. I could not resist the challenge of trying to find the answers.” Jeck has re- CECIL GEORGE “NOBBY” CLARK WAS 17 searched the Gillis story, along with the when he enlisted in the B.C. Provincial adventures of Frank Sylvester, Arnt Police, rising to the position of assistant Arntzen, John Freemont Smith. Ben commissioner in 1959. His books about Snipes and others. 9780968673119 the force’s cases cover the 92-year history of the first territorial constabulary in North America, is for Koppel founded in 1858 at the time of the SALT SPRING ISLANDER TOM KOPPEL HAS WON Fraser River Gold the new non-fiction prize offered by the Rush. Clark first re- University of the South Pacific Press in Fiji. leased Tales of the Cecil “Nobby” Clark He will receive $3,000 and a commitment British Columbia to publish his manuscript Mystery Islands: Provincial Police, published by Gray Discovery of the Ancient Pacific, expected Campbell, himself a former police officer in in the fall of 2012. Koppel’s previous 1971. Another Clark compendium has books are Kanaka:The Untold Story of Ha- been issued as The Man Who was Hanged waiian Pioneers in British Columbia and by a Thread (Heritage House $9.95). the Pacific Northwest; Powering the 9781926936949 Future:The Ballard Fuel Cell and the Race to Change the World; Lost World:Rewriting Pre- history-How New Science is Tracing Ameri- is for Okanagan ca’s Ice Age Mariners and Ebb and Flow:Tides and Life on our Once and Future Planet. WRITTEN IN A NON-TECHNICAL MANNER, Okanagan Geology South (Sandhill $24.95), edited by geologists Murray A. Roed and Robert J. Fulton, is for Lawrence includes roadside geologic maps of Osoyoos, Oliver, Okanagan Falls, White HAVING RECEIVED THE BILL DUTHIE Lake, Kaleden, Penticton, Naramata and Booksellers’ Choice Award and been nomi- Summerland. Ten volunteer contributors nated for the Edna Staebler Award for examine the origins and landforms, lakes Creative Non-Fiction, Grant Law- and streams of the South Okanagan Val- rence’s Adventures in Solitude: What ley, with more than 150 colour illustra- Not to Wear to a Nudist Potluck and tions. Dedicated to geologic pioneers Other Stories from Desolation Sound Hugh Nasmith and Hugh (Harbour $26.95) was one of five titles in Bostock. 978-0-9699795-3-1 the running for the Hilary Weston Writ- ers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction, the richest annual literary award for a book of nonfic- tion published in Canada. 978-1-55017-514-1 is for Persky

FOR READING THE 21ST CENTURY (MCGILL- is for McDonald Queens $34.95), Stan Persky has re- published a variety of essays and book reviews evaluating works by established FREEDOM CLIMBERS (RMB $32.95) BY authors such as Philip Roth, Orhan Pamuk, Bernadette McDonald of J.M. Coetzee, and José Saramago, as well as Naramata has won the $2,000 Grand emerging writers like Naomi Klein, Javier Prize at the 2011 Banff Mountain Book Cercas, and Chimamanda Adichie. He also Festival. It is also shortlisted for the 2011 continued on next page

35 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 WHO’SWHOBRITISHCOLUMBIA continued from page 35 rights. Telling It to the Judge (McGill- highlights reporters Steve Coll, Dex- Queens $34.95) is Ray’s account of court- ter Filkins, and Rajiv Chand- room strategies used in the effort to obtain is for Tuque rasekaran, who have written essen- constitutional recognition of Aboriginal tial books about global issues. “My qualifi- and treaty rights. 9780773539525 NEW, LEGIT PUBLISHING HOUSES ARE HARD cations for an overview of the books of the to find beyond the flurry of ebooks and decade go back to my first brush with lit- print-on-demand operations; new dis- erary criticism as a ten-year-old fifth grader, tributors for old fashioned books are even when I wrote a critical essay about is for Siegler rarer. Red Tuque Books in Penticton is a Herman Melville’s Moby Dick un- new consortium that represents independ- der the sensationalist title of “Bloated IN 2007, FOR HIS OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION ent publishers of B.C. ranging from nov- Whale Beached” (I found the sea-going to the book industry in British Columbia, elist George Payerle to Jewelle masterpiece a bit long). Since that preco- Talonbooks publisher Karl Siegler re- St. James who claims to have been cious debut, it’s been mostly downhill.” ceived the Jim Douglas Award. In 2008, John Lennon’s lover in a previous life. 9780773539099 Karl and Christy Siegler received St. James’ fourth book, The Lennon- lifetime memberships to the Canadian Bronte Connection (St. James $17.95) Association for Theatre Research in rec- reveals that John Lennon was the reincar- is for Quaker ognition of their contributions to Canadian nation of the troubled Branwell drama over a 30-year period. Now Karl Bronte, brother to England’s literary sis- Anna Kirkpatrick Siegler has officially stepped down from ters Emily and Charlotte. The Red UP A QUIET, DIRT ROAD IN A TINY Talonbooks, having first worked for the Tuque catalogue lists more than 100 titles, community at the north end of Kootenay publishing house in 1974, at the age of 26. all listed in Book Manager. 978-0-9732752-4-7 Lake sits the Argenta Friends Press. “For more than two decades,” says Anna Kirkpatrick, “we have been offering is for Ray high-quality, ethical printing services to clients nation-wide. We use simple tech- IN 1973, THE SUPREME COURT’S HISTORIC nology—and plenty of human power— Calder decision on the Nisga’a communi- to produce beautiful and practical printed ty’s title suit in British Columbia launched documents.” This summer the Argenta the Native rights litigation era in Canada. folks published Kenneth Hone’s Arthur J. Ray’s extensive knowledge pamphlet Awake and Aware (Argenta in the history of the fur trade and Native Friends Press $4), exploring civil disobe- economic history brought him into the dience from a Quaker perspective. Inspired courts as an expert by last summer’s G8/G10 demonstrations witness in the mid- in Toronto, this short work is both a care- 1980s. For over ful analysis and a call to action. “As a small twenty-five years he press in a rural location,” says Kirkpatrick, has been a part of “we can feel isolated at times. Reading BC landmark litigation BookWorld helps us stay connected to the concerning treaty independent literary scene in B.C.” rights, Aboriginal Arthur J. Ray Karl and Christy Siegler, then (1979) and now. www.quakerpress.ca; 978-0-920367-78-0 title, and Métis

A COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD QUICKIES is an affordable advertising vehicle exclusively for writers, artists, publications & events. BC For info on how to be included for just $112, BOOKWORLD UICKIES Q FOR INDEPENDENTS email [email protected] http://www.BrotherXII.com www.libroslibertad.ca Old Goat Press: [email protected] www.emilymadill.com www.bushpilotsmayday.com Your ad here. Glorious Victorians Call Celebrating residential Vortex by Manolis The Captain Joe Series architecture in B.C.’s capital Brother XII Bush Pilot’s Mayday In his new collection of poems by Emily Madill 604-736-4011 by Nick Russell by John Oliphant Manolis scans the vortex and sees by Ken Forscutt Life lessons for children. Available for Christmas in good The strange odyssey of a 20th-century in its turbulence and eddies, or email True life adventures based on logbook bookstores, or mail-order from BIO- prophet & his quest for a new world the clash and tease of love. ISBN 978-0981257907•$11.95 each [email protected] entries & recollections of pilots. Old Goat Press: [email protected] GRAPHY ISBN 978-0978097202 • $24.95 POETRY ISBN 978-1-926763-16-3 • $18 KIDLIT Available from Amazon.ca FLYING ISBN 978-0-9784514-0-0 • $19.95 HOUSES ISBN 978-0-9877889-0-0 • $34.95 awb.daemonflower.com www.davidtracey.ca www.jacksonthemoon.com thelistenergraphicnovel.wordpress.com www.sawchukportraits.com bcstudies.com

Available from: People’s Co-Op Books, Blackberry, Spartacus, Zulu, Comic Shop

Historian Richard Mackie, author of Moun- tain Timber (2009), is the new book reviews The Listener editor for BC Studies. Memories of Leilah Nadir Subversions by David Lester BC Studies Chekhov “This demands to be added 250-746-9451 Anarchist short stories Laura Sawchuk A journal of informed writing on Edited by Peter Sekirin to any shelf on which Anne This collection includes stories by Ron For High Quality [email protected] British Columbia's cultural, political, Sakolsky, Norman Nawrocki, Cara Hoffman Accounts of Anton Chekhov from Frank’s Diary, and Maus are and economic life, past and present. and others. Contact: his family, friends & contemporaries. BC Author Photos available.”—School Library Small Business. Subscribe today at bcstudies.com Journal (New York) SHORT [email protected] ISBN 9780786458714 • $45 PHOTO- Friendly and Affordable GRAPHIC Non-Profits. HISTORY STORIES ISBN 978-2-9805763-2-4 • $12 BIOGRAPHY Published by McFarland GRAPHY [email protected] NOVEL ISBN 9781894037488 $19.95 DESIGN MAGAZINE $68.25 • $47.25 (students)

36 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 sity of countries, traditions and kitchens. It was short listed for the 2011 Canadian is for Uirapuru Culinary Book Awards. Genest moved to the Yukon in 1994 and gradually discov- ered how to incorporate indigenous boreal UIRAPURÚ (OOLICHAN $19.95), P.K. PAGE’S adaptation of a Brazilian tale of transforma- ingredients. 978-1-55017-475-5 tion, has received the Bolen Books Chil- dren’s Book Prize for illustrator Kristi Bridgeman at the is for Zsuzsi 8th City of Victoria Book Prizes. In 2010, ALL SIX TITLES SHORT LISTED FOR THIS YEAR’S Bridgeman was short- Giller Prize for Fiction were published listed for the Governor Bruce Springsteen, 1974 from Ontario—no surprise there—but General’s Award for this year there were two B.C. authors in- Kristi Bridgeman children’s literature il- cluded. Zsuzsi Gartner was nomi- lustration for the same book. It’s the story of nated for her short story collection Better mischievous boys who go into the forest to is for Wiersema is for Corrections Living Through Plastic Explosives catch the Uirapurú bird with nets, bows (Hamish Hamilton) and Esi Edugyan and arrows. They meet an old man who has AFTER NOVELIST KEVIN CHONG WROTE HIS AS MENTIONED IN OUR SUMMER ISSUE, THE was nominated for Half-Blood Blues spent his life trying to mimic the Uirapurú’s book about the music of Neil Young, publishing house for Connie (Thomas Allen). All six nominees ap- song with a flute. 978-088982-264-6 novelist Robert J. Wiersema has Kurtenbach’s recollections of rural life peared at this year’s Vancouver Readers delved into non-fiction for his penetrating in the 1940s, In My Mother’s Garden and Writers Festival. veneration of The Boss with Walk Like A ($16.95) is Chris Banner’s Man: Coming of Age with the Music of imprint, Diamond River Books, at is for Van Luven Bruce Springsteen (Greystone $21.95). Part www.DiamondRiver.ca. In our Autumn memoir, it doubles as a tribute to his wife, issue, the French Revolution author SOMEBODY’S CHILD (TOUCHWOOD $19.95) is Cori, and others who have shared his deep Sylvain Maréchal, retrieved from an anthology of essays about adoption, co- appreciation for the singer-songwriter. relative obscurity by Sheila Delany edited by Bruce Gillespie, editor of 978-1-55365-845-0 for Anti-Saints (U. of Alberta $34.95) is Nobody’s Father (2008), and Lynne male, not female. Van Luven, editor of Nobody’s Mother Garden 978-0-9811376-9-8; Saints 978-0-88864-604-0 (2006). “Somebody’s Child incorporates Ca- nadian and American stories of every mem- ber affected by the adoption process: adoptive parents, adoptees, birth parents, is for Yukon grandparents, siblings and even foster fami- lies. Some essays discuss regret and longing, FOOD COLUMNIST FOR YUKON, NORTH OF while others embrace hope and inclusion. Ordinary, Michele Genest has Lynne Somebody’s Child also includes stories of shared the traditions and flavours of the Van transracial adoption and the search for iden- Luven Yukon in The Boreal Gourmet (Harbour Zsuzsi Gartner tity adoptees can face.” 9781926971032 $26.95). Recipes are inspired by a diver- NEXT ISSUE: SPORTS n his 77th birthday, Gerry James (right), subject of Ron Smith’s new Obiography, Kid Dynamite: The Gerry James Story (Oolichan $30) served as the honorary captain of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for their game against the Mon- treal Alouettes on October 22. Joining him for the coin toss in this battle for first place in the eastern division of the CFL was the Hon. Jim Rondeau, Manitoba Minis- ter of Healthy Living, Youth and Seniors. With less than a minute to go, the Bombers won the game 26 to 25. First winner of the Schenley Award for top Canadian in the PHOTO

CFL, the remarkable James won four Grey Cups with the Bombers and competed in BOMBERS the finals of the Stanley Cup with the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Montreal BLUE / Canadiens in 1960. The next issue of BC BookWorld will feature both fiction and sports DARICHUK

titles, with reviews of books on Gerry James (who lives on Vancouver Island) as well as

DAVE homegrown athletes Bobby Lenarduzzi and Percy Williams. 978-0-88982-276-4

Libros Libertad Publishing...28 Salmova Press...26 BC INDEX Literary Press Group...12 Sandhill Book Marketing Ltd...14 BOOKWORLD TO ADVERTISERS Madill, Emily...26 Sidney Booktown...30 McGill-Queens University Press...27 Sono Nis Press...5 Mother Tongue Press...35 Stanton, Atkins, & Dosil Publishers...30 Anvil Press...13 Friesens Printers...38 Nightwood Editions...13 Talonbooks...39 Arsenal Pulp Press...16 Galiano Island Books...32 Oolichan Books...24 Thomas Allen Publishers...12 Banyen Books...28 Granville Island Publishing...13 Orca Books...22 Touchwood Editions...7 BC Library Association...28 Great Plains Publications...24 People’s Co-Op Books...26 UBC Press...8 Bolen Books...30 Hancock House...32 Playwrights Canada Press...24 Vancouver Desktop...38 Book Warehouse...35 Harbour Publishing...40 Polestar Calendars...26 Victoria Book Prize Society...9 Caitlin Press...12 The Heritage Group of Publishers...10 Printorium/Island Blue...38 Village Books...26 Creekstone Press...28 Hignell Printing...38 Quattro Books...13 WestPro Publishing...26 Detselig...24 Houghton Boston...38 Quickies...36 Wilderness Committee...32 Douglas College/EVENT...28 Jewish Book Festival...4 Ronsdale Press...6 Yoka’s Coffee...30 Douglas & McIntryre...2 Leaf Press...26 Royal BC Museum...26

37 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 PRINTERS & SERVICES

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38 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 Talonbooks congratulates Garry Thomas Morse, Finalist for the 2011 Governor General’s Award for Poetry. Winner announced November 15!

Morse’s words are rhythmic as wild salmon, depart- Discovery Passages ing to explore a wider ocean but always coming GARRY THOMAS MORSE back home. —Russell Wallace

With Discovery Passages Garry Thomas Morse has With breathtaking virtuosity, First Nations poet remained true to what U.S. poet Gary Snyder has Garry Thomas Morse sets out to recover the stolen, called the work of poetry: seriousness, commitment appropriated, and scattered world of his ancestral to craft, and no bulls***, no backing away from any people, the Kwakwaka’wakw, from Alert Bay to of the challenges that are offered to you. Quadra Island to Vancouver, retracing Captain —Vancouver Sun George Vancouver’s original sailing route.

A vital cross-cultural work, urgent in both its anger Poetry · 128 pages and its celebration. Morse’s supple voice lifts off the $17.95 · 978-0-88922-660-9 page … —Daphne Marlatt

Rebuild textual vishyuns novel SACHIKO MURAKAMI image and text in the work of bill bissett bill bissett CARL PETERS

Sachiko Murakami approaches the urban centre bill bissett is recognized internationally as a pioneer bill bissett’s latest book, “a novel with connekting through its inhabitants’ greatest passion: real estate, of visual, concrete, sound, and performance poetry, pomes n essays,” is a response, by demonstrative where the drive to own engages the practice of yet very little critical work exists on his poetry, and example, to Jacques Derrida’s famous argument in tearing down and rebuilding. The poems of Rebuild almost no critical discourse exists on his visual work. Of Grammatology that any investigation of meaning engrave themselves on the absence at the city’s Drawing primarily from manifestos of aesthetic cannot escape the opposition of speech and language centre, its bulldozed public spaces. These poems theory, textual vishyuns locates bissett’s textual and central to the Western philosophical tradition. crumble in the time it takes to turn the page, words visual artistic praxis within the larger context of the Against this tradition, bissett posits Gertrude Stein’s flaking from the line like the rain-damaged stucco of history, theory, and practice of art. modernist observation that “everything is the same leaky condos. except composition …”

Poetry · 96 pages Non-fiction / Literary Criticism / Art Criticism · 224 pages Fiction · 176 pages $16.95 · 978-0-88922-670-8 $24.95 · 978-0-88922-661-6 $17.95 · 978-0-88922-671-5

Taking My Life JANE RULE

AFTERWORD BY LINDA M. MORRA

[A] beautiful piece of dryly ironic writing, deeply Rule the realist has illuminated with insight, joyous- thought out and intellectually honest, almost to the ness, tenderness and even pain the influences that point of pain. —Quill & Quire were to shape her as a writer and as a sexual being. It’s an absorbing read. Her great openness about Filled with deeply personal revelations, Taking My relationships, her insistence on the creation of Life conveys the confusion, poignancy, defiant community, her pursuit of truth … is very much in rebellions and historical realities of Jane’s first foot- evidence here. —Globe & Mail steps toward womanhood, toward becoming a lesbian, toward her destiny as one of our great Whether it serves as an introduction to a new literary writers. —Katherine V. Forrest voice or an illumination of an already beloved one, this book offers fascinating insight into Rule’s Autobiography · 288 pages formative years as a provocateur, intellectual, lover, $19.95 · 978-0-88922-673-9 and writer. —Publishers Weekly

Talonbooks Follow Talonbooks on Facebook and Twitter. www.talonbooks.com

39 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 40 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012