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Bill Bissett 2007 YOUR GUIDE TO BOOKS & AUTHORS • DISTRIBUTED BY 700 OUTLETS IN BC FREETHANK YOU TO OUR READERS & DISTRIBUTORS•1987-2007 VOL. 21 • NO. 3 • AUTUMN • 2007 BOOKWORLDBC Ishmael Beah from Sierra Leone to Kitsilano th wun nd onlee FIND MORE THAN 8500 PHOTO bill bissett B.C. AUTHORS AAA www.abcbookworld.com Winner of the George Woodcock TRIPLE / SEE P. 13 SAWCHUK Lifetime Achievement Award. LAURA FIND MORE THAN RECKONING 2007 20B.C. AUTHORS th 16 ESSAYS INSIDE ANNIVERSARY ISSUE Publication Mail Agreement #40010086 CONTROVERSY WHO DO YOU THINK WE ARE? The name of British Columbia is no longer relevant—if it ever was—so why don’t we have a conversation about changing it? It’s a literary issue that a mature society ought to be able to consider. f you’re a Chinese British Columbian, or someone used by geographers for all from one of our First Nations, or, let’s say, someone of the new lands discov- ered by Columbus, (it was who has Japanese or German or Dutch or Bengali Reckoning 07 commonly used as a rhe- ancestors, does the name British Columbia sit well torical name for the US). with you? As Peter Newman has observed, roast beef “Sticking ‘British’ in ALAN TWIGG front was consistent with is now an ethnic dish. the naming method used connotes imperialism with a noun de- all over the empire, as in ‘British East Af- IHAVE FIVE GENERATIONS OF ANCESTORS You’ll discover that the Columbia in rived from an Irish saint to define where rica,’ ‘British Guiana,’ ‘British Hondu- Iwho have approved of the name Brit- British Columbia is NOT derived from and who we are. ras,’ etc. As the Akriggs wrote, ‘It ish Columbia—but increasingly I ask Christopher Columbus. America, after all, is named for the preserved the name of the empire lost to myself why other places on the planet Yes, Queen Victoria reputedly chose Italian merchant Amerigo Vespucci the Americans and at the same time it have seen fit to jettison that adjective the name British Columbia by joining simply because a German cartographer served as a reminder that a portion of it British, rejecting their colonial names the adjective British to the northerly por- named Martin Waldseemuller pro- had been saved, to grow and mature in and redefining themselves, whereas we tion of the Columbia fur trading district. duced a world map in 1507 that named another tradition.’ haven’t even talked about it. Yes, the Columbia fur trading district, the newly discovered continent after “I am sure this is closer to the Queen’s ✍ in turn, derived its name from the Co- Vespucci’s first name. thinking and that of her advisors than The archaic name of British Colum- lumbia River. The name of the Pacific Ocean is simi- the idea she was naming it after the Co- bia is not a burning issue. It doesn’t haunt Yes, the river was named on May 12, larly ludicrous. After Magellan success- lumbia River or the Columbia District, anyone’s dreams. 1792 after the ship Columbia Rediviva, fully navigated those straits near the which by this time had been formally Of course it would be costly to change that belonged to the American sea cap- bottom of the Americas, he happened ceded to the US. So I think it is a bit of a it. And we’d have difficulty deciding on tain Robert Gray, who was allegedly the to reach the new ocean on a day when it short circuit to say B.C. was named after a new name. first ‘white’ man to navigate up the was unusually calm, or ‘passive,’ hence an American ship and an Irish saint. But it’s a literary issue that has intrigued mouth of that river on May 11, 1792 (a the name Pacific was born—an absurd- There is a connection, but it is not the me for decades. Anyone interested in Spaniard got there before him, but that’s ity if you’ve ever ventured very far from main one.” onomastics—the study of names and nam- usually overlooked). this coast in any kind of boat. ✍ ing practices—might be entertained by But Gray’s ship was not named in ✍ Okay, okay. a brief enquiry into the origins of our honour of Columbus, the explorer, as So names are often nonsensical. But The name of British Columbia is ac- province’s name. most people would guess. in 2007, can we at least have some dis- ceptable if we want to respect the wishes Before we consider getting a new According to Wikipedia: “Columbia cussion about the name of our province? of a British queen who never saw the name, it’s a good idea to understand how Rediviva was a privately owned sloop un- The very idea of possibly changing the place. we got the old one. der Captain Robert Gray. The ship is name of British Columbia is cultural But is that good enough? ✍ usually known in history simply as the heresy in some people’s minds but surely Do the majority of British To understand the genesis of the Columbia, which was sent to the Pacific it’s about time for some sober reflection Columbians want to be defined as a Brit- name British Columbia, you can consult Northwest to trade for fur. on this issue. ish post-colonialists? Jean Barman’s The West Beyond The West “The ship is named for one of the ✍ Let’s have a vote. or perhaps the Akriggs’ British Colum- three patron saints of Ireland, St. “I think it is unlikely Queen Victoria bia Chronicle 1847-1871. Columb, or St. Columba, a great Irish (who was 39 in 1858 and given to strong As this year’s Shadbolt Fellow at Simon Fraser Or you can contact the experts on sailor who had the gumption to found a opinions on such issues as naming and University, Alan Twigg is mandated to gen- naming things, the folks who are mem- monastery on the island of Iona in Scot- protocol) wanted to name the new erate some healthy debate on public and social bers of the Canadian Society for the land in the sixth century A.D.” colony after an American ship or an Irish matters, and to serve as a bridge between Study of Names or the American Name ✍ saint,” writes Howard White, publisher academia and the general public. His forthcom- Society founded in 1951. Most British Columbians don’t know, of the Encyclopedia of British Columbia. ing book is Full-Time: A Canadian Soccer Ad- But it’s a lot quicker to Google the and they couldn’t care less, that a British “I think she had in mind that Columbia venture (Douglas Gibson Books/M&S), available answer from Wikipedia. monarch combined an adjective that was appropriate because it was the name in the spring of 2008. 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Deliveries: Ken Reid Ellis, David...33 O’Keeffe, Toni...33 Timeless Books...40 We acknowledge the Federation of BC Writers...33 Oolichan Books...16 UBC Press...8 assistance of Canada Council and the Province of Friesens Printers...42 Orca Books...24 U. of Toronto Press...33 British Columbia, through the Ministry of Community, George Ryga Prize...23 Penguin Books...18 Vancouver Desktop...42 Aboriginal, and Women’s Services. 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