2 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2011-2012 PEOPLE At the Bali climate conference, TZEPORAH BERMAN 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.