2 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2009-2010

2 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2009-2010 2 BC BOOKWORLD WINTER 2009-2010

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2 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>


3 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>WHO’SWHOB R I T I S H C O L U M B I Ais for AmeliaHeidi Greco’s tiny chapbook A: TheAmelia Poems (Abbotsford: Lipstick Press$8) is dainty but ambitious. It attemptsnothing less than to retell the life story ofthe missing aviatrix Amelia Earhart,who disappeared in 1937 while crossing thePacific. Through furtive, fictionalized notesand poems, Greco incorporates speculationthat Earhart was captured by the Japaneseand likely imprisoned as a spy on Saipan—but not executed. “Building on theseP.O.W. theories,” she writes, “some havesuggested that the U.S. may have come toan agreement with Japan that securedEarhart’s release.” But Greco then deviatesfrom the theory that Earhart was placed inprotective custody and granted a false identitywhich allowed her to live out her daysin obscurity. A: The Amelia Poems imagines,“that when eventually returned to theU.S., she was forced to spend the rest ofher life in an asylum in New Jersey.”978-0-9781204-2-9is for Boschman“The most difficultthing is the decision toact, the rest is merelytenacity. The fears arepaper tigers. You cando anything you decideto do. You can act tochange and controlyour life; and theprocedure, the processis its own reward.”— AMELIA EARHARTAn English and women’s studies teacher atNorthwest Community College,Leanne Boschman of PrinceRupert has offered a poetic exploration ofthe port city’s rich environmental and socialhistory in A Rain Journal (Leaf Press$15.95). 978-0-97838799-9-0is for CrozierLorna Crozier of University of Victoria’swriting department has been inductedinto the Royal Society of Canada, one ofthe country’s highest academic honours. It’snot exactly an everyday occurrence for a poetfrom Swift Current who had to overcomefamily poverty and alcoholism. Crozier’snewest release of narratives and prose poems,Small Beneath the Sky: A Prairie Memoir(Greystone $28.95), looks unflinchingly ather upbringing. 978-1-55365-343-1The real Amelia Earhart,pictured here, is portrayed byHilary Swank in the new film Amelia.Earhart has previously beenportrayed in films by KatharineHepburn and Diane Keaton.is for Elzais for GardnerLorna Crozieris for DrabekA book about the Vancouver Olympics, inCzech, by Jan Drabek, has been publishedin the Czech Republic. Besides providinga list of venues and schedules for thegames, I Love You British Columbia—Winter Games in Vancouver (Oftis <strong>2009</strong>)includes essays, both humorous and pensiveand photos. Drabek is a columnist forthe Xantypa magazine, a Czech equivalentof Vanity Fair. He writes in both Englishand Czech.BRIAN BRETT PHOTOBorn in Bulgaria and raised in Nigeria,U<strong>BC</strong> doctoral student DanielaBouneva Elza, according to reviewerArthur Joyce, has naturally “remadelanguage in her own images” with her contributionsto 4 Poets (Mother Tongue$18.95), a volume conceived to showcasethe work of four emerging writers.is for Frobb978-1-896949-02-1A Pain Management physician with a specialfocus on Orthopedic Medicine Rehabilitationand spinal care problems, Dr.Mark Frobb has prepared hundreds ofmedical legal opinions on behalf of patientsinvolved in litigation with insurance companies.He shares his expertise and advicein Surviving Whiplash: Saving Your NeckWithout Losing Your Mind(OrthoWellness $19.95). 978-1-4392-0897-2Capilano University philosophy profSusan T. Gardner has gone to thedogs. Illustrated by Dirk van Stralen,her guide to critical thinking for college students,Thinking Your Way to Freedom: AGuide to Owning Your Own PracticalReasoning (Temple $44.95 U.S.) utilizesthe author’s dogs, Diva and Ben, in 66comic strips, to illustrate philosophical concepts.Students are taught how to think impartiallyand how to neutralize invisiblebiases that limit their freedom of thoughtand action. Withthe help of Divaand Ben, readerslearn to evaluatethe strengths of argumentsand torecognize fallacies,all the whileavoiding theparalyzing effectsof relativism.Susan T. Gardner978-1-59213-867-8James Hoffmanis for HoffmanThompson Rivers University theatre professorJames Hoffman has co-editedThe Last Best West (New Star $24) anexploration of myth and identity pertainingto Western Canada. It arose from theLast Best West Conference in Septemberof 2007, organized by the Centre for theStudy of Canada at Thompson Rivers University.Edited with Anne Gagnonand Will Garrett-Petts.978-1-55420-044-3continued on next page


4 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>Archaeology, goats and dogs, honor, ethics, lies andbetrayals are what can happen when two cultures abrade.From HOPEACE PRESSJaney Bennett’sAward-winning novel$21.95 at your bookseller nowISBN: 978-0-9734007-2-4Distribution by Steller PressWHO’SWHOBRITISHCOLUMBIAis for InuksukAn inuksuk is being used as the official symbolof the <strong>2010</strong> Winter Games, so Toronto’sMary Wallace has written apicture book, I is for Inuksuk (OwlkidsBooks $19.95), as a tie-in to the Olympicsfor children. Each letter of the word“inuksuk” is represented in an acrostic poemby another Inuktitut word, which, withWallace’s paintings, creates an overview oflife in the Arctic. Wallace’s three previoustitles are Inuksuk Journey, Make Your OwnInuksuk, and The Inuksuk Book. 1897349572is for JancisWe’ll have a review by CherieThiessen of Jancis Andrews’second short story collection Walking onWater (Cormorant $21) in the spring issueof <strong>BC</strong> BookWorld. Plus we’ll have a reviewby Joan Givner of VanessaWinn’s historical novel The Chief Factor’sDaughter (Touchwood $19.95). Ourautumn fiction issue featured reviews of 28new fiction titles from British Columbia.So many books, so little time.Andrews 9781897151174;Winn 9781894898935is for KernaghanHaving been shortlisted for the <strong>2009</strong> SunburstAward for Canadian Speculative Fictionwith her supernatural novel Wild Talent,Eileen Kernaghan has publishedTales from the Holograph Woods: SpeculativePoems (Wattle & Daub, $9.95), athirty-five-year retrospective of her publishedwork. 978-0-9810658-2-3is for LambertPublished for Powell River’s centenary,Barbara Ann Lambert’s PowellRiver, 100 Years (Trafford $25) is a collectionof oral histories of the Upper SunshineCoast, focussing on the Italian community.Lambert interviewed old timers, some ofwhom have since passed away, and she hasgathered remarkable historic photographsfrom family albums. 978-1-4269-0547-6Manolisis for ManolisManolisAligizakis usesonly his first nameManolis on histitles from his literaryimprint,Libros Libertad,including his 2008novel Petros Spathis,and his newly releasedsixth volumeof poetry, Impulses (Libros $14.95),a collection that “ransacks his classical Greekroots.” It’s his eighth release in five years.9780981073569is for N’lakap’muxN’lakap’mux FirstNation playwrightKevin Loringis the author ofWhere the BloodM i x e s(Talonbooks$16.95), nominatedfor fiveKevin LoringJessie RichardsonTheatre Awards. It examines the after-effectsof residential school when a daughtercomes home after two decades to confronther father about the past. Loring’s play hasalso been nominated for this year’s Governor-General’sAward. As an actor Loring hasperformed in plays across Canada includingMarie Clements’ Burning Visionand Copper Thunderbird, and GeorgeRyga’s The Ecstasy of Rita Joe.978-0-88922-608-1is for OberheideRetired psychologist Dr. RobertOberheide, Ph.D., who has lived inB.C. since 1980, has self-published Unlockingthe Subconscious: The Key to Self-Esteem (100 Mile House: SurefootPublishing) to uncover mysteries of the subconscious.He explains how the subconsciousharms and helps us, and how tocapitalize on its positive features in orderto diminish stress and elevate self-esteem.He addresses “the myth of bio-chemicalcausation” as well as issues such as our inabilityto fulfill our potential, the basis ofself-sabotage, the inability to sustain positivemoods and the causes of depression,anxiety and low self-esteem. 978-1-4269-1196-5is for PullingerBorn in Cranbrook, Kate Pullingerattended high school on Vancouver Islandand worked in a Yukon copper mine beforetaking up residence in England, in1982. Having co-written JaneCampion’s novelized version of herfilm The Piano, Pullinger also has writtenfive other novels, the latest beingThe Mistress of Nothing(McArthur & Co. $24.95),shortlisted for the Giller Prize anda Governor-General’s Award.The Mistress of Nothing is aboutan English maidservant who experiencedunimagined freedomwhile escorting the tuburcularLady Duff Gordon to Egypt inthe 1860s. 978-1-55278-798-4Kate Pullinger


5 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>is for QuanBiographer of Sam Steele (after whomFort Steele near Cranbrook is named),Holly Quan has re-released NativeChiefs and Famous Métis: Leadershipand Bravery in the Canadian West (Heritage$9.95). Part of the Amazing Storiesseries and first published in 2003, it recountsthe lives of Big Bear, Poundmaker,Crowfoot, Peter Erasmus andJerry Potts. 978-1-894974-74-5is for RadfordCurrently editor of Where Vancouver andWhere Whistler, Shari Radford has releasedher third “Penelope” title, Penelopeand the Preposterous Birthday Party(Lobster Press $19.95). 978-1-897550-00-7is for SteilCo-authored with Aileen Stalker,John Steil’s Public Art in Vancouver:Angels Among Lions (Touchwood$19.95) cites 500 examples of public art.Easy-to-follow maps take readers to communitiesand destinations such as FalseCreek, Chinatown, the West End, Downtown,East Vancouver, Van Dusen BotanicalGarden, Stanley Park and U.B.C. Steilis a visual artist and community planningconsultant who moved to Vancouver in1992. Stalker has also co-authored akayaker’s guide. 978-1894898799is for Trio—of TsHere are three new environment titles: Evolution’sEdge: The Coming Collapse andTransformation of our World (New Society$24.95) by Graeme Taylor wongold in the <strong>2009</strong> Independent Publisher’s(IPPY) Outstanding Book of the YearAward’s category of “Most Likely to Savethe Planet.” • An environmental columnistfor the Vancouver Sun and a professor atthe School of Environmental Studies atUVic, Hans Tammemagi exploresthe problems affecting our atmosphere, includingsmog, acid rain, ozone depletionand climate change, in Air: Our Planet’sAiling Atmosphere (Oxford $27.95). •Margaret Thompson’s essay collectionAdrift on the Ark: Our Connectionto the Natural World (Brindle $19.95) includesanecdotes and personal memories ofher encounters with birds and other animalsbeyond the two-legged variety. Adrift: 978-1-897142-41-7; Evolution: 9780865716087; Air: 978-0-19543007-3is for UhlinIn Lawrence Uhlin’s first suspensenovel, Machiavelli’s Desert (LibrosLibertad), the prime minister of Canada isoffered a technological discovery that couldbe the country’s salvation or its embarrassment.The Sidney author takes the readerto Washington, Houston, Grand CaymanIslands, the British Virgin Islands and tothe island of Arnivan where a meltdown ofa Canadian CANDU Reactor is imminent.is for VoglerStephen Vogler has lived in Whistlersince 1976. His memoir Only in Whistler:Tales of a Mountain Town (Harbour$24.95) begins in an era when the winterOlympics city was just a resort with only500 year-round residents and weekend visitorswere disdained as “gorbies.”Accompanied by the work of photographersToshi Kawano and BonnyMakarewicz, Vogler’s Top of the Pass(Harbour $34.95) is an overview of thephysical, cultural and recreational characteristicsof Whistler and its neighbors.Whistler: 978-1-55017-504-2; Pass: 978-1-55017-430-4is for WigmoreVanderhoof-born Gillian Wigmore’ssecond poetry collection, soft geography(Caitlin $15.95), which she describes as“kind of a love song for north central B.C.,”was shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay PoetryPrize in 2008 and has now won the 8thReLit Award for poetry. The ReLit Awards,founded in 2000, are short for RegardingLiterature, Reinventing Literature, RelightingLiterature, and emphasize the importanceof ideas over big-money prizes.978-1-894759-23-6is for XmasYup, you can give the gift of BookWorld. A$25 supporter subscription for a friend orloved one means they will receive up-todatenews throughout <strong>2010</strong> of B.C. booksand authors . Go to www.bcbookworld anduse PayPal, or send payment and your mailingaddress to us at 3516 W. 13th, Vancouver,B.C. V6R 2S3.is for YoungBeryl Young’s father never told hisdaughter about being a ‘Home Child,’ oneof nearly 100,000 children sent to Canadaas indentured labourers between 1870 and1938, until she discovered the story duringa visit to England. Now she has written atribute to his life, Charlie: A Home Child’sLife in Canada (Key Porter $19.95). Herfather Charlie was one of seven childrenwhose English shopkeeper father died ofpneumonia in 1910. First sent to live at oneof the homes founded by Dr. ThomasBarnardo as a safe haven for destitutechildren, he was then sent to Canada towork on an Ontario farm in 1911 at agetwelve. In World War I he fought for Canadaand was wounded, became an RCMP officerand escorted Queen Elizabeth on herfirst visit to Canada. 978-1-55470-200-8is for ZierothDavid Zieroth of North Vancouver isone of two B.C. poets nominated for thisyear’s Governor-General’s Award. In additionto shortlisting Zieroth’s The Fly inAutumn (Harbour $18.95), judges selectedLittle Hunger (Nightwood $16.95) byPhilip Kevin Paul of Brentwood Bay.Zieroth 978-1-5507-468-7; Paul 0-88971-220-4 OTHER G.G. SHORTLISTED B.C. AUTHORS: Annabel Lyon (New Westminster), The Golden Mean;Deborah Willis (Victoria), Vanishing and Other Stories; Joan MacLeod (Victoria), AnotherHome Invasion; Shelley Hrdlitschka (North Vancouver), Sister Wife; RobinStevenson (Victoria), A Thousand Shades of Blue; Rachel Berman (Victoria), BradleyMcGogg, the Very Fine Frog. Talonbooks and D&M also had titles nominated for translations.


lettersDuring the last three weeks ofOctober, B.C. BookWorld received102 letters from more than 40locales, in response to news coverageabout the cessation of all provincialfunding for <strong>BC</strong>BW, the Association ofBook Publishers of B.C. and the B.C.Association of Magazine Publishers.Here are only a few excerpts, minusderogatory comments about theOlympics. We much prefer to use preciouseditorial space for news aboutB.C. books.Clam chowder & <strong>BC</strong>BWI’m a great snoop when I’m on theferry and I’m always delighted when Isee such a variety of travelers, locals andtourists, reading B.C. BookWorld becauseI know that they are being introduced,in a friendly and accessibleformat, to new ideas about our province.The articlesand book reviewsin B.C.BookWorld arerich with informationandinsights aboutour history, ourwildlife, ourcontroversies,Sarah Ellis: “Thethe beauty ofonly thing better our landscape,on a ferry than our First NationspeoplesB.C. BookWorld isa whale sighting.” and the particulareccentriccharacters that B.C. seems toproduce. It is lively and funny and I alwayslearn something from it. The onlything better on a ferry than B.C.BookWorld is a whale sighting. (Well,okay I like the clam chowder, too.)Sarah EllisVancouver✍For over two decades, B.C.BookWorld has provided intelligent,topical analysis of the written word tothe widest possible audience—the generalpopulace. It is a powerful unifyingforce in this vast province.Ginny RatsoyKamloops✍I eagerly await B.C. BookWorld’s arrivalat the Fernie Public Library andknow that the pile disappears quickly. It’sinvaluable. Everywhere I’ve traveled, librarianstell me they depend on B.C.BookWorld to keep them aware of ourprovince’s thriving literary scene.Angie AbdouFernie<strong>BC</strong><strong>BOOKWORLD</strong>Publisher/ Writer: Alan TwiggEditor/Production: David Lester<strong>WINTER</strong><strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>Issue,Vol. 23, No. 4We interrupt our regularprogramming…Readers who enjoy this educationalnewspaper might wantto know its future is in jeopardy.Due to the sudden removalof all provincial funding fromPacific BookWorld News Society,we’re in an unforeseeablefinancial pickle.Presentation of the GeorgeWoodcock Lifetime AchievementAward will be curtailed, paperswill no longer be mailed tomembers of the Federation ofB.C. Writers, our freelancebudget will be cut in half andAlan Twigg: 22 years & countingthe publisher has already takenhimself off the payroll.We trust this crisis will be only an interruption in partnership,not a permanent dismantling of a constructive relationship datingback to 1987.Meanwhile, if you want to keep getting a literary lift from us,you’re welcome to chip in for gas.You are invited to become a Supporter/Subscriber by sending$25 to Pacific BookWorld News Society at3516 West 13th Ave., Vancouver, B.C. V6R 2S3.Or visit www.bcbookworld.com and use PayPal.David Lester and I have been pleased to present you with news ofB.C. books and authors for twenty-two years now; with supportfrom our readers, we’ll be around for twenty-two more.Alan Twigg, publisherI co-own The Book Man inChilliwack. It’s British Columbia’s second-largestused bookstore. We have astaff of 16 and are a cultural hub withinour community. In the land of rednecktrucks, corn shucking contests, meatdraws and WildCat Beer drinking atriver parties, B.C. BookWorld is a NE-CESSITY to open minds, educate andshare the power of literature. I will fightagainst anyone who does not see the intrinsicvalue in this.Amber ShortChilliwack✍If the provincial governmentis cutting funding tosupport and advocacy groupssuch as B.C. BookWorld, theABP<strong>BC</strong> and <strong>BC</strong>AMP, couldthe <strong>BC</strong> Arts Council be farbehind?Michael TurnerRenee RodinLakeVancouver Michael TurnerDeanna KawatskiVancouvercontinued on p. 42Publication Mail Agreement #40010086Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: <strong>BC</strong> BookWorld,3516 W. 13th Ave., Vancouver, <strong>BC</strong> V6R 2S3Produced with the sponsorship of Pacific BookWorld NewsSociety. Publications Mail Registration No. 7800.<strong>BC</strong> BookWorld ISSN: 1701-5405Advertising & editorial: <strong>BC</strong> BookWorld, 3516 W. 13th Ave.,Vancouver, B.C., V6R 2S3. Tel/Fax: 604-736-4011Email: bookworld@telus.net. Annual subscription: $25I have been reading B.C. BookWorldhere in England for about fifteen years.I am deeply distressed that the B.C. governmentterminated its partnership withone of the best-edited, best-designedpublications about books.Stephen VizinczeyLondon, England✍B.C. BookWorld is worth every pennyof support. It has staying power in mosthouseholds for many months.Caroline WoodwardLennard Island Lightstation,Tofino✍Everyone reads B.C.BookWorld, whether in Vancouver,or on a ferry to PrinceGeorge, and I can’t imagineBritish Columbian culturewithout it.Contributors: Grant Shilling, Mark Forsythe, Joan Givner,Louise Donnelly, Sheila Munro, Hannah Main-van der Kamp,John Moore, Cherie Thiessen, Shane McCune, Joseph Farris,W.P. Kinsella. Writing not otherwise credited is by staff.Web consultant: Sharon JacksonPhotographers: Barry Peterson, Laura Sawchuk.Proofreaders: Wendy Atkinson, Betty Twigg.Design: Get-to-the-Point Graphics. Deliveries: Ken ReidAll <strong>BC</strong> BookWorld reviews are posted online atw w w . a b c b o o k w o r l d . c o mB.C. BookWorld is respected acrossNorth America both for its decades ofdedication to spreading knowledgeabout Canadian books and authors andfor the support that it provides to bookpublishers within British Columbia.Rodger TouchieNanoose Bay✍We all dependon B.C.BookWorld asTHE source ofinformationErika GrundmannWe acknowledgethe assistance ofCanada Council and theProvince of BritishColumbia, through theMinistry of Community,Aboriginal, andWomen’s Services.about B.C.books. Eventhe advertisements,(so despisedin mostpublications) provide information andare appreciated.Erika GrundmannCortes Island✍As a recent immigrant and new Canadian,I was fortunate to find B.C.BookWorld soon after my arrival. Ithelped me identify the books that wouldinform me about my chosen provinceand country.Jody AliesanVancouver✍As a librarian,I use B.C.BookWorld asa resource forcollection development;asan event coordinator,I useAnne DeGraceit, and its compa n i o nwebsite, as resources for author information.Nowhere else is this informationso exhaustively and usefully compiled.Anne DeGraceNelson✍B.C. BookWorld has served as an exemplarto similar publications in otherprovinces. It also provides an online databaseof 9,000 B.C. writers that isaccessed by users all over the world.Heidi GrecoSurrey✍Without B.C. BookWorld there is nocommunity, only fractured isolatedcamps void ofthe quarterlyconnectionthat binds ustogether.DeannaKawatskiCelista,Shuswap6 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>


7 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>


A witty, insightfullook at Vancouver,in words and photographs.The new 10thanniversaryedition ofthe vegan cookbookclassic.Vegans can keep “upto date” with Sarah’sfi rst calendar.VANCOUVER SPECIALCharles Demers978-1-55152-238-8; $24.95HOW IT ALL VEGAN!10th Anniversary EditionSarah Kramer & Tanya Barnard978-1-55152-253-1; $24.95GO VEGAN!<strong>2010</strong> Wall CalendarSarah Kramer978-1-55152-249-4; $14.95A fantastical historicalnovel abouta Parsi family inIndia.“Pure delight.”—<strong>BC</strong> BookworldA LITTLE DISTILLERYIN NOWGONGAshok Mathur978-1-55152-258-6; $27.95Kessler Award winnerSarah Schulman’snew novel: adystopian vision ofNew York.THE MERE FUTURESarah Schulman978-1-55152-257-9; $24.95“An inspiring andunforgettable lookat the world of knitgraffi ti.”—Debbie Stoller,author of Stitch ‘nBitchYARN BOMBINGMandy Moore & Leanne Prain978-1-55152-255-5; $21.95A full-colour historyof the muscularmale in popularculture.AMERICAN HUNKSDavid L. Chapman &Brett Josef Grubisic978-1-55152-56-2; $32.95A Little Sister’sClassic: Califi a’scontroversial storycollection.MACHO SLUTSPatrick Califi a978-1-55152-260-9; $19.95Wry, poignantpoems on fast-foodculture.The fi rst solo poetrybook by novelistLarissa Lai.McPOEMSBilleh Nickerson978-1-55152-265-4; $15.95AUTOMATON BIOGRAPHIESLarissa Lai978-1-55152-292-0; $19.95“Rhonda Waterfallhas a true geniusfor narrative.”—StephenOsborne, Geist“A landmarkbook for bothqueer theory andliterature.”—Kate BornsteinThe story behindthe legendary 1970Morrisey/Warholfi lm.THE ONLY THING I HAVERhonda Waterfall978-1-55152-293-7; $19.95THE NEAREST EXITMAY BE BEHIND YOUS. Bear Bergman978-1-55152-264-7; $19.95TRASHJon Davies978-1-55152-261-6; $15.95ARSENAL PULP PRESSarsenalpulp.com | arsenalia.com8 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>


9 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>peopleNDURANCEEROHow a C-student learned to win theworld’s toughest athletic eventBY ALL ACCOUNTS IT WAS Abright but cool Septembermorning. While thefirst crush of Olympicathletes crowded into anold yellow school bus, a surprisinglyjitter-free Simon Whitfield heldback. He’d had a great night’s sleep. Hewas loose, confident, and blessedly unburdenedby fame or expectation.Spying a second transport vehicle, heboarded the “luxurious” cruiser bus withonly a few other triathlonersand rode to the ferry terminalin relaxing comfort. Oncethere, while most competitorsstood shivering on the ferrydock, Whitfield and Germany’sStephan Vuckovicspied a shelter building withtwo chairs.With little more than WaltzingMatilda running through Whitfield’shead, they waited out the ferry’s arrivalin warmth and pleasant isolation.In the fifty-man starting line-up, 25-year-old Whitfield maintained his senseof ease and light-heartedness. Fifteenhundred metres of swimming, forty kilometresof bike riding and ten kilometresof running – the three taskmasters of thetriathlon loomed ahead.Never mind that it was his first Olympicsand the first time his sport wouldbe part of the Olympics. Whitfield jokedto the guy next to him that he hopedwhen they jumped into the Sydney harbour,the sharks didn’t get them. ToprankedNew Zealander HamishCarter, already crowned by the NewZealand media and under dauntingpressure, threw Whitfield a startled, disbelievingget-away-from-me look.Whitfield emerged from that firstswimming event shark-bite free and relativelypleased with his twenty-seventh position.The height of his fledgling careerwas a bronze medal the year before in the1999 Pan American Games. It was nothinganybody was writing home about, certainlynot the international press.The little-known Canadian, carryingnothing more than a private “deep andburning ambition,” found himself at theback of the lead pack of the cyclists, onlyto skid moments later into a tangle ofdowned cyclists.LOUISE DONNELLYFortune again smiled. Whitfield survivedthe crash and finished the cyclingportion of the race at number seventeen.Buoyed with “reservoirs of energy,”Whitfield began to pushthrough the runners. Running was hisstrength, the ability he developedthrough years of soccer and track inhigh school and, as others fell back,he just seemed to “flow forward.”With the finish line in sight,Whitfield began to sprint, gainingon his only opponent, thepowerful Vuckovic—hisshelter partner from theferry dock—and, withless than a hundredmetres to go, he flewpast the spent Germanrunner, breastedthe tape and earnedhis Olympic glory.✍As a kid Whitfield hadgrown up in Kingston,Ontario, obsessed overDungeons & Dragonsuntil he became astraight-C student.He became equallyobsessed in the late’80s with the newsport of triathlon.This kid, who tookhimself to Sydney,Australia, his dad’s oldhometown, to finishhigh school with thevague hope that someof Australia’s famedathletic prowess wouldrub off on him, somehoweventually wongold in the shadow ofthe Sydney OperaHouse at the 2000 SummerOlympics.In the new youngadult biographySimon SaysGold: SimonWhitfield’s Pursuitof AthleticExcellence(Orca $14)Whitfield and hiscontinued on page 10SimonWhitfieldfacingadversity inAthens


10 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>hadn’t run a step in years, that day hisNana did “three laps of the cribbage tableand a cartwheel on the shuffleboardtrack.”✍In 1996, after a sprint-finish win atthe Canadian Duathlon Championshipsagainst Peter Reid, who’d later winthree Ironman Hawaii world titles atKona, Whitfield moved to Victoria onReid’s recommendation.In 2002, at the local triathlon club,Whitfield met his future wife, Jennie.That same year he crashed at the WorldCup race at Geelong, Australia, andbroke his collarbone and both wrists. Herecovered in time to win gold at theManchester Commonwealth Games andthen fell to a stunning forty-ninth finishthree months later at the World Championshipsin Cancun.Whitfield was also devastated by thenews that his friend and fellow triathleteKelly Guest had a positive drug test.Guest was later diagnosed with a rarecondition that triggered the positive testand had nothing to do with taking abanned substance.Whitfield’s Olympic gold medal wasbeginning to “weigh me down.” He feltburdened with the pressures of defendpeoplecontinued from page 9co-author Cleve Dheensaw, a veteransportswriter with the Victoria TimesColonist, also recount Whitfield’s heartbreakingeleventh-place finish in Athensin 2004, then his triumphant climbto silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.✍Looking back to his Kingston upbringing,after five years of racing on theOntario Kids of Steel circuit, Whitfieldhad placed sixteenth overall at the 1992Canadian Junior Triathlon Championshipsand had the sudden thought, I cando this.Unfortunately he didn’t perform aswell scholastically. School wasn’t thehighest priority. Then, through a connectionof his father’s, Whitfield was acceptedto Knox Grammar School in thenorthern suburbs of Sydney. In theheadmaster’s mahogany-and-darkleatheroffice, Whitfield learned hewould be expected to become city runningchamp by graduation.Aghast, he called his father and reportedhe was also required to break allthe school’s middle distance records inthe next two years. His father tersely replied,“Well, then break them.”This was Whitfield’s introduction tothe Aussie “take no prisoners” approachto sports.Whitfield’s mother could be tough,too. At one race, before he left for Australia,an aunt retrieved a forgotten bikehelmet for him but his mother was lessindulgent. She let her son discover forhimself that the chain had come off hisbike.“I chose to stand back, actually behinda tree, to watch how Simon was going todeal with the situation,” she recalls. Simongot the chain back on and, with greasyhands, got right back into the race.Nobody sets out to raise an Olympian,Whitfield says, but it doesn’t hurtto have support at home. “I had that inspades from both my mom and dad.”Whitfield also credits his “relentlessdrive” to his maternal grandmother who,at ninety-six, and living just across theharbour at a nursing home, watched hisSydney victory on TV.Whitfield jokes that although sheSimon Whitfield and his wife Jennie in Athens in 2004. They first met at theUniversity of Victoria Triathlon Club in 2002.ing his supremacy and disputing thewhispers of “One-Hit Wonder.” He becamethe “guy with the target on hisback.”Leading up to the 2004 SummerOlympics, everything went wrong.Whitfield chose to train in Penticton,where the dry terrain mimicked the conditionsaround Athens. But he’d nevertrained away from a home base before.“We got away from our core principles.We over-analyzed everything… we knewit all. We insulated ourselves from everyone.”He did poorly in the swim portion ofthe race, lacking the strength to keep upthe pace. He got trapped between twopacks in the bike race, a rookie mistake.When the running became painful, he“gave up” and pretty much strolledacross the finish line for eleventh place.“Everyone,” Whitfield says, “becamean instant expert. Axes came out. Linesblurred between friends.“Were they helping with one handwhile holding the axes behind theirbacks with the other?”In retrospect, Whitfield says Athenswas the best thing that could have happenedto him professionally. The crushingdefeat forced him to step back andrediscover the joy of the sport.It didn’t happen overnight, butthings began to move in the right direction.He and Jennie had a daughter.Home life became a priority. Race resultsimproved and he was rankednumber two overall in the world by2007.Whitfield weathered the controversyof using a team approach in individualracing sports. Colin Jenkins, fast inswimming and cycling, would paceWhitfield, keeping him “in touch withthe lead groups” in the race’s first twosections. So although Jenkins was not thethird-ranked triathlete in Canada,Triathlon Canada added him to the Olympicteam heading for Beijing in 2008.The pair took along their own cook, too.On race day, only a last-minute kickin the final fifty metres by Germany’sJan Frodeno turned the possibilityof a vindicating gold to a still-respectableand hard-earned silver.In June of this year Whitfield turnedthe tables on Frodeno and picked up the$200,000 win at the ITU Elite Cup inDes Moines, Iowa. While the prizemoney in the richest annual triathlonhad everyone buzzing, Whitfield, everthe competitor, says besting Frodeno inyet another sprint finish was the best prizeof all.Whitfield continues to train for the2012 Olympics. He has some surprisinglysimple advice for young athletes.Swim. Cycle. Run. Don’t overcomplicatethings. Don’t get sidetracked with sportsscience.Don’t get caught up with traininggadgets and gimmicks.Whitfield’s philosophy boils down tothree words: Speed, Speed, Speed. “Goto a park,” he says. “Kick a soccer balland chase it as fast as you can. Make agame of it. Have fun. Speed comes.”✍Cleve Dheensaw, a Victoria native,has covered six Commonwealth andOlympic Games. He is also the authorof The Commonwealth Games: The First60 Years, 1930-1990 and, with DeannaBinder, Celebrate the Spirit: The OlympicGames. 978-1-55469-141-8Louise Donnelly writes from Vernon.


Tibetans in ExileThe Dalai Lama & the WoodcocksAlan TwiggGeorge and Ingeborg Woodcock met the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala,India, in 1961, and founded a humanitarian aid society that is stillgoing strong, after more than 300 projects in the Himalayas andsouthern India. Alan Twigg reveals the hitherto unknown private livesof this extraordinary couple, interviews their friends and recountsongoing efforts to assist Tibetans in Canada and Asia.978-1-55380-079-8 272 pp $21.95 over 60 b&w photosWomen on IceThe Early Years of Women’s Hockeyin Western CanadaWayne NortonThe fascinating but largely forgotten story of women’sice hockey in western Canada during the early yearsof the 20th century. Includes rare photos of teams suchas the Amazons, Rustlers and Monarchs.978-1-55380-073-6 166 pp 36 b&w photos $21.95In the Wake of LossSheila JamesA collection of stories focusing on the conflictsand challenges experienced by diasporic SouthAsian women and men. Unusually bold and graphicexplorations of sexual desire, violence and grief,ultimately evoking resilience and hope.978-1-55380-075-0 212 pp $18.95From a Speaking PlaceWritings from the First Fifty Yearsof Canadian Literatureed. W.H. New et alA celebration volume for the journal Canadian Literature,offering essays and interviews by well-known Canadianauthors, such as Margaret Atwood and Thomas King,who have helped define our understanding of Canada.978-1-55380-064-4 450 pp $24.95The Dead Can’t DancePam Calabrese MacLeanThese unforgettable poems of grief and tenderness,with a touch of wicked wit, offer the reader newinsights into desire, with its conjoining of love anddeath.978-1-55380-069-9 132 pp $15.95I Have My Mother’s EyesA Holocaust Memoir across GenerationsBarbara Ruth BlumanAn account of a Holocaust escape from Poland toLithuania across the USSR to Japan and then Canada,written by the survivor’s daughter while she wasfacing her own struggle for survival.978-1-55380-070-5 126 pp 32 b&w photos $21.95River of GoldSusan DobbieIn this fascinating sequel to her best-selling novelWhen Eagles Call, Dobbie tells how Kimo joins theCariboo gold rush with a fellow Hawaiian, a blackman from the Carolinas and a native woman.978-1-55380-071-2 202 pp $19.95Les sables mouvants /Shifting SandsHubert Aquin — Translated by Joseph JonesThis bilingual edition, which is the first English translationof Aquin’s ground-breaking novella, documentsthe narrator’s psychological journey from anticipationand impatience to personal apocalypse.978-1-55380-078-1 112 pp $19.95YoungAdultBooksTragic LinksCathy BeveridgeIn the fourth novel in her best-sellingseries of Canadian disasters, Beveridgetakes Jolene back in time to twoQuebec disasters: the Quebec Bridgecollapse of 1907 and the Laurier PalaceTheatre fire of 1927.978-1-555380-066-8 184 pp $10.95Chasing a StarNorma CharlesWhen Sophie LaGrange decides that shemust meet Barbara Ann Scott, Canada’sskating icon of the 1950s, little does sheknow that she will have to deal withSatan’s Rebels, a dangerous motorcyclegang that is attempting to recruit herbrother and kidnap Barbara Ann.978-1-55380-077-4 182 pp $10.95Journey to AtlantisPhilip RoyIn this sequel to the best-selling novelSubmarine Outlaw, Alfred undertakes anew voyage in his homemade submarine,from his native Newfoundland into theMediterranean in search of fabled Atlantis.Along the way there are daring rescues atsea, a chase of illegal Spanish trawlers, apirate attack and a camel journey intothe desert.978-1-55380-076-7 224 pp $10.95Ronsdale PressAvailable from your favourite bookstore or order from LitDistCoVisit our website at www.ronsdalepress.com11 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>


seasons readings from Sono Nis PressMountain TimberThe Comox Logging Company in the Vancouver Island MountainsRichard Somerset Mackie<strong>BC</strong> BestsellerIn this sequel to his bestsellingIsland Timber, RichardSomerset Mackie follows theComox Logging Company from1926 to 1946 as it moves fromthe logged-over Comox Valleyto the challenging terrain of theVancouver Island Mountains.A stunning visual feast, thisis social history and logginghistory at its best.Counting on HopeSylvia OlsenSet against the backdrop of theEnglish colonization of BritishColumbia, and an 1863 navalassault on a Lamalcha camp onKuper Island, Counting on Hopetells the story of two girls whoselives are profoundly changedwhen their two cultures collide.ISBN 1-55039-173-9 • 6 x 9304 pages • paper • $14.95ISBN 1-55039-171-2 • 8.5 x 11320 pages • paper • $42.95Flights of a Coast DogA Pilot’s LogJack SchofieldBack in Print! Flights ofa Coast Dog tells of JackSchofield’s adventuresfrom 20 years of flyingBeavers, Otters andCessna floatplanes alongBritish Columbia’s ruggedand challenging coast.ISBN 1-55039-172-08.5” x 8.5” • 196 pageshardcover • $29.95Coast Dogs Don’t LieTales from the North Coast SchedJack Schofield<strong>BC</strong> BestsellerPacked with colourfulanecdotes and even morecolourful characters,Coast Dogs Don’t Liebrings the early days offlying the B.C. coast backto life.ISBN 1-55039-169-08.25” x 8.25” • 144 pageshardcover • $29.95A Boy in WarJan de GrootAs the years of Germanoccupation of the Netherlandsgrind on, normal life becomesmore and more harrowing forseven-year-old Jan and keepingsecrets becomes a matter of lifeand death.Author Jan de Groot spinshis personal experiences into anexciting, touching and thoughtprovokingmemoir.ISBN 1-55039-167-4 • 6” x 9”200 pages • b&w picturespaper • $13.95The Garden That You AreKatherine Gordon<strong>BC</strong> BestsellerISBN 1-55039-160-7 • 8” x 9” 176 pages• full colour hardcover • $28.95Photography by Rod Currieand Quinton GordonThe Garden That You Areexplores the lives andstories of eight creativeand culturally diversegardeners who live inB.C.’s Slocan Valley. Thisbeautiful full-colourbook is peppered withanecdotes, history, recipes,gardening ideas andhelpful advice.Celebrating 41 Years of Publishing in CanadaSono Nis Press • 1-800-370-5228 • www.sononis.com • books@sononis.com12 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>


13 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>P E O P L EDal Richardswill carryOlympictorch in<strong>2010</strong>THUMBS UP FOR DALBRITISH COLUMBIA’S BEST-LOVED MUSICALpersonality is not Bryan Adams orthat smokey-voiced Nanaimo gal whoplays the piano. It’s gotta be 92-yearsyoungDal Richards, whose bandhad 154 gigs in 2008. Certainly moreBritish Columbians have danced to thelive music of Dal Richards than anyother musician.Back in 1940, Dal Richards replacedMart Kenney and his Western Gentlemenin the Hotel Vancouver’s newPanorama Roof Ballroom with his own11-piece orchestra and an unknown 13-year-old singer named Juliette—wholater became a Canadian TV star.Richards’ six-week contract was extendedfor twenty-five years.Born in Vancouver in 1918, the legendaryband leader, saxophonist andclarinetist sold out The Orpheum at age90. These days he’s so fit that he’ll be carryingthe Olympic torch in February insteadof his saxophone.The remarkable career of Dr. Swinghas been outlined in One More Time:The Dal Richards Story (Harbour$32.95), co-written with Jim Taylor.978-1-55017-492-2TWIGG PHOTOSThis issue presents a lively rangeof British Columbians who havemade a difference to our society—people worth knowing; peopleworth reading about.DEATH & DEADLINESIN THE AFTERMATH OF HIS OWN INVESTIgationof Triad gangster StevenWong, during which he entered theRCMP’s witness protection program,Terry Gould has traveled to Colombia,the Philippines, Bangladesh, Russiaand Iraq for Murder Without Borders(Random House $34.95), his celebratoryinvestigation of journalists who haveknowingly risked their lives to conducttheir work for the public good. Gouldconverses with stubbornly heroic journalistsand their families to understandthe complex reasons for their conspicuousbravery, citing Czech politician andplaywright Vaclav Havel whowrote, “I am not interestedin why man commitsevil; I want to knowwhy he does good.” Mostof the 700 journalistsknown to havebeen killed inthe line ofduty aroundthe worldsince 1992h a v esought tounveil localcorruptionandviolence.978-0-679-31470-7TerryGouldRoss RebagliatiNO LOSS FOR ROSSROSS REBAGLIATI OF KELOWNA WON THEfirst gold medal for snowboarding duringthe 1998 Winter Olympics inNagano, Japan, but had the medal revokedafter admitting to smoking marijuana.The controversy that ensuedresulted in its return to him. He later becamedirector of snowboarding and skiingfor Kelowna Mountain andfounder of the Rebagliati AlpineSnowboard Training Academy(RASTA). Due in November,Rebagliati’s Off the Chain: A RenegadeHistory of Snowboarding(Greystone $27.95) examines therise of snowboarding from its hippiebeginnings to a $150-billion globalindustry. Off the Chain is boarderslang for extreme, wild or radical.978-1-55365-487-2RED NEST,RED ZONE.URBAN DISMAY x 2THE DOWNTOWN EAST SIDE IS KNOWN FORits arrests and its arresting books. Havingco-edited Hope and Shadows: Storiesand Photographs of Vancouver’s DowntownEastside (Arsenal), winner of the2008 City of Vancouver Book Award,GillianJerome hasproduced a follow-upcollectionof urban‘eclogues’—afancy word forpoetry—entitledRed NestGillian Jerome:connectivity, no cant(Nightwood$17.95).Jerome offersa surreal adventure of interconnectivity.“When you’ve been ambushedby gods and stars,” we’re told,“you're catapulted back into a wildsprawling city filled with cordless phones,coyotes and the hairdos of dandelions.”✍HAVING SPENT THREE YEARS PHOTOGRAPHingand writing about Nanaimo's backalleys, graffiti, underpasses and otherhomeless encampments,Kim Goldberghas selfpublishedRed Zone (PigSquash Press$18.95), toKim Goldberg:a three year journeydraw attentionto the city's approximately300 homeless citizens who are barredfrom sleeping in a 40-block area of thecity known as the Red Zone. Red Zone 978-0-9783223-7-3; www.pigsquashpress.com; Red Nest 0-88971-241-7Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertsonon the tuba gives a thumbs up sign to92-year-old band leader Dal Richardsduring a PNE concert to celebrateRichards’ 70th anniversary on stageas a professional musician.TWIGG PHOTOS


14 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>


15 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>


16 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>symbolic of women’s hockey supremacy.The people of Fernie gave their winningteam a welcome home that is stillunparalleled in the history of women’shockey in Canada. Businesses closed, thepipe band was assembled, and schoolchildren were granted their freedom toparticipate in a parade led by an honpeopleThe first women’s hockeyteam in Vancouver wasformed to take advantageof the ice provided by thenew arena on Denman Street.The Vancouver Ladies’ HockeyTeam, near the outset of WorldWar One, soon claimed to beprovincial champions.“WHYTE MUSEUM OF THE CANADIAN ROCKIES, V683/IB56IISKIRTS & SWASTIKASFernie Swastikas became the second female team from British Columbia tocapture the Banff championship when they won the Alpine Cup in 1923.But if you can’t beat ’em in the alley,you can’t beat ’em on the ice.Within a few years, they were dismayedand defeated by the aggressiveand “unladylike” style of play introducedto the women’s game by a group of WestEnd schoolgirls who called themselvesthe Amazons.The long heavy skirts required by thepre-war decade were soon abandoned,initially in favour of culottes, which, inturn, gave way to the same style ofhockey shorts worn by male players. Butsome goalies were reluctant to surrenderthe obvious defensive advantage providedby the long skirt.In their impressive red and whiteoutfits, the Fernie Swastikas always gave110 per cent—as hockey players areprone to say. Long before the word swastikabecame associated with the NaziParty, the gals from Fernie proved to bethe surprise of the Banff women’s hockeytournament in 1923.By defeating the Vancouver Amazonsand holding off the mighty CalgaryRegents in three successive games, theSwastikas captured the Alpine Cup—Before Zambonies, we had AmazonsGreat Fall Fiction & Poetry from Oolichanour guard of police from the train stationto city hall where local dignitariesmade speeches of congratulations.All this is documented—and muchmore—by Wayne Norton in themostly forgotten story about the rise ofwomen’s hockey in Western Canada inthe first half of the 20th century, Womenon Ice (Ronsdale $21.95), including 36archival photos.978-1-55380-073-6ISBN 978-088982-257-3 ISBN 978-088982-259-7 ISBN 978-088982-258-0ISBN 978-088982-261-0ISBN 978-088982-260-3Words is the A story Novel of a child who can’t read. With Short the Stories help of a friendly teacher-librarian, Three Children’s the Fables child discovers the delights Poetry of being able to read and write, Poetry so that “the wordsdanced by as Betty they Jane were Hegerat written, and there was by Leslie music Vryenhoek in the words, and people read by them P. K. and Pagelistened in wonder.”Ill. by Kristi Bridgemanby Miranda Pearsonby Steve NoyesIn lyrical Lynn prose, Howard’s rich 20-year-old in imagery, Words“In stories that variously explore“These clear-sighted poems “Steve Noyes’ collection of lyricsand form poems displaysdelight daughter, and wonder. is pregnant, and has the isolating loneliness of beinghuman, Leslie Vryenhoek’sThis trilogy of enchantingseize on experience anddecided to give up the baby forfables 0-88982-227-1begins with the searchrender it in language that is his astonishing facility withadoption. Three weeks after the spare, elegant prose entertains,40 pp HC $19.95baby is born, stunned and furiousto find her heart at war withshocks and surprises.”for a husband for the Princessof Ure. Three men vielanguage.”taut and engaging. Honest the timbres and textures ofand thoughtful, Pearson’s approachto the personal makes—Joan Clarkfor her hand, and undergo—Catherine Owensher head, she insists that Lynnthe reader not just a witnessdeliver the baby to her adoptive Stories about the longing that great trials to prove themselvesworthy of her. Herranging, funny, absurd, com-“These poems are agile, wide-but a participant.”parents before her own resolve gnaws at our most ordinary—John Stefflerweakens.days, and those rare moments of true love, Galaad, wins. Aftermany adventures involv-heartbreaking and wise. Quiteplex, tender, joyful, tough,Lynn can no more make certainty on which whole livesThese poems look at waysthat delivery than she could can pivot and change course.ing a wicked Wizard, flyingsimply, poetry at its very best.”people construct territory ingive away her own first child,goats, and other dazzling—Patricia Youngany available space, illuminatingthe human drive toso she stows the baby in thedelights, the story ends withback of her car and drivesthe King and Queen’s ascentwest out of Calgary.nest, seek refuge, a harbour.to Heaven.192 pp • TP • 5.5” x 8.5”112 pp • HC • 9” x 12”144 pp • TP • 5.5” x 8.5”312 pp • TP • 5.5” x 8.5”144 pp • TP • 5.5” x 8.5”$18.95$19.95$17.95$19.95$17.95OOLICHAN BOOKS • www.oolichan.com • (877) 390-4839Distributed by University of Toronto Press


17 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>peopleWALHACHIN REVISITEDIN 1907, CHARLES BARNES, AN AMERICAN LANDsurveyor in Ashcroft, B.C., envisioned a settlementfor orchards to be grown along the Thompson Riverbetween Kamloops and Cache Creek. By 1910, aposh hotel was built and more than 2,000 tons ofpotatoes were shipped to market. By the summer of1911, some 500 acres of fruit trees had been plantedby the predominantly upper-class British immigrants towhom Barnes had marketedthe development.By 1912, the new communityof Walhachin had180 permanent residents.They paid for a hugely expensive,20-mile-longwooden flume to bring waterfor irrigation because most ofthe orchards were too high abovethe Thompson River for pumpingtechnology. But when World War Onebroke out, most of the orchardists, whoTheresa Kishkanwere staunchly loyal to England, choseto enlist, and by 1922 the promisingparadise of Walhachin was empty.The heroine of Theresa Kishkan’s novel, The Age of Water Lilies(Brindle & Glass $19.95) remains at Walhachin during World War One,pregnant and unmarried, having fallen for a charismatic labourer who leavesher for the imagined glories of combat in France. As Walhachin becomes lessviable, Flora Oakden moves to Victoria and receives shelter from suffragist AnnOgilvie in a house overlooking the Ross Bay Cemetery.Decades later, an unlikely but delightful friendship emerges betweenseventy-year-old Flora and her seven-year-old neighbour Tessa, against thebackdrop of the pacifist movement of the 1960s. 978-1-897142-42-4KNIT HAPPENSFORGET ABOUT TAKING HOURS TO ERECT THOSE BALANCING ROCK TOWERS. OR SPRAYpainting subway cars in New York City. The hip thing to do is yarn bombing.Stitch together a sweater for a parking meter. Knit a scarf for a tree trunk.Add woollen bolo balls to a statue. Mandy Moore and LeannePrain’s Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti(Arsenal $19.95) includes “20 kick-ass patterns” forknit and crochet installations, aka works of yarn thatcan be, ahem, donated to public spaces. Taking theircue from graffiti artists, a new generation of mostlyurban knitters, with ninja-like stealth—almostentirely women (tattoos are optional)—are reclaimingthe ancient craft of knitting in thename of feminism, pranksterism and art.Soon no fire hydrant will be nude. LeannePrain co-founded a ‘stitch and bitch’ calledKnitting and Beer. Mandy Moore editsan on-line knitting site. 978-15515-22555FROM ROMANCE TO SPATULAAS A TWICE-DIVORCED, SIXTY-SOMETHING AUTHOR OF45 published romance novels, and as someone whofrequently asks her grandkids for advice, BobbyHutchinson has humourously chronicled herexperiences running a bed-and-breakfast inSparwood, B.C., despite having never stayed in onebefore she opened it, in her memoir Blue CollarB&B (Langdon $15.95 U.S.). 978-1-934938-69-0“I was fartoo old forprostitution,”quips BobbyHutchinson,“and it was theonly other job Icould think of whichmight net enough topay the mortgage.”COVERING DISCOVERYBobby HutchinsonONCE UPON MUCH LIVELIER TIMES, THE SPARSELY POPULATED DISCOVERYIslands (Read, Cortes, Sonora, Maurelle, Hardwicke, Stuart, Redondaand Thurlow) were rife with oddballs, as Jeanette Taylor makesclear in Tidal Passages: A History of the Discovery Islands (Harbour$36.95). Among the rogues and mavericks she introduces are old GeorgeMcGee, born around 1850, who survived several slave-taking raids as achild and managed to live through the 1862-64 smallpox epidemic thatkilled many of his relatives on Cortes; Bonnie (Whittington)Brown, a Read Island cougar hunter who had ten kills to her creditwhen she was still just a girl; Dan McDonald, whowas rumoured to have been part ofthe infamous Jesse James Gangbefore he relocated to TwinIsland, then called Ulloa, in1889; and MikeManson, the resilientpioneer and businessmanwho helped shapepresent-day Cortes Island.Now JeanetteTaylor has given muchthe same treatment to thelargest of the Discovery Islandsfor The QuadraStory: A History of QuadraIsland (Harbour $32.95).Quadra 978-1-55017-488-5;Tidal 978-1-55017-435-9Magda Sayeg, founder of Knitta, an international guerrilla knitting movement, attaches a tag in Seattle.


18 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>


19 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>peopleBY <strong>BC</strong>BW STAFF &SAGE BIRCHWATERTHE SAGA OF ALKALI LAKE IS Aclassic B.C. story. For decadesthe gigantic Alkali Lake Ranchin the Cariboo was separated from theSecwepemc village of Esket (Alkali Lake)by a narrow, gravel road. On one side ofDog Creek Road was poverty; on theother was opulence.The famous ranch owned by theRiedemann family fifty miles south ofWilliams Lake, was founded in 1861 byGerman-born Herman OttoBowe. It long provided local employment,but Dog Creek Road marked theboundary for two solitudes, Cariboostyle.With the advent of social assistancein 1956, alcohol abuse spread like aplague within Esket. By 1970, accordingto elder Andy Chelsea, “It wasso bad people used to call it AlcoholLake.”Then Andy Chelsea’s seven-year-olddaughter Ivy changed everything in1972 when she told her mother Phyllisshe was refusing to come home if hermother kept drinking. Phyllis Chelseawas the first person in the communityto swear off booze. Her husbandAndy followed suit three weeks later. Inthe fall of 1972, Andy Chelsea, sober,was elected chief.Gradually, more adults in Esket rejectedalcohol. The elementary schoolwas re-opened. By the time LorneDufour arrived in 1974 to teach theGrade four and five classes, about 40 percent of the adults had kicked the alcoholhabit and the village was regainingits future, its self-esteem.Then came a terrible boating accident…In 1975, on a blusteryHallowe’en night, school principalJohn Rathjen and rancher Martinvon Riedemann lost theirTHE GREEKDRAMAOF DOG CREEKJacob Roper (left), a member of the Esketemc people (formerlyknown as the Alkali Lake Band), saved the life of Lorne Dufour(right) in 1975, when Dufour was an elementary schoolteacher atAlkali Lake. Dufour’s new memoir Jacob’s Prayer: Loss andResilience at Alkali Lake (Caitlin $18.95) recalls Jacob’sinspirational rescue as well as the tragedy that took the lives oftwo prominent local men on the same unforgettable night. In1985, Lorne Dufour played an alcoholic priest in the film calledThe Honor of All that re-enacts the story of the Alkali Lake Reserve’sbattle with the severe spread of alcoholism. Lorne Dufour is nowa handlogger and poet who lives off the grid in McLeese Lake,B.C., with his wife Diana. Jacob Roper still lives at Alkali Lake.lives—and Lorne Dufour’s life wassaved thanks to the quick actions ofJacob Roper.✍Jacob Roper was no stranger to tragedy.As described by Cariboo reporterSage Birchwater, Jacob’s nineteenyear-olddaughter, Rose Marie, wasfound dead beside a gravel road adjacentto a garbage dump on April 8, 1967.“Rose Marie died on the way to adance at Lac La Hache, forty-five minutessouth of Williams Lake. Her nakedbody was found the next morning, facedown in the snow on a gravel road besidethe highway. Her neck was brokenand her clothes were heaped in a pilenearby. The coroner declared she hadlikely died of hypothermia. Initially,three young white men were chargedwith manslaughter for the death of Rose<strong>BC</strong><strong>BOOKWORLD</strong>STAFF PICKMarie, then the charges were raised tonon-capital murder. On September 11,1967, a jury of eight men and fourwomen in Quesnel decided that two ofthe young men were only guilty of commonassault, and they were fined twohundred dollars. Charges against thethird man were dropped. Jacob Roperand the entire First Nations communitywere aghast. So were a growing numberof whites, who felt that the justice systemhad failed by not placing sufficientvalue on the life of an aboriginal woman.A week after the trial, Jacob and a groupof First Nations chiefs met with attorneygeneral Robert Bonner, claimingthat the verdict was an extreme miscarriageof justice. However, the court decisionprevailed.”✍In recording how Roper saved his life34 years ago, Dufour remembers his twocompanions who died.Martin von Riedemann wasa respected thirty-nine-year-old cattlemanand a founding director of theCariboo Regional District. He took controlof the ranch operation in 1963 afterhis father, an Austrian, had purchasedit in 1939.Largely for the benefit of his neighbours,Riedemann had bought sevenhundred dollars worth of fireworkswhich he planned to set off onHallowe’en night from his small boatanchored in the middle of Alkali Lake.Everything went according to plan, untila strong gale-force wind blew up thevalley from the Fraser River.John Rathjen, at twenty-nine, was themuch-loved principal of the three-classroomelementary school in Esket village.Rathjen had accepted the challenge ofreopening the Esket Elementary School,which had been closed for eight years.Lorne Dufour was one of three teachershired to work in the school with Rathjento develop individual learning programsfor each student. Lots of the students ingrades four and five had never beentaught to read or write.✍In the foreword, retired Cariboo Sentinelreporter Sage Birchwater has recordedhow Jacob Roper instinctivelypulled Lorne Dufour’s nearly lifelessbody from the waters of Alkali Lake tohis pickup truck, and drove him to theteacherage next to the school in Esketvillage:Jacob knew what to do to treat severehypothermia. He stripped off Lorne’sclothes and put him into a bathtub ofwarm water. “He kept pouring bucketafter bucket of warm water down mybackbone until I revived,” Lorne recalls.Jacob says he learned how to treat hypothermiafrom his grandfather and “allcontinued on page 20


20 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>CommonThreadsfictionalbiography byDoris Ray212 pages$22.95ISBN 9780981073583Path ofDescent andDevotionpoetry byIlya Tourtidis96 pages$14.95ISBN 9780981073552Impulsespoetry byManolis106 pages$14.95ISBN 9780981073569RECENT TITLES FROMCanada’s truly independent publisherKen Kirkby:A Painter’sQuest forCanadabiography byGoody Niosi288 pages$24.95ISBN 9780981073576Satin Shoesfor children byLoreena M. Lee106 pages$14.95ISBN 9780981073545Fury ofthe Windfiction byDoris Riedweg206 pages$19.95ISBN 9780981073538peoplecontinued from page 19the old Indians. Water draws out thecold,” he explains.Jacob got practical experience treatinghypothermia when he worked at St.Joseph’s Mission. “At the Mission, the boyswould go skating when the temperaturewas way below zero. They only had thinsocks to wear. Sometimes they’d get reallycold. We’d take off their skates and puttheir feet in warm water. Blood-heat temperature.Too hot is no good.”Jacob says he could have saved Martin’slife too, but he never had the chance.Martin was still alive when he was rescuedfrom the cold water of the lake andwhisked up to the ranch house by his family.Still wearing his wet clothes, he waswrapped in a blanket and placed in frontof a roaring fireplace, and the doctor wascalled from Williams Lake.Jacob says a lot of people make thatmistake. “The heat from the fire drivesthe cold into the body. Water can drawit out, and you wouldn’t get sick.”Riedemann died that night from hypothermiaas the cold penetrated hisbody and stopped his heart.After his warm water treatment in thebathtub, Lorne recovered from his ordealwith no ill effects. “Lorne got upand went back down to the lake to lookfor his partner,” Jacob says. “But therewas nothing he could do.”Sadly, John Rathjen never made it toshore. His body was recovered the nextday from the lake, close to the spot whereLorne had seen him disappear beneaththe waves.✍“In a way I am Jacob’s prayer,” LorneDufour says. “I survived, bought a teamof horses and had a family.“By his actions, he got beyond forgiveness.He got in touch with creation.He did it automatically. He did whathad to be done. He knew when he wascalled to do something he could do it.“In many ways, Jacob was his ownprayer.” 978-1-894759-35-9Celebrating our 3rd Anniversarywww.libroslibertad.caYVES BEAUVALLET PHOTOLorne Dufourwith Leonardand DoraTwo Solitudes, Cariboo styleVeteran Cariboo writer Sage Birchwater has outlined thesocial background for Lorne Dufour’s memoir:Alkali Lake Ranch is the oldest continually-operating cattle ranch in BritishColumbia. It was established in 1861 by Herman Otto Bowe as astopping house along the Fraser River Trail, the main route to the goldfieldsof Barkerville until the Cariboo Wagon Road was completed in 1863. Bowetook up the verdant land in the valley previously occupied by the Esketemc people.There was push and shove between the settler armed with deeds from the newlymintedcolonial government and the Esketemc people, who persisted in occupyingtheir ancestral homesites. After Bowe staked his homestead, Esketemc familiescontinued to camp on his pre-emption whenever he was away. “Old Mr. Bowewould chase the Indians away,” recalls Phyllis Chelsea, “and we’d keep comingback.” Finally a standoff occurred. An Esketemc woman, hiding her walkingstick under her multiple layers of skirts, pretended it was a shotgun. She told Boweshe would shoot him if he didn’t back off. “That’s why our village of Esket is establishedwhere it is,” Phyllis says.Over the years, ownership of Alkali Lake Ranch changed hands several times.In 1910 the historic ranch passed out of the Bowe family when it was purchased byCharles Wynn-Johnson, a British subject who came to British Columbia duringthe gold rush. Under Wynn-Johnson’s tenure the ranch expanded in size, incorporatingnearby ranches, until it became one of the largest cattle operations in theprovince. In 1912 it covered 25,000 acres and ran 1,500 head of cattle. In 1939 theranch was sold to Mario von Riedemann, who had fled to Canada from Austriawith his wife and four children to avoid the Nazi menace. Mario’s son, Martin,took over operation of the ranch in 1963.For over a hundred years there existed an uneasy truce between the villagers ofEsket and the owners of Alkali Lake Ranch. It was a bittersweet relationship. Overthe decades the ranch grew in size to over 37,000 deeded acres, and providedemployment for many Esketemc men and women. During this period, it providedideal jobs such as cowboying, building fences, haying, irrigating and working thefields for wages. Nonetheless, a persistent struggle for control over resources likewater rights and land between the Esketemc and the ranch owners remained. Thestruggle was framed by the obvious class disparity between the nobility of the ranchowners in their fourteen-bedroom mansion, and the people of Esket living in crowdedimpoverishment next door.


LOOKOUTaforum for & about writers # 373516 W. 13th Ave., Vancouver, <strong>BC</strong> V6R 2S3 • bookworld@telus.netMARILYN BOWERING PHOTOIrecently downloaded, at home,twenty-one copies of MargaretAtwood’s best-selling novel AliasGrace from a B.C. library. I did it byaccident, but if I was able to stagger thesign-out dates, and renew each of thesedigital copies, Alias Grace could remainin my possession for a long time.An Adobe programme I freelydownloaded from my library’s websiteenables me to distribute these copies to“up to six computers or supported mobiledevices (such as a Sony® Reader).”The Adobe website tells me “if you reachthe limit, contact Customer Service toincrease your allowable activations.”Victoria-born Julie Lawson,who has written more than twentybooks for young people, had no idea thatone of her books for children, CougarCove, first published in 1994, is alsoavailable, free, via digital download, frommost libraries in the province.Atwood and Lawson’s books areavailable through the <strong>BC</strong> government’sLibraries Without Walls programme,launched in 2004 with an initial $12million grant. The project involved theexpansion of broadband across the province,and set out to improve access tobooks and journals. It has grown into abig initiative to increase the number ofeBooks, audio books and periodicals in<strong>BC</strong>’s libraries—downloadable right toyour home.To develop Libraries Without Walls,extensive consultations were held withsixty-six libraries, several <strong>BC</strong> governmentministries, unions, schools, municipalrepresentatives and the <strong>BC</strong> Chamber ofCommerce. Unfortunately, the folkswho in Canada own the legal copyright to the primaryassets (the books)—the writers—were not invited.✍Dave Godfrey, a pioneer in electronic media anda former publisher, sees what the libraries are doing as anastonishing breach of copyright law. “Fundamentally,”he says, “libraries have no right to digitise the books theyhave in their stacks. In Canada, residual copyright restswith the author.”Patrick Trelawny, a Victoria lawyer knowledgeablein the laws of copyright, confirms: “Librarieshave not traditionally been granted any special rights bypublishers or authors. Libraries purchase books just likeany other consumer, and the transaction is simply coveredby an invoice.”Sections 29 and 30 of Canada’s Copyright Act definethe circumstances under which libraries are able to reproducein whole the works they hold. No reproduction isallowed “where an appropriate copy [i.e. a book] is commerciallyavailable . . .” The Copyright Act also specifiesthat libraries are NOT allowed to reproduce “a work offiction or poetry or a dramatic or musical work.”“Libraries,” Trelawny continues, “have the right to lendbooks out to their members, but not to reproduce them—unless they have specifically been grantedthe right to reproduce. Digitisation isclassed as reproduction.”Canada’s Supreme Court stated in itsDecember 2006 ruling in the $11 millionclass action suit won by writerHeather Robertson versusThomson Corp, “. . . the Copyright Actshould continue to apply in different media,but it does not mean that once a workSTEALINGATWOODFree downloads have crippled themusic industry. Michael Elcock wonders ifour libraries are facilitating the same fatefor Canadian writing and publishing.is converted into electronic data anything can then be donewith it. The resulting work must still conform to theexigencies of the Copyright Act.”Nevertheless, the digitisation of copyrighted materialgoes on. Paul Whitney, city librarian at the VancouverPublic Library, fully expects authors to be compensatedaccording to their contracts with publishers. “Thelibraries have to assume that the publishers have their contractualhouse in order,” he says.But who, in <strong>BC</strong>’s libraries, is taking responsibility forensuring that authors’ copyrights are being protected? Whois ensuring that authors are paid fairly for this use of theirwork? And what about the libraries’ legal right to reproducetheir holdings at all? Is everyone just turning a blindeye to Canada’s Copyright Act?Alias Grace was originally published in Canada byMcClelland and Stewart. The e-Book version of Atwood’sAlias Grace in my B.C. library is an American edition,published by Rosettabooks LLC of New York, and importedinto Canada by a Cleveland, Ohio-based companycalled Overdrive. So our libraries are not necessarilyproviding digital versions of the Canadian edition of Canadianwriters’ works.Margaret Atwood Heather Robertson Paul Whitney Andreas SchroederCanada’s Parliament passed an amendmentto the Copyright Act in 1997 outliningdistribution rights. Section 27.1 (1)states, “it is an infringement of copyrightin a book for any person to import the bookwhere (a) copies of the book were made withthe consent of the owner of the copyright inthe book in the country where the copieswere made, but were imported without theconsent of the owner of the copyright in thebook in Canada . . .”The RosettaBooks.com website comesup blank if you search for Alias Grace, orfor Margaret Atwood, which suggests thatthe US edition may be out of print. HasAtwood given her permission for this useof the US edition of her book? HasRosettabooks LLC been legally assignedthe e-rights that they’ve passed along toOverdrive, the US ‘aggregator’ that’s doingthe digitising?Meanwhile it appears that almostnone of the <strong>BC</strong> taxpayers’ money investedin this project has thus far gone to <strong>BC</strong>publishers, and very, very little of it—ifany at all—has apparently gone to <strong>BC</strong>authors.✍The Association of <strong>BC</strong> Book Publishers(ABP<strong>BC</strong>) has been trying to help itsmembers to digitise and sell their backliststo <strong>BC</strong>’s libraries through the Best of <strong>BC</strong>Books Online project. The asking pricefor the backlists is $2 million, whichwould give <strong>BC</strong>’s libraries a “multi-userperpetual licence.” But the <strong>BC</strong> government—approacheddirectly by theABP<strong>BC</strong>—has not yet agreed to fund thisaspect of the overall programme, and thelibraries may not be able to afford it bythemselves. The money spent so far seemsto have gone on purchasing from theAmerican digitisers—and very few of thebooks involved are by <strong>BC</strong> writers.Andreas Schroeder, who wasinstrumental in getting Canada’s Parliamentto establish the Public Lending Right programmein the 1980s, shakes his head at this. “I’m not surprisedby this at all,” he says. “It’s because the libraries are buyingtheir eBooks from two or three major jobbers, andthey’re American.”The ABP<strong>BC</strong> is now proposing that a limited samplerof 600 backlist titles by <strong>BC</strong> publishers be made availableto some of <strong>BC</strong>’s libraries for a period of one year. Thepublishers, who have signed agreements with the ABP<strong>BC</strong>confirming that they have the legal right to digitise theirauthors’ works, will presumably have examined their contractsto make sure they have the rights to give these worksaway on such a scale as this, even if only for a limitedperiod of time.✍Electronic rights have only been factored into publisher–authorcontracts relatively recently. The great majorityof books written in the 20th century are undercopyright protection, and cannot legally be digitised withoutthe consent of the author or the author’s heirs. Buttoo many writers, and their representative associations,have been asleep at the switch while these huge digitisationinitiatives have been going on. Most writers who havesigned away their digital rights to publishers have had littleappreciation of the implications, andseveral to whom I spoke were as surprisedas Julie Lawson to find that their booksare available on-line, for free, from <strong>BC</strong>’slibraries.Canada’s writers’ organizations need toask: if our members’ books can bedownloaded into any living room in theprovince, why would anyone bother tobuy them?continued on next page21 <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> • LOOKOUT • <strong>WINTER</strong> • <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>


LOOKOUTcontinued from previous pagePLR implicationsUnder Canada’s Public Lending Right legislation,writers receive some compensation for the loss of revenuesfrom book sales when they make their works availablefor free public use through libraries. Electronic booksmay fall into a PLR grey area. Michelle Legault,executive secretary of the PLR Commission in Ottawasays the commission is taking a wait-and-see attitude.Andreas Schroeder believes that all books are a part of alibrary’s holdings, whether they’re in the stacks or on computer;that if they’re listed in the library’s catalogue, thenthey should count. But Benoît Rollin of the PLRCommission says, “We only pay for paper books that areat least forty-eight pages long.”Dave Godfrey doesn’t believe eBooks are adequatelycovered under the existing legislation. “If they wanted toavoid PLR payments,” he says, “the libraries could justtake the hard copy books off their shelves and the writerswouldn’t get anything.”The 144-year-old Cushing Academy in Ashburnham,near Boston, Massachusetts has done exactly whatGodfrey has envisioned. Cushing has dumped its wholelibrary of 20,000 books in favour of digitisation, andspent thousands of dollars on large flat-screen TVs “thatwill project data from the Internet,” and on electronicreaders—produced by Amazon and Sony—for the useof their students.The future has arrived. U<strong>BC</strong> is already downsizing itshard copy library holdings in keeping with many otheracademic libraries here, in the US, and the United Kingdom.Content and security<strong>BC</strong>’s libraries are not restricted to digitising books theyalready own. “Some libraries are buying digitised titlesthat are not in their stacks,” Paul Whitney admits. “They’rebuying them from what we call ‘aggregators’—contentdistribution enterprises.”One of the ‘aggregators’ they’re buying from is Birmingham,Alabama-based EBSCO, which claims itsdatabases are more widely used by libraries than those ofany other ‘aggregator.’ EBSCO sells books and periodicalsin batches of several thousand, and <strong>BC</strong>’s libraries areamong its customers. Most of the content sold by theseaggregators is American. Mark Bingham, at the VictoriaPublic Library, told me that Victoria’s part in thedigitisation project is being handled by a Cleveland Ohiobasedcompany called Overdrive.So does the Victoria Public Library have cast-ironguarantees that the aggregator they’ve hired won’t be addingthe Victoria Library’s inventory to its own bank ofdigital assets, and selling them on to, say, a library inAuckland, or Miami? Where and how have theseaggregators acquired the eBooks and periodicals they’reselling? And when these collections are sold to <strong>BC</strong>’s libraries,does the money get back to the original publishersand authors?Is ANYBODY monitoring these transactions?Retired Victoria librarian Barbara Chouinardrecalls an American company called Blackstone whichplaced no limits on the number of copies of its productsthat were able to be downloaded by library members.She says some aggregators even sold digitised product intothe libraries that could be downloaded onto CD burningprogrammes. “Language learning and self-help books,”says Chouinard, “were the ones I was mostly aware of inthis respect. But some of them even allowed library membersto download novels which you could burn onto aCD; novels that were still under copyright protection.Some of my colleagues were stunned that you could dothis. It was like allowing people to photocopy books—except that it was really easy, and dirt cheap.”The use of Digital Rights Management technologysupposedly prevents library users from copying the booksthey download, and passing them along to others. ButDRM technology has serious drawbacks. Dave Godfrey,wearing his software developer hat, is dismissive. “Theseencryptions are pretty easy to break,” he says. BillThompson, a regular commentator on the B<strong>BC</strong>World Service programme Go Digital agrees. “…theencryption mechanisms which underpin rights managementsystems can never be made effective or acceptable… The more technologically competent are perfectly ableto strip off these protections.”Twenty-one copies of Alias Grace are on my computer.How much will Margaret Atwood be paid? Giventhe current efforts of Google Inc. to grab the rights toreproduce all literary works by North American authors—THE INVENTION OF READING IN BED.“Eventually we may only need one library, not tens ofthousands of them. And that one library will probablybe the ‘benign’ giant Google Inc., except that itscontents won’t be available for free.”—MICHAEL ELCOCKunless individuals legally object by sending Google an optoutletter—we would have to be naïve to assume Americanaggregators will be bending over backwards to ensurea fair deal for Canadian writers.While researching this article, I couldn’t find anyonewho was prepared to step up and take responsibility forensuring that an author’s copyright was being protectedthrough this process of acquiring digital books from US‘aggregators’; that authors were being notified that it washappening, or to confirm that authors would be paid forthe use of their work.ConclusionThere can be little question that the digitisation ofbooks by libraries and their surrogates will have a significantimpact on a writers’ ability to make a living—to theextent that some writers may wish to have library usespecifically excluded in future contractual agreements withtheir publishers.As for the publishers who are willingly allowing theirbacklists to be digitised by the libraries, or by Google,well, their future may be under threat, too. If you’re a‘good’ publisher, then make sure that your inventory hasnot been digitised by a library or anyone else withoutyour permission. Make sure your authors have grantedyou their electronic rights before you authorise anyone—even, and especially, libraries—to digitise those works.And if you are a librarian, you should remember thatyou hold the works of writers in trust, and that trust restsentirely upon concepts of fairness and balance to the writersas well as to the library’s members. PLR exists to providesome of that balance, but if the trust is abused then thelibraries may have to consider one potential end game—which is that the lending library as we know it may welldisappear.Libraries are only taking up valuable real estate afterall. Who will need downtown libraries when the world’sintellectual works are available electronically in everyone’shome?Eventually we may only need one library, not tens ofthousands of them. And that one library will probably bethe ‘benign’ giant Google Inc., except that its contentswon’t be available for free. Google may be many things,but philanthropic is not one of them. Users will have topay to read books. And Google could decide what youcan read and what you can’t.Andrew Carnegie will be spinning in his grave.Canada’s present government seems to be trying hard tobring this about through Bill C-61, which will changethe laws, and the concepts, of intellectual rights. Canada’swriters, publishers and librarians still have the abilityto shape the present, inequitable situation into somethingthat works for all of them into the future, but only ifthey work together to do it, and only if they embrace thebasic principles of fairness and balance.The Status of the Artist Act, passed by Canada’s parliamentin 1992, includes among its basic principles, “theimportance to artists that they be compensated for the useof their works, including the public lending of them.” That’sall very well, but I prefer the protection offered by theCurse Against Book Stealers that you’ll find in the Monasteryof San Pedro in Barcelona. It may be a bit extremeby today’s standards, but it’s worth remembering:“For him that stealeth a Book fromthis Library, let it change into a serpentin his hand and rend him. Lethim be struck with Palsy, and all hisMembers blasted. Let him languishin Pain crying aloud for Mercy andlet there be no surcease to his Agonytill he sink in Dissolution. Let Bookwormsgnaw his Entrails in token ofthe Worm that dieth not, and whenat last he goeth to his final Punishment,let the flames of Hell consumehim for ever and aye.”Michael Elcock of Sooke is the non-fiction author of A PerfectlyBeautiful Place and Writing on Stone. He haswritten numerous articles for newspapers and periodicals inEurope and North America. A lengthier version of this articlecan be found under Michael Elcock atwww.abcbookworld.comJOSEPH FARRIS ILLUSTRATION22 <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> • LOOKOUT • <strong>WINTER</strong> • <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>


24 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>


25 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>peopleGuujaaw, president of the Haida Nation,participated in the Skidegate ceremony toestablish the waters of Bowie Seamount, located180 kilometres west of Haida Gwaii, as Canada’sseventh Marine Protected Area, April 19, 2008.REVOLUTIONARIESTHAT WENT BUMPIN THE NIGHTIan Gill documents the fall and riseof Guujaaw’s peopleFORMER VANCOUVER SUN WRITERIan Gill knows that talk isnot cheap. As he points out inAll That We Say is Ours:Guujaaw and the Reawakening of theHaida Nation (D&M $34.95) it istalk—oral history and storytelling—thathas served the Haida Nation as the basisfor reviving its culture.And it was a fervent conversationbetween two men after a chance meetingin the middle of the night that revolutionizedthe political landscape ofHaida Gwaii.In All That We Say is Ours, Gill hasrefracted the history of the Haidathrough the prism of one man, GaryEdenshaw, first known asGiindajin, a name that means “full ofquestions,” whowas born in 1953into a family ofnine children atthe town ofMasset on HaidaGwaii. He didGRANT SHILLING not go to residentialschool. As ayoung tough working at the DragonBowling Alley, rowing, singing anddrumming, he gradually evolved into aman with answers, to be known insteadas Guujaaw.It was “the narrowest of threads”—dancing at the feet of his great-grandmotherand demonstrating a keennessfor listening to the stories of his elders—that connected Guujaaw to the Haida’svast culture. Guujaaw’s mother diedwhen he was fifteen. He learned carpentryas a trade, leaving the island for a fewyears before returning to his hometownin the early ’70s, when Haida Gwaii hadbegun to attract some counter-culturetypes. Jenny Nelson, a flower childfrom Ontario, would become his wifeand mother of his children.In 1974, Thom ‘Huck’Henley, an American setting up inHaida Gwaii, arrived at Masset. Duringhis stay at a cabin, Henley literallybumped into Guujaaw in the middle ofthe night. They struck up a conversationand sat down and drew a line on a mapof South Morseby that Gill describes as“the most incredible act of kitchen tablecartography.” The line wasn’t arrived atthrough any science or protocol, “It wasjust a couple of guys in the middle ofthe night with the hare-brained notionthat everything below that line” shouldbe spared from industrial logging.Today that line is the northernboundary of Gwaii Haanas, now aworld-protected area.Haida Gwaii (“Island of the People”)according to Haida legend emergedfrom a cockle shell at Rose Spit over10,000 years ago, off the coast of BritishColumbia. A land of great abundanceand beauty it was inhabited by tens ofthousands of Haida for over six thousandyears. On a clear day Alaska to thenorth is visible but mainland Canada isnever in its sights.In 1787, the islands were surveyed byCaptain George Dixon and namedby Captain Dixon after one of his ships,the Queen Charlotte. At the time of colonialcontact, the population was roughly10,000 to 60,000. Ninety percent of thepopulation died during the 1800s fromsmallpox; other diseases arrived as well,including typhoid, measles, and syphilis,affecting many more inhabitants. By1900, only 350 people remained.Industrial logging arrived in the early1900s. The Gowgaia Institute has estimatedthat 70,000 hectares were loggedTHOM HENLEYfirst visited the SkeenaRiver region in 1971. Today he is working to establishan International Rediscovery Centre onthe banks of the Skeena River "as a livinglegacy for youth from all over the world," as wellas writing, and contributing photos for, Riverof Mist, Journey of Dreams (RediscoveryInternational $34.95), with a foreword byRoy Henry Vickers. This book projectwas encouraged by Linda Lafleur, publisherof The Daily News in Prince Rupert,and received financial support from theKispiox Band Council, Gitanmaax BandCouncil and Kitselas Band Council.over the next century—enough wood tocircle the earth with a six-foot diameterlog worth about 20 billion dollars.Whole hillsides were laid bare as the increasingmechanization of forestry allowedloggers to travel further and takemore.From an aboriginal perspective, ownershipof the land was never in questionuntil someone arrived to contest it. Beginningwith Sir James Douglasand the Hudson’s Bay Company, therewas no real distinction between the goalsof government and those of business.Successive B.C. governments went outof their way to avoid settling the landquestion, or even acknowledging therewas a “question” at all. Native people wereherded onto reserves and left to theirmisery.By the 1960s, Masset served as partof the Canadian Forces supplementaryradio system. Tension between the youngsoldiers and the young Haida men wasgrowing. On June 3, 1978, Giindajinand a small gaggle of protesters came toprotest the presence of the military base.This happened twelve years before theOka crisis. Reaction from members ofthe community was mixed but it wasclear that Giindajin and the concerns herepresented were not going away.During a potlatch in 1981 to celebratethe completion of a longhouse,Giindajin was given another name—Guujaaw (meaning “drum”). The nameinferred he was authorized to articulatea Haida worldview through his oratory.His talk. There were very few Haida inthe early 1980s who were taking aprominent role in the South Moresbyconservation campaign, or the otherenvironmental campaigns on the island.As the issue of logging grew, it becameimperative to “restore what hadbecome an environmental issue into aHaida issue.” As a result only Haidawould man the blockades—an environmentalissue, but a Haida responsibility.The first blockades opened a significantnew chapter in Haida mythology, andgave rise to a song that today is a kind ofnational anthem for the Haida Gwaii.On July 7, 1987, a deal was struck toestablish Gwaii Haanas National Park.An elder was overheard at the signingceremony saying it was “far more significantthan the signing of the SouthMorseby agreement. It marks the rebirthof a nation.” It was also a milestonein the ascendancy of Guujaaw.In 1997, the Supreme Court ofCanada had found in Delgamuukw, thataboriginal title had not been extinguishedin Canada despite Canada’s andBritish Columbia’s claims to the contrary.Ian Gill has provided a thoroughanalysis of the forces that contributed tothe fall and rise of the Haida people.With All That We Say is Ours, he hasgiven voice to the struggles of the Haidapeople and their fight for self-determinationwhile at the same time raisingtroubling questions about Canadianpolitical values.All We Say is Ours offers a social historyof the transformation of a peopleand its relation to the logging industryin cahoots with the provincial government.While a more complete history ofthe Haida might be found elsewhere,what Gill contributes is a rethinking ofthe facts especially as personified byGuujaaw and his truly revolutionaryardor.Grant Shilling is the author of The CedarSurf: An Informal History of Surfing inBritish Columbia (www.cedarsurf.com).


26 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>


27 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>peopleHOCKEY NIGHT IN NEW DENVERPainter Henry Shimizu andthe boys of winterFROM FIRST SONTO NINTH DAUGHTERAFTER TAKING HER FIRST WRITING COURSE AT AGE 70, AT THE COMOX BRANCH OF NORTHIsland College, Lily Hoy Price, eight years later, has published her memoirFull Moon: Stories of a Ninth Daughter (Brindle & Glass $19.95). It all beganwhen she was encouraged by writers Lynne Van Luven and Sheila Munroto publish her reminiscence of a pair of shoes in Ricepaper magazine. Having published her story Almost Cinderella, Price interviewedher sisters and friends, and consulted books about the Cariboo,including Faith Moosang’s book about her father, First Son: Portraitsby C.D. Hoy.C.D. Hoy was an accomplished commercial photographer wholeft a legacy of more than 1,500 photos of the Cariboo. He hadtaught himself photography in Barkerville in 1909 and opened hisfamily-run general store in 1913. Lily Hoy Price has inherited herfather’s desk from that general store datingfrom the early 1900s.“The desk is now part of my bedroomfurniture,” she writes. “It is the firstthing I see in the morning and the lastthing at night.”Born in Quesnel in 1930, Lily Hoy Pricehas also lived in England, Nigeriaand Uganda. Whereas her fathergave his children Englishnames; her mother gave themChinese names. She wasnamed Lily by her father, butLily Hoy Priceher Chinese name means Fullwas raised inthe Cariboo.Moon. 978-1-897142-38-7Principal Wong co-managesa corner store in Victoria.INTERNED IN NEW DENVER IN 1942, HENRY SHIMIZU AND HIS TEENAGE FRIENDSspent their winter nights around illegal radios listening to the raspy voice ofFoster Hewitt. Most of the Japanese Canadians cheered for the Leafs,but one of his friends sported a Montreal jersey during the play-by-play broadcastsof Hockey Night in Canada. “The pond above Harris Ranch was our naturalhockey rink,” he recalls, “the scene of many pick-up scrums and organizedgames.... It is amazing that humble beginnings such as these would culminate inJapanese Canadians participating as members of the Canadian Olympic hockeyteams at Salt Lake in 2002. In those games both men’s (Paul Kariya) andwomen’s (Vicky Sunohara) hockey teams won Olympic Gold.”At age 13, Henry Shimizu went with his family to live in the New Denverinternment camp from 1942 to 1946. More than fifty years later he recalledhis experiences as one of 22,000 deportees sent inland from the coast withImages of Internment: A Bitter-Sweet Memoir in Words and Images (Ti-Jean Press $22.95).He recalls: “In 1999, 12 friends met for dinner at my sister GraceSakamoto’s home in Toronto. After dinner we had a frank discussion aboutour experiences in the New Denver Internment Camp, during 1942-1946.Theconsensus was a bitter-sweet episode in our lives, but with a major influence onour futures. Following this meeting, I painted 27 oil paintings about my impressionsof the lifestyle of teenagers in the Internment Camp in New Denver,1942-1946. The paintings were completed in 2002.”An opening exhibit of the paintings with explanatory panels was held at theEdmonton Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre on March 23, 2002—exactly60 years from the day Shimizu left Prince Rupert to begin his internment—and later it was remounted at Nikkei Place in 2006. The book appeared in thesummer of 2008, with stories, a prologue and an epilogue.“One would have thought that this experience would have embittered thisgroup and led to widespread despair and depression,” he writes. “Instead wecame away from this experience more determined to be successful Canadians,contrary to the intention of those who promoted and carried out this injusticeof internment and exile.”Raised in Prince Rupert prior to the internment of Japanese Canadians,Dr. Henry Shimizu of Victoria is a retired plastic surgeon who was an associateclinical professor of plastic surgery at the University of Alberta. In 2004, hewas awarded the Order of Canada and, in 2005, the Distinguished AlumniAward from the University of Alberta. One of the first Japanese Canadians toreceive an MD and practice medicine in Canada after World War II, he cofoundedwestern Canada’s first burn treatment centre and served as chair ofthe Japanese Canadian Redress Foundation from 1989-2001. 978-1-896627-16-8CORNER HISTOREIANBEHIND EVERY BOOK, THERE IS AN AUTHOR’S JOURNEY. TAKE, FORinstance, the remarkable path to publication of Kileasa Wong.Born as Wu Chewan in Hong Kong, she changed her name when she marriedMaurice Wong and immigrated to Canada in 1974. Since then she has co-manageda corner store in Victoria,raised four sons, received aMaster’s in Education fromUVic and taught at the ChinesePublic School on FisgardStreet—where she became theschool’s principal.Kileasa Wong has translatedRobert Amos’ textfor a fully bi-lingual tribute toCanada’s oldest Chinatown,Inside Chinatown: AncientCulture in a New World(Touchwood $44.95), withdrawings and illustrations byAmos.Wong also serves as secretaryof the Chinese ConsolidatedBenevolent Associationand edits its bi-monthly newsletterwhich she founded in1993 and which has usedRobert Amos’ drawings on almostevery cover. 978-1-894898-91-1


28 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>peopleIT’S NOT ABOUT THE BOATKids will have a blast reading about all kinds of explosionsfrom the Big Bang to the “pop” of a seedpod. Bursting withinformation, fun facts and dramatic images, this book is sureto engage and surprise young readers. Ages 9+Check out the sample chapter on www.annickpress.com.Shoot!www.annickpress.comAvailable from your favourite bookstoreBowering’s classic duster about <strong>BC</strong>’s McLeanGang, and the train of events that brought themto the gallows in New WestminsterGeorge BoweringBlackberry Books • DuthieFIND IT HEREBooks • <strong>BC</strong> Ferries •People’s Co-op Bookstore • PulpfictionBooks • Abraxas Books, Denman I. •Sorensen Books • Pollen Sweaters, Lund• Book Bonanza, Quadra I. • Chapters •Indigo • chapters.indigo.ca • amazon.comPain Is Temporary. Quitting Lasts Forever.This slogan—from Lance Armstrong’s book, It’s Not About the Bike—was handprinted across the stern of the rowboat that was used by VancouverbasedTori Holmes and Paul Gleeson to complete their 85-day journeyacross the Atlantic Ocean in February 2006, having departed from the CanaryIslands.The inspirational Armstrong quote remained in their sights with every strokeof the oars during their 4,700-kilometre adventure on the high seas—overcomingcapsizing, thirst, hallucinations and sleep deprivation.This arms-strong voyage has been recounted in Crossing the Swell: An AtlanticJourney by Rowboat (Rocky Mountain $19.95) already reviewed glowinglyby the Sunday Tribune and other publications in Britain.Gleeson (a former financial advisor from Limerick, Ireland) and Holmes (aself-described “girlie girl” from Devon, Alberta) were competing in a Trans-Atlantic Race during which she became the youngest woman to row across theAtlantic.Most oar-powered crossings have connected the Canary and Caribbean Islands(5,000 kilometres). Julie and Colin Angus of B.C. were the first tocross from the mainland of one continent to the mainland of another (10,000kilometres). The story of how they rowed for 145 days across the Atlantic, fromLisbon, Portugal to Costa Rica was recounted in Rowboat in a Hurricane: MyAmazing Journey Across a Changing Atlantic Ocean (Greystone 2008).More than 200 people have used oar-power to cross the Atlantic, including18 women. The first such voyage by rowboat was completed in 1896 by twoNorwegians. At least six people have died trying, and dozens have requireddeep-sea rescue. 978-1-897522-53-0www.NewStarBooks.comTori Holmesand PaulGleesonPoetry about Terrace and the North, from a new voiceWhy Does It Feel So Late?Simon ThompsonMisty River Books,FIND IT HERETerrace • Books & Co.,Prince George • Duthie Books • Pulpfi ction •People’s Co-op Bookstore • Blackberry Books• Cadboro Bay Books, Victoria • SorensenBooks, Victoria • Abraxas Books,Denman Island • 32 Books, North Vancouver• Chapters • Indigo Books + Music •chapters.indigo.ca • amazon.comwww.NewStarBooks.com


29 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>peopleRICHARD SOMERSET MACKIEbecame an historian at ageeleven when he started diggingup old bottles from an Edwardian-eradump near his parents’North Saanich home in 1969. Histool kit consisted of a trowel,hoe, short-handled shovel anda bucket.“Once this dump was exhausted,” hesays, “I moved to other parts of TsehumHarbour and eventually to the shorelineand old farms of North Saanich.” Whiledigging at Judge Matthew BaillieBegbie’s former summer house at ElkLake, he found exquisite Scotch whiskybottles as well as Chinese pottery to augmenthis collection of First Nations basaltarrowheads.His parents, who were academics atthe University of Victoria, encouragedhim to take an extended sabbatical inBritain and Europe in 1974-75, duringwhich he explored Corfu on a moped,hitchhiked through Provence, walkedthe length of Hadrian’s Wall (it rainedthe whole way), explored the Thames atlow tide and climbed Traitor’s Gate intothe Tower of London.After studying mediaeval history atthe University of St. Andrews, and laterarchaeology, history, and historical geographyin Canada, Mackie obtained hisPh.D from U<strong>BC</strong> in 1993. Three booksand four years later, Mackie won the <strong>BC</strong>Historical Federation’s top book awardfor Trading Beyond the Mountains (U<strong>BC</strong>Press, 1997), a study of the fur trade.By digging deeper into his ownbackyard, Mackie won that same prizeagain, this time for volume one of hissocial history of the Comox LoggingCompany, Island Timber (Sono Nis,2000).Mackie is back with its sequel, MountainTimber (Sono Nis $42.95), openingwith a quote from former Socredcabinet minister and Bible-thumperPhil Gaglardi,“Those trees weren’tput on that mountainFORGOTTEN FIRSRichard Somerset Mackie recalls how the Comox Logging Companyproduced more than six billion board feet of lumber.by God to be praised, they were putthere to be cut down.”✍Whereas Island Timber was set on thelow-lying coastal flats adjacent to theStrait of Georgia, Mountain Timber coversthe company’s later and higher fortunesin the densely-forested valleys andlakes of Vancouver Island, mainly between1925 and 1945.As the company depleted itssupply of coastal Douglas fir inthe 1920s, it moved inland tolog the Bevan sidehill, the shoresof Comox Lake, and the valleysand tributaries of the Puntledgeand Cruickshank Rivers. MountainTimber also revisits ComoxLogging’s railway logging Camps 1, 2,and 3, around Oyster River and BlackCreek.Overall the company logged whatseemed like an endless supply of timberin the Comox Valley, producing morethan six billion board feet of lumber.Mackie estimates that’s enough timberto “build at least a million homes—enough to house everyone in British Columbia.”Mostly the Comox Company harvestedDouglas fir. With growth ringsof 50 or 60 per inch, the remarkableDouglas fir was in high demand forhouse construction back in 1912, andwhen these homes are demolished today,the wood is sometimes shipped to theU.S. to be “re-sawn and re-sold.”Mountain Timber is also the story ofthe men who worked for Comox Logging,some sticking with the companyfor their entire working lives; people thatlogging poet and engineer RobertSwanson once called the“Homeguards.”Mackie conductedinterviewswith employees andtheir descendants—skid greasers,scalers, cooks, fallers, bookkeepers, sawfilers, logger sports champions (one whoMARK FORSYTHEcould bend six-inch spikes into horseshoes),teachers and wives.With a workforce made up primarilyof Swedes, Finns, Scots and English,Comox Valley Logging was also one ofthe first B.C. companies to hire locally;chief engineer Robert Filberg encouragedemployees to buy land in theComox Valley, put down roots and startfarming.The company sold land toone entrepreneur who builtFishermen’s Lodge on the OysterRiver. His grandson remarks,“Before that, the menat Camp 2 would go to Vancouverand get pissed up.... it[the hotel] was a way of keepinglocal employees.”Interviewee Doris Walker recalls,“Filberg did something for logging: heinstilled in his workers how nice it wouldbe to have a little ranch or chicken farm,because they were shut down in the winterfor the snow, in the summer for fires,and sometimes in between for strikes. Nomoney was coming at these times. Sothey listened to Filberg and bought property,and did what he suggested.”Comox Logging had the financialmuscle to harvest, cut, ship and distributelumber as a subsidiary of CanadianWestern Lumber Company. It was an“integrated” company long before welabelled them as such.“In 1911 Comox Logging becamethe first Canadian company to introducehighlead logging, then known as aeriallogging,” writes Mackie, “in the formof state-of-the-art, track-mountedLidgerwood steam skidders. Steam tugstowed booms of logs to Fraser Mills (thename of a Canadian Western subsidiaryas well as the associated company town,now part of Port Coquitlam). There itwas sawn for export and for shipmentby rail to the Prairies, where CanadianWestern’s lumberyards numberedaround 200 in 1912.”The photographs in Mountain Tim-ber really help make this book. Many areon loan from family albums, and theydisplay skills, machinery and monsterDouglas fir trees long forgotten. Accordingto one retired forester, some of thestumps, “took three strides to get across.”There are steam locomotives galore,men on logging shows sporting strawhats (hard hats didn’t arrive until the1950s), and crude logging camps thatArthur Mayse once described as“long, narrow and severely plain.”High riggers balance atop head spars140 feet above the ground (these werehuge trees stripped into poles forpulling logs off hillsides). One of them,Herman Anderson, great-grandfatherof actress PamelaAnderson, was considered one of thebest men at his job in B.C. before hewas killed when a guy-rope jarred looseand hit him.Mountain Timber features baseballteams, dance halls and female worldbucking champions. “I could see whyJack Hodgins, whose father anduncles worked for Comox Logging, haswritten so prodigiously about the ComoxValley,” writes Mackie. “Like the paintingsof E.J. Hughes, the history ofVancouver Island combines equalstrands of industry, agriculture, forestedlandscape, and working people, and alarge canvas to portray it all.”Mackie builds commendably on thework of local historians and newspaperaccounts, but it’s the voices of employeesand descendants that give this accountits lifeblood, detailing a way of lifethat sustained communities and familiesfor decades—until the timber ran out.Only 2% of that Douglas fir forestremains, and today many Vancouver Islandcommunities are facing the harshreality of mill closures and drasticallyreduced timber supply. 1-55039-171-2Mark Forsythe ably hosts C<strong>BC</strong> Almanacwhen he’s not taking photographs, touringB.C. and writing books.Former backyardarchaeologist RichardSomerset Mackieexplores Tree Island inComox Bay


READY FOR A NEW CHAPTERIt’s your story. Create the future you want with SFU’s Writingand Publishing Program, the largest of its kind in Canada.Courses and certificate programs in:Business Communication and Professional WritingEditingPublishingCreative Writing / The Writer’s StudioTechnical Communication (online){ }Career Options in Technical Writing, Business Writing, Editing, and PublishingSaturday, January 16, <strong>2010</strong> / 11 am–4:30 pm / SFU Vancouver / Fee $50 / WRIT 308Whether you have already charted a career for yourself or you are in the beginningstages of investigating careers in writing, editing and publishing, you will walk awaywith a wealth of information delivered by industry professionals.Veronika, alumna,Editing Certificate.THE WRITING AND PUBLISHING PROGRAMTel 778-782-5093 Email wpp@sfu.ca Web www.sfu.ca/wppGift Books / Winter Reading from the Royal <strong>BC</strong> MuseumWild FlowersEmily Carr $19.95The famous artist’sdelightful thoughtsabout floweringplants, illustrated incolour by Carr’schildhood art teacher,Emily Woods.978-07726-5453-3Free SpiritStories of You, Me & <strong>BC</strong>Gerald Truscott $39.95Amazing stories and dazzlingimages from the first 150years of <strong>BC</strong>’s history.Colour photographs.978-07726-5870-8Out of the MistTreasures of theNuu-chah-nulth ChiefsMartha Black $39.95This moving tribute to thepeople of VancouverIsland’s outer coast is alsoa celebration of a thrivingculture.978-07718-9547-0Songhees PictorialA History of theSonghees People,as Seen by OutsidersGrant Keddie $39.95A rich, visual history ofthe Songhees Reserve onVictoria’s Inner Harbour,from 1790 to 1912.978-07726-4964-5The LegacyTradition & Innovation inNorthwest Coast Indian ArtPeter Macnair, Alan Hoover& Kevin Neary $36.95A classic study of coastalFirst Nations art and artists.Colour photographs.978-07726-5609-4Tales from the AtticPractical Advice onPreserving Heirloomsand CollectiblesColleen Wilson $15.95Keep all your familytreasures safe from theravages of time!978-07726-4638-5Important Notice to Booksellers, Librarians and WholesalersAs of January 1, <strong>2010</strong>, Royal <strong>BC</strong> Museum Books will be distributed byHeritage Group Distribution Ltd108-17665 66A Ave, Surrey, <strong>BC</strong>, V3S-2A7phone: 604-574-7067 or 1-800-665-3302fax: 604-574-9942 or 1-800-566-3336e-mail: orders@hgdistribution.comwebsite: www.hgdistribution.comSAN: S1158287Food Plants of Coastal First PeoplesFood Plants of Interior First PeoplesNancy Turner$26.95 eachThe definitive books on collecting,preparing and preserving native plantfoods. More than 20,000 copies sold.Colour photographs.978-07726-5627-8 (Coastal)978-07726-5846-3 (Interior)Royal <strong>BC</strong> Museum books are available from your local book store.And the Royal Museum Shop has all our books in stock; phone 250-356-0505.For more information, go to www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca and follow the links.30 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>


31 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>peopleTO PARAPHRASE DICKENS,it is the best of times andthe worst of times.With the advent of Skype, we can talkface to face, with someone on the otherside of the planet, for free.But our species must simultaneouslyconsider its extinction as the result ofburning fossil fuels and destroying thetropical rainforest.If Canadians were all rationalists likeSpock, there would have been a Greenmajority in Ottawa by now. But evidentlyprecious few Canadians—less than15%—agree with California GovernorArnold Schwarzenegger whosaid, “I say the debate is over. We knowthe science, we see the threat, the timefor action is now.”We know the science, we see thethreat, and we keep driving ourminivans.So somebody has to speak for theplanet. That’s why environmentallynchpins like David Suzuki or GuyDauncey, president of the <strong>BC</strong> SustainableEnergy Association, are essentialin the fight to confront globalwarming. They can place our collectivepredicament in clear and palatable scientificterms. And at the same time theyare able to act as cheerleaders for change.“I’d put my moneyon the sun and solarenergy. What a source ofpower! I hope we don’t haveto wait ‘til oil and coal runout before we tackle that.”•THOMAS EDISON(1847–1931)CHEERLEADER FORCHANGEGUY DAUNCEY’S GREAT EXPECTATIONSFOR A GREEN FUTUREThey do the math; they show thepath.✍According to Dauncey’s 101 Solutionsto Global Warming (New Society$24.95), the human species began aboutfive million years ago and the adventurewe call modern science only began 500years ago—one ten-thousandth of thattime. We retain stone age brains in thespace age.“We are inside a bubble of time, so itis difficult to ponder the existence of humans500 years in the future, let alone amillion years, but ask your friends whatthey think will be the condition of humanityin 500 years, and then in a millionyears.EcoNewspublisherGuy Daunceyturned 60years youngat Point NoPoint, nearSooke.CAROLYN HERRIOT PHOTO“I wager that most will respond withpessimism, suggesting that we will beextinct if not by the former, then certainlyby the latter date. Yet a millionyears is only a tiny 0.028% additionalfragment of the time since life began.”Dauncey proceeds to argue that thesingle most important factor that willdetermine whether we navigate the rapidsof global warming successfully willbe whether we view the future as an inevitabledisaster—as retribution for humangreed and ignorance—or as anexciting invitation “to embark on a newadventure into a climate-friendly, ecologicallyharmonious world.”It sounds like it could be a new StarTrek series—with Spock at the controlsinstead of Kirk—a fight to the death tosave the world, the ultimate pitched battlebetween the optimists and the pessimists.“We do not lack for solutions,” saysDauncey. “If we put our minds to it,there is no reason to believe we cannotsucceed.”To put his mind where his mantra is,Dauncey begins with 75 remarkablyreadable pages that summarize the ecologicalproblems that we collectivelyface. Then he switches to a litany of 101solutions for families, farmers, communities,businesses, the financial sector,transportation and even evangelists.What kind of car would Jesus drive?This question, believe it or not, is beingseriously raised by Born-Agains. Andyou probably did not know there are80,000 apartments in Stockholm beingheated with biogas from the city’s sewageworks. The cars and buses inKristianstad, Sweden, have been runningon sewage biogas, mixed with organicwastes, for $1 per gallon (in 2002).Sewage, according to one expert,contains ten times the energy needed totreat it. Closer to home, engineerStephen Salter has calculated Victoria’ssewage contains enough energy toprovide pure biodiesel for 200 busesand 5,000 cars, heat 3,500 homes, orgenerate electricity for 2,500 homes.Kelowna already uses heat pumps to extractheat from its wastewater treatmentplant, a technology that has been introducedto Whistler.There is no shortage of inspiring individualslike 15-year-old MalkomBoothroyd who completed threeyears of schooling in two years, subsequentlypersuading his parents to accompanyhim on a 10,000-mile bicycle ridefrom the Yukon to Florida to publicizethe need for bird conservation.Arrested 15 times for non-violent civildisobedience to promote climate concerns,Ted Glick fasted for 107 days,surviving on liquids only, as part of acampaign to get environmental legislationpassed.Felix Kramer founded nonprofitCalCars in 2002 and then workedwith a team to convert a Toyota Priusinto a Plug-In Hybrid that gets morethan 100 mpg, provoking major changein the world’s motor industry.Now even some of the big corporationsare playing catch-up to these heroesof personal initiative. Nike has found away to eliminate AF6, a greenhouse gas,from the process they use to create airpockets in running shoes. A software companycalled Hyperion pays a $5,000 peryear bonus to employees whose vehiclesaverage 45 mpg or better.Thanks largely to the spearheadingof Chris and Judith Plant, whofounded the company that has publishedDauncey’s book, most Canadianpublishers—including big guys like RandomHouse which will allegedly increaseits use of recycled paper from 3% to 30%in <strong>2010</strong>—are inspired and intimidatedby New Society’s formerly radical decisionto switch entirely to post-consumerrecycled paper.“As a species, we may be stubborn,stupid and proud,” Dauncey says, “butwe are also intelligent, creative and courageous,and we love a challenge.”9780865715899


32 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>Distributed byFitzhenry and WhitesideNEW FROM ANVILWild at Heart: The Films of Nettie WildText by Mark Harris | Interview by Claudia MedinaPacific Cinematheque Monograph Series #2 featuresNettie Wild, one of the leading documentarians workingin Western Canadian cinema today. Her work and herinterests span the globe and also encompass issues ofregional interest to the broader Western Canadian/British Columbia community.film studies | 128 pps. | $18 | isbn: 978-1-897535-03-5 | Nov.The Skeleton Dancea novel by Philip QuinnThe Skeleton Dance takes place on the mean, formerlyclean streets of Toronto before the century ticked overinto the new millennium. The story follows RobertWalker, a musician, and his friend, Klin Abrams, acriminal lawyer, as external forces threaten and straintheir long-term friendship and lead, eventually, tohorrific consequences.novel | 176 pps. | $18 | isbn: 978-1-897535-04-2 | Nov.Frenzyby Catherine Owen“Catherine Owen is an extraordinarily gifted poet. It’snot just the sheer sonic pleasure of her language or thelargesse of her endlessly inventive imagery but that sheis unsettled and unsettling, deeply disobedient and yetalmost selfless in her surrender to form. These poems,and especially the Flood-Ghazals, take you down andthen drag you up again, gasping for air.”—robert priest (poet, songwriter, playwright, winner ofthe Milton Acorn Memorial People’s Poetry Award)poetry | 108 pps. | $15 | isbn: 978-1-897535-00-4 | Nov.available in stores now!Kaspoit!a novel by Dennis E. BolenKaspoit! puts speculative illustration to the mostprofuse series of crimes ever to take place on Canadiansoil. Set in the lower mainland of Vancouver, the timeis now—criminals are brazen, cops are cynical—andno one is trying to solve the disappearance of dozensof women.novel | 260 pps. | $20 | isbn: 978-1-897535-05-9Animal & Other Storiesby Alexandra Leggat“I’m tempted to say it’s a slim, distilled masterpiece.”– michael bryson, underground book club“these quickly unfolding stories are elliptically drawn,tense with action and dark humour. Leggat is a shapeshiftingwriter” – the globe and mail“this immensely rewarding collection is worthpicking up” – eye weekly, torontofiction | 160 pps. | $18 | isbn: 978-1-897535-01-1Private Grief, Public Mourning:The Riseof the Roadside Shrine in B.C.by John Belshaw & Diane PurveyPrivate Grief, Public Mourning undertakes an historicalinvestigation of mourning sites and practices within theprovince of B.C. The authors of this investigative textexamine the rise of the roadside death memorial in thelate twentieth century.cultural studies | 160 pps. | 7 x 8 | full colour | $20avail. now | isbn: 978-1-895636-99-4www.anvilpress.com the press with the urban twistavailable to the trade from utp | repped by the lpg


33 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>peopleest. 19451391 Commercial DriveVancouver, <strong>BC</strong> V5L 3X5(604) 253-6442Diggingup theMadTrapperSEARCH FOR THEPHOTO BY MATTHEW SPIDELLMAD TRAPPERThree northern exposures, two years ago,have resulted in three new books.IN 2007, AN INVESTIGATIVE TEAM OFscientific researchers and a filmcrew were able to gain permissionfrom the mayor of Aklavik,N.W.T., Knute Hansen,and Chief Charles Furlong of theAklavik Indian Band, to exhume the 75-year-old remains of the fugitive knownas the Mad Trapper thanks only tothe intervention of Imperial Oil’s AlBenson, who approached the remotecommunity, on repeated occasions, onbehalf of Myth Merchant Film’sMichael Jorgensen, whose initialrequest had been denied.During this negotiation period anAboriginal filmmaker from Inuvik,Dennis Allen, was added to the delegation.Barbara Smith accompaniedthe resultant ‘dig’ in the Aklavik cemeteryand has recorded the scientificprocess by which the teeth, skull andother vestiges of the so-called Mad Trapperof Rat River were unearthed in TheMad Trapper: Unearthing a Mystery(Heritage $19.95).When Albert Johnson, theMad Trapper of Rat River, was gunneddown in February 1932, after eluding awell-equipped posse in the Arctic forseven weeks, most people believed thename “Albert Johnson” was an alias.Forensic scientists in 2007 thereforetook DNA samples for comparison withpotential kin. Smith screened hundredsof people who came forward claimingto be related to the Trapper and seekingto have their DNA tested to prove it.Discovery Channel aired Hunt for theMad Trapper in May of <strong>2009</strong>.978-1-894974-53-0✍In 2007, after months of preparation,Brian Payton travelled to theBrianPaytonwestern Arctic Archipelagoto collect informationabout climatechange. That winter hereturned to the coast ofBanks Island on the CanadianCoast GuardShip Amundsen. Theseexperiences promptedhim to recount the finalvoyage of HMS Investigatorinto the Arctic inthe 1850s when the shipbecame trapped in polarice, giving rise to his creativenon-fiction work, The Ice Passage(Doubleday $35). 978-0-385-66532-2✍In 2007, photographer DianneWhelan of Garden Bay was the firstwoman to accompany the CanadianRangers—the regiment responsible forproviding a military presence in isolatedCanadian communities—on a 2,000-kilometre journey by snowmobile on thenorthwest coast of Ellesmere Island, fromResolute to the Canadian Forces StationAlert, planting a Canadian flag at WardHunt Island en route.The Canadian Rangers were the firstto reach that locationsince American explorerRobert E. Pearyaccomplished the feat inin 1906.An NFB documentaryfilm about Whelan’sexperiences, This Land,will be released alongwith her new memoir,This Vanishing Land: ACanadian Woman’sJourney to the CanadianArctic (Caitlin$28.95). 978-1-894759-38-0Let Beauty Be:a Season in the Highlands,Guatemalaa long poem byKit PepperAn astounding debut ...Buckleup for abreathtakingride.Ruth R. Piersonleaf press.caFIRST NATIONSBOOKSRare and out-of-printtitles on theAboriginal peoples ofWestern CanadaDavid Ellis, Booksellerdavidellis@lightspeed.caVancouver 604-222-8394


34 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>


35 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>peopleHOW WAR PHOTOGRAPHYFrank MolnarWAS BORN IN CANADALouis Riel historian Michael Barnholden exposes thefirst battlefield photos ever taken.CANADIANS INVENTED LAcrosse,basketball, insulin,pablum, five-pinbowling, Wonderbra, the zipper,the telephone, the Blackberry,the snow blower and the skidoo.And you might also want to know thefirst battlefield photos ever taken underfire are, believe it or not, Canadian.While suppressing the so-calledNorthwest Rebellion in 1885, and doublingas a correspondent for the QuebecMorning Chronicle, Captain JamesPeters of the Royal Canadian Artillery’s‘A’ Battery took more than 70 photosof the Saskatchewan battles at FishCreek, Duck Lake and Batoche (on thebanks of the South Saskatchewan River),including a rare image of the Métisleader Louis Riel as a prisoner.Michael Barnholden hasshowcased these eerie images for the firsttime in their entirety in CircumstancesAlter Photographs: Captain James Peters’Reports from the War of 1885(Talon $35).According to Barnholden, these photos,neglected for more than 120 years,document “the moment when the 18-year-old country of Canada turned awayfrom becoming a Métis Nation by declaringwar on its own people.”To record Riel’s defeat as well as thesubsequent campaign to subjugateMétis and First Nations forces underBig Bear, Poundmaker andMiserable Man, Captain Peters wastaking advantage of new technology. In1883, “naturalist” or “detective” camerascame on the market that enabled thelikes of Peters to carry a camera over hisshoulder.Hand-held photography became viablewith faster shutter speeds. As well,Peters’ camera used coated plates thatdid not require preparation and couldbe stored for later development.“For the live rebels,” he wrote, “Igenerally, for fear of fogging, took themfrom a distance, as far and as quickly aspossible. All these little contrivances, andmany more are necessary when one istrying to take a portrait of an ungratefulenemy.“Numbers of my plates are undertimed;but I am not particular. Thosetaken when the enemy had surrendered,and were unarmed, made betternegatives, but ‘circumstances alter photographs.’”✍Bearded Métis hero-martyr leader Louis Riel (above)—as photographed byCaptain James Peters—surrendered in Saskatchewan and was later foundguilty of treason and executed in Regina in 1885.Following a rebel victory mastermindedby Gabriel Dumont at FishLake, some 300 Métis and Indians ledby Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont heldoff a force of 800 men commanded byMajor-General Middleton betweenMay 9 and 12, 1885. Riel was capturedand hanged later that same year, butDumont escaped via Cypress Hills toMontana where he surrendered to theU.S. Calvary.Released as a political prisoner,Dumont joined Buffalo Bill’s WildWest show as a celebrity and marksman.Historians have suggested Riel mighthave been victorious if he had given permissionto Dumont to enact his plans forguerrilla tactics, such as destroyingrailway tracks.✍Michael Barnholden, aVancouverite who wasborn in Moose Jaw, hasproduced a new edition ofGabriel Dumont Speaks(Talon $16.95) featuringhis new translation of memoirsthat Dumont dictatedto his friends in 1903, aswell as a new introduction,new images and a MétisHistorical Timeline.The manuscript languishedunseen and unpublishedin the ManitobaProvincial Archives as partof L’Union nationalemétisse de Saint-Joseph col-MARLENE LONGENECKER PHOTOlection until its discovery by Barnholdenin 1971.“To find Dumont’s account was likestriking gold,” says Barnholden. “Thereare many accounts that exist but they’remostly from the victor’s side or fromRiel’s perspective.”For many years Barnholden wasn’tsure how to present Dumont’s recollections,but working as an editor on WriteIt On Your Heart, a First Nations collectionby Similkameen storyteller HarryRobinson, convinced Barnholden to“let the oral historian speak.” His fascinationwith Dumont led him to ‘expose’Peters’ photographs.Peters 978-0-88922-621-0; Dumont 978-0-88922-625-8"Growing up in MooseJaw, how could I notbe interested in theBattle of Batoche?”— MICHAEL BARNHOLDENHippie historian Michael Barnholden researchingthe Riel Rebellion, Saskatchewan, 1971.LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA C-00345053UNHERALDEDARTISTSIn her latest incarnation as a literaryFlorence Nightingale, MonaFertig has set about rescuing thereputations of little-known B.C. artists—such as her father, George Fertig,who died unheralded in 1983—andsculptor David Marshall.Her next three candidates for revivalare Frank Molnar, Jack Hardmanand LeRoy Jensen. As Molnar is theonly one of the triostill living, his selfportraitgraces thecover of Fertig’ssecond volume inher UnheraldedArtists of B.C. series,The Life &Art of FrankJack Hardman Molnar, JackHardman & LeRoy Jensen (MotherTongue $34.95) with texts by EveLazarus, Claudia Cornwall andWendy Newbold Patterson respectively.Frank Molnar(1936–) fled fromBudapest duringthe HungarianRevolution of1956. In 1962 hearrived in Vancouverand metLeRoy Jensonartists DavidMarshall, Peter Aspell, JackAkroyd, Georg Schmerholz andElek Imredy. In 1969 he became oneof the first art teachers at Capilano Collegewhere he taught life drawing andartistic anatomy for almost 30 years. Hisstudents included Charles VanSandwyk, Cori Creed and WillRafuse. He continues to paint.Sculptor Jack Hardman (1923–1996)was born in New Westminster and studiedart at Western Washington Universityand at U<strong>BC</strong>. He married B.C. poetMarya Fiamengo in the 1950s.LeRoy Jensen (1927–2005) ofSaltspring Island was friends withHardman, George Fertig, David Marshalland Peter Aspell. He was a foundingmember of Greenpeace and a memberof the Victoria-based Limner group.Mona Fertig’s long-in-the-worksstudy of her father and his art will bepublished next year. 978-1-896949-02-4


36 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>The BoxGeorge BoweringBlackberry Books • DuthieFIND IT HEREBooks • <strong>BC</strong> Ferries • People’sCo-op Bookstore • Pulpfiction Books • AbraxasBooks, Denman I. • Sorensen Books • PollenSweaters, Lund • Book Bonanza, Quadra I. •Chapters • Indigo • chapters.indigo.ca • amazon.comwww.NewStarBooks.comTen new stories from one ofour most accomplished writersINTRODUCTION TO MEDITATION SERIESIn-Store Teachings in NovemberSunday Mornings 11:30 - 1:00 freeNov. 1st VipassanaNov. 8th ZenNov. 15th MettaNov. 22nd TibetanNov. 29th SufiBanyen BOokssince 1970Special event!JAI UTTAL& DANIELPAULAn Eveningof KirtanNov. 19 $25 7:30pmCan.Memorial Church, 15th & Burrard3608 West 4th Avenueat Dunbar, one block east of Alma in Kitsilano, VancouverBooks 604-732-7912 Music/Gifts/Tkts 604-737-8858Out-of-town orders 1-800-663-8442Open Mon-Fri 10-9, Sat 10-8, Sun 11-7see www.banyen.com to sign up for our monthly e-letter, BlossomingIn the MillenniumThe first new book in five yearsfrom Dorothy Livesay Poetry AwardwinnerBarry McKinnonFIND IT HERE Books & Co., PrinceGeorge • Misty River Books, Terrace •Duthie Books • Pulpfi ction • People’sCo-op Bookstore • Blackberry Books • Cadboro Bay Books, Victoria• Sorensen Books, Victoria • Abraxas Books, Denman Island •32 Books, North Vancouver • Chapters • Indigo Books + Music •chapters.indigo.ca •www.NewStarBooks.comYOKA’s Spring Literary pick is:Stephen Miller’sThe Last Train to Kazan(Penguin Books $24) 987-0-14305585-3Give the gift that keeps giving.<strong>BC</strong><strong>BOOKWORLD</strong>4 times a year!Gift subscriptions are just $25•Pacific BookWorld News Society,3516 West 13th Ave., Vancouver, B.C. V6R 2S3.Or visit www.bcbookworld.com and use PayPal.This is a movingstory about tolerance,compassion and thepower of family ties.Ellen’s Bookof Life($17.95 Groundwood)ISBN: 978-0-88899-853-8A young adult novel.


37 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>reviewsNON-FICTIONLORD ALMIGHTY,SEX IS GOODAll you need to know about spiritual sexThe Spirituality of Sexby Michael Schwartzentruber,Lois Huey-Heck, Mary Millerd, andCharlotte Jackson (Wood Lake $35)Is spiritual sex an oxymoron?Not according to the fourauthors of The Spiritualityof Sex. Charlotte Jackson, LoisHuey-Heck, Mary Millerd, andMichael Schwartzentruber makea convincing and energeticcase for themany ways our spiritualityis deeply embeddedin sex andsexuality.The tenth in a seriesof coffee tablebooks including TheSpirituality of Bread,The Spirituality of Gardening andThe Spirituality of Wine, this volumeis an unabashed celebrationof the communion of Erosand Spirit, a reclaiming of theessential goodness of sex.Like most coffee table volumes,this is a book to dip into,perhaps to stumble upon apoem by Rumi, a quote fromD.H. Lawrence, or the curiousfact that Kellogg’s Cornflakeswere invented to discourageyouthful masturbation, “on thetheory that bland foods dampenthe sexual appetites.”Augmented by lavish andsometimes graphic illustrations,and embellished with poemsand quotes from sources as diverseas Anais Nin, Matthew Fox,Carl Jung and Alice Walker, toname a few, the text isa series of short takesin which the authorstake turns musing oneverythingfromTantric sex to mysticalreligious traditions, tothe mysteries of maleSHEILA MUNRO and female sexuality,to the experience offalling in love, achieving intimacy,and preparing for that specialromantic evening with yourlover.It’s almost everything you alwayswanted to know about spiritualsex in bite-sized pieces of1000 words or less.✫Don’t expect to find illuminationon the dark side of sexhere. There’s nothing kinky,From The Spirituality of Sex: getting all toezynothing salacious; the authorsdon’t touch on sexual abuse,sexual perversion, on love’s selfdestructivecompulsions. It’s allabout celebrating the “humanand humane” dimensions oflove and Eros, the benefits oflong-term commitment and thehealing powers of touch andsensuality.You’ll find depictions ofwholesome, healthy, lovingsex—an antidote to thecommodification of sex that permeatesthe current cultural milieu.✫The quartet of authors comeacross as sincere and wellintentioned,earnest even, witha propensity for stating the obvious.We are told sex is betterwith love, that “great lovemakinghas a lot to do with how wefeel about ourselves,” that theemphasis on external beautykeeps us from connecting withour inner beauty, that sex forprocreation connects us to thewheel of life and death, and thatwhen girls are told their sexualityis dirty it affects their relationships.Truisms, all. Statements likethese could be starting points fordiscussion rather than the contentof the discussion, and addressedwith a little more ironyand humour.To their credit though, theauthors do manage to conjuresome compelling glimpses intomystical sexuality in the Sufi, Taoist,and Judaic traditions, the mysteriesof Tantric Sex, the ancientroots of goddess worship, and theRoman cult of the phallus.As well, they aren’t afraid tocome down hard on the antisexualbias in Christianity, describinghow Saint Augustine’sloathing of his own sexuality hascast such a long shadow over thechurch, or highlight the frankeroticism of the Bible’s Song ofSongs.✫While the text is not exactlydeep, the gems scattered acrossthese pages offer a tantalizinglook into the spiritual dimensionsof what is perhaps life’smost mysterious and profoundexperience. 978-1-896836-90-9Sheila Munro conducts writingworkshops and writes fromPowell River.


38 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>reviewsTHE SHINING OF MELANCHOLIAMiranda Pearson knows therapy, failed romance andthe slightest, wispiest hope of becoming contented.Harbour by Miranda Pearson(Oolichan $17.95)Although it may be criticallyincorrect, it’s almostimpossible not to readMiranda Pearson’s poems inHarbour as autobiographical.The poet’s brief bio is revealingand her earlier work coveredmuch of the same emotionalterritory.Pervasively melancholic, thisthird title of Pearson’s provesthe writer’s adage, “write whatyou know.” She knows mentalhealth (she works in the fieldprofessionally), therapy (shethrows herself on the couch),failed romance (again) and theslightest, wispiest hope of becomingcontented, at last (“thetrick is not to want more”).The first section called‘Touched’ is set in the historicpast of a Victorian asylum for “lunatics.”It then moves in thesame building to the present butwith cures that are not more effective.The “I” of the poemsshifts; a patient speaking aboutthe doctors, doctors’ notesabout patients, a caregiver andthe cared for.The use of historical recordsabout the insane and their treatmentmakes painful reading asin: her illness was caused by overlactation, electric shock treatmentmust be right because theDr says it is. The nurses, drinking,are boisterous/depressedafter a shift. The patients sit,“curled like commas/ serious porcelainprofiles.”As in her previous book, TheAviary, Pearson recounts the oldhurts of love gone bad, love as“recycled cruelty.” Here, in thesecond section, the plaintivelonging for “a man charitable andgenerous” sometimes seems justpetulant. Her wishes it seems arenever granted.Attempts at hedonism turnout not to be “the secret solution.”Why, she asks herself, does shenot take the flying leap intohopefulness? The reader alsoasks, and then remembers, howimpossible the leap can be. Perhapsthis poet is carrying themelancholy that many of us cannotadmit in ourselves.When the poet is in England,she wants to be in Canada, andvice versa. The man she loved,she’s glad to be rid of. The poemsare set in at least twenty differentlocales (Vegas, Toronto,Kent) and they have much thesame restlessness. Motherhoodis a field of conflicts; it’s bothexpansive and limiting. Some ofthe loving is fierce, other timesit’s passive.These poems are sad but notvengeful. There is no blamingbut they are also completely devoidof mirth.Unmitigated dismal inner–scapes, so why read them? Well,think of the huge popularity ofthe HBO Series In Treatment.These personal self-revelationsfrom Pearson fascinate for severalreasons. For one, we’ve allbeen there at some point. It’s arelief to find a piece of yourselfon a page. The reader closes thebook with a sigh, “This is also whoI am.”As well, these poems are sowell-written. If the writing wasdismal, the whole would droop.To write well aboutmelancholy, the linesmust shine, and theydo. “Critical and irritated,you don’t knowwhy / It’s turned out thisway.”Only the last ofmore than one hundredpoems has afaintly optimistic tone. In “Liminal”there will be a new city toexplore, and a new love. Thereader wants to cheer but can’t.In an aircraft looking down onthe “earth a glimpsed atlas,” therelationship ahead may turn outto be an “old song on the new iPod.”Pearson’s disappointmentengages; this is a strong and honestbook about self-confesseddiscontent. 978-0-88982-261-0DEEPER THANDISNEYFICATIONMorbidity and Ornament by StephenNoyes (Oolichan $17.95)Whereas Stephen Noyes’previous collection GhostCountry (Brick 2006),was set entirely in China, aboutone-third of the new poems inMorbidity and Ornament areChina-based. His other localesinclude a Vancouver mosque, afestival on Hainan Island,Esquimalt, the Prairies, the Philippinesand North Africa.A Mandarin scholar andtraveler, Noyes avoids the pitfallof so much contemporary travel:the more we do it, the moreshallow our experiences. Sohow to avoid consuming theworld like a product, theDisneyfication of cultures?Now everybody is fromeverywhere;they climb in tee shirts,jeans and sunglassesfrom their dusty jeeps,and troop pastthe rows of concrete shells,the junked carsand satellite dishes to theone hotel.By staying in one place, by livingin Beijing, Noyes goesdeeper. Knowing and loving thelanguage helps, as does his respectfor Buddhism and Islam.At 120 pages, his Morbidity isa hefty book by current poetrypublishing standards. Dividedinto eight sections, each prefacedby a short poem in Mandarinideograms, the poems aremostly longish.Noyes captures the intensecontradictions of China as wellas his regard for it. LabourersHANNAH MAIN-VANDER KAMPwork in totally unsafe worksites;bland puppet bureaucratsdream of a condo in Richmond.Simplicities of peasant life(washing the pig) are contrastedby delirious spring festivals.Back in Victoria, whereNoyes works in the provincial bureaucracy,he recalls the blossomsof Chang’an and his owndream of himselfthere as a successfulscholar. A nightmareabout the accidentaldeath of a sewageworker contrasts witha quiet poem aboutan empty temple.These highly accomplishedpoems,varied in form and richly textured,include pieces on sheepand slugs, basketball, Chaucer(in Chaucer-ese), addictionsand his teenage gymnast daughter.Sometimes inscrutable butalways interesting, Noyes capturesthe quirky grammar oftransliterations from Mandarininto English, “the terrorists in swiftestcoruscation incensed two erections.”Any reader, who still holdsthe notion that it’s a good ideato erase Islam and insertsecular prosperity, pleaseread the final poem ‘AsWas.’ A brass beater ina tiny, dusty town observesthe foreigntravelers. Heknows he hastraveled furthercausetravels innarratives.Withoutcomplaintsbe-heabout theconstraints ofhis life, heends withpraise,“At least, atlast, the cloudsand darkeninghills are sweet instancesof how He,insinuator, penetrator,sole divisor, has lent shapefrom shadow from His generosity,makes stones swim undergroundand falcons plummet, madethe shifting gift of water, andagainst the formless void will havesketched the constellations.”978-0-88982-260-3John Lent: jazz vocalistVIEWS FROM AMOLECULARCATHEDRALCantilevered Songs by John Lent(Thistledown $16.95)Driving the Okanagan infirst snow, music(Coltrane, Sonny Rollins,Lightfoot), teenage memories,college level teaching, birdsand birdhouse, neighbours andmentors, the seasons—the lanky,easygoing musings in JohnLent’s Cantilevered Songs arereminiscent of unrushed conversationswith old friends.POETRYIn this work, theVernon-based college administratorand jazz vocalistis fascinated withjoinery. “…this mystery / ofjoining, of intersections, corners,fits, so / damn importantin everything we do, eachsmall jazz symphony we mightconstruct…”So it is that Lent explorescorners and intersectionsof thingsarchitectural, linguistic,spiritual and material,“cantilevered cathedral ofstars and nebula.”Artfully constructed on thepage in cantilevered shapes,Lent’s lines, though not cliffhangers,are not without risks.Philosophical but not intellectual,these longish prose poemsspeak of contentment and appreciation.Though not mystical,they are religious in the bestsense of the word; awe, awarenessand gratitude.Lent nods to his (now relinquished)Catholic upbringing,“How to accept this vessel of flesh andbone, this home… this incarnationwe are, the word made flesh, a molecularcathedral straining withinitself…” 978-1-897235-66-9Hannah Main-Van Der Kampwrites from Victoria.Miranda Pearson:love as recycledcruelty


SERVICES • CONTESTS • BOOKSTORES39 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>Self-Publish.caVisit our website to find out allyou need to know aboutself-publishingThe Vancouver DesktopPublishing Centrecall for a free consultationPATTY OSBORNE, manager200 – 341 Water StreetVancouver, B.C. v6b 1b8Ph 604-681-9161www.self-publish.cahelping self-publishers since 1986Annual Non-Fiction Contest*Three winners will receive $500 each plus publication!$29.95 entry fee includes 1 year of EVENT5,000 word limitDeadline April 15Visit http://event.douglas.bc.ca for more informationphoto by Mark MushetThe Malahat ReviewNovella Prize <strong>2010</strong>Aim High!Canada’s premier literarymagazine invites entries fromeverywhere to Canada’s onlynovella contest. Submit asingle work of fiction in anygenre or on any subject ofbetween 10,000 and 20,000words in length.Prize:$500Deadline: Feb 1, <strong>2010</strong>Complete guidelines:malahatreview.caThe Malahat ReviewDefining excellent writingsince 1967Winner of 2008 Lieutenant Governor’sMedal for Historical WritingEric Jamiesonfor Tragedy at Second Narrows: The Story of the IronWorkers Memorial Bridge (Harbour Publishing).This annual award is sponsored by the <strong>BC</strong> Historical Federation.Eligibility:Non-fiction books on B.C. history published in <strong>2009</strong>.Deadline: December 31, <strong>2009</strong>For more information contact: Barb Hynek at 604-535-9090bhynek@telus.net or visit www.bchistory.caOcommunity-minded but globally connectedpen year-round with over 25,000 titles plus a great selectionof Canadian authors, used books, art supplies, and gifts.isit us at www.galianoislandbooks.comV250.539.3340 info@galianoislandbooks.com76 Madrona Drive Galiano Island <strong>BC</strong> V0N 1P0


40 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>indiesHUNGARIANMEMOIRAt the end of the summer of 1956,Carol Wootton of Victoria enrolled atthe Vienna Akademie. The HungarianRevolution broke out on October 23,1956. She attended an unforgettableconcert by pianist Gyorgy Cziffra inVienna on November 17, 1956.“Strangely, I rarely listen to Cziffra’s recordingsnow,” Wootton writes. “I preferto remember the tall, thin figure in theBrahmsaal of the Musikverein who filledme with more fervour for the Hungariancause than all the speeches, the press,and even the refugees themselves.” Herself-published collection of vignettes, essaysand biographical appreciations,Out of Hungary (Towner unpriced) entirelypertains to Hungary and famousHungarians. 978-9783240-1-8✍Saskatchewan-born Beth RowlesScott became the first female principalof a secondary school in B.C. At age63, having retired, she met the love ofher life and they formed ACCES, a literacyprogram for impoverished Kenyanchildren. ACCES has given more than1,100 scholarships to university/collegestudents and established ten primaryschools. Her memoir is Pinch Me: ALong Walk from the Prairies (GranvilleIsland $19.95). 978-1-894694-74-2✍Asians, in <strong>2009</strong>, comprise 45% ofGreater Vancouver’s population. With anextensive chapter on Temples of Vancouver,Douglas Aitken’s pictorialguide book, in a coffeetable book format,Three Faces of Vancouver: A Guideto First Nations, European and AsianVancouver (Lions Gate Road $29.99)features the city from the perspectivesof First Nations, European and Asian cultures.A widely travelled watercolouristand graduate of the U<strong>BC</strong> School of Architecture,Aitken is now learning Mandarinin order to complete a follow-upvolume to be called Temples of Heaven.978-0-9811575-0-4✍Vancouver’s Cambie Street is named forBob Ross’ great-grandfather HenryCambie who surveyed the West Coastinlets in 1874 to select a terminus forthe first railway. Tatlow Park in Vancouveris named for Ross’ grandfatherRobert Tatlow, a provincial MLA whoalso founded the <strong>BC</strong> Telephone Company.His Cornwall relativeshomesteaded the Ashcroft Ranch in1862. As a retired traffic engineer for theCity of Vancouver, Ross has fashionedhis memories of a Vancouver boyhoodfor The Cucumber Tree (Sandhill$18.95). There’s nothing particularlyspecial about his childhood, and thereinlies the book’s charm. It is an attempt toilluminate the typical Kitsilano upbringingduring the 1940s and 1950s, withsummer camps on Pasley Island, nearBowen Island, and driving trips to theCariboo—and lots of tree-climbing in thedays before children weren’t overly coddledand paranoically protected.978-0-9812991-0-5Leo Meiorin standing on the stone stairs in Trail that his father built in the 1930s.TRAIL MIXChampion hockey & extraordinary rock wallsARIS HAS ITS EIFFEL TOWER. GRANADAPhas its Alhambra.Egypt has the pyramids. China hasthe Great Wall.Trail boasts the 1961 World ChampionSmoke Eaters hockey team andhundreds of rock walls and stairways thatwere handcrafted between the 1920sand ’60s by dozens of hithertounheralded stonemasons.It’s not Stonehenge at Glastonbury,but it is extraordinary.As more workers at the Trail smelterbegan building their homes on steepslopes, the city hired men to make stoneretaining walls, often without mortar,and they also constructed a network ofintricate stone stairs for access to the commercialdistrict.Dubbed “a giant game of snakes andladders,” the stairways were covered byred metal roofs to prevent snow fromclogging them in winter.With the backing of the Rock WallProject Entusiastico Society, EileenTruant Pedersen has fashioned alavish, full-colour celebration of practicalartistry in Set in Stone: A History ofTrail’s Rock Walls (Lookout MountainProductions $75).This tribute to engineering ingenuityand hard labour, designed byMiriam MacPhail, was six years inthe making, with 450 photos. It receivedan honourable mention in the 2008Lieutenant Governor’s writing competition.A neighbourhood-by-neighbourhoodinventory outlines ten walking/climbing tours between one and twomiles in length. In addition to 15 stonemasonsprofiled, Pedersen provides 70shorter stories about smelter workers,relief camp workers, equipment operatorsand quarry workers.It all fits together, like stonework.And the main font used for the textis one called Stone. 978-1-55383-195-2X✍Swift Winds (Eberhardt Press $10) byRon Sakolsky, is a collection of subversivetexts, manifestos,mutinous rants, ideas, utopiandreams, impossibledemands and incendiarybroadsides strategicallyaimed at countering thepathos of miserabilismwith the uncontrollablelaughter of the insurgentimagination. Designed tofit in your back pocket andwith artwork by AnaisLaRue.✍As a Victoria lawyer whoRon Sakolskyhas often represented abused childrenwithin the legal system,Scott Hall provides advice indealing with sexual abuse of childrenin Unforgivable Sins: ProtectingOur Children from Predators(Manor House Publishing / WhiteKnight $24.95). 978-1-897453-06-3✍Deborah Chesher’s unusualcoffee table book Everybody I ShotIs Dead (Chesher Cat Productions/ White Knight $60) contains 416photos taken in Vancouver and LosAngeles, between 1974 and 1979,of 48 musicians who are now deceased.Chesher also provides behind-the-scenesanecdotes and herown memories of the performers.978-0-9796542-0-6✍Cowboy and outfitter ChrisKind of Clinton has fashioned atribute to the horse’s contributionto the development of British Columbiaand its role in military campaignswith his sixth self-publishedtitle, Buckaroos and Broncs ($25plus shipping). “The book is basicallya tribute to the horse in general,”says Kind. “It moves throughfreighting, pack horse, transportation(BX.Stage lines) and roadbuilding, as well as the purchase ofthousands of horses by the Britishfrom Canada/USA to fight theirbattles in the 1800s and early1900s. I have also included the actualschooling of the horse and methodsneeded to make a well disciplined, finishedhorse.” Paintings of battles are featured,and early B.C. photos from theClinton Historical Society. 978-0-9734686-6-3✍Coal Harbour, the body of water thatdivides Stanley Park from the downtowncore of Vancouver, stretching from thefoot of Granville Street to BrocktonPoint, was the commercial hub of Vancouverand the first location of Europeanhabitation in the area. At the suggestionof Bert Bensen of Benson BrothersShipyard, Martin J. Wells has producedCoal Harbour Recollections(Cordillera $26.95), an historical overview.978-1-895590-37-1✍ManWoman is the pen name forPatrick Charles “Manny”Kemball. Born in the B.C. interiorin 1938, ManWoman lives with his wifeDale and their daughters in Cranbrook.With countless photos and images, TheGentle Swastika: Reclaiming the Innocence(Flyfoot/Sandhill 2003) drew uponpopular culture to disprove the notionthat the swastika is exclusivelya symbol of evil.The book has beenpublished in an Italian version,re-titled HitlerDid Not Invent TheSwastikaas (Rome: ConiglioEditore / Rabbit Publishing,2008). “I’ve alwaysbeen in a quandary,”ManWoman says, “overthe fact that my favouritespiritual sign and the mosthated sign are one and thesame.” 0-9688716-0-7


41 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong><strong>BC</strong><strong>BOOKWORLD</strong>QUICKIESA COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD for <strong>BC</strong> WRITERS & ARTISTSQUICKIES is an affordable advertising feature exclusively for writers & artists. For info on how to be included, just email bookworld@telus.nethttp://cottonwoodcove.angelfire.comWe Rage, We Weepby June Fuller MoultonA Rural Caregiver's ExperiencesCoping with Alzheimer's DiseaseISBN 0-9680997-3-4 • $12.95www.trafford.comRiverwalkby Ellery LittletonA journal of a year — in poetryISBN 978-1-4251-8964-8 • $21www.trafford.comKootenay Tales:Historical Glimpsesof the Pastby Arlene PervinISBN 1-4251-4641-4 • $17.95www.granvilleislandpublishing.comProvence—Je t’aimeby Gordon Bitney“Au revoir Peter Mayle, bonjourGordon Bitney”— Lydie MarshallISBN 978-1-894694-65-0 • $19.95www.abdou.caThe Bone Cageby Angie Abdou"Outing the Olympics"<strong>2009</strong>'s Official "One Book OneKootenay" SelectionISBN 978-1-897126-17-2 • $22.95www.gracespringscollective.orgA Raven in My HeartReflections of a Booksellerby Kay McCrackenISBN 978-0-9809608-2-2 • $27.95http://www.libroslibertad.caRendition by ManolisPoetryAn emotional adventure ofheartache and joy guided by thesteadying hand of Nature.ISBN 978-0-9810735-9-0 • $14.95www.captainjoesteachingresources.comThe Captain Joe Seriesby Emily MadillLife lessons for children.ISBN 978-1-926626-08-6 • $39.95Youradhere.Call604-736-4011or emailbookworld@telus.nethttp://www.janeybennett.com/pale.htmlThe Pale Surfaceof ThingsA novel of Creteby Janey BennettISBN 978-0973400724 • $21.95www.amandahale.comMy Sweet CuriosityA new novelby Amanda HaleISBN 9781897235614 • $19.95www.arrowvale.ca/booksMaking Hay Whilethe Sun Shinesby Bob CollinsISBN 978-0-9688007-3-7 • $18.95http://www.be-a-better-writer.comMadame ZeeA novelby Pearl LukeISBN 9780002005135 • $32.95www.phyllischubb.comAwaken OurConscious Mindsby Phyllis ChubbLearning how to use ourconscious mind is no differentthan learning any other skill, wemust take one step at a time.978-0-9813155-0-8 • $29.95www.mountainmachines.caMountain Machinesby Sara Leach & Steven CorveloCounting book for 2 to 6-year-olds.Sandhill Book MarketingPoppy Productions, Inc.ISBN 978-0-9782818-1-6 • $9.95www.okanaganinstitute.com/publicationsUp Chute CreekAn Okanagan Idyllby Melody Hessing“Walden meets Woodstock.”ISBN 978-0-9810271-1-1 • $20www.dromedarisbooks.comThe Bronze Killerby Marie WarderThe definitive book aboutHaemochromatosis.ISBN 0968735800 • $19.95www.stephenbett.comExtreme Positionsby Stephen BettThe soft-core industryexposed in poemsSpuyten Duyvil Books, NYCISBN 9780923389789 • $14http://www.BrotherXII.comBrother XIIby John OliphantThe strange odyssey of a 20th-centuryprophet & his quest for a new worldISBN 978-0978097202 • $24.95www.thorfinn.caThorfinnThorhallson's Sagaby Jan FurstAdventure and romance in 14thcenturyGreenland and Europe.ISBN 1-4120-2054-9 • $15www.gracespringscollective.orgStalking the WildHeart by DeannaBarnhardt KawatskiA moving novel inspired bypassion for wilderness.ISBN 978-09809608-3-9 • $28www.amazon.comBirds, Beastsand a Bikeby David StirlingUnder the Southern CrossISBN 978-1-897435-19-9 (PB)978-1-897435-20-5 (electronic)$14.95www.turnstonepress.comBroken Wing,Falling Sky: Memoira spirit unbrokena woman foundby Fran MuirISBN 978-0-88801-331-6 • $21.95www.geoffreygluckman.comDeadly ExchangeA novel of suspense,danger and mysteryby Geoffrey M. GluckmanISBN 059542046-X • $20.95www.bestsellingbooks.caLoyalty's Havenby J. Robert Whittle“IPPY Gold Medal Winner”ISBN 978-0-9734383-8-3 • $19.95#202—531 First Ave. N.E., Salmon Arm, <strong>BC</strong> V1E 1G7All I Need Nowby Dick ArmfeltA compilation of letters by ayoung Dane who immigrated toCanada and worked in theAthabasca region of Alberta,between 1926 and 1942.ISBN 978-0981070605 • $24.95www.maxtell.caMax TellFun stories and songsfor the whole family.Writer • Storyteller •Songwriter • Educatorwww.magicaldome.comWhen Mama GoesTo Work: Devin’sStory byRoisin Sheehy-CulhaneFollows Devin, the son of aworking mum who parentsalone, through his adventures.Juvenile Fiction • Grades 3-4ISBN 1-4257-0596-0 • $12.99www.bestsellingbooks.caWhispers Across Timeby J. Robert Whittle &Joyce Sandilands“IPPY Gold Medal Winner 2008”ISBN 9780968506196 • $19.95www.jacksonthemoon.com250-746-9451info@jacksonthemoon.comSmall Business.Non-Profits.


42 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>letterscontinued from page 6Every time there is a new copy of B.C.BookWorld, it is like a gift; it has beenmy main source of information aboutwriting in B.C. for many years. I lovethe fact that the publication honours andcelebrates writers of every genre, andacknowledges new writers as well asthose more established.Vera RosenbluthVancouver✍Unaccustomed as I am to public bleating,I feel strongly enough about the totalwithdrawalof fundingJack Whytefrom B.C.BookWorld.Jack WhyteKelowna✍The ConferenceBoardof Canada hasreported thatthe creative industries in Canada deliveran economically significant 7.4% of ourcountry’s GDP. It seems to me thatmoney saved by cutting support for B.C.BookWorld is simply money that won’tbe earned down the road as taxes fromthe publishing industry.Andreas SchroederRoberts Creek✍B.C. BookWorld is a magazine like noother in North America; it does tremendousgood andis certainly oneof the besttools we haveavailable forBob Tyrellmaking <strong>BC</strong>“the most literateplace onearth” (soundfamiliar?).How, on theB.C. BookWorld is, without question,the single best avenue that exists forB.C. authors to make their work viable.It does a fantastic job. There israrely any issue of B.C. BookWorldthat I read without finding at least onebook—sometimes it’s two or threebooks—that I want to read and subsequentlypurchase. But let’s assumeI’m the exception to the rule and sayonly one in three individuals windsup buying a book they have readabout in B.C. BookWorld. That’s33,000 books sold per issue! Evenif we say each book sells for only anaverage of $20—a modest price intoday’s economy—that means$66,000 gets pumped back into theB.C. economy for every edition ofB.C. BookWorld released.Jim Schmidt, Galiano IslandGaliano Island Bookseve of the Olympics, with arts and cultureas a pillar of the bid that won thegames for this province, can the governmentmake such cuts?Bob TyrrellVictoria✍B.C. BookWorld is, IMO, a modelpublication for illuminating people onrecent publications pertaining to BritishColumbia. The costs of supportingit are paltry when compared with theways in which it enriches the intellectualand cultural life of the people.Robert ThomsonVictoria✍The library community has certainlyseen cutbacks, but not a complete loss offunding. We have always enjoyed receivingBookWorld at the Library and we havemany patrons who would miss it.Elaine WiebeBurns Lake LibraryJust the facts, ma’am.INDEX to AdvertisersWherever I travel in theprovince, people are readingB.C. BookWorld. Its impact ishuge. <strong>BC</strong>BW reaches averageBritish Columbians in a powerfulway: it’s an engagingread and tells our stories unlikeany other publication.Mark ForsythFort LangleyJean Barman✍Without B.C. BookWorld on thestands, book stores, libraries, publishersand B.C. readers will lose their # 1 resourcethat has kept 100,000 readers via900 outlets connected to the book worldin <strong>BC</strong>. This magazine helps to keep literacyalive in B.C.Ann MohsMission✍B.C. BookWorld is an absolutely indispensablepublication—the best-readbook publication in Canada—and it iseven more important now, consideringhow much the mainstream media hasdownsized their book review sections.Julian RossWinlawLetters or emails contact:<strong>BC</strong> BookWorld, 3516 W. 13th Ave.,Vancouver, <strong>BC</strong> V6R 2S3email: bookworld@telus.netLetters may be edited for clarity & length.On October 6, <strong>2009</strong>, phone calls from the director of the Arts & Culturesector of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts (Hon.Kevin Krueger) informed B.C. BookWorld [<strong>BC</strong>BW], the Associationof Book Publishers of B.C. [ABP<strong>BC</strong>] and the B.C. Association of Magazine Publishers[<strong>BC</strong>AMP] that all provincial support was being removed. You can visitthe ABP<strong>BC</strong> website (books.bc.ca) or the <strong>BC</strong>BW website (www.bcbookworld.com)for details. The motto of the newly formed Coalition for Defence of Writing andPublishing in B.C. is Keep <strong>BC</strong> Reading. There are two key messages. 1. Restoresupport to the three fundamental organizations; 2. Stabilize funding for the <strong>BC</strong>Arts Council at the 08/09 level. The B.C. Arts Council has been cut from $8.3Min 2008/09 to $3.4 in 09/10, with projected budgets down to $1.5M for 10/11. The Arts Council was propped up this year by $7M supplemental moniesand funds from gaming. Arts & Culture budgets, from which B.C. BookWorld’stwo-person operation has received partnership, have been slashed from $19.5M in 08/09 to $3.6 in 09/10; and to $2.2 for 10/11. For further informationvist the Coalition for the Defense of Writing & Publishing in B.C. on Facebook.It is the B.C. government’svery modest support for B.C.BookWorld that makes free distributionof B.C. BookWorldpossible, thereby encouragingthe province’s cultural literacy.I urge you, PremierCampbell, in the strongestpossible terms to reconsiderthe decision to break off thistwo-decade-long mutuallybeneficial relationship between B.C.BookWorld and the province of BritishColumbia.Jean BarmanVancouverOCTOBER LETTERS CAME FROM:Bowen Island (Heather Haley, Lois Meyers),Burnaby (Will Morrison, Heather Pringle),Burns Lake (Elaine Wiebe, Jane Moulton),Celista (Deanna Kawatski), Chemainus(Sylvia Holt), Chilliwack (Amber Short),Coquitlam (Gisela Woldnega), Cortes Island(Erika Grundmann), Delta (Anthony Dalton),Edmonton (Myrna Kostash), Fernie (AngieAbdou), Fort Langley (Mark Forsythe),France (Sheila Delany), Fredericton (TammyArmstrong), Galiano Island (Jim Schmidt),Gibsons (Grant McKenzie), Halifax (PeggyWalt), Hornby Island (Amanda Hale),Kamloops (Ginny Ratsoy, Peter Grauer),Kelowna (Jack Whyte, Michael Neill, NancyWise, Langley (Ian Weir, Paul St. Pierre,Bridget Oldale), Lantzville (Ron Smith),Lennard Island Lightstation (CarolineWoodward), Lillooet (Van Andruss), MadeiraPark (Theresa Kishkan), Mayne Island(Robert Harlow), Mission (Shirley Walker, AnnMohs), Nanoose Bay (Rodger Touchie), Nelson(Anne DeGrace, Ernest Hekkanen), NorthVancouver (Lisa Wolfe, AndreaWinterbottom, Jane Flick, Jim Rainer, JoyceThierry Lellwellyn), Ontario (bill bissett, RuthBradley-St-Cyr, Roy MacSkimming, CarolWilliams), Pender Island (Cherie Thiessen),Penticton (Barbara Lambert), Prince George(Rob Ziegler, Peter Ewart), Roberts Creek(Andreas Schroeder), Salmon Arm (MaryNyland, Howard Overend, Don Sawyer),Sidney (Nicola Furlong, M.A.C. Farrant),Sooke (Michael Elcock), Surrey (HeidiGreco), Thailand (Michael Buckley), Vancouver(Jean Barman, Rowland Lorimer, LisaHobbs Birnie, Renee Rodin, Jan Drabek,Stephen Bett, Paul Grant, Margery Fee,Sachiko Murakami, James Evrard, Dan Barel,Maurice Cardinal, Nan Gregory, NancyHundal, Allan Haig-Brown, Trevor Clark, SusanBoyd, David Berner, Michael Turner, WendyAtkinson, Christa Kirste, Jody Aliesan, CarmenRodriguez, Nancy Richler, Kirsten Ebsen,Sandra Harper, Jean Kindratsky, DennisBolen, Leah Gordon, Vera Rosenbluth, IreneHoward, Sandy Shreve, Sarah Ellis, RonHatch, Sheryl Salloum), Victoria (SarahHarvey, Robert Thomson, Maureen Duffus,Bob Tyrrell), Williams Lake (Ann Walsh).Annick Press...28Anvil Press...32Arsenal Pulp Press...8Banyen Books...36<strong>BC</strong> Historical Federation...39Bennett, Janey...4Bolen Books...34Book Warehouse...34Caitlin Press...37Crown Publishing...20Detselig...28Douglas College/EVENT...39Douglas & McIntyre...23Ellis, David...33Fitzhenry & Whiteside...18, 32Friesens Printers...39Galiano Island Books...39Givner, Joan...36Granville Island Publishing...32Harbour Publishing...2, 44Heritage House...14, 15Hignell Printing...39Leaf Press...33Libros Libertad Publishing...20Malahat Review...39Mother Tongue Press...37New Star Books...28, 36Nightwood Editions...32Oolichan Books...16Orca Books...24People’s Co-Op Books...33Playwrights Canada Press...36Polestar Calendars...5Printorium...39Quickies...41Ronsdale Press...11Royal <strong>BC</strong> Museum...30Sandhill...26Save-On Foods...34SFU Writing & Publishing...30Sidney Booktown...34Sono Nis Press...12Ti-Jean Press...33Tradewind...18U<strong>BC</strong> Press...7University of Toronto Press...5Vancouver Desktop...39Wickaninnish Inn...4Wood Lake Books...10Yoka’s Coffee...36TO ADVERTISE and reach100,000 readers just call604-736-4011OR EMAIL: bookworld@telus.net


43 <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>DISTRIBUTIONThanks to our 100,000 readers & 915 outlets.BOOKSTORESAbraxas BooksAlbany BooksAlbion BooksArmchair BooksAskom BooksBacchus BooksBanyen BooksBeacon BooksBlack Bear BooksBlackberry BooksBlack Bond Books:- Coquitlam- Delta- Langley- Maple Ridge- Mission- New Westminster- Richmond- Surrey (Central City Mall)- Surrey (Guildford Centre)- Surrey (Semiahoo Mall)Black Dog BooksBlack Lion BooksBluewaters BooksBolen BooksBook BonanzaBook Garden CafeBook MastersBook Shop (Penticton)BookendsBooklandBookloversThe BookmanBooks & StuffBooks on FourthThe BookshelfBookstore of GoldenBooktownBook Warehouse:- Davie St.- Denman St.- Homer St.- North Van- West End- West 4th Ave.- West 10th Ave.- West Broadway- YaletownBreakwater Books<strong>BC</strong> Ferries:- Coastal Renaissance- Coastal Celebration- Coastal Inspiration- Queen of Alberni- Queen of Burnaby- Queen of Chilliwack- Queen of Coquitlam- Queen of Cowichan- Queen of Nanaimo- Queen of New Westminster- Queen of Oak Bay- Queen of Prince Rupert- Queen of Saanich- Queen of Surrey- Queen of Vancouver- Spirit of Vancouver Island- Northern Adventure- Spirit of British ColumbiaCafe Books WestCadboro Bay BooksCarson’s BooksCaryall BooksChapters/Indigo/Coles:- Abbotsford (Sevenoaks)- Burnaby (Brentwood Mall)- Burnaby (Lougheed Mall)- Burnaby (Metrotown Centre)- Chilliwack (Cottonwood Ctr)- Coquitlam- Courtenay (Driftwood Mall)- Cranbrook (Tamarack Ctr)- Fort St. John- Kamloops (Aberdeen Mall)- Kamloops (Hillside Drive)- Kelowna (Orchard Park)- Langley (Langley By-Pass)- Langley (Willowbrook Mall)- Nanaimo (Woodgrove Ctr)- Nanaimo (Country Club Ctr)- Nelson- North Vancouver (Marine Dr.)- Penticton- Powell River- Prince George- Richmond (Richport Ctr)- Richmond (Richmond Ctr)- Surrey- Terrace (Skeena Mall)- Vancouver (Bentall Ctr)- Vancouver (Granville)- Vancouver (Oakridge Ctr)- Vancouver (Robson)- Vernon (Village Green Mall)- Victoria (Bay Ctr)- Victoria (Canwest)- Victoria (Douglas)- Victoria (Eatons Ctr)- Victoria (Mayfair)- Victoria (Tillicum)- West Van (833 Park Royal)- West Van (924 Park Royal)- White Rock (PeninsulaVillage)Characters Fine BooksCoast Princess BooksCoho BooksCrown PublicationsDave’s Book BarDouglas CollegeDuthie BooksFergchester BooksFirst Canadian Used BooksFountainhead BooksGaliano Island BooksThe GalleryGallowglass BooksGold Book BooksThe Good Life BooksHager BooksHermit BooksHidden GemsInterior StationeryIsabel Creek StoreIvy’s Book ShopK&K BooksKwantlen CollegeBookstore:- Langley- Cloverdale- Richmond- SurreyLangara College BookstoreLangara JournalismLaughing Oyster BooksLooking Glass BooksLotus BooksMacleod’s BooksVancouver Island UniversityMarika’s BooksMaritime MuseumMermaid Tales BookstoreMiners Bay BooksMisty River BooksMorningstar BooksMosaic BooksThe MotherlodeMulberry Books:- Qualicum Beach- ParksvilleMunro’s BooksNorthern Lights CollegeNorthwest Coast BooksOrganic OfferingsThe Open BookPeople’s Co-op BooksPhoenix on BowenRainforest BooksRaspberry BooksReading Room BookstoreRegent College BooksRoots BooksRosewood BooksSalt Spring BooksSave-On/Overwaitea:- Abbotsford- Campbell River- Chilliwack- Clearbrook- Coquitlam- Courtenay- Kamloops- Kelowna- Maple Ridge- Metrotown- Mission- Nanaimo- North Delta- N. 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44 <strong>BC</strong> <strong>BOOKWORLD</strong> <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2010</strong>

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