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Eastword, Nov/Dec 2003imPRESSed!: The newest titles by WFNS members
The Aussie Six, seven (!) animals – Kitty Kangaroo, Cuddles the Koala, Polly Platypus, Jack Kookaburra, Emma Emu, Spiny Ant-eater, and Donnie Dingo – are forced to leave Australia on a fiery summer day and drift on a yacht to wintery Canada. What funny adventures will they encounter during their voyage? What will the Canadian Crew of seven animals do when they meet these strange creatures? In his latest book for young readers, Paul Zann tells how the animals learn to cooperate and respect each other. An Australian by birth, Paul moved to Canada in 1968.
His publications include a children’s book, The Weirdest
Class; a humorous novel, A Real Son of a ‘Vitch!’;
plays, musicals, a collection of satirical articles, You’ve
Gotta Be Kidding!; short stories, and poetry. Paul lives with
his wife in Truro.
Stowing away on Captain Rossignol’s ship to the New Land was the best thing Gui had ever done…or was it? Within months of landing, he finds himself hunted by a man wearing badly worn shoes. In an attempt to discover who this man is, Gui stumbles into a nest of illegal fur trapping. Along with his best friend, Wowkwis, he is determined to bring these violators to justice. In doing so, he finds that he is the one facing death. Barbara Little was born and raised in the north of England and came to Canada with her eldest son and husband in 1968. Before making her home in Hopewell, NS, Barbara lived in Alberta and British Columbia.
Une terrible sécheresse sévit depuis trios ans dans les steppes. Les loups assoiffés partent à la recherché de l’eau. Ils devront franchir bien des obstacles pour trouver le précieux liquide. Comment trouver se l’eau dans le desert? La bataille entre les humains et les loups aura-t-elle lieu? L’enfant sourcier qui lit dans les étoiles saura-t-il l’eau et le feu? Un conte qui aborde, sous le theme de la quête de l’eau, des preoccupations bien actuelles pour éveiller le jeune lecteur aux réalités de son environnement. Alain Raimbault s’est installé en Nouvelle-Écosse en 1998, dans Wolfville. Lorsq’il n’écrit pas des romans pour la jeunesse ou de la poésie, l’auteur enseigne à l’école francophone Rose-des-Vents, dans la vallée d’Annapolis.
The over sixty poems that comprise this collection have been divided into four sections. Poems in the first section, “Moving Away”, explore our past, historical, recent or personal. In the second part, “Necessity”, Ferguson’s focus shifts to social issues and the themes of poverty, exploitation and suppression. Part three, “Glacial Silences”, examines the issues of personal barriers and the limits of human communication. The last part of the book, “Under a Juniper” carries messages of inspiration and spirituality. “…There are the stark, pared-down, raw lines… nothing of the lyrical…, only the bleakness and the knife of truth, incising into the reader’s perception….” – Katherine Gordon, Hidden Brook Press A founding member of The Amethyst Review, Penny Ferguson’s poetry, short stories and art have appeared in publications in Canada, the US and England. Her work has been broadcast on CBC, BBC and other networks. Penny lives in Truro.
What if you discovered that your history was in error?
Marilyn Iwama’s Skin Whispers Down crystallizes the moment at the heart of such questions. This unique book of cultural transformation and controlled artistry structurally departs from all other family narratives of its kind. Born in Nipawin, SK, Marilyn Iwama left nursing to complete an MA in English and a Ph.D in Interdisciplinary Studies from UBC. She has lived in six countries before establishing a new home base in Halifax. Marilyn was among the first participants in the inaugural year of WFNS’ Mentorship Program for Emerging Writers.
“Simpson’s lines ring lean and mature, and, like the late Bronwen Wallace, are full of people you know and people you don’t, but want to”. – Elm Street Anne’s first collection of poetry, Light Falls Through You, won the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award and the Atlantic Poetry Prize. Her first novel, Canterbury Beach, was a finalist for the Chapters/Robertson Davies Prize and the Thomas Raddall Award. After spending a year as writer-in-residence at the University of New Brunswick, Simpson has returned to her home in Antigonish.
In Hugh MacDonald’s poetry, one touches upon reality in a sudden and surprising way. His poems revolve around growing up in the Maritimes and the memories of his grandfather. MacDonald writes about farming on Prince Edward Island where the earth is hard and red, and about the daily life on the eastern seaboard – going to church, buying a car, first marriage, and the existential loneliness of a writer. Hugh MacDonald is an award-winning poet and author of books for children. He was awarded the L.M. Montgomery Award for Chung Lee Loves Lobsters (1990) and the Bennet Car Award for We’re All in This Together. Hugh teaches English and history at Souris Regional High near Charlottetown.
In this unflinching, yet luminous collection of eight short stories, Kathy-Diane Leveille explores how the past won't let go, how it shapes our future as well as our present. In portraits full of heart and depth, Leveille excavates the narrow stereotypes we have of rural life, offering instead the complexity and grit of rural culture. Set in the Maritimes and rooted in working-class experience, Roads Unravelling depicts the lives of ordinary women as they grapple with the challenges and absurdities of adulthood. “…Leveille's writing sings of heartbreak and redemption, and the wicked, dancing moments in between. A wise and stirring debut." - Carol Bruneau Kathy-Diane Leveille is a freelance writer and broadcast journalist living in Quispamsis, New Brunswick. Her short stories have appeared in numerous publications were broadcast on CBC Radio.
In An Orange from Portugal, editor Anne Simpson takes liberties with the concept of “story” to produce a book bursting with Christmas flavour. Many of her choices are fiction, others are memoirs, tall tales, poems, or essays, and still others defy classification. Some authors are nationally or internationally famous, others are published here for the first time. Spanning more than a century of seasonal writing, the collection includes works by Ernest Buckler, Alden Nowlan, Alistair MacLeod, Carol Bruneau, Richard Cumyn, Herménégilde Chiasson, Harry Bruce and many others. An Orange from Portugal is a Christmas feast, with the scent of turkey and the sound of laughter wafting from the kitchen. Anne Simpson’s latest poetry collection, Loop, was published by McClelland & Stewart [see above for a description of the book].
As a photographer for an upscale travel magazine, Sara is able to combine her passion for photography with a successful career. When diagnosed with a debilitating eye condition, her ideal world is thrown out of focus, forcing her to re-evaluate her future. As her vision begins to deteriorate, she faces the devastating prospect of having to give up both her career and her passion. Hoping to avoid surgery, Sara is introduced to Sitara - an acupuncturist troubled by doubts and family scars. As their friendship develops, the two women search for ways to cope with the past and the present. Heidi Priesnitz is a writer and graphic designer living in Wolfville. Her previous work includes a collection of short stories, Tangled with Leaves, and a novel, Drifting. Heidi’s work has appeared in several literary journals and was broadcast on CBC Radio.
In 1941, two Prince Edward Island men were hanged for the murder of a Charlottetown shopkeeper. The two convicted met their deaths still vowing that a third man had committed the murder. Inspired by this dramatic historical crime and the ‘third man theory,”, The Betrayer conjures the fictional life of this third man in an intimate psychological profile of someone who, quite literally, gets away with murder. Told from the compelling viewpoint of its central character, newspaperman Hugh Michael “Mickey” Casey, The Betrayer takes the reader down dark corridors of Charlottetown’s recent past to trace the origins of a murderer and the emotional aftermath of a brutal act. Michael Hennessey’s previous publications include non-fiction books and two collections of short stories. An accomplished playwright, Hennessey’s plays have been produced in PEI and other parts of Canada and broadcast on CBC Radio. The Betrayer is his first novel.
Featuring restaurants from Yarmouth to Sydney, The Hungry Critic points out the good and the not-so-good places to eat in Canada’s Ocean Playground. This irreverent and honest survey of takeouts, pubs, cafes, fish & chips stops and fine-dining places features over 170 reviews of restaurants in Nova Scotia. The book is divided into travel routes of the province, with a large section on the Halifax area. Individual eateries are complete with addresses, phone numbers, hours of operation, accessibility, liquor availability, payment options and a rating for their cost. A popular newspaper columnist for the Halifax’s Chronicle-Herald, Stephen Maher's columns are informative and entertaining and provide lots of details that are vital to both fine and casual dining. He lives and works in Halifax. |
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The
Aussie Six in Canada 
Mystery
at Port Royal
L’île
aux loups
Clarity
That Is Darkness: Selected & New Poems
Skin
Whispers Down
Loop
Cold
Against the Heart
Roads
Unravelling
An
Orange from Portugal: Christmas Stories from the Maritimes and Newfoundland
A
Darker Light
The
Betrayer
The
Hungry Critic: A Reliable Guide to the Restaurants of Nova Scotia