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Eastword, October-November 2008imPRESSed!: The newest titles by WFNS members
Flutter is a cat’s cradle of startling imagistic leaps and quiet meditations. Alice Burdick sets her lateral gaze on small-town news stories, banal occurrences, and the tiny things of a semi-rural life. In the tradition of John Ashbery or Lorine Niedecker, these cubist portraits and landscapes are imbued with a joyous wordplay, even when the poems are heartbreaking — each is a journey of surprise, bewilderment, and perhaps even revelation. Alice Burdick’s poems have been published in numerous anthologies, chapbooks and journals. Her first collection, Simple Master (Pedlar Press), was published in 2002. She moved to Halifax in 2002 from Toronto, where she was born and raised. She has also lived in Espanola, Vancouver, and on the Sechelt Peninsula in BC. Alice now lives in Mahone Bay with her husband and daughter.
Beginning with several Lucys who made a difference — saint, suffragette, author, artist, comedienne, cartoon character, mother, muse — this poetic journey continues with the unlikely love story between Lucy Adaline Hurd and William Cornelius Van Horne, the man responsible for building the railroad that joined Canada from east to west. As he drove his iron dreams across lake shore and forest, prairie and mountain, Lucy stayed behind in Montreal, knowing that her passions — children, music, orchids — would not endure. Using a variety of verse forms, including free verse and found poems, sonnets and sestinas, this collection explores the lives of women who inhabit the margins of history and the ways in which they shine. Wanda Campbell was born in Andhra Pradesh, India, and spent the first decade of her life there. She has a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Windsor and a PhD in Canadian Literature from the University of Western Ontario. Her poems and stories have appeared in numerous journals and she has also published a collection of poetry, Skyfishing (Black Moss Press, 1999), and a chapbook, Haw [Thorn] (Gaspereau, 2003). Wanda lives with her husband and three daughters in Wolfville, where she teaches Creative Writing and Women’s Literature at Acadia University.
In the "Boogie Nights" era of the 1970s, Betty Browning and her lover, boxer Malcolm Miles, travel from the fog-anchored grime of Halifax to sunburnt Corpus Christi, Texas, and back — meeting tragedy and bloodshed along the way. I & I smoulders with love, lust, violence, and the excruciating repercussions of racism, sexism, and disgust. George Elliott Clarke was born in the Black Loyalist community of Windsor Plains, Nova Scotia, and raised in Halifax. In 1991, he won the Archibald Lampman Award for poetry and in 1998, he was the first recipient of the prestigious Portia White Prize. George was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2008. His work has been published in many periodicals and anthologies. His novel George and Rue was longlisted for the IMPAC literary award, and his numerous books of poetry include Execution Poems (2001), which won a Governor General's Award. He currently lives in Toronto.
The Contingency Man is the story of a gorgeous moocher who accidentally becomes an overnight success, and the people who think he's the answer to their prayers. After trading on his good looks and charm for twenty-nine years, Matt has bombed out of university yet again. When his father decides to cut him off financially, he turns to odd jobs to keep up with his satellite television payments and beer expenses. When an accident involving Matt’s incorrigible dog, a drop sheet and a couple of cans of paint suddenly makes Matt the new darling of the art world, he discovers the fun and hazards of sudden, thoroughly unearned, success. Nova Scotia native Trudy Fong has written for regional and national publications, as well as a travel book, Off the Beaten Path in the Maritime Provinces, now its sixth edition. She also wrote for the Hong Kong Standard and published travel articles.
Captain Jess Vandermire, vampire and leader of a Black Ops team hunting vampires in New York City, is under attack. There's a serial killer in town of the worst kind — a vampire with a penchant for women who look like Jess. The killer is murdering these upper class women and leaving clues that incriminate Jess. John Brittain, tough cop and lieutenant under Jess's command, makes it his mission to find the murderer and prove Jess innocent, because each time another woman dies, he has the horrible feeling the next one will be Jess. Lina Gardiner was born in St. Stephen, New Brunswick. Her first book, Grave Illusions, was published in 2006 by ImaJinn Books and is currently being developed into a series. She lives in Geary, NB.
Call of a Distant Shore follows Elisabeth Heber and her family as they struggle under the rule of a tyrannical Prince in 1750s Germany and their subsequent journey to Nova Scotia. Unmarried, pregnant, and only sixteen years old, Elisabeth faces emigration with her family with one goal—to find her lover, Peter, who had abandoned her months before when his own family emigrated. When her secret is revealed, she weds the village doctor, yet swears to never consummate the marriage. As she boards the Snow Pearl to her new homeland, all her hopes are pinned on finding Peter and changing the circumstances of her life. Corinne Hoebers was born and raised in Dartmouth, and from an early age showed a genuine curiosity and interest in the history of both her family and the geographic area in which she lived. Call of a Distant Shore is her first book. Corinne and her husband, Pierre, live in Calgary.
Five women with nothing in common (nothing except the universal bond of womanhood and their mutual interest in dream analysis) are brought together at a conference on dream interpretation and discover they live within a few minutes’ drive of each other. They decide to form a group and meet on a regular basis to continue their study and discussion of dreams. During their times together, the girls explore the symbolism and veiled messages their dreams present. As the women unlock their dreams' secrets, they grasp the key to their individual and collective futures. Janice Hunter has spent many years in a dream study group and has presented workshops on the topic. She lives in rural Nova Scotia where she is currently at work on her next novel.
A collection for adults and older teens, The Storyteller and Other Tales will take readers on a journey through exotic worlds and times. Demon bears take human shape and devils walk in the north of a world where every hill hosts a god and every river and spring a goddess. Ulfleif, a warrior-princess who would rather carry a lyre than a sword, is drawn into an unfinished tale by the storyteller Moth, and old lays of vengeance and betrayal wake into bloody new life around her. In all these tales, the common thread is otherness — other worlds, other times, other ways of looking at heroism and tragedy, faith and betrayal, and victory. K.V. Johansen is the author of numerous YA books, including Nightwalker, which won the 2008 Ann Connor Brimer Award for Children’s Literature. Originally from Kingston, Ontario, K.V. studied English and History at Mount Allison University, received a Master's in Medieval Studies from the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto, and another Master's in English, from McMaster University. She lives in Sackville, NB.
Laura Trunkey has received awards and scholarships for her writing and academic work and is currently completing her Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing. She works as an educational assistant in an elementary school in Victoria, British Columbia. This is her first book.
Tony is excited about signing up for hockey. But right from the start, he is bullied by a fellow teammate. In various ways, Tony is supported by a neighbour, his school friends and the coach. As the bullying continues at several practices and games, he begins to learn how to deal with it. This is an early chapter book about a serious matter, but the tone is funny, light and positive, and in the end, the bully’s behaviour changes and both boys learn social skills that will stand them in good stead in the future. Nancy Wilcox Richards is a teacher and lives in Bridgewater with her husband, two kids, a spoiled golden retriever and a cantankerous cat. She is the author of How to Tame a Bully, as well as the Farmer Joe series of picture books, Farmer Joe's Hot Day, Farmer Joe Goes to the City and Farmer Joe Baby-sits, all Published by Scholastic Canada Ltd.
Come and explore Mr. Kringle’s special little toy shop, where he spends his days helping every customer find just the right toy. When a box arrives at the shop with a small stuffed bunny inside, Mr. Kringle determines to find him a loving home in time for Christmas. Could the little girl who peers through the toy-shop window be the one who provides just the home he seeks? Frances Wolfe’s vibrant paintings complement her poignant prose in this heartwarming tale of love lost and found for the young and the young at heart. Frances Wolfe makes her home in Portuguese Cove, where her family has lived for more than a century. Her first book, Where I Live, was awarded the Ann Connor Brimer Award for children’s literature as well as the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Award for illustration. Her second book, One Wish, was awarded the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Book Illustration. Frances is a self-taught artist and an accomplished storyteller, puppeteer, and children’s programmer.
What would you do if the Maritimes were transformed into a mini ice age? What if the Gulf Stream shut down and we were plunged into a twenty-year winter? Can this really happen? Atlantic Canada has the dubious distinction of being the global canary of climate change. By a strange confluence of geography and meteorology, not only will we feel the effects of climate change first and most dramatically, but we will also experience a host of seemingly contradictory climate and weather effects. Richard Zurawski is a meteorologist, documentary filmmaker, and television and radio personality who has called Halifax his home for almost two decades. He is the host, creator and producer of the TV series Wonder Why?, The Adventures of the After Math Crew and Wise Weather Whys. Richard is currently heard predicting the fickle Maritime weather on Rogers Radio in Halifax, Moncton and Saint John.
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Call of a Distant Shore
The Dream Girls
The Incredibly Ordinary Danny Chandelier
The Maritime Book of Climate Change