“The House of Charlemagne”
by Tim Lilburn
Published by University of Regina Press
Review by Shelley A. Leedahl
$19.95
ISBN 978-0-88977-530-5
Years ago I lived a block from poet and
essayist Tim Lilburn in Saskatoon's leafy City Park area, and it's been wonderful
to watch his literary star rise. He's earned the Governor General's Award for Poetry,
and is the first Canadian to win the European Medal of Poetry and Art. Like Lilburn,
I also now live on Vancouver Island, and was excited to discover what my former
nearly-neighbour has been (literarily) up to.
Not surprisingly, his latest title – a collaboration
with Métis
artist Ed Poitras - breaks new ground. Part poetry, part essay, part script, The House
of Charlemagne is a brilliantly
conceived and executed "performable poem," and an homage to Louis Riel's
imagined "House of Charlemagne," named for the "polyglot Métis nation" Riel
imagined rising centuries after his death. It was produced with male and female
dancers by New Dance Horizons/Rouge-gorge in Regina (2015), and the book
includes two black and white production photos.
The bizarre
and poetic story unfolds via multiple voices and shapes, but the key player is Honoré Jaxon (aka William Henry Jackson), a University of
Toronto-educated non-Métis and son of a Prince Albert shopkeeper. Jackson
became Riel's final secretary, embraced the leader's metaphysical beliefs about
"active essences," was sentenced to an insane asylum, and died old
and living in a "small fort" made of empty ammunition boxes in New
York, where he'd attempted to gather published material that celebrated the
Métis. Lilburn takes these "bones" and, like an orthopedic surgeon,
constructs a body that is political, intellectual, and philosophical, and it
howls.
The books first part, Massinahican (Riel's text that
"attempt[ed] to render old Rupert's Land …. into philosophy, interiority
and politics") is an amalgam of history; quotations (in French) from
Riel's work and from others, ie: Julian of Norwich and Plato; free verse poetry;
and a description of the dance production. During the multi-art performance,
Lilburn sat side-stage and symbolically "sent large sections of the poem
skittering into the movement" while live music (by Jeff Bird of the Cowboy
Junkies) and geese, wind, gunshot, and water sfx were played.
The second part is the three-act
poetic performance script, including dialogue between Riel and Jaxson. The
former says to the latter: "You and I are
badger-mind/wasp-intuition". In the prison scene, a guard says: "You were
Platonic fools we dismembered/to save you from the embarrassment your sky
thought/would inevitably have brought you". In Act 3, when Jaxson maligns
the fact that he's failed to gather the archives of "the Last Provisional
Government at Batoche," he says of the blowing papers: "How strange
this is the result/of such thousand horsepowered longing".
Evidenced in the poetry:
Lilburn's intrinsic sense of the natural world, an ear tuned to the song of the
land, and multiple mentions of communities (Last Mountain Lake, Souris, Riding
Mountain, etc.). Scents are featured, too, ie: "The damp, cool/blue smell
of the Crowsnest Pass".
Lilburn's latest looks at
history through a different lens, and makes a sound like "the engine room
of God's warm breath".
THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM
___________
"Door into Faerie"
by Edward Willett
Published by Coteau Books
Review by Shelley A. Leedahl
$14.95
ISBN 978-1-55050-654-9
Door
into Faerie is the fifth and final title in Regina
writer Edward Willett's "The Shards of Excalibur" series, and I read
it without reading its predecessors, and also, admittedly, with a bit of a bias
against the fantasy genre. Magic shmagic. I've oft said that what I really value in literature is
contemporary realism: stories I can connect with via details from the here and
now, geography and language I can relate to because I recognize it, I speak it.
The old "holding a mirror to the world" thing. Well surprise,
surprise: I loved this YA fantasy. Willett wields his well-honed writing chops
from page one, and my interest was maintained until the final word.
In the opening we learn that teens
Wally Knight (heir to King Arthur) and his girlfriend Ariane ("the
fricking Lady of the Lake"), have been on a global quest to "reunite
the scattered shards of the great sword Excalibur," and they're currently
at a Bed and Breakfast in Cypress Hills. Cypress Hills! This ingenious
juxtaposition of old and contemporary (ie: "fricking"), of
information delivered in earlier books melded with new goings-on, and the
inclusion of relatable issues like family dysfunction - Knight's sister's
teamed with the Jaguar car-driving sorcerer Merlin, aka "Rex Major,
billionaire computer magnate," and she's "living it up" in a
Toronto condo, and Wally has no idea where his film-making mother is – had me
immediately hooked. Wally wants to find his mother and celebrate Mother's Day
together.
I'm impressed with Willett's ability to
draw readers into the complex existing story, and can appreciate the authorial
balancing act required in structuring this novel. The man knows how to write;
he has, in fact, written over fifty books, and won the 2009 Prix Aurora Award.
And I'm learning that hey, I actually do like fantasy: it's fun to imagine
"magic," ie: Ariane has the power to "transport them around the
world via fresh water and clouds".
The book's delightfully saturated with
humour, as well as magic. Re: Ariane's magical prowess, "the whole
dissolving-into-water-and materializing-somewhere else thing still freaked [Wally] out". And re:
the family angle, at one point Ariane says, "Magical quests are easy;
family is hard".
While the young pair search for the
famous sword's hilt, they land in places ranging from a Weyburn swimming pool
to a "dime-a-dozen" Scottish castle and the shoreline of Regina's
Wascana Lake.
There's romance too: Ariane notices
that Wally's ears "even seemed to fit his head better than they used to".
And broken romance: Wally's mom delivers a monologue re: her own marriage
break-up, complete with the "blonde bimbo" who replaced her. There's a
long history of inter-marrying and bloodshed here.
The story's told through different
perspectives. Merlin maligns the fact that King Arthur had been reduced even
beyond legend "to a fit subject for musical
theatre". Hilarious.
I can't imagine teens not enjoying this
entertaining story, perhaps especially if they've read the books that've
preceded it. This adult enjoyed it, too … magic and all.
THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM
by Allan Kehler
Published by Your Nickel’s Worth
Publishing
Review by Shelley A. Leedahl
$17.95
ISBN 978-1-988783-02-4
Born
Resilient: True Stories of Life's Greatest Challenges
is the third book I've reviewed by Saskatoon writer, counsellor, and
motivational speaker Allan Kehler, and it's my favourite. In this non-fiction
book about suffering, hope, and resilience, Kehler introduces each chapter then
allows some of the people he's met on his own journey to take the stage. We
hear from men and women who've each hit rock bottom in some way, and learn how,
in their own words, they climbed out of their individual valleys. Perhaps
nothing's more powerful than candid personal testimonies. In sharing theirs,
the writers lend others hope that they, too, can turn their lives around.
The book opens with a foreward from an
ex-NHL goalie who, like the author, confesses that he's "seen the dark
side" (addiction, mental illness) and has "risen above". In his
usual clear writing style, Kehler explains that his motivation for writing this
book came from a young woman who'd suffered an abusive childhood. She silently revealed
the scars on her forearms, and Kehler's response was "Scars are a sign of
survival. You are clearly a fighter … and you have my utmost respect." An
inspired response, and the girl left the meeting with "her head held
high".
It's Kehler's belief that "nothing
is more sacred than having someone share their story with you". Readers may
or may not personally relate to the hardships contributors relay – from
debilitating accidents and illness to abuse of all kinds – but they'll no doubt
applaud the courage demonstrated here, and learn how even when one's life is truly
a living hell, there is hope.
In Chapter One Kehler advises that
people pay attention to their emotional pain, which he says has more impact on
lives than physical pain. He directs readers to acknowledge emotional pain,
"sit" with it, and "identify its source," for if "toxic
emotions" aren't released, the sufferer may turn to unhealthy behaviours
like abusing drugs, problem gambling, or sex addiction. Having a spiritual
connection greatly helps.
Sometimes it takes a book like this to
realize how some people survive the near-impossible every day, like the woman
who was sexually abused as a toddler and began drinking at age six. She writes:
"Without drugs or alcohol, I was unable to live in my own skin," and
today she's a mental health and addictions counsellor. We meet a man who lost
his three beloved children in a car accident: he describes undealt-with
emotional pain as a sliver that, left untreated, gets infected. One woman
writes of being gang-raped at age 14, another was brought up in a cult, and we
hear from the mother of a fentanyl addict who admits that resilience also
includes "having the courage to know when to hang on and when to let
go".
And imagine being the woman who wrote:
"On November 25, 1990, my ex-husband, Tom, shot and murdered my sons as
they slept". Resilience.
We all know someone who'd benefit from
reading this sincere book. I'm glad it's available.
THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM
__________
"Growing Fruit in Northern Gardens"
by Sara Williams and Bob Bors
Published by Coteau Books
Review by Shelley A. Leedahl
$39.95
ISBN 9-781550-509137
For those who desire to grow fruit in
their own northern gardens, the comprehensive and visually-inviting new reference
book by horticultural experts Sara Williams and Bob Bors would be the logical
place to begin. This learned duo – Williams has penned numerous books on
prairie gardening and leads workshops on diverse gardening topics; Bors is the Head
of the Fruit Breeding Program and an Assistant Professor in the Department of
Plant Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan (he's also globally-known for
his work with haskaps, dwarf sour cherries, and Under-the Sea® coleus). These
Saskatchewanians possess a plethora of knowledge and experience, and they share
it, along with up-to-date research, in Growing
Fruit in Northern Gardens: a veritable encyclopedia (but far more fun) that instructs gardeners on everything from
the basics - like soil preparation and pruning - to specifics on how to grow
and maintain healthy tree, shrub cane, groundcover, and vine fruits, and make
the most of your hazelnuts.
Aside from the wealth of information on
more than 20 species and over 170 fruit varieties, this glossy-covered book is
a joy to behold, with a proliferation of colour photographs (especially helpful
when diagnosing plant disease and identifying insects), interesting sidebars,
thoughtful organization, and easy-to-read text.
The first key to fruit-growing-in-northern-climes
game is hardiness. Winters in Zones 1
to 4 are often long and cold, so winter survival's critical. The authors
explain that growing at northern latitudes also provides some benefits, ie:
"fewer disease and insect problems" and "better colour and sweetness".
There are also more antioxidants within northern grown fruits. "What might
be considered a superfood grown elsewhere becomes a super-duper food when grown
in the north!". The advantages of growing your own fruit include enjoying
just-off-the-vine freshness, the meditative state one might experience while
pruning ("both a science and an art" … think Buddhist monks and
bonsai), and improving yard aesthetics.
Readers learn about insect vs. wind
pollination, that most fruit does best with "full sun for at least half
the day," and mulch must be at least 10 cm (4 in.) to be effective. I
appreciated the numerous "fun facts," ie: how many of what we now
consider weeds were "Old World plants that were deliberately introduced to
the new World by immigrants for their culinary or medicinal value," and
Canada Thistle is not Canadian: it's from Eurasia, as are dandelions, which
were "once used as a coffee substitute". One of my major adversaries – portulaca (aka purslane) – was at one time
"eaten as a vegetable".
I found the photos – like the root
development images – instructive, and the authors' personal anecdotes (ie:
Williams' battle with deer) add a human touch. A large section's devoted to
apples, which are from the rose family. Apples once held top spot re: Canada's
most important fruit, but that changed in the 1990s when blueberries were
christened a "superfruit".
I was going to gift this book after reviewing
it, but even living in Zone 7b/8a, I find it highly relevant: it's staying with
me.
THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM
