Spring books: Nine titles by BC authors to devour during the season's brighter days
New and forthcoming titles include those by Roy Henry Vickers and Joseph Dandurand
Ben the Sea Lion by Roy Henry Vickers (Harbour Publishing)
Tsimshian storyteller and painter Roy Henry Vickers shares an adventure from his childhood in the village of Kitkatla on BC’s north coast in this educational tale featuring 15 original illustrations in his signature bold, bright colours. The book takes its name from the Tsimshian word for sea lion, teeben. Vickers, who is also a renowned carver and printmaker, is the Hazelton-based illustrator and co-author of Harbour Publishing’s children’s First West Coast Book series and Northwest Coast Legends series, the latter titles of which were all shortlisted for the Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Awards.
So You Girls Remember That: Memories of a Haida Elder by Gaadgas Nora Bellis with Jenny Nelson (Harbour Publishing)
So You Girls Remember That is an oral history of a Haida Elder Naanii Nora, who was born in 1902 in Old Massett at the north end of Graham Island and was one of the first Haida to live in New Masset, the white settler’s town farther up the shore. She died in 1997 in Queen Charlotte City hospital. A collaborative effort, this project was initiated and guided by Charlie Bellis, supported by Maureen McNamara and other community volunteers, and compiled by Jenny Nelson. It opens a window into the woman’s life, from stories of her father, who was born in a canoe travelling to the mainland, to days spent picking berries and afternoons canning and cooking, to moving and marriage, all imbued with Haida songs and meanings. Royalties will be donated to the Carl Hart Legacy Trust through the Haida Gwaii Community Foundation, to support the Rediscovery Camp at T’aalan Stl’ang.
A Magical Sturgeon by Joseph Dandurand (Harbour Publishing)
Kwantlen First Nation member Joseph Dandurand, director of the Kwantlen Cultural Centre, has written several books of poetry—including The East Side of It All (Nightwood Editions, 2020), which was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize—and received the BC Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence in 2021. Dandurand’s second children’s book, A Magical Sturgeon is an endearing story of two sisters and their connection with nature told in the tradition of the Kwantlen people and accompanied by illustrations by Elinor Atkins.
All That We Say Is Ours: Guujaaw and the Reawakening of the Haida Nation by Ian Gill (Douglas & McIntyre)
Journalist Ian Gill is founding partner of Salmon Nation, former president of Ecotrust, and co-founder of independent bookstore Upstart & Crow (which contributes a monthly Reading List column to Stir). His latest work documents the decades-long struggles of the Haida people and their fight for self-determination, with a focus on Gidansda Giindajin Haawasti Guujaaw, the eloquent, strategic, audacious, and visionary artist, drummer, and orator who would later become president of the Council of the Haida Nation.
Using Power Well: Bob Williams and the Making of British Columbia by Bob Williams with Benjamin Isiit and Thomas Bevan (Nightwood Editions)
Bob Williams is a former British Columbia cabinet minister who played a key role in establishing the Agricultural Land Reserve and the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia during BC’s first NDP government in the 1970s and was influential in building the Vancity Credit Union into Western Canada’s leading co-operative financial institution in Western Canada. Here, he shares stories from his childhood in Vancouver’s East Side to his early career as a planner in Delta to his political life on Vancouver City Council and in the BC Legislature and beyond. Having played a role in the development of Whistler Town Centre and Robson Square, he advocates for a bottom-up approach to politics and public policy. Isitt is a historian and legal scholar specializing in the political and legal history of British Columbia’s working class who also serves as a city councillor and regional director in Victoria.
The Science and Spirit of Seaweed: Discovering Food, Medicine and Purpose in the Kelp Forests of the Pacific Northwest by Amanda Swinimer (Harbour Publishing)
The Pacific Northwest is home to the greatest cold-water seaweed diversity on the planet, and for more than two decades, Amanda Swinimer has immersed herself in this below-the-surface world as a sustainable harvester. Here, she shares her knowledge on identification of multiple varieties, health benefits, culinary uses of the nutrient-dense food, and more, alongside vibrant underwater photography, illustrations, and chef-inspired recipes.
Return to Solitude by Grant Lawrence (Harbour Publishing)
More than a decade after his debut book, Adventures in Solitude, broadcaster and indie-rock musician Grant Lawrence (the Smugglers) is back with a follow-up, returning to the Desolation Sound area as a husband (of musician Jill Barber) and father of their two children. He shares some of his own experiences of living on the coast with tales of personalities like the legendary Cougar Lady; he also brings back many of the quirky characters he introduced to readers in his first effort, such as Russell the Hermit, a reclusive hippie.
Queasy: a wannabe writer's bumpy journey through England in the '70s by Madeline Sonik (Anvil Press)
In this coming-of-age memoir, Sonik recounts her experiences in England in the 1970s, having moved with her mother from Windsor, Ontario to the seaside village of Ilfracombe in North Devon, while grieving her father’s death and the end of her first romantic relationship, She worked dead-end jobs to find time to write, eventually discovering her voice as a person and as an author. Sonik currently teaches at the University of Victoria.
Good Mom on Paper: Writers on Creativity and Motherhood edited by Stacey May Fowles and Jen Sookfong Lee (Book*hug Press)
This collection of 20 essays looks at the often-fraught relationship between being a mom and being a writer. The scribes delve into some of the challenges of a literary life with little ones, such as writing while the baby is napping, missing a book launch because of bedtime routine, and planning a promotional tour around childcare. They also celebrate writer-moms’ successes and joys. Among the contributors are Rachel Giese, Jónína Kirton, Teresa Wong, and the late Lee Maracle. Fowles is a writer based in Toronto; writer-editor-podcaster Lee, who was born and raised in Vancouver’s East Side, is based in North Burnaby.
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