Synopses & Reviews
British Columbia is Canada's extreme province, holding all the country's records for low and high, wet and dry, right and left. It imprints itself strongly on all who pass through, yet it remains difficult to describe and even more difficult to understand.
In his ten years as senior feature writer and columnist for the Vancouver Sun, Stephen Hume has roamed all over BC's diverse regions. He writes of pocket deserts and rain forests; of Tin Hats and Cowichan sweaters; of big cedars, skunk cabbage, fog and forest fires; of the economic value of snow; of wild weather systems known as marine bombs and beer parlour legends that won't die. Here is the country of dreams and miracles occupied by aboriginal peoples and the modern reality of endangered ecosystems. From the fate of Walhachin, the settlement that was to be a western Eden but fell victim to the carnage of World War I, to the mythical reef where the Haida say time began, this thoughtful and lyrically written collection seeks to make sense of the BC enigma by exploring the fabulous contrasts inherent in the province's landscapes and the people who occupy them.
Stephen Hume presents a dynamic collection of stories that capture the complex character of BC's geography, history, and people.
Synopsis
"A collection of beautifully written stories"
-The Islander
Winner of a BC 2000 Book Award.
About the Author
Stephen Hume was raised in fishing, farming and logging communities across Alberta and BC and studied at the University of Victoria. A journalist for over 35 years, Hume was editor-in-chief at the
Edmonton Journal before moving to BC to become columnist and feature writer for the
Vancouver Sun. He has won more than a dozen awards for his poetry, essays and journalism, including the Writers Guild of Alberta Literary Award, the Southam President's Award and the Marjorie Nichols Memorial Award. Stephen became the first Canadian to win the Dolly Connelly prize for environmental writing. His other books include
Raincoast Chronicles 20: Lilies and Fireweed,
Bush Telegraph and
Off the Map, which was shortlisted for a Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Book Prize. He currently teaches professional writing at the University of Victoria.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
The Pacification of Stewart
Desert
Snow
Skunk Cabbage
Invasion Biology
Into the Firestorm of History
A Dry Wind in Eden
Bush Telegraph
Grey Shepherd of the Log Booms
Annie's Variety Store
Battle Flag of the Orchards
The Big Cedar
Fire Down Camp
Fishing on the Blue Line
Huckleberries
Kismet on the Coast
Ocean Plunder
Marine Bombs and Other Phenomena
West of Tin Can Creek
The Reef Where Time Began
Fish Story
The Secret of McBride
So Mad He Shot the Bar
Spirit of the Stream
Nulli Secundus
Out on the Swiss Burn
We Are Out There
Yarrows Goes Down
Anything to Sell a Paper
Fog
Tin Hats and Siwash Sweaters
Harvest
Land of Dreams and Miracles
Index