Groundmass

In 2002, Sanger was living in South Maitland on the Shubenacadie River, famous for its tidal bore from the Bay of Fundy. The last essay, ’Groundmass’ describes the connections between the Geologists, Charles Lyell, and J.W.Dawson, and Charles Darwin. Darwin had Lyell’s Principles of Geology with him on the Beagle on his Galapagos expedition. Dawson dedicated his Acadian Geology: an account of the geological structure and mineral resources of Nova Scotia to Lyell in 1855.

Sanger also connects Elizabeth Bishop with the tidal bore she witnessed, either in Great Village or Truro. And also connects Darwin’s expedition to the Galapagos Islands over a hundred years earlier.

When you drive through the Rawdon Hills from Windsor to Truro on Highway #236 you cross the Shubenacadie River at South Maitland. This part of Nova Scotia has had links with the scientific community and literary community that go back two hundred years. And yet the region is small and finite, centred on Truro extending down to Windsor, across to Parrsboro, and on the North shore from Pictou to Pugwash. It covers less than ten pages in the Nova Scotia Atlas (1:150,000. 90 pages).

Sanger’s book is difficult to review. The other three essays are Biorachan Road, The Crooked Knife and Keeping: the Cameron Yard. My best recommendation is “read it”; check it out, from the library, especially the last essay, Groundmass, for the relationship between words and place.

Acknowledgements

Edward added the graphics. Heather shared in the reading and the travel.

References

Peter Sanger, 2002, Spar: Words in Place, Gaspereau Press.

Province of Nova Scotia, 2019, The Nova Scotia Atlas, 7th Edition, Formac Publishing.

Postscript

Apologies for two blogs on consecutive days. I had to go back and read Sanger’s book a second time.

BTW. For a good laugh, check out YouTube from Edward in the Comments to the previous blog.