Saturday was a very ‘bookish’ day. After finding it hard to read in these difficult times, I was determined to finish Whit Fraser ‘Cold Edge of Heaven’, in advance of the EBLES event at West Dalhousie next Saturday (15th.). Besides the story relating the relationship of the RCMP and the Inuit on Devon Island in the 1920’s, I was intrigued by the reference to artists (AY Jackson) and scientists (Banting) in our understanding of Canada’s Northern Geography.
Part of our day was to follow up on door prizes for EBLES. We have had generosity from the nursery community (Bunchberry, Thexton’s and Neily’s) as well as the bookstores (Baintons, Endless Shores, MareGold and Gaspereau).
In Annapolis Royal at MareGold courtyard, there were over twenty authors. Many of them I recognized. The temptation was great. At the end of the day, I came away with Bob Bent’s book Ida Red, describing life in rural Clarence in the 1980’s. This was a time when Heather and I lived with three young children between the vanRoestel’s and the Elliot’s in East Clarence.
My second purchase was Geoff Butler’s latest book A Troubadour’s Journey from medieval times to the present day and age. Geoff is a resident of Granville Ferry, but was born on Fogo Island, Newfoundland. In 2012, he was artist-in-residence on Fogo Island courtesy Fogo Island Arts and the Shorefast Foundation. I have been following Zita Cobb at Shorefast as a model of community economic development that may be applied to the Annapolis Valley.
Returning home, after a stimulating day, I received an email from Edward from Footsteps East, including a couple of videos, as well as an update that they can now reclaim their camping gear. The impact of a severe storm in Quebec.
Acknowledgements
To Russell at MareGold for hosting the first Authors’ Market. It will be repeated in August. His bookstore is a dream for those of us who enjoy non-fiction. It complements the fiction across the road at Baintons.
References
Bob Bent. 2023. Ida Red.A love story. Self-published.
Geoff Butler. 2022. A Troubadour’s Journey from medieval times to the present day and age. Self-published.
Whit Fraser. 2022. Cold Edge of Heaven. Boulder Books.
Postscript.
Special kudos to Geoff Butler who combines art, poetry and music.
On Sundays I receive the Marginalian by Maria Popover. This week ‘How people change, Herman Hesse on wonder and how to be more alive, a tender modern fable about reversing the Anthropocene’.
Ernest Blair Experiment 