Category: Book Review

A month ago I attended the Authors’ Market at MareGold in Annapolis Royal. This Saturday (August 12) will be the second Authors’ Market.

It has taken me the full month to read Bob Bent’s Ida Red, in part because I prefer non-fiction. Ida Red is a fictional Love story set in East Clarence. It is a long story, over four hundred pages.. There is a distinct pleasure in recognizing the geography : names of roads, the physical landscape and the sense of community.

Several times, I nearly gave up. Fortunately, I continued to the surprising ending. The last hundred pages would not allow me to stop reading. Congratulations to Bob Bent on crafting this page-turning story ending.

While in Kentville (waiting on car repairs at Honda) I reached the conclusion, and associated food for thought, about living in rural Nova Scotia.

In Kentville, I stopped at Gaspereau Press. I was able to purchase Harry Thurston’s latest poetry book Ultramarine. At the Half Acre Café, there was time to grab the latest Grapevine (August 2023). I noted Wendy Elliott’s column Books by Locals. She reviewed Organizing Nature by two Acadia University academics, Alice Cohen and Andrew Biro, published by University of Toronto Press.

‘The duo used the lens of nature-society to examine how ecosystems have been turned into Resources’. Another trip to the Lawrencetown library is in the offing.

From the Reader, I note startingTuesday, August 15 there will be an Acadian Map exhibit at the O’Dell House Museum in Annapolis Royal hours 9:30 – 4 pm Tuesday to Saturday. Maps from 1686 to 1755.

Acknowledgements

Heather shared my delight in a story set in Clarence( East Appleton)

References

Bob Bent 2023. Ida Red. A Love Story. 442pp. Self-published.

Harry Thurston. 2023. Ultramarine. Gaspereau Press.

Wendy Elliott. Books by Locals. The Grapevine. Arts, Culture, Community. August 2023 No 20.08 p.10.

Last week, I received a copy of Viram Jasani’s book, ‘ Independence to Freedom’. Viram was born in Kenya in 1945. He came to England in 1949. Our paths crossed at Chiswick Grammar School for Boys (Chapter 6). We shared a passion for cricket, as well as an academic interest in Geography.

Between 1956-1963 Viram developed a deepening involvement with Indian classical music.

“For me Indian music grew to be a means of peace and reconciliation both at a personal level and on the global stage; it gave me a true sense of my identity.” p.122.

After completing his undergraduate degree at St Andrew’s University Viram joined the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and became part of the music scene in London, playing the sitar.

After working in the business world, Viram created the Asian Music Circuit (AMC), Europe’s best company promoting traditional music culture – generating huge audiences all around the UK, many iconic productions at major venues .’ From 2000-2012 AMC the charity was at the height of its achievements producing major events throughout the UK and also in Europe’

Subsequently Viram became more deeply involved with traditional Indian culture through several trips to India and the inspiring thinking of ascetics and wandering scholars – the Vedic culture and revelations. The final chapter (18) describes his path to freedom. ‘ He overcame the prejudices he faced from the British arts elite and jealous Indians by embarking on a journey into Vedantic philosophy.

Reading Viram’s life story provided inspiration, starting with our parallel paths at Chiswick Grammar School for Boys. We continue to seek the same freedom, away from ruling elites, huge imbalance of power and wealth in societies across the world, uncertainty in our daily life. p.353.

Acknowledgements.

To Viram, Andrew Ronay and others who have shared these moments in time. To Heather Stewart for her lifelong support.

Reference

Viram Jasani. 2023. Independence to Freedom. Austin Macauley Publishers.

At the Authors Market, I picked up two books : Geoff Butler ‘A Troubadour’s Journey’ and Bob Bent ‘Ida Red’. Heather started with Ida Red. Now, it is my turn. From the back cover, Garry Leeson:

“Bob Bent has taken the torch from Ernest Buckler of “The Mountain and the Valley” fame and created a fresh original glimpse into a disappearing way of life in rural Nova Scotia. The love story takes place in East Appleton. As the author notes, “Except for a few minor changes in Geography, East Appleton is Clarence.”

From Avery Jackson, a speech marking the designation of the Clarence East School as a heritage property, 16 June 2022.

“For communities such as Clarence, people, families and industries come and go, but the one thing that remains are these structures. They are in fact what defines and characterizes a community.”

“From a student of the school from the 1940’s which reads the following.

“Turning right from the Station Road in Clarence, we arrive in a quiet country setting, nestled under tree covered North Mountain.”

“A small orchard remains.

And two houses still stand

Close by on the Appleton Road.”

“Some people must go

Still the blossoms will bloom

On the boughs of the Ida Red trees.” Anonymous.

As you will note Ida Red refers to an apple variety. To date, I have read the first six chapters (50 pages) in this forty chapter Love Story.

At the Authors Market, Bob Bent told us that the setting was Clarence.

We lived in Clarence from 1981-87. We purchased the Buterbaugh house. It lies on the North side between the Elliot’s and the van Roestel ‘s. After the van Roestel’s , you hit the Bent family farm and the Mount Hanley road. To the west, it was the Barteaux and the Shaw farms, at the top of the Fitch road.

Last year, the Buterbaugh house was torn down, and replaced with a new house.

Today (Saturday) I picked up my rural mail at Lunn’s Mill. There was a flier from NSCC Annapolis Valley campus. They were looking for student housing. It listed the programs at the Centre of Geographic Sciences (COGS) in Lawrencetown,

Forest Geomatics and Biometrics Technology

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) – in person and online

Geomatics Engineering Technology

Geospatial Data Analytics – online

GIS – Cartography and Geovisualization- online

GIS technician

IT Programming

Marine Geomatics

Remote Sensing

Survey Technician

The list shows the changes in both in-person and online programs since my day (2011).

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Bob Bent for book. To the NSCC for the campus flier.

References

Bob Bent.2023. Ida Red. Self-published.

In 2020, I read Geoff Butler’s book Lullabies for Seniors, illustrated with music notations. Hence, it was a pleasure to be able to pick up his latest self-published book A Troubadour’s Journey from medieval time to the present day and age.

In March 2020, the Kings Theatre presented a film on his art, Off the Beaten Path by DT Siddharhtha Fraser, and a second short film by Tim Wilson. I have checked online, but so far, I have been unable to find a link to either film.

Three days later, WHO announced the COVID-19 pandemic. In Butler’s Words:

‘Now in 2022, and with the phenomenal speedy development of vaccines, a new day brightens, and we can reflect, with 20/20 vision of hindsight on what we’ve been through since 2020.’ p.5.

‘My troubadour can also paint and draw as well as write songs and sing, not to mention capable of being resurrected from the dead’ p.8

‘Troubadours and like poet-musicians will continue to rise again, for there will always be need of music and rhyme.’ p.8.

Each story includes a painting, a story and a musical score.

Topics include:

A troubadour’s journey

Begone, fiend ! COVID -19

The COVID-19 skate routine

Behing the mask

Behind the glass

Clearcut

The good ship Hope

Butler combines current topics within a three dimensional artistic context: art, poetry and music. A refreshing ‘tour de force’.

Acknowledgements

The Authors Market provided the opportunity to discover self-published books. Thank you to Russell at MareGold.

References

Geoff Butler. 2020. Lullabies for Seniors : illustrated throughout with music notation. Self–published.

Geoff Butler. 2022. A Troubadour’s Journey from medieval times to the present day and age. Self-published.

Saturday afternoon, I enjoyed my regular beer with John Wightman. John had found a copy of Annapolis County Resources (1990) and thought it might be of interest. Later I checked out the document (74 pages). It contained a good description of the county, based on Statistics Canada census information. At that time Bridgetown was a separate entity.

Reviewing the document with 33 years of hindsight, I was struck by a number of items:

1. The lack of maps showing the distribution of land use, and land use change.
2. The lack of references to the role of private industry.

This caused me to check out Dick Groot’s book ‘Closure’. It provided a brief history of BRITEX in Centrelea.

‘In 1970 approximately 240 people were employed’. The company closed in 2004 despite the efforts of Sandy Archibald and his staff.

If the County commissioned a report on resources in 2023, what changes might we see? Would the focus be less on the physical infrastructure and government census data? Would we see a more detailed description of the landscape and its changing use? What about the ‘creative rural economy’? Are there new businesses in the County?

Would we see the new technologies at COGS being used to give an online picture of the available resources? It would include new start-ups, the contribution from the arts and the sciences. Would we see more emphasis on the history, and the sense of community?

Times have changed. Have we?

The best resource in the County is ‘The Bridgetown Reader ‘. Thank you, Lewis!

Meanwhile, go online and check out the Shorefast Foundation on Fogo Island.

Postscript

From the bookshelf, we have Local Logic: How to get there from Here, published by AIRO in February 2017, with survey results and recommendations on the economic future of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, and its surrounding communities. This is a timely read. We need an update to 2023.

Acknowledgements

John Wightman provided a copy of the Annapolis County Resources. Dick Groot illustrated the changes in the Old Economy. Jane Nicholson’s significant commitment at Annapolis Investments in Rural Opportunity (AIRO). Edward added the graphics.

References

February 1990, Annapolis County Resources, 74 pp.

Dick Groot, 2018, Closure: A Photographer’s Eye on an Old Economy, Cedar Centre, Windsor, NS.

The Bridgetown Reader, www.bridgetownreader.news

Last Sunday, Heather had a Shambala meditation meeting at the Community Hall in Granville Ferry. I decided to take the drive to Victoria Beach.

At the end of the road, I checked out the gravel road towards Delaps Cove.

Two days later, I stopped at Endless Shores bookstore in Bridgetown. I was looking for door prizes for the Ernest Buckler Literary Event Society (EBLES), Reading Where We Live: a celebration of local writing, July 15th, West Dalhousie Community Hall.

On the shelf, I spied Paul Rapsey’s book, Murder on the Pony Express Way, printed by Integrity Printing in Bridgetown. This is his first fictional novel.

The other notable point of interest in Victoria Beach was the Mare Gold retreat. This links to the new bookstore in Annapolis Royal, of the same name and ownership.

After the excursion to Victoria Beach, we returned to Paradise via Highway #201. Heather wanted to check out Spurr Road in Round Hill. We navigated to Gibsons Lake on the old military road. Before turning South at West Dalhousie, back to Bridgetown and home.

Just a simple journey took us to explore the nether regions of Annapolis County.

It is truly remarkable, the number of writers, artists, and musicians who have discovered their ‘sense of place in this landscape’ ; or, in Raymond Hunter’s favourite expression, ‘Bloom where you are planted’

Acknowledgements.

Without Heather’s meeting in Granville Ferry, we would not have explored the road to Victoria Beach. Without Jennifer Crouse at Endless Shores Books, I would not have discovered Paul Rapsey’s novel. Andrew Hannam facilitated access to the collection at COGS Library. Edward added the graphics.

References

Paul Rapsey, 2023, Murder on the Pony Express Way.

Harold Horwood, 1987, Dancing on the Shore: a celebration of Life at Annapolis Basin, McClelland and Stewart.

This week has ended on a high note. After car inspection at Kings County Honda in Kentville, we went to Tides Contemporary Art Gallery.

They had on display three books by Dick Groot: one on the closure of Minas Basin Pulp and Power; a second — more biographical — on his interest in photography. I picked up the third, “Come from Away: Artists of the Minas Basin”. Dick photographed twelve local artists, all drawn to the Bay of Fundy landscape. He also references the poet John Herbin and the collection, The Marshlands and the Trail of the Tide. Herbin lived here from 1860 to 1923(see previous post “Canning Trip“)

Through Lawrencetown library I received two books by Merilyn Simonds. Gutenberg’s Fingerprint and A New Leaf. Since I am only part way through the first, I passed A New Leaf to gardener, Heather.

Gutenberg’s Fingerprint has a similar style to “Woman, Watching”. It interweaves the personal experiences of the author within the context of the book theme ‘Paper, pixels and the lasting impression of books’. To date, I am at the paper stage. How paper was invented and used through the ages. This reminded me of the look and feel of the books published by Gaspereau Press. Another hidden jewel in Kentville.

Postscript

From Nicholas Hoare, Toronto bookmark:

“A Taste for Books is the Pleasure and Glory of my Life. I would not exchange it for the Riches of the Indies.”

Acknowledgements

I look forward to Heather’s review of A New Leaf. It describes Simonds garden, outside of Kingston, Ontario.

Andrew Ronay sent me a photograph of the Under 14 rugby team at Chiswick Grammar School, shot in 1958 (Which one is the author?).

Edward applied his graphics talent.

References

Dick Groot, 2012, Come from Away: Artists of the Minas Basin, a documentary of a little known migration, Light Through Studio.

Merilyn Simonds, 2017, Gutenberg’s Fingerprint: paper, pixels and the lasting impression of books, ECW.

Merilyn Simonds, 2011, A New Leaf: Growing with my Garden, ECW.

One of the delights of visiting family is sharing reading lists. In Peterborough, this means Patrick’s interests in Scandinavia and Iceland from the perspective of culture and nature; from Emily, place-based and indigenous education. In Toronto, I can catch up with Peter’s reading. In this case, questions about ‘growing old gracefully’ or alternatively “a father and son discuss the meaning of life”.

In addition to the compilation of lists, Peterborough has an excellent set of second-hand bookstores, filled with contributions from the local academic community. Heather found ‘Flower Hunters’. It includes stories from Linnaeus to Marianne North and Joseph Hooker. I found a couple of David Quammen’s books: The Reluctant Mr. Darwin and The Boilerplate Rhino. Essays.

After the journey, we can relax with these new-to-us texts.

References

From Patrick Maher:

Meik Wiking, 2016, The Little Book of Hygge, Penguin Random House
Meik Wiking, 2017, The Little Book of Lykke, Penguin Random House
Meik Wiking, 2019, The Art of Making Memories, Penguin Random House

From Emily Root-Maher:

Naomi Krogman and April Bergstrom, 2022, The Future of Sustainability Education, U of Alberta Press.
Marcia McKenzie, et al. 2019, Fields of Green: Restoring Culture, Environment and Education, Hampton Press.
Karen Osmond, 2011, Iceland Imagined: Nature, Culture and Storytelling in the North Atlantic, U of Washington Press.
Eve Tuck and Marcia McKenzie, 2015, Place in Research Theory, Methodology and Methods, Routledge.

From Fraser Root-Maher:

Margaret Webb, 2008, Apples to Oysters: A Food Lover’s Tour of Canadian Farms, Viking Canada.

From Peter Maher:

Jean Chittiste,. 2008, The Gift Years: Growing Old Gracefully, Bluebridge Publishing
Jean-François Revel and Matthieu Ricard, 1998, The Monk and the Philosopher, Schocken.

The English Landscape with introduction by Bill Bryson. 2001. Viking Studio.

From Heather Stewart:

Mary Gribbin and John Gribbin, 2008, Flower Hunters, OUP.
David Stuart and George Stuart, 2008, Palenque: Eternal City of the Maya, Thames and Hudson.

From Robert Maher:

David Quammen, 2000, The Boilerplate Rhino, Touchstone.
David Quammen, 2006, The Reluctant Mr. Darwin, Atlas Books.

Acknowledgments.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their literary interest: Patrick, Emily, Fraser, Peter and Heather.

Thanks to Edward for enlivening the blog with suitable graphics and links.


POSTSCRIPT CARTOON by Edward