Featured Reviews

Reflections of Ukraine: Ukrainian Churches of the Saskatchewan Countryside
Lloyd and Rose Virag / 9 November 2016

Reflections of Ukraine: Ukrainian Churches of the Saskatchewan Countryside by Lloyd & Rose Virag Published by Lloyd & Rose Virag Review by Keith Foster $39.95 ISBN 978-0-9950034-0-8 Have you ever wondered about all those little churches that dot the Saskatchewan landscape? Lloyd and Rose Virag have pondered them too, and set out on a motor trek of discovery. Focusing specifically on Ukrainian churches because of Rose’s ethni...

Long Walk, The
University of Regina Press / 9 November 2016

The Long Walk by Jan Zwicky Published by University of Regina Press Review by Cassidy McFadzean $19.95 ISBN 9780889774490 Jan Zwicky, the Governor General’s award-winning author of more than a dozen books of poetry and non-fiction, returns with a new poetry collection, The Long Walk. Zwicky has released titles with such celebrated publishers as Brick Books and Gaspereau Press, and The Long Walk marks her debut with the University of R...

Line Dance
Burton House Books / 4 November 2016

Line Dance An anthology of poetry, selected and edited by Gerald Hill published by Burton House Books Review by Shelley A. Leedahl $20.00 ISBN 9-780994-866912 Before I say anything else about Line Dance – the cool new poetry anthology driven by SK Poet Laureate Gerald Hill’s “First Lines” project – a disclaimer: two lines from one of my poems appear within it. Apart from that, I had zilch to do with this bo...

Life & Times of Lighthouse McNeil, The
Your Nickel's Worth Publishing / 3 November 2016

The Life & Times of Lighthouse McNeil: An Adventure in the RCMP by George Garrett Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing Review by Keith Foster $19.95 ISBN 978-1-927756-65-2 The legendary traditions of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are based on individual members who excelled. In The Life & Times of Lighthouse McNeil: An Adventure in the RCMP, George Garrett chronicles the exploits of one such legendary member – A...

Art of Immersive Soundscapes
University of Regina Press / 27 October 2016

Art of Immersive Soundscapes Edited by Pauline Minevich and Ellen Waterman Published by University of Regina Press Review by Shelley A. Leedahl $39.95 ISBN 9-780889-772588 Music, laughter, the rustling wind: sound enriches our lives. Of course it can also work the other way, as anyone with belligerent neighbours can attest. Sound is an interesting field of study for scientists and artists. I’d never heard of “immersive sound...

Convictions
Coteau Books / 19 October 2016

Convictions by Judith Silverthorne Published by Coteau Books Review by Shelley A. Leedahl $16.95 ISBN 9-781550-506525 I’ve now read enough of Judith Silverthorne’s numerous books to know that anything she writes will be a worthy read, and my belief was confirmed again with her latest, the historical novel Convictions. This time the multi-award-winning Regina writer (and Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Writers’ G...

Hamburger
Thistledown Press / 12 October 2016

Hamburger by Daniel Perry Published by Thistledown Press Review by Leslie Vermeer $18.95 978-1-77187-097-9 Hamburger, Daniel Perry’s new collection of short fiction published by Saskatoon’s Thistledown Press, is loaded with clever, provocative, thoughtful tales. Perry’s stories span moments from comedy to horror to pathos, and the collection explores familiar themes such as travel, discovery, loss, and false belief. But Perry’s ...

Aboriginal Rock Paintings of the Churchill River, The

The Aboriginal Rock Paintings of the Churchill River by Tim E.H. Jones Published by Saskatchewan Archaeological Society Review by Keith Foster $21.00 ISBN 9780969142065 When Tim Jones saw his first rock paintings on Kipahigan Lake in northern Saskatchewan in 1964, he was both puzzled and fascinated by them. The subject of his Master’s thesis, studying these paintings became his lifelong passion. The Aboriginal Rock Paintings of the Ch...

Ceremony of Touching
Coteau Books / 5 October 2016

Ceremony of Touching by Karen Shklanka Published by Coteau Books Review by Shelley A. Leedahl $16.95 ISBN 9-781550-506679 It’s gratifying to possess some knowledge of where, both literally and metaphorically, a poet is writing from. The first piece in BC poet/doctor/dancer Karen Shklanka’s second book of poetry – which originated as her master’s thesis – is a touchstone. It introduces us to “the wounded soul ...

Knowledge Seeker, The
University of Regina Press / 28 September 2016

The Knowledge Seeker: Embracing Indigenous Spirituality by Blair Stonechild Published by University of Regina Press Review by Keith Foster $32.95 ISBN 978-0-88977-417-9 What is your purpose in life? This is one of the questions Blair Stonechild explores in The Knowledge Seeker: Embracing Indigenous Spirituality. In researching this book, Stonechild, a member of the Muscowpetung Saulteaux First Nation in Saskatchewan, interviewed numerou...