Dollybird
Coteau Books / 20 December 2013

Dollybird by Anne Lazurko Published by Coteau Books Reviewed by Jackie Blakely $19.95 ISBN 978-1-55050-563-4 Dollybird, by Anne Lazurko, is a hopeful tale of love and loss on the Canadian prairies in the early 1900’s. Written in first person narrative, Lazurko brings to life the stories of Dillan, an Irish immigrant from Cape Breton, fleeing memories of a dead wife and poverty, and Moira from Halifax, pregnant and sent to Saskatchewan by her parents until the baby is born and adopted. Lazurko weaves their tales, chapter by chapter, as the two strangers struggle to come to terms with loss and change while making a new life for themselves in Ibsen, Saskatchewan. Beautifully set in the backdrop of the Canadian prairie wilderness, Dollybird is a remembrance of hardship and new frontiers. While Dillan tries desperately to get over the death of his wife shortly after childbirth, Moira struggles with being abandoned by her lover and her parents, forced to live in the middle of an unsettled land until her child is born and she can resume her dream of becoming a doctor. When Moira takes a job as Dillan’s housekeeper – his dollybird – she finds herself becoming more accustomed to…

The Survival Rate of Butterflies in the Wild
Hagios Press / 31 October 2013

The Survival Rate of Butterflies In The Wild by Murray Reiss Published by Hagios Press Reviewed by Jackie Blakely $17.95 ISBN 978-192671020-4 The Survival Rate of Butterflies In The Wild by Murray Reiss is a hauntingly beautiful book of poetry, influenced largely by Reiss’ childhood memories of his Jewish family’s struggles – not only with their new life in Canada, but with living with the knowledge that they survived the horrors of the holocaust in Poland, while family members perished. Sadness and an aching longing are sewn into the themes in Reiss’ poems. His work depicts the emptiness felt by his grief-riddled father, shown by the silence that existed in their relationship. This silence held the pain and guilt that Reiss’ father could not bear. Unanswered letters and postcards that never came are recurring themes that illustrate the profound sense of loss his father felt; but more dramatic still is the sense of Reiss’ shame at having survived at all. In the title poem, “The Survival Rate Of Butterflies In The Wild”, Reiss uses a walk through a butterfly park as an analogy to the life of a Jewish person, and in particular, his own life. Reiss writes of opting…

Herstory 2014
Coteau Books / 31 October 2013

Herstory 2014: The Canadian Women’s Calendar by The Saskatoon Women’s Calendar Collective Published by Coteau Books Reviewed by Jackie Blakely $15.95 ISBN 9781550505566 Herstory 2014: The Canadian Women’s Calendar offers a wonderful collection of stories highlighting the achievements of Canadian women throughout Canadian history. Each vignette in the calendar is crafted to bring to life each woman’s experience and influence, through thoughtful reflections on each of its subjects. From writers to artists and athletes, this compilation of women’s history is proof of the strength of Canadian women and their involvement in creating a great nation. This book is so much more than a functional calendar. It is a documentary of women’s stories that might otherwise be lost over time. Stories such as that of Annie Hanley, the first female council member in Nelson, British Columbia, a nurse, a teacher, a writer and a scholar, populate the pages and bring to life a Canadian history rich in feminine energy. The women profiled in the calendar come from all walks of life and various nationalities and backgrounds. Their impacts are felt from Canada’s historical inception to present day, and their stories are told to highlight their contributions. Stories are accompanied by photos…

Stories of the Road Allowance People, The Revised Edition
Gabriel Dumont Institute / 11 November 2011

Stories of the Road Allowance People, The Revised Edition By Maria Campbell Published by Gabriel Dumont Institute Reviewed by Jackie Blakely $30.00 ISBN 978-0-920915-99-8 Stories of the Road Allowance People by Maria Campbell is a beautifully woven tapestry of Métis remembrances and story telling by Métis elders. Carefully translated into print, Campbell captures the true nature of the Métis people and their culture through stories that are delightfully illustrated with paintings by Sherry Farrell Racette. By retelling these stories using phonetically-correct vernacular of the Métis culture, Campbell is able to recreate a place and time in history. These stories are populated with unforgettable characters, such as Dah Red-Headed Fur Buyer, Crow and Chi Kaw Chee. And the stories take place in the early 1900’s, set in the context of World War, Diefenbaker, early automobiles, and canned ‘buloney’, set in and around Batoche and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. The stories are peppered with interesting asides, like how in Rou Garous, it’s mentioned that not all Métis embraced Catholicism and many of them still fooled around with ‘dah ole way’. And how in La Beau Sha Shoo, a story of how one man obtained inspiration for his song, we hear also of how…