Books

The White Crow

The White Crow

by Christine Smart (2013)

In this new collection, award-winning poet Christine Smart demonstrates again her deep appreciation of natural beauty in its minutest and grandest forms, especially as she experiences it around her home on Salt Spring Island, B.C. Her poems take us under water, along the shore, through forest and garden, to the mountain top, always with close attention to detail and the mindfulness of her Zen practice. Other poems centre on people: her family, especially her mother whose loss she mourns, her lover, neighbours and children.

The Ballad of Mrs. Smith

The Ballad of Mrs. Smith

by Jancis M. Andrews (2012)

The Ballad of Mrs Smith is a narrative sequence of poems, telling the story of an abused wife who flees from her home in an upscale neighbourhood to find refuge in a rooming house in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Struggling as an alcoholic herself, she befriends drug addicts and sex trade workers, depicting them with sensitivity and sympathy. She celebrates the moments of beauty, loyalty and grace to be found even in the darkest settings. Enlivened with humour and a keen eye for detail, the poems deepen our understanding of an often-neglected segment of society.

It is I, Patricia

It is I, Patricia

by Pat Martin Bates & Joan Coldwell (2010)

“A longtime friend of Bates, Coldwell took notes over the past five years in preparation for this book. In a process like carding wool, Coldwell combed out the knots, laid the strands of Bates’s tales in order, then wove these yarns into a wonderful tapestry. The book brings us formative moments in the artist’s early life, beginning before her birth in Saint John, N.B., on June 5, 1927, and continuing to her marriage on June 12, 1948. Miraculously Coldwell delivers this work with Bates’s voice intact.
This is also a scrapbook of prescient drawings, touching notes and family photos lovingly preserved. The paper choice, typography and charming design are a fitting tribute to the child who grew up to be called Lady Print, and designer Frances Hunter deserves credit.”
Robert Amos, Times Colonist 5 June, 2010

Ferrets Underfoot: Adventures with Tia, Teasel and Friends

Ferrets Underfoot

by Kate Woods (2009)

“Kate Woods, of Sooke, is “irretrievably in love” with ferrets. You wouldn’t expect this quirk to give focus to an entertaining memoir, but it does…Woods writes perceptively and with a sense of humour.”
Rebecca Wigod (recommending titles to be considered for a list of B.C.’s top 100 books) Vancouver Sun 22 March, 2010

“Animal lovers of all kinds will enjoy this engaging, generously illustrated and well written book, especially when it moves from the city to the bush. Humorously and lovingly told, the story is packed in each paragraph with refreshing word pictures, minute observation, honesty and attention to detail, the product of an artist’s palette.”
Lyn Hancock, author of There’s a Seal in my Sleeping Bag and, most recently, Tabasco the Saucy Raccoon.

You Are Here

You Are Here

by P.K. Page (2008)

This collection of short pieces, story-like in their structure, introduces the character Mimi, who at other times in her life has been known variously as Margaret, Maggie, Marg, Meg, and Mrs Richardson. In recounting Mimi’s banal activities on an ordinary day–shopping, caring for cats, taking a shower–P.K.Page pushes beyond the boundaries of the mundane to explore some of the deepest questions perplexing the human mind.

Loving the Difficult

Loving the Difficult

by Jane Rule (2008)

Winner of the 2009 Lambda Literary Award for non-fiction.

“a collection of beautifully lyrical pieces, heartfelt writings filled with conviction and charming personal details.” Globe and Mail

“This lovely haunting volume urges us to love the difficult task of living.” Women’s Review of Books

“Loving the Difficult is unassuming but potent as a message in a bottle. Not just because she’s gone now, but because, in life, she was from somewhere else. I don’t mean Galiano Island, and I don’t mean the 1970s. Jane Rule (like Armistead Maupin) was writing dispatches from a social frontier. And that is far away from where most people live.” XTRA! West

“Rule’s final work, Loving the Difficult, stands as a milestone in gay and lesbian letters. In the engaging essays, the late author/activist urges readers to love, learn and laugh with her trademark intelligence and passion.” Herizons

“The clarity of her thinking is remarkable.” XTRA!

Simply Love: A Family Cookbook

Simply Love: A Family Cookbook

by Ginny Love (2008)

This family cookbook introduces a real family, whose activities, likes and dislikes helped shape the recipes. Hamish is in his first year at university, Cameron is at high school, Duncan in Grade 8 and Maggie in Grade 6. Husband Gordon is a Vancouver lawyer; he and the children are Ginny’s biggest fans and discriminating judges of every meal she cooks. Ginny’s own activities led to the chapters on planning community meals; these are bound to be of interest to anyone called upon to contribute to such occasions.

The first-time cook will find it helpful to be led by Ginny through all the stages of planning Christmas dinner or making jam, as well as to learn what utensils are most helpful in the kitchen. Simplicity and the functional are key here too. The book is full of helpful hints, tried and true recipes and love of food, family and friends.

Apples Under the Bed

Apples Under the Bed

edited by Joan Coldwell (2008)

“Apples under the Bed is a mouth-watering new collection of essays on life, food and the artistic process. A wealth of writing on food, it will quickly become a favourite of proponents of the ‘slow food’ movement.”
Robert Wiersema

Reflections on the C-Word

Reflections on the C-Word

by Carol Matthews (2007)

“Reflections on the C-Word reads like a good novel with a brave protagonist fighting a battle with evil forces. You want to turn the page. You want to know, ‘What happens next?’ Reflections on the C-Word is not a how-to book, nor is it self-help. It’s a very personal story of one woman’s journey. … Not once does she become maudlin or sentimental. At the same time, she doesn’t hesitate to share her emotions with the reader.” Goody Niosi

Decked and Dancing: Poems

Decked and Dancing: Poems

by Christine Smart (2006)

Winner of the Acorn-Plantos Award 2007.

“These poems note up-close the sensory tangibles of a life bodily-aware.”
Daphne Marlatt

“The reader is left with a sense of the sharp, bittersweet tang of the authentic.”
Don McKay

The Magician's Beautiful Assistant

The Magician’s Beautiful Assistant

by Rachel Wyatt (2005)

“With wit, with style, with her abundant knowledge of life and of people, Rachel Wyatt seems to have written about almost everybody we’ve ever known.”
Mavis Gallant

“What a wonderful collection of stories! Rachel Wyatt has an original narrative address which often makes time feel like a new territory.” Jane Rule

Home: Tales of a Heritage Farm

Home: Tales of a Heritage Farm

by Anny Scoones (2004; second printing 2005; third printing 2006; fourth printing 2011)

“All good and heavy words have just one syllable. Here they are revealed, beautifully. Home is a blessing.”
Bill Richardson

“I can, without qualification, recommend this book to readers as one they will enjoy immensely.”
Sharon Butala

Hedgerow Press: 10876 Madrona Dr, North Saanich BC, V8L 5N9 · Phone: 250-656-9320 · E-Mail: hedgep@telus.net