Books
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
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
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
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!
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
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
by Christine Smart (2006)
“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
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
by Anny Scoones (2004; second printing 2005; third printing 2006)
“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: PO BOX 2471, Sidney BC, V8L 3Y3 · Phone: 250-656-9320 · E-Mail: hedgep@telus.net