I Heart Edmonton

#yeg alumni Laurie MacFayden explores virtually all aspects of daily life in her sophomore anthology of poetry BY PAULA E. KIRMAN   K issing keeps us afloat  is the second collection of poetry from Edmonton writer Laurie MacFayden . With subtle shades of humour, vivid imagery, and often playful language, MacFayden explores themes of love, sexuality, growing up, broken hearts, and life in general. Many of the poems have a very personal feel to them, but are written with universal resonance.    Laurie MacFayden's 'kisses keep us afloat' MacFayden uses a variety of poetic forms. Rhyme, rhythms, line lengths, and stanza structures are interchanged between poems almost seamlessly. Divided into three sections (“tides,” “echoes,” and “graces”), I came away from  kissing keeps us afloat  believing I knew more about MacFayden as a writer and person – and more about myself, as I laughed along with playful descriptions of love, empa...

If Holden Caulfield was a 30-something Canuck in the 21st century, he may very well be the embodiment of newcomer Laurence Miall's Blind Spot debut BY EMIL TIEDEMANN L UKE has failed to make it as an actor in Vancouver. He's alienated his own family, and seems to be going through the motions of a relationship with his girlfriend. He's lost and only begins to examine just how lost he's become when his parents are suddenly killed in a car accident back home.  Laurence Miall's 'Blind Spot' When he returns to his hometown Edmonton, Luke sees his current state from a whole new perspective, almost like he's outside looking in, at just how distant he's become from the life he had left behind when he up and left for the west coast years ago. But this is his chance to start over, to reunite with a past life he'd all but abandoned.  Edmonton-born, Montreal-based Laurence Miall gets everything right with his premiere novel, Blind Spot , ...

Edmonton writer Wendy McGrath invites us into the home of a struggling marriage, as seen through the eyes of their young daughter in her companion novels Wendy McGrath's 'Santa Rosa' S ANTA Rosa is an unremarkable neighbourhood in 1960s North Edmonton, home to young Christine, her baby sister, and her stalemate parents. Santa Rosa is the fly on the wall of this young working class family that seems to be on the brink of falling apart, as Christine's parents struggle to sustain household civility. Christine, despite her young age, is not oblivious to their subtle and scattered contempt, and it begins to affect her in ways she's still too young to understand or comprehend. Wendy McGrath , who is originally from Saskatchewan, has this poetic proficiency for illustrating the seemingly insignificant details of childhood, in the underwhelming idiosyncrasies of youth and how they fathom the world around them. Wendy McGrath's 'North East' Th...

Saskatoon-born author Alexis Kienlen shines a spotlight on local human rights activist Gurcharan Singh Bhatia BY PAULA E. KIRMAN G URCHARAN Singh Bhatia may not be a household name, but he is a known figure to many people in Edmonton's social justice community. Truth, Love, Non-Violence is the biography of this fascinating man, from his origins in India to his immigration to Canada and his involvement in working towards a society of equality and human rights for all.  Written in a conversational style, author Alexis Kienlen spent countless hours interviewing Bhatia, his family, and associates. While mostly a positive look at his life and accomplishments, Kienlen by no means comes across as a sycophant. In particular, she explores numerous failed business ventures as well as observations from those with whom he has worked on projects who, while obviously fond of him, offer some criticisms as to the way he becomes driven in his passions.  I should ...

Established local poet and writer Alice Major explores how we occupy our space and time on earth in her collection of poetry The Occupied World . BY PAULA E. KIRMAN The Occupied World S OME people have drinking buddies. I have writing buddies. We critique each other's work. Actually, I have drinking buddies also, but I digress. One of my writing buddies recently handed me a copy of Alice Major 's poetry collection The Occupied World .  Major is well known on Edmonton's poetry circuit. She was the city's first Poet Laureate and is a familiar face at the annual Edmonton Poetry Festival in April. Published in 2006, The Occupied World is a clear presentation of why Major is so well regarded. Her language and imagery is at once familiar and other worldly, juxtaposing the local and familiar with other times and places.  Through her words, Major begins with the theme of building a city, using the framework of rituals used in Roman times to sanctify ...

Known for his acclaimed visual art, Aboriginal artist Aaron Paquette tackles fiction for his next project BY PAULA E. KIRMAN A ARON Paquette is best known as an accomplished visual artist who incorporates his Aboriginal heritage into his work. Now, Paquette is emerging as a writer of fiction, and not surprisingly is also drawing upon his roots.  Lightfinder is Paquette's first novel. Written for young adults, it is in the fantasy genre and centers on the parallel stories of two siblings, Aisling and Eric. Aisling, a young Cree woman, heads into the woods with her kokum (grandmother) and two other men who are practically strangers to her. Their journey is to find Aisling's younger brother Eric, who has gotten himself into a lot of trouble.  As both young people head on their respective paths, each deal with battles of life and death and the future and various choices each must make (and their consequences). In Aisling's case, she discovers some ...

The gleaming White Big Top is beckoning your name, inviting you to experience a spectacle like no other in the world...do yourself a favour and don't deny it's enticing lure BY EMIL TIEDEMANN Y OU know when your friends tell you about the last movie they went to see, or some album you should listen to, because "OMG, it's so amazing!"?! They insist you check it out and get back to them as soon as possible, to make sure you're on the same page, right!  Well, more often than not you're not on the same page; sometimes, not even the same book! Nope, the movie either sucked, or the album was only okay, but you usually go right ahead and let them think you're just as stoked about it as they are. That's how I thought this whole ' Cavalia's Odysseo ' would go down, to be completely honest, but I was wrong, so wrong. 'Cavalia's Odysseo' is a production of epic proportions, to say the least, touring the globe as the worl...

"This little booklet is a tribute in poetry and pictures to Jasper Avenue and the many reasons for loving the city of Edmonton and choosing to call it home." BY PAULA E. KIRMAN Christina Falk's 'First and Jasper' F IRST and Jasper is a short but beautiful book that can best be described as a love letter to Jasper Avenue. With short, precise poetic lines and photographs that match the words, Christine Falk presents Jasper Avenue for its history, grittiness, and importance.  Falk's writing is minimalist with precise use of language. Many of her verses are almost Haiku-like in style. Her photography, presented in black and white, feature numerous Jasper Avenue landmarks. If it was larger, I would call it a coffee table book. Instead, it is more like an end table book, and a lovely one at that. This would make an excellent gift or souvenir. Independently published, First and Jasper can be purchased through Audrey's Books , the Westin Hotel gi...

From sex and broken relationships to dreams about Jackson Pollock, Edmonton artist and writer Laurie MacFayden gets personal with her premiere anthology of poetry, White Shirt BY PAULA A. KIRMAN L aurie MacFayden is an Edmonton-based poet and visual artist. She moved here from Ontario in the mid-80s and since then has been active on the local poetry and art scenes, as well as having a career as a journalist. Laurie MacFayden's 'White Shirt.' White Shirt , published in 2010, is MacFayden's first collection of poetry. The first thing I noticed about the book is the Jackson Pollock-esque painting that illustrates the cover, which is a MacFayden original. Then, I got started reading, and the first poem was a dream about a date with Pollock. I was already hooked. How can I best describe MacFayden's poetic style? Imagine poetry that is at times gritty and personal, that deals with love and lust and sex and broken relationships, that has a tone ...

The true story of an Italian midwife bares the same twists and turns of an epic novel at times, told through the words of Edmonton author (and great-great-granddaughter) Jessica Kluthe. BY PAULA E. KIRMAN Jessica Kluthe's 'Rosina, the Midwife' A t first, I thought Rosina, the Midwife , was a novel. Upon further investigation, I realized it was a family history by Edmonton author Jessica Kluthe . However, with its drama, twists, turns, and revelations, this book has all of the creativity of a novel – except it’s a true story.  Kluthe tells the story of her great-great-grandmother Rosina, the matriarch of her mother’s side of the family. She was the only member of the family to remain in Italy, as she watched other lived ones leave, one by one. Rosina was also a midwife, in an area where one doctor served three villages.  Seamlessly moving back and forth between the history she presents and her contemporary life, Kluthe draws connections between how her...

Edmonton writer Jason Lee Norman takes a 'love it or hate it' approach to chronicling the one season that, sometimes, never seems to go away. BY PAULA E. KIRMAN Jason Lee Norman's '40 Below' W HEN you live in Edmonton, winter is a fact of life. It’s long, it’s cold, and it’s often dark. It’s also the topic of conversation – we all talk about the winter at some point, even if it is just passing expressions of love or hate. Such sentiments are expressed throughout 40 Below , an anthology of writing by current and former Edmontonians about winter. Edited by current Edmonton Public Library Writer-in-residence Jason Lee Norman , 40 Below contains a huge variety of voices: those who love it, hate it, miss it, reminisce about it, or who simply tolerate it. The range of writing styles also varies, from short stories, to essays, to creative non-fiction, to poetry, and even one piece of visual artwork. Most of the submissions are short and sweet, whic...

Popular Edmonton author Todd Babiak brings his readers to the south of France for a harrowing thriller that mingles crime, politics, and vengeance in Come Barbarians .  By Paula E. Kirman Todd Babiak's 'Come Barbarians.' C OME Barbarians surprised me on a number of levels. It is the first novel I have ever read from Edmonton’s Todd Babiak (name dropping time: we volunteered at The Gateway at the University of Alberta around the same time) and from what I know of his previous novels, his subject matter tends to be local and often humorous. Not so with Come Barbarians . Set in France, it is a dark thriller with Christopher Kruse at its centre. Kruse is heart broken after losing his young daughter Lily to a drunk driver. Shortly after the accident, the accused his wife are dead and Kruse’s wife is missing (and accused of their murders). Kruse makes it his mission to find his wife and prove her innocence. However, he also has to go within himself to conf...

Local author Jamie Friesen brings the zombie craze--in all its gore and mayhem--to our own backyard. BY EMIL TIEDEMANN Jamie Friesen's 'Zombie Night in Canada.' I T was the basis of several cordial arguments between my buddy Colin and I: If a zombie apocalypse feasted on hometown Edmonton, where would we barricade ourselves? Colin was adamant about surviving the pandemic within the grounds of the Edmonton Institution, while I preferred the benefits and comforts of one West Edmonton Mall. An unlikely scenario, but morbidly fun to debate over beers with buddies. That's why I was excited to delve into Edmonton writer Jamie Friesen 's debut novel Zombie Night in Canada: First Period , a look into how various insipid characters cope when Edmonton--along with the rest of the world--is overtaken by the "infected." Friesen thoroughly explores the hypothetical behaviour of the military and police force in such a catastrophe, though he splits the novel i...

Local author Janice MacDonald uses her hometown as the backdrop for the fifth installment in her anticipated "Randy" Craig mystery series, Condemned to Repeat . By Paula E. Kirman Janice MacDonald's 'Condemned to Repeat.' Condemned to Repeat is the fifth in the series of mystery novels centering around Miranda “Randy” Craig , an academic, writer, and researcher in search of the elusive tenure track position. However, she manages to land a plum contract doing archival research and web development for Rutherford House , an historic Alberta landmark. However, it does not take very long for Randy to stumble upon an unsolved mystery linked to the building, which leads her to become entwined in a path of death and intrigue.  As someone who is admittedly not a huge fan of mystery novels, for me the true strength of the book lay in its main character. It was easy to become emotionally invested in a strong, well-developed, intelligent woman who uses ...

Edmonton author Marty Chan explores an alternate New York in which illusionist Harry Houdini sets upon historic adventures in search of his lost brother in the first book of The Ehrich Weisz Chronicle s. BY PAULA E. KIRMAN A strange portal that leads to an alternate New York. A cast of characters from different dimensions and parts of history. A young Harry Houdini at the centre of the story. Marty Chan's 'The Ehrich Weisz Chronicles: Demon Gate' (2013) These are three major elements of Marty Chan 's new novel, The Ehrich Weisz Chronicles: Demon Gate (Fitzhenry & Whiteside). Ehrich Weisz is the aforementioned future illusionist Harry Houdini as a teenager, who follows his brother, Dash, through a mysterious portal. The version of New York where he ends up is full of immigrants from different dimensions in addition to being from different parts of the world. They include Nicola Tesla and Thomas Edison, amongst others.  Ehrich's main goal is ...