I Heart Edmonton

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...