BOOKS:
THE LAST ISLAND - A naturalist's sojourn on Triangle Island
CIRCADIA - A book of poetry
My first book The Last Island – a Naturalist’s Sojourn on Triangle Island, is an attempt to recall and share the summer I spent with Anne Vallée, a serious young biologist whose dedication to her field made her a formidable and inspiring mentor. The book, written in diary form, recounts my initial time on the island and my second visit 16 years later, following Vallée’s death. I returned to continue my research of Vallée’s work and was flooded by memories of our time together.
Published by Harbour Publishing in 2002, it won the Edna Staebler Award for a first or second book of Canadian non-fiction: “The judges felt The Last Island was a beautiful and emotional blending of native legends, evolutionary theory, scientific knowledge and an appreciation for the delicate balance of life,” says Staebler award administrator Kathryn Wardropper. “The beautiful language combined with the watercolour paintings transports the reader to the island.”
My poems have appeared in many literary journals, including Event, Room of One’s Own, Arc, and the League of Canadian Poets Anthologies. I have won the Backwater Review and subTerrain magazines’ poetry prizes and placed second in Prairie Fire’s Bliss Carmen competition. My poems have also appeared in two chapbooks “Poems from the Basement” and “The Invention of Birds”, published by Leaf Press.
Visit the Art Gallery of Ontario's blog to hear me read "Two Figures" at the gallery's recent ekphrastic poetry event.
My first book of poetry, Circadia came out with Pedlar Press in 2005. One of my paintings appears on the cover of this book; my drawings of small ordinary objects are scattered through the text.
Presently I am in the middle of an MFA through the Creative Writing Department of the University of British Columbia.
The Last Island can be purchased for $32 + shipping.
Circadia can be purchased for $20 + shipping.
Please contact me to order.