Remaking the Music Memoir
by“I’ve read a lot of rock and roll memoirs. You get, ‘I did this wrong, I’m so sorry,’ but you never hear the victim impact statement—you don’t get to hear from the wife. There’s great power in that conversation.” -Séan McCann
Books in the Time of Corona
byPublishing was never about the bottom line, but in challenging times its brand is all about building community through storytelling.
CMO’s Message
byThe notion of time itself has shifted, where we spend our time, who we share our time with and what we choose to do with it.
Editor’s Message
byWhen our experiences have become so geographically limited, books can safely traverse any land, space or timescape.
Interim Editor’s Message
byI worried for books in the new isolation normal, competing as never before for attention amongst the lure of everything shiny and digital. I needn’t have. Humans. They’re filled with surprises.
Reviews
Short Reviews- Food Feature Cookbooks
byAlix Bruch reviews some new and delicious Atlantic cookbooks
Lisa Doucet Reviews Waiting Under Water
by“This is a slow-paced, introspective and earnest middle-grade tale, a perfect summer read and a thoughtful look at friendship and small-town life.”
Lisa Doucet Reviews When Emily Was Small
by“With her own distinct style, Soloy’s poetic prose and sumptuous illustrations pay homage to this beloved artist and writer, and give readers of all ages a sense of how one small girl’s sensitivity to nature’s beauty lead her to her own artistic expressions.”
Lisa Doucet Reviews Summer Feet
by“A magnificent pairing [of author and illustrator], this is a timeless celebration of summer’s magic.”
Lisa Doucet Reviews The Moon King
by“Bursting with colour and joyful energy, folk artist Cara Kansala’s new picture book feels like a traditional fairytale, or a beloved nursery rhyme.”
Emma FitzGerald Reviews Langosh and Peppi
by“This is a book for the times we live in, where the freedom to traverse global borders has come to be expected by many, but not experienced by even more.”
Aaron Williams Reviews Like Rum-Drunk Angels
by“Add Enfield’s landscape portraiture to his dry, unskippable dialogue, and you’ve got the bones of a Western.”
Bill MacPhereson Reviews Winter Road
by“All his stories lay bare the souls of those who call the Miramichi home.”
Nathaniel G. Moore Reviews Dirty Birds
by“Dirty Birds is the perfect misfit read for your next layaway, or when you’re down to your last shot of whisky.”
Desiree Anstey Reviews Killings at Little Rose
by“Finley’s latest novel once again demonstrates his remarkably deft hand in crafting compelling stories of great intrigue.”
Nathaniel G. Moore Reviews An Extra Dash of Love
by“This is a celebration of human beings who share a similar way of life, but who are loved unconditionally.”
Nathaniel G. Moore Reviews Doing Time
by“Doing Time explores the role of poetry and therapy in the most unlikely of places.”
Nathaniel G. Moore Reviews Bit Tyrants
by“This is one long water cooler chat about the history of everything that damns and inspires us about the high-tech, mass-culture world we all share, use, buy into and drown in.”
Jeffrey Hutchings Reviews The Imperilled Ocean
by“The Imperilled Ocean serves to inform, engage, and enrich our knowledge of human experiences with the ocean.”
Jenn Thornhill Verma Reviews New-Found-Land
by“An enjoyable read for Newfoundlanders, expats and visitors alike.”
Kristen Lipscombe Reviews a Deeply Personal Exploration of Gratitude
by“Like her interview subjects, and like us, Janice Landry has her own stories of resiliency through hardship.”
Heather Carruthers Reviews a Poetic Work of Art About a Canoe Trip
by“Pivot Point is a pleasure to look at, hold, read, ponder and revisit.”
Sam Fraser Reviews Counterarguments to Accusations Against Julian Assange
by“Each contribution [in In Defense of Julian Assange] adds a new facet defending Assange as an unjustly persecuted journalist, while further dispelling the narrative propagated by world leaders and media figures painting him as a lecherous, narcissistic cyber-terrorist.”
Renée Hartleib Reviews a Searing and Compelling Tale of How the British Tried to Erase the Acadians
by“It’s obvious that this book was a labour of love, written after extensive research. The result? A gorgeous piece of truth-telling, sure to make LeBlanc’s ancestors proud.”
Brian Bartlett Reviews Overdue Study of 20th-Century New Brunswick Life
byThe Fiddlehead Moment shows us clearly how the drive and originality of individuals, paired with institutional support, can help widen a province’s educational and cultural worlds.
Features
The Enduring Power of the Eclectic: The Antigonish Review at 50
byWhen asked how The Antigonish Review has remained relevant after 50 years, Hodd credits the magazine’s eclecticism, a word that often appears in reference to TAR
Rebecca Rose Traces a History of Halifax’s Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Communities
byDeftly crafted from interviews, archival records, organization minutes, photographs and other gay-related documents, Rose’s engaging book stands as the first full-length account of LGBTQ activism in Nova Scotia
Stompin’ Tom Connors is Like Canada: Savvy, Well Read, with Interests in Literature and Comparative Religion
byStompin’ Tom’s love of Canada came from his endless travels and conversations, and one of his strongest passions was that Canadians should be able to make it at home
Atlantic Canada Has Lost a Literary Giant in Silver Donald Cameron
byHis accomplishments were many and diverse. Every one of them was driven by the love of two things: a good story, and people. He wanted to make a better world for everyone.
Columns
What’s on for Summer Reading?
byJust a few books that have made an appearance in time for this summer’s long and well-lit days.
Insomniac Press Broadens, Focuses on Justice: A Q&A With Publisher Andy Verboom
byInsomniac Press has announced a new editorial board and mandate to resist oppression. The revamped publisher now has a strong East Coast connection
Video Interview with Quarantine Author Dr Ian Cameron
byQuarantine: What is Old is New – Halifax and the Lawlor’s Island Quarantine Station: 1866-1938 has taken on new significance during COVID-19 times
Reading of Alison DeLory’s Making It Home
byIt puts things into perspective. Could a single line say any more about humanity than that?
News
Winners Announced for the Third Annual Pottersfield Prize for Creative Nonfiction
byPottersfield Press is again looking for submissions from writers who can provide a manuscript of 30,000 to 150,000 words
Atlantic Books Today Takes Gold for Best Magazine Cover
byThis year’s gorgeous image features an oil painting set in Twillingate by the talented Jennifer Verma
Stay Home and #ReadAtlantic with Nova Scotia’s Public Libraries
byDuring April and May, library users in NS get instant access to a new Atlantic Canadian eBook each week
Excerpts
Excerpt From Worthy of Love by Andre Fenton
byI was a tad confused, not really sure why everyone in this room needed to know how much I weighed. It was the beginning of the school year, and we were in Gym class.
Excerpt: Some People’s Children
byAs Imogene Tubbs grows older, she learns that many people in her small, rural town believe her father is Cecil Jesso, the local drug dealer—a man both feared and ridiculed
Excerpt: Welcome to Camp Fill-in-the-Blank
byAs soon as Nanna said the words “car bombings,” Dad, who had been making breakfast in the kitchen, zoomed to the television to switch on BBC World
Excerpt: Miss Nackawic Meets Midlife
byThis middle-aged writer’s hilarious and delusional observations about raising boys, surviving(ish) menopause and searching for meaning in mid-life will make you laugh out loud.