Talonbooks Awards and Prizes, Recent Highlights
Contents
2015
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Edgerton Foundation New Play Award: Morris Panych, The Shoplifters (Winner) BC Book Prize, Poetry: Cecily Nicholson, From the Poplars (Winner) Cole Foundation Prize for Translation: (Quebec Writers’ Federation Awards Madeleine Gagnon, As Always (Finalist) Governor General’s Literary Award, Drama: Bryden MacDonald, Odd Ducks (Finalist)
New Releases Recent Releases Non-fiction Fiction Drama Poetry Index by Title Index by Author Sales Representation and Ordering Information
Governor General’s Literary Award, Drama: Marcus Yousseff and James Long, Winners and Losers (Finalist)
2014 BC Book Prize, Poetry: Jordan Abel, The Place of Scraps (Winner) BC Book Prize, Non-Fiction: Bev Sellars, They Called Me Number One (Finalist) Burt Award for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Literature: Bev Sellars, They Called Me Number One (Third Prize winner)
Talonbooks 278 East 1st Avenue Vancouver, BC V5T 1A6 phone: (604) 444-4889 toll-free: (888) 445-4176 fax: (604) 444-4119 info@talonbooks.com www.talonbooks.com
GST is not included in Canadian prices quoted in this catalogue. GST # R88535-3235 All information in this catalogue is subject to change without notice.
City of Victoria Butler Book Prize: M.A.C. Farrant, The World Afloat (Winner) George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature: Bev Sellars, They Called Me Number One (Winner) Gerald Lampert Memorial Award: Jordan Abel, The Place of Scraps (Finalist)
Talonbooks
Governor General’s Literary Award, Translation: Michel Marc Bouchard, Christina, The Girl King, translated by LInda Gaboriau (Finalist) Governor General’s Literary Award, Translation: Michel Nadeau, And Slowly Beauty, translated by Maureen Labonté (Finalist) Lambda Literary Award, Drama: Michel Marc Bouchard, Tom at the Farm, translated by Linda Gaboriau (Winner) Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award: bill bissett (Winner) On the cover: Takao Tanabe
2013 BC Book Prize, Poetry: Colin Browne, The Properties (Finalist) ReLit Award, Fiction: Garry Thomas Morse, Minor Episodes / Major Ruckus (Finalist)
Envelope Sketch, 1967 serigraph ed., 10/50 SFU Art Collection. Purchase, 1967
Sunburst Award: Martine Desjardins, Maleficium, translated by Fred A. Reed and David Homel (Winner)
2012 BC Book Prize: Garry Thomas Morse, Discovery Passages (Finalist) Lambda Literary Award, Lesbian Memoir: Jane Rule, Taking My Life (Finalist)
2011 Alcuin Book Design Award: Stan Douglas, ed., Vancouver Anthology (Winner) BC Book Prize, Poetry: Stephen Collis, On the Material (Winner) Robert Merritt Legacy Award: Wendy Lill (Winner)
Talonbooks gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund, and the Province of British Columbia through the British Columbia Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.
Talonbooks New Releases
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Price Paid The Fight for First Nations Survival
bev sellars
Bev Sellars was first elected chief of the Xat’sull (Soda Creek) First Nation in Williams Lake, British Columbia, in 1987. She has spoken out on behalf of her community on racism and residential schools and on the environmental and social threats of mineral resource exploitation in her region. Having earned a degree in history from the University of Victoria and a law degree from the University of British Columbia, she served as an advisor to the B.C. Treaty Commission. Sellars brings this professional background to her new book on First Nations rights.
Price Paid: The Fight for First Nations Survival untangles truth from some of the myths about First Nations at the same time that it addresses misconceptions still widely believed today. The second book by award-winning author Bev Sellars, Price Paid is based on a popular presentation Sellars created for treaty-makers, politicians, policymakers, and educators when she discovered they did not know the historic reasons they were at the table negotiating First Nations rights. The book begins with glimpses of foods, medicines, and cultural practices North America’s indigenous peoples have contributed for worldwide benefit. It documents the dark period of regulation by racist laws during the 20th century, and then discusses new emergence in the 21st century into a re-establishment of Indigenous land and resource rights. The result is a candidly told personal take on the history of a culture’s fight for their rights and survival. It is Canadian history told from a First Nations point of view. Awards and recognition for Bev Sellars’s They Called Me Number One: Secrets and Survival at an Indian Residential School − 2014 George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature − 2014 Burt Award for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Literature (third prize) − Shortlisted for the 2014 Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize (B.C. Book Prizes) − More than 40 weeks on the B.C. bestsellers list Praise for They Called Me Number One “Sellars tells a story of programming and deprogramming, of being engrained with the powerful myth of white superiority at home and school, and of the years-long process of unspooling that myth through selfhelp books, university education, and political activism. … While Sellars’s memoir celebrates the triumph of returning from the brink, it is also a stark condemnation of historical and extant paternalistic policies and the personal tragedies these policies continue to breed.” – Canadian Literature
ISBN 978-0-88922-972-3; ebook also available Non-fiction: Autobiography / Social Science 6.875 × 9.875; 144 pp; Trade paper $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US June
Bev Sellars’s They Called Me Number One: Secrets and Survival at an Indian Residential School is also available from Talonbooks.
2 Talonbooks New Releases
Mend the Living maylis de kerangal Translated by Jessica Moore
Maylis de Kerangal is the author of several novels in French. Her earlier work, Naissance d’un pont (published in English as Birth of a Bridge), won le prix Médicis and le prix Franz Hessel in 2010. Her novella Tangente vers l’est was the winner of the 2012 Prix Landerneau. In 2014, her fifth novel, Réparer les vivants (now published in English as Mend the Living), was released to wide acclaim, winning the Grand Prix RTL-Lire award and the student choice novel of the year from France Culture and Télèrama. De Kerangal lives in Paris, France. Jessica Moore translated Maylis de Kerangal’s novel Birth of a Bridge and, earlier, Jean-François Beauchemin’s Turkana Boy. She is the author of Everything, Now, part lyric, part memoir, published in 2012 by Brick Books. She is also a songwriter – Beautiful in Red is her debut album.
ISBN 978-0-88922-973-0; ebook also available Fiction: Literary 5 × 8.5; 216 pp; Trade paper $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US February
Mend the Living is a novel centred around the physical and emotional intricacies of a heart transplant. The vibrant life of nineteen-year-old Simon Limbeau comes to a state of suspension, after a car accident, urging his family and friends to the thresholds of grief, ethics, and love, all in the span of twenty-four hours. With a dazzling cast of characters, award-winning author Maylis de Kerangal imagines Simon’s body as a locus of relations: Simon’s parents, Marianne and Sean, have been estranged for some time, and must come together to make a decision about their son’s heart; Juliette, Simon’s girlfriend, is building a labyrinth in a Plexiglas case, awaiting Simon’s call; and Simon’s friends, Christophe and Johan, have scraped by with broken limbs, but are alive and well. In fluid, poetic prose carried by the momentum of narrative, de Kerangal questions what it means to be alive, offering an incisive, unsentimental, but deeply moving work that expands the transfer of the corporeal to a sprawling, global scale. De Kerangal is a master storyteller aware of the relationship between narrative and mortality that permeates the work of Marcel Proust, Jorge Luis Borges, and Kazuo Ishiguro. Mend the Living is a testament to the oftforgotten, vital presence of the human body. Mend the Living is the Canadian English translation of Maylis de Kerangal’s sweeping novel, Réparer les vivants. Jessica Moore is the translator. Réparer les vivants has been published in 22 countries since publication in 2014 and has sold over 400,000 copies worldwide. A film adaptation will be released in Fall 2016. “De Kerangal’s novel pulses with life. … It’s clear de Kerangal has done extensive research, and the novel contains a wealth of medical knowledge. But her prose is more than just technical; the writing is uncommonly beautiful and never lacking humanity. This poetic interrogation of our contemporary medical reality affords a view only literature can provide.” – Publishers Weekly
Maylis de Kerangal’s Birth of a Bridge is also available from Talonbooks.
Talonbooks New Releases
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Running on Fumes christian guay-poliquin Translated by Jacob Homel
Christian Guay-Poliquin was born in Saint-Armand in 1982. He is now developing a thesis project on the hunting narrative and also works in renovation. The pencil behind his ear serves to mark his measures as much as it does to record his ideas. Le fil des kilometres (La Peuplade, 2013) is his first novel. Born and raised in Montreal, Jacob Homel has translated or collaborated in the translation of a number of works, including Nelly Arcan’s Hysteric and Breakneck, The Battle of London and The Last Genet. In 2012, he won the J.I. Segal Translation Prize for his translation of A Pinch of Time. He currently lives in Montreal.
When the electricity inexplicably goes out nationwide, the mundanities of life gradually shift to the rigours of survival. In this post-apocalyptic setting, an unnamed mechanic jumps into his beat-up car and drives east, journeying 4,736 kilometres to reach his dying father. As the narrator’s journey becomes one of essentials – gasoline, fresh water only in bottles, and gas-station food – and as the crisis engulfing his surroundings begins to weigh on him ever more, he seeks refuge in a woman, and later, with a fellow traveller he meets on the road. These two kindred souls join him on his path, though they seem to seek a different sort of redemption. As the road grows longer, and the narrator’s exhaustion grows in kind, parallels are drawn between his own journey and Theseus’s journey through the primeval Labyrinth. However, the beast that our narrator seeks to slay might not be one of flesh and horn and blood; instead, it is his own failing mental state and his thirst for the apocalypse around him. In the end, the obsession with which he pursues this beast will be his undoing. Running on Fumes is a road novel that carries with it influences of the genre, with its storylines of redemption through distance travelled, often in a failing world that reflects the protagonist’s interior. It is a hazy line that delineates whether the world is reflecting the narrator’s state or whether the narrator’s mindset is reflected by the world, and there remains a level of uncertainty on the truths the narrator speaks.
“Le fil des kilometers reframes the urgency to act in a context of the end of the world and reveals the simplicity of the human psyche, that by distancing conventions and the established order, we must inevitably go to the essentials.” – impact campus
ISBN 978-0-88922-975-4; ebook also available Fiction: Literary 5.5 × 8.5; 160 pp; Trade paper $14.95 CAN / $14.95 US June
4 Talonbooks New Releases
Injun jordan abel
Jordan Abel is a Nisga’a writer currently completing his PhD at Simon Fraser University, where he focuses on digital humanities and indigenous poetics. Abel’s conceptual writing engages with the representation of indigenous peoples in anthropology and popular culture. His chapbooks have been published by JackPine Press and Above/Ground Press, and his work has appeared in numerous magazines and journals across Canada, including Prairie Fire, Capilano Review, and Canadian Literature. He is an editor for Poetry Is Dead magazine and a former editor for PRISM international and Geist. Abel’s first book, The Place of Scraps (Talonbooks), was a finalist for the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award and won the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. Un/inhabited, Abel’s second book, was co-published by Project Space Press and Talonbooks. CBC Books named Abel one of 12 young Writers to Watch (July 2015).
Award-winning Nisga’a poet Jordan Abel’s third collection, Injun, is a long poem about racism and the representation of indigenous peoples. Composed of text found in western novels published between 1840 and 1950 – the heyday of pulp publishing and a period of unfettered colonialism in North America – Injun then uses erasure, pastiche, and a focused poetics to create a visually striking response to the western genre. After compiling the online text of 91 of these now public-domain novels into one gargantuan document, Abel used his word processor’s “Find” function to search for the word “injun.” The 509 results were used as a study in context: How was this word deployed? What surrounded it? What was left over once that word was removed? Abel then cut up the sentences into clusters of three to five words and rearranged them into the long poem that is Injun. The book contains the poem as well as peripheral material that will help the reader to replicate, intuitively, some of the conceptual processes that went into composing the poem. Though it has been phased out of use in our “post-racial” society, the word “injun” is peppered throughout pulp western novels. Injun retraces, defaces, and effaces the use of this word as a colonial and racial marker. While the subject matter of the source text is clearly problematic, the textual explorations in Injun help to destabilize the colonial image of the “Indian” in the source novels, the western genre as a whole, and the Western canon.
Praise for Un/inhabited “At once graphic art, anti-poetry, a trace history of reading, and sociological groundwork.” – Shane Rhodes Praise for The Place of Scraps “Like its source, Scraps deploys linguistic and visual systems of representation to record First Nations history but unlike its source, it reveals anthropology as a colonial weapon in its creative distillation of Barbeau’s ethnography.” – Jacket2
ISBN 978-0-88922-977-8 Poetry 5.5 × 8.5; 96 pp; Trade paper $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US March
Jordan Abel’s The Place of Scraps and Un/inhabited are also available from Talonbooks.
a s. 0 d a e. n s d d p m s e
e s, r. e of e
Talonbooks New Releases
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Pound @ Guantánamo clint burnham
Clint Burnham is widely published as a critical theorist, poet, and author of books on digital culture. He is the author of book-length studies of Steve McCaffery and Fredric Jameson, a novel titled Smoke Show (2005), and several books of poetry, including The Benjamin Sonnets, published in 2009. His most recent critical book is The Only Poetry that Matters: Reading the Kootenay School of Writing (2012). His most recent art writing includes a catalogue essay on Canadian photographer Kelly Wood; an essay on Edward Burtynsky is in the forthcoming Petrocultures collection from McGill-Queens. During a residency at the Urban Subjects Collective in Vienna in 2014–15, Burnham wrote books on Slavoj Žižek and digital culture, and on Fredric Jameson and Wolf of Wall Street. Burnham is an associate member of the SFU Department of Geography and a member of SFU’s Centre for Global Political Economy. He is a founding member of the Vancouver Lacan Salon.
ISBN 978-0-88922-979-2 Poetry 6 × 9; 96 pp; Trade paper $17.95 CAN; $17.95 US April
Throughout these poems is a meeting of obscene or politically charged material, as well as commentary on language usage under extreme circumstances of duress such as the Arab Spring. This is poetry written under conditions of wartime. The title implies an analogy between Ezra Pound, imprisoned at Pisa after World War II, and the inhabitants of the military and CIA prisons at Guantánamo Bay. Poems cross the page or are more architectural, in tight columns, or curve like a cyberpunk office tower. Entire continents are leaped across in a line or two: “from Burquitlam Plaza to Redondo Beach metro stop/Bush with Burqas for the B.U.” but written in a city where bus drivers fix their trolley lines, and Squamish is a place you drive to, in your imagination, during a job interview conducted over the phone. Place, in this poetry, is both a name (but whose name? the colonizer? first nation? mall developer?) and a root that grows in one’s popular culture as the only way to recognize the war machine (“why Cadence Weapon left Friendster / why the Flava Flav transformer twins’re buck-toothed”). A final word on style: Burnham’s language is compressed like an MP3 file (a format that uses lossy compression).
Praise for Smoke Show “Billed as a novel, [Smoke Show] reads like a verse play, one comprising elegantly concise dialogues among woefully inarticulate, tragically maladapted, and often inebriated adults ... Burnham is pitch-perfect all the way through.” – Publishers Weekly Praise for The Only Poetry That Matters “An idiosyncratic fresh angle on a well-travelled topic” – Canadian Literature
6 Talonbooks New Releases
th book bill bissett
New poems from Canada’s shaman of sound and performance poetry, bill bissett. bissett’s innovations in sound poetry have shaped poetry, music, painting, and publishing and stimulated, provoked, influenced, shocked, and delighted audiences for half a century. In this new collection of concrete poems, bissett writes “poemes uv greef transisyun n sumtimes joy byond binaree constraints if evreething goez what is aneething accepting nihilism lettr texting as an approach 2 heeling sorrow denial.”
bill bissett’s charged readings, which never fail to amaze his audiences, incorporate sound poetry, chanting, and singing, the verve of which is only matched by his prolific writing career – more than seventy books of bissett’s poetry have been published. A pioneer of sound, visual, and performance poetry, bissett composes his poems as scripts for pure performance and has consistently worked to extend the boundaries of language and visual image, honing a synthesis of the two in the medium of concrete poetry. Whether paying tribute to his home planet lunaria or exercising his native tongue (dissent), bissett continues to dance upon the cutting edge of poetics and performance works. bissett was recently a featured poet on the Heart of a Poet series, produced in conjunction with Bravo! TV. Among bissett’s many awards are the Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award for Spoken Word (2014); George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award (2007); B.C. Book Prizes Dorothy Livesay Prize (2003) for peter among th towring boxes / text bites; and Dorothy Livesay Prize (1993) for inkorrect thots.
ISBN 978-0-88922-980-8 Poetry 6 × 9; 176 pp; Trade paper $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US April
From textual vishyuns: image and text in the work of bill bissett “bissett breaks down form in order to see in a particular way; the results are discontinuous and always inclusive; he sees what there is to see, and he is continuously and endlessly expressing that textual vishyun.” – Carl Peters Praise for ths is erth thees ar peopul “His poetry addresses the limitless discussion of the boundaries between the personal and the political.” – National Post Praise for hungree throat “An interesting and intriguing reading/viewing of the struggles of coming to terms with, and visualizing, a tumultuous world and ‘how we feel abt unsirtintee.’ “ – Canadian Literature
Please visit talonbooks.com for a complete listing of bill bissett’s available books.
Talonbooks New Releases
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Human Tissue a primer for Not Knowing
weyman chan
Weyman Chan was born in Calgary in 1963 to immigrant parents from China. He has published poems and short stories in a wide variety of literary journals and anthologies. He won the 2002 National Magazine Awards silver prize for his poem “At Work,” and the 2003 Alberta Book Award for his first book of poetry, Before a Blue Sky Moon. His second book, Noise from the Laundry, was a finalist for the 2008 Governor General’s Award for Poetry and the 2009 Acorn-Plantos Award for People’s Poetry.
Weyman Chan’s fifth collection takes poetry to the laboratory, splicing a layered, tactile network that is Human Tissue. Short lyric poems navigate personal experience and memory, then weave into serial poems such as “Parables for Frankenstein,” diving into the material conditions of hybridity to construct the symbiotic self of a prototype misfit. “Panic Room,” another serial poem, probes the loner whose isolation at a house party takes a sinister turn, and “Unboxing the Clone” explores the causality of creation, where “trace beings” are felt in flesh and voiced in colloquial speech. Human Tissue creates a language that is intimate while acknowledging relations to the social environment. Accompanied by the tones of an erhu, archaic Anglo-Saxon language jostles with Chinese, and self-censure meets Faust and Judith Butler to ask the vital questions of origin. Chan shows us how we come to settle with histories of uncertain origin, the presence of science and technology in the mediated body, and how we forge “not-knowing” as a vibrant way of being.
Praise for Chinese Blue “Chan continues to write some of the edgiest lyrics in Canadian poetry, lyrics filled with science and music.” – Prairie Fire Praise for Noise from the Laundry “The question of how to act with integrity underlies many of his poems, which are less like linear narratives than intricate reveries richly threaded with reminiscences, dreams, musings on his cultural heritage … Chan’s poems are … as delicate and resonant as [a] paper crane.” – CBC
ISBN 978-0-88922-981-5 Poetry 6 × 9; 144 pp; Trade paper $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US April
Weyman Chan’s Chinese Blue, hypoderm: notes to myself, and Noise from the Laundry are also available from Talonbooks.
8 Talonbooks New Releases
We the Family A Play
george f. walker Introduction by Christopher Johnson
George F. Walker is one of Canada’s most prolific and popular playwrights. He has written more than twenty plays and has created screenplays for several award-winning Canadian TV series. During a ten-year absence, he mainly wrote for television, including the television series Due South, The Newsroom, This Is Wonderland, and The Line, as well as for the film Niagara Motel (based on three plays from his Suburban Motel series). Walker returned to the theatre with And So It Goes (2010). Since that time he has published King of Thieves (2013); Dead Metaphor (2015, a series of three plays that include Dead Metaphor, The Ravine, and The Burden of Self Awareness); and Moss Park and Tough! The Bobby and Tina Plays (2015). After Class, a series of plays that address education and parenting, will be published in 2017. Awards and honours include investiture as a Member of the Order of Canada (2005); National Theatre School Gascon-Thomas Award (2002); two Governor General’s Literary Awards for Drama (for Criminals in Love and Nothing Sacred); five Dora Mavor Moore Awards; and eight Chalmers Canadian Play Awards.
ISBN 978-0-88922-982-2; ebook also available Drama 5.5 × 8.5; 128 pp; Trade paper $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US March
Canada’s master playwright applies his trademark black humour and incredibly crisp dialogue to the family and multiculturalism. We the Family follows the ripple effects within two culturally and racially divergent families when their children wed. The list of characters in We the Family reads like an ethnic joke, which, indeed, it is, at least in part: the son of the main characters, David and Lizzie Kaplan, a Jewish–Irish-Catholic mixed marriage, marries the daughter of Jenny Lee, a Chinese-Canadian widow. The supporting cast includes a Russian, a Palestinian, and an Italian, with Pakistanis, Sicilians, and still more Russians offstage in the wings. By the end of the play, Walker has deconstructed the dysfunctional Kaplan and Lee families and family love as well. Through the play’s pervading treachery, with family members and lovers betraying each other in horrific ways, he satirizes the hypocrisy of expounding family values while behaving with vicious preoccupation. These hyphenated Canadians certainly aren’t “nice,” and no quantity of “sweet-and-sour matzah balls” (which the Kaplan matriarch serves at the multicultural wedding reception) can hide the nasty taste. Cast of 3 men and 7 women. Praise for We the Family “Walker’s finest work: it is both endlessly relatable and completely overthe-top; sharp yet sympathetic; dark and macabre without verging on sentimental pathos. As a family member … you must see this play.” – Novella
Please visit talonbooks.com for a complete listing of George F. Walker’s available books.
Talonbooks New Releases
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Sextet morris P anych
Morris Panych is one of North America’s master playwrights. Sextet adds to the more than two dozen plays he has written, many of which have been translated and produced throughout the world. His plays have twice won the Governor General’s Award for Drama and he has won Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards fourteen times for acting and directing. Panych has directed more than ninety theatre productions and been nominated six times for Toronto’s Dora Mavor Moore Award and three times for the Chalmers Award for his more than fifty acting roles in theatre, television, and film. Productions of Panych’s much-lauded Vigil, Girl in the Goldfish Bowl, Gordon, The Trespassers, and Lawrence and Holloman are being mounted throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand in 2016.
ISBN 978-0-88922-984-6; ebook also available Drama 5.5 × 8.5; 160 pp; Trade paper $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US April
Music has long been considered beneficial in enhancing cognitive skills, and some have even suggested that music constitutes its own category of brain function; that it is, in fact, a separate and distinct type of thought. As is sex, which can produce, aside from children, complete dysfunction, confused mental activity – even, quite possibly, a compromised immune system, and certainly, in many cases, complete and utter memory loss – both before and after. It seems only natural, then, for playwright Morris Panych to put these two types of human experience together into one play. After all, both take practice. This dark and steamy comedy explores the harmonies and dysfunctions of six sexually entangled musicians on an ill-fated winter tour. When a blizzard strands this sextet for an extra night, they have only their instruments, each other, and their secrets to keep them warm. Cast of 4 men and 2 women.
“The best script Morris Panych has ever written.”
– Richard Ouzounian
“Sextet is not just a wonderfully entertaining piece of theatre, it will make you think about love, sex, procreation, and music in ways you’ve never done before.” – Toronto Star “These six stories play out side by side – six skinny rooms with thin doors and narrow beds, blurring into each other. It’s like a standard sex-farce set on fertility drugs.” – Globe and Mail
Please visit talonbooks.com for a complete listing of Morris Panych’s available books.
10 Talonbooks New Releases
Inside the Seed jason P atrick rothery
Winner of the 2015 Jessie Richardson Award for Outstanding Original Script, Inside the Seed is a contemporary version of Oedipus Rex reimagined as a darkly comic political thriller. Mirroring controversial real-life scientific and corporate controversies, Inside the Seed concerns a once-brilliant scientist who made a startling discovery: a bio-engineered form of rice that could save an overpopulated world on the brink of catastrophic famine. The play examines how good, smart, well-intentioned individuals are drawn into, and corrupted by, complex institutional systems, be they corporate, military, or governmental. Cast of 5 men and 4 women. Jason Patrick Rothery has produced full-length work as a playwright and collaborative creator, including the space between us (Tziporah Productions), (re)birth: e e cummings in song (Soulpepper), Wedgie (Upintheair), Something to Do with Death, Politiko (Ghost River), The Drop, and Re:Generation (THEATREboom). He was the co-creator of The Walking Fish Festival (Vancouver), co-founder and festival director of the Calgary International Fringe Festival, resident playwright of the second Soulpepper Academy, and the erstwhile artistic director of Ghost River Theatre (Calgary), where he mounted dozens of productions and tours including NiX, presented as part of the 2010 Cultural Olympiad. He is currently a PhD student in communication studies at Carleton University, where he is studying how historical and contemporary narrative systems manifest in various media platforms, including theatre and video games. As a component of his doctoral research, he is adapting China Miéville’s celebrated novel The City & The City for a co-production between Vancouver-based theatre companies Upintheair and The Only Animal.
ISBN 978-0-88922-986-0; ebook also available Drama 5.5 × 8.5; 144 pp; Trade paper $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US April
“A scathing look at a fictitious corporation so large it has lost track of its subsidiaries: while one part of the company is growing genetically modified rice, another is manufacturing defoliants. It’s about a corporation eager to ship 100,000 tons of its ‘Golden Rice’ to Africa without knowing – or caring – about the ‘statistically insignificant’ incidents of birth defects the product causes ... Although it’s clear the playwright condemns corporations such as this, he sets up the debate fairly: millions of starving Africans will benefit from the shipment of the rice and [the main character] really does not know about the birth defects. But there are others who do know and don’t care; or who know but are prepared to make a deal.” – Vancouver Courier “Inside the Seed has important subject matter wrapped up in a sexy stylish production. Its corporate machinations are compelling and a little frightening when you realize most of the plot points are based on real-life examples.” – The Charlebois Post
Talonbooks New Releases
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The Watershed annabel soutar
Annabel Soutar is a Montreal-based playwright and producer. In 2000 she co-founded the theatre company Porte Parole Productions with actor Alex Ivanovici and she has acted as artistic director of the company since its inception. Annabel takes a documentary approach to theatre and since 1998 has applied it to her original plays: Novembre, 2000 Questions, Santé!, Import/Export, Sexy béton, J’aime Hydro, and Fredy. In 2012 Seeds was published in both English (Talonbooks) and French (Les Editions ecosociété) and presented across Canada in Montreal (Centaur Theatre), Calgary (Theatre Junction), Vancouver (PuSh Festival for the Performing Arts), and in Ottawa (National Arts Centre of Canada) in a production directed by Chris Abraham, a tour remounted in 2016. In 2012 Annabel was commissioned with Chris Abraham of Crow’s Theatre in Toronto to write a new documentary play about fresh water for the 2015 Toronto Pan American / Para Pan American Games cultural program, Panamania. That play, The Watershed, premiered at the Berkeley Street Theatre (Canadian Stage) in Toronto during the Games. Soutar lives in Montreal with actor Alex Ivanovici and their two daughters Ella and Beatrice.
ISBN 978-0-88922-988-4; ebook also available Drama 5.5 × 8.5; 144 pp; Trade paper $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US April
How much do we value clean water? Enough to stop our industrialized way of life from degrading it? The documentary play The Watershed follows an artist and her family in the struggle to chart a sustainable course between economic prosperity and environmental stewardship. Largely constructed from original interviews conducted by the playwright, The Watershed brings to the stage a multiplicity of ideological perspectives and conflicting visions for Canada’s natural resources, and its characters speak the words of real Canadians from all across the political spectrum. As the play reaches its boiling point, one thing becomes abundantly clear: a contemporary play about water in Canada must also be about oil. And so the playwright and family travel to Alberta’s tar sands, encountering along the way some of the world’s great freshwater scientists and Canada’s fiercest environmental activists, as well as impassioned individuals at work in the country’s burgeoning oil sector. Policy is anything but dry in The Watershed; in fact, it holds startling implications for our national identity and future. Cast of 8 men and women.
“The Watershed asks us to resist our ideological impulses, start listening to one another, and have some long, hard conversations about what kind of country we want our kids to inherit.” – Globe and Mail “Documentary theatre at a very high level … We need more political drama like this. We need more politics like this.” – National Post “Exhaustively researched and performed with verbatim dialogue that’s been edited from dozens of hours of interviews … The Watershed is must-see theatre.” – NOW Toronto
Annabel Soutar’s Seeds is also available from Talonbooks.
12 Talonbooks Recent Releases
Writing the Okanagan
The United States of Wind
george bowering
A Travelogue
daniel canty Translated by Oana Avasilichioaei
George Bowering was born in the Okanagan Valley and it has served as the locus for much of his writing. This collection highlights Okanagan-inspired pieces from more than forty published books, as well as some previously unpublished works.
Mixing the tropes of road narrative, poetic fabulation, and philosophical memoir, Daniel Canty creates a gentle road book, a melancholy “blue” guide written in airy, associative prose, where images coalesce and dissipate, carried away through the outer and inner American landscape.
“A lyricism that is spring-sweet and without boast or threat.” – Globe and Mail
“Wind art? Almost. It’s certainly a sensitive and intuitive documentation of a journey determined by air currents.” – Le Devoir
ISBN 978-0-88922-941-9; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-999-0 Literary: Collections; 400 pp; Illustrations; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-942-6; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-943-3 Non-fiction; 192 pp; Illustrations; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Studies in Description
Tales of the Emperor
Reading Gertrude Stein’s Tender Buttons
jack winter
carl peters
Shows how, in the early 20th century, Gertrude Stein’s Modernist work Tender Buttons helped us discover a different world in our midst. Peters offers a close reading that underlines reasons Stein’s work has long served as the wellspring for generations of experimental poets, including the Language movement.
In a mosaic of fact and fable, this novel tells the birth-to-death story of the First Emperor of China, the Great Wall he built, the army of terracotta soldiers he entombed, and the vast, complex nation he gave his name to and bequeathed to us.
ISBN 978-0-88922-961-7 Non-fiction: Literary Criticism; 416 pp; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-944-0; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-945-7 Fiction: Historical; 224 pp; Illustrations; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Scree
Peacock Blue
The Collected Earlier Poems, 1962–1991
The Collected Poems
fred wah Edited and introduced by Jeff Derksen
phyllis webb Edited by John Hulcoop
A (re)discovery of the early groundbreaking work of poet Fred Wah, ranging from the concrete and sound poetry of the 1960s to his landscape-centric work of the 1970s, and on to his ethnicity-oriented poems of the 1980s. Includes full-colour facsimiles of two early books to show the “hands-on,” objectbased aspect of chapbook publishing.
Among Canada’s most critically acclaimed poets, Phyllis Webb published seven poetry collections between 1954 and 1990, before retiring from writing and dedicating herself to abstract painting. Compiled for the first time in one volume, Webb’s poems are infused with an interest in public life and the common good, concerns which underpinned her decades-long career as a radio broadcast journalist.
ISBN 978-0-88922-947-1 Poetry; 648 pp; Illustrations; $49.95 CAN / $49.95 US Cloth
ISBN 978-0-88922-914-3 Poetry; 6 x 9; 512 pp; Trade paper; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US Cloth also available
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Talonbooks Recent Releases
Prairie Harbour
Cosmophilia
garry thomas morse
rahat kurd
This fugitive epic traces multiple lines of the poet’s mixed ancestry at the same time examining prairie life, in part, as a place that offers space for an inner landscape and a harbour for the mind. “An incomparable verbal exuberance and quick, wide-ranging intelligence fuel Garry Thomas Morse’s operatic howl.” – Lorna Crozier ISBN 978-0-88922-940-2 Poetry; 176 pp; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
An exploration of the ghazal and lyric, Cosmophilia – literally, “love of ornament” – responds to syncretic Islamic culture and the disruption of relationships in urban North America. “The poems in Rahat Kurd’s Cosmophilia dwell on borderlines – both geographical and intangible. This is a work of great clarity and complexity.” – George Fetherling
ISBN 978-0-88922-946-4; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-997-6 Poetry; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Impeccable Regret
Rom Com
judith fitzgerald
dina del bucchia +
Introduction by
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daniel zomparelli
Thomas Dilworth
These poems extend the tradition of rich poetic language found in Gerard Manley Hopkins and Joyce in Finnegans Wake. Unsolved mysteries remain an aspect of the vitality of these poems, while close reading expands and deepens understanding. “A treasure of lovely, enlivening sound and varying-lovely rhythms.” – from the introduction by Thomas Dilworth
ISBN 978-0-88922-949-5 Poetry 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Daniel is a down-on-his-luck writer who can’t seem to finish his second book, until Dina comes along with an idea that turns his life around. Two poets passionately co-author an intelligent collection of poetry that both celebrates and capsizes the romantic comedy. This is Rom Com. “The kind of deep sympathy and sense of humour you’re only really able to pull off when you really love the thing you’re making fun of.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-960-0; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-998-3 Poetry: Humour; 128 pp; Illustrations; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Cerulean Blue
The Divine
drew hayden taylor
A Play for Sarah Bernhardt
michel marc bouchard Translated by Linda Gaboriau
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A struggling blues band gets trapped behind the barricades after accepting an invitation to play a benefit concert for a First Nation community in conflict with the government. Written for a large ensemble cast, this play is ideal for high school and college musical theatre.
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Cast of 10 women and 10 men.
Quebec City, 1905. The lives of two priests-in-training transform after meeting legendary French actress Sarah Bernhardt during her controversial visit to their city. What ensues is a battle between the powerful Catholic Church on one side, and the power of the divine Sarah – and the world of the theatre – on the other. Cast of 5 women and 6 men.
ISBN 978-0-88922-952-5; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-953-2 Drama; 144 pp; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-958-7; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-959-4 Drama; 160 pp; Trade paper; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
14 Talonbooks Recent Releases
Jabber
Moss Park and Tough!
marcus youssef
The Bobby and Tina Plays
Foreword by Dennis Foon
Fatima and her friends call themselves the “jabbers” because they wear hijab. When anti-Muslim graffiti appears on the walls of their high school, Fatima transfers to a new school and begins an unlikely new friendship there. Cast of 1 woman and 2 men. “Not afraid to deal with difficult subject matter such as discrimination, sexuality, and the danger of online sharing on social media.” – Charlebois Post Review ISBN 978-0-88922-950-1; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-951-8 Drama; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
george f. walker Foreword by Patrick McDonald
Canada’s top playwright takes on teen pregnancy in two comic dramas for young people. In Tough! Tina tells Bobby she’s pregnant. In Moss Park, it’s more than two years later. Is Bobby still emotionally incapable of accepting responsibility? Tough!: Cast of 1 woman and 1 man. Moss Park: Cast of 1 man and 1 woman. “Depicts deep pain with a light touch.”
– National Post
ISBN 978-0-88922-954-9; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-955-6 Drama; 136 pp; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Sila
Canada, A New Tax Haven
The first play in The Arctic Cycle
How the Country that Shaped Caribbean Tax Havens is Becoming One Itself
chantal bilodeau
alain deneault Translated by Catherine Browne
The first play in a cycle of eight plays that examine the impact of climate change on the eight countries of the Arctic – poignantly addresses the issue of warming temperatures and their displacement of Northern Canadian cultures and ecosystems. Cast of 3 women and 4 men. Winner of the 2014 Woodward International Playwriting Prize.
The Caribbean islands became jurisdictions of banking and tax leniency in the last half of the 20th century under the guidance of Canadian financiers. Now government policy to increase the international ‘competitiveness’ of Canadian companies encourages multinationals to relocate to Canada as if it were Barbados or Belize. This book traces the history and examines the implications of this development.
ISBN 978-0-88922-956-3; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-957-0 Drama; 128 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-838-6; E-ISBN 978-0-889220-837-5 Business & Economics; 5.5 x 8.5; 224 pp; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
The Hatch
I, Bartleby
colin browne
meredith quartermain
The Hatch extends Browne’s formal engagement with the new documentary form. Myth, history, and the present are contemporaneous in these poems; nothing is ever one thing, and nothing is itself for very long. In The Hatch there is a rhythmic and political urgency in which the exchange of forms is lightning quick. This is a book of transformations. “The diversity and dexterity are dazzling, the images stick, the phrasing causes slaps or shivers.” – The Bull Calf ISBN 978-0-88922-938-9 Poetry; 6 x 9.5; 160 pp; Trade paper; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
In these quirky, imaginative stories about writing and writers, Bartleby, the scrivener (a.k.a. Quartermain), goes her stubborn way haunted by Pauline Johnson, Malcolm Lowry, Robin Blaser, Daphne Marlatt, and other forebears. Who is writing whom, these stories ask in their musing reflections – the writer or the written? The thinker or the alphabet? The calligrapher or the pictograms hidden in her Chinese characters? ISBN 978-0-88922-918-1; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-919-8 Fiction; 5 x 8.5; 128 pp; Trade paper; $14.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Talonbooks Non-fiction Backlist 15
ABC of Reading TRG
As Always
The New Canadian Criticism Series Peter Jaeger
Memoir of a Life in Writing Madeleine Gagnon
Examines the writings of Steve McCaffery and bpNichol, with a special focus on their collaborative work as the Toronto Research Group (TRG). ISBN 978-0-88922-423-0 © 1999; 160 pp; Illustrations; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
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Madeleine Gagnon reflects on life at the centre of Quebec literary arts by re-examining the influences of her early life. A central theme is Gagnon’s struggle for women’s equality and her refusal to be categorized by her gender. “It’s been a long time since I’ve read anything as beautiful and luminous as this book.” – Manon Trépanier, Radio-Canada
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Translated by Phyllis Aronoff & Howard Scott Afterword by Maïr Verthuy
ISBN 978-0-88922-896-2; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-897-9 © 2015; 336 pp; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
After Completion
Bambi and Me
The Later Letters of Charles Olson and Frances Boldereff
Michel Tremblay
Edited by Sharon Thesen and Ralph Maud
Autobiographical pieces about how movies shaped the life of young Michel Tremblay.
The highly influential, yet undisclosed, relationship between American poet Charles Olson and Frances Boldereff is further revealed in this second collection of extensive, often impassioned letters. “This correspondence ... should surely bring about greater attention to the sharp interrelating of Joyce and Blake accomplished by Boldereff in her books” – Bookslut
Translated by Sheila Fischman
Governor General’s Translation Award Winner, 1998. “This translation captures the vigour and v inegar of the original.” – Montreal Gazette ISBN 978-0-88922-380-6; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-994-5 © 1998; 160 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-706-4 © 2014; 304 pp; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
American Notebooks
Baseball Love
A Writer’s Journey Marie-Claire Blais
George Bowering
Translated by Linda Gaboriau An album of finely drawn literary portraits of writers, musicians, artists, and social activists who influenced the life and work of Marie-Claire Blais in the 1960s. “Marvelously constructed … beautifully cadenced character studies.” – Books in Canada ISBN 978-0-88922-358-5; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-964-8 © 1996; 208 pp; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Anatolia Junction A Journey into Hidden Turkey Fred A. Reed As Fred A. Reed travels through the Middle East, the Balkans, and Asia Minor, he concludes that Turkey’s Islamists are reappropriating the culture and beliefs that 70 years of secular fundamentalism have been unable to eradicate. “Succeeds in showing readers … that Islam is not a monolith, but ‘a rich and complex mosaic.’ ” – CBRA ISBN 978-0-88922-426-1; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-873-3 © 1999; 320 pp; Photos & maps; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
George Bowering’s life in love and the game unfolds in a picaresque memoir of a road trip taken through the storied ballparks of the poet’s youthful dreams. “The indispensable George Bowering’s Baseball Love is a winning memoir cum love story, as Canada’s first poet laureate and his lady embark on a memorable – in every sense – baseball trope: the road trip.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-529-9; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-798-9 © 2006; 256 pp; $19.95 CAN / $17.95 US
The Battle of Batoche British Small Warfare and the Entrenched Métis Second Edition Walter Hildebrandt In this revised and expanded edition, the strategies of both sides are examined, and numerous maps and photographs describe in detail the fateful battle. Foreword by Jean Teillet, great-grandniece of Louis Riel. ISBN 978-0-88922-693-7; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-718-7 © 2012; 144 pp; Photos, maps & illustrations $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Annihilated Time
Beyond Recall
Poetry and Other Politics Jeff Derksen
Mary Meigs
Essays that explore the ways in which poetry, visual art, and critical practices encounter “the long present neoliberal moment” of globalization’s imperialist agenda.
A beautiful memoir that reads like the most exquisitely crafted fiction.
“Derksen raises the question of what it means to make art in the present moment in a new and exciting way.” – Sianne Ngai ISBN 978-0-88922-612-8 © 2009; 304 pp; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Edited by Lise Weil
Lambda Literary Award for Biography Finalist, 2006. “Her real strengths are virtues of drama, colour … and passion that are distilled in succinct images.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-505-3 © 2005; 160 pp; Illustrations; 19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
16 Talonbooks Non-fiction Backlist
Birth of a Bookworm
Charles Olson at the Harbor
Michel Tremblay
Ralph Maud
Translated by Sheila Fischman
Repudiating Tom Clark’s carelessly biased Charles Olson: The Allegory of a Poet’s Life, this diligently researched biography by long-time Olson scholar, friend, and correspondent Ralph Maud redeems the reputation of one of the greatest American poets of the 20th century.
From Hergé and the Brothers Grimm to Gabrielle Roy and Victor Hugo, a tour of books that inspired Michel Tremblay’s vast imagination. Globe and Mail Top 100 Books, 2003. “Quebec’s most celebrated living writer.” “Destined to become a classic.”
– Guardian
– Globe and Mail
ISBN 978-0-88922-576-3 © 2008; 224 pp; Photos & illustrations; 2nd printing $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-476-6; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-967-9 © 2003; 192 pp; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Bonbons Assortis / Assorted Candies
The Chilliwacks and Their Neighbors
Michel Tremblay
Oliver N. Wells
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
Active ethnography through conversations, legends, and articles. A naturalist’s guide to the Chilliwack Native people and their area.
Governor General’s Translation Award Finalist, 2006. “The best of Tremblay can be found in these Assorted Candies.” – Voir “Tremblay’s knack for recalling and accessing his boyhood self is uncanny. Assorted Candies is short but sweet.” – Montreal Review of Books
“Useful for the diligent novice.”
– BC Studies
ISBN 978-0-88922-255-7 © 1987; 228 pp; Photos, maps & illustrations; 3rd printing $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-541-1 © 2006; 160 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
The Box Closet
Circumstances Alter Photographs
Mary Meigs
Captain James Peters’ Reports from the War of 1885 Michael Barnholden
A narrative woven of her parents’ diaries and letters that integrates Mary Meigs’s discoveries as a daughter and granddaughter. “Meigs creates a work of considerable insight and beauty.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-253-3; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-970-9 © 1987; 224 pp; Photos; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
In April 1885, Captain James Peters took the world’s first battlefield photographs under fire at the battle of Fish Creek. He exposed a total of 70 glass plates there and at subsequent battles at Duck Lake and Batoche. These photographs are presented together here, with an essay by Michael Barnholden. ISBN 978-0-88922-621-0 © 2009; 144 pp; Cloth; Photos; $35.00 CAN / $35.00 US
bpNichol What History Teaches The New Canadian Criticism Series
Stephen Scobie Edited by Frank Davey Scobie illuminates bpNichol’s relationship to Dadaism, contemporary French literary theory, and the writing of Gertrude Stein, positing a cogent argument for Nichol’s importance as a writer of fiction.
Coast Salish Essays Wayne Suttles These essays have had a lasting impact on the study of the Northwest Coast, offering views on the prehistory of Northwestern North America to First Nations responses post-Contact. “A major contribution to the study of the Indians of the Northwest Coast.” – Pacific Northwest Quarterly
ISBN 978-0-88922-220-5; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-879-5 © 1984; 154 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-212-0 © 1987; 336 pp; Photos, maps & illustrations; 4th printing $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Canadian Drama and the Critics
Cold Comfort
Revised Edition
Growing Up Cold War Gil McElroy
Edited by L.W. Conolly This lively, updated assortment of critical d eliberations on contemporary Canadian drama is an ideal companion text to Modern Canadian Plays, Volumes I and II. “Fascinating, entertaining, and instructive.” – Max Wyman ISBN 978-0-88922-359-2; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-869-8 © 1987, 1995; 384 pp; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
When his father died, award-winning poet and curator Gil McElroy was given a box of photographs that documented his father’s military career, which began in WWII and continued through to the end of the Cold War. Image by image, McElroy attempts to come to terms with the mysterious photographer, a man better understood by his military compatriots than by his own family. ISBN 978-0-88922-684-5; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-711-8 © 2012; 272 pp; Photos; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
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Talonbooks Non-fiction Backlist 17
Conversations in Tehran
Empire of Desire
Jean-Daniel Lafond & Fred A. Reed
The Abolition of Time Thierry Hentsch
Filmmaker Jean-Daniel Lafond and author Fred A. Reed document the fall of Mohammad Khatami’s reform movement through candid conversations. “A society like ours, which flirts almost unconsciously with the bullies of ‘political correctness’ … needs men, women, writers, journalists, intellectuals like Fred A. Reed.” – CBC Radio-Canada ISBN 978-0-88922-550-3; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-883-2 © 2006; 224 pp; Photos; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Translated by Fred A. Reed This second volume in Hentsch’s epic survey of the Western narrative tradition traces Western civilization’s quest for immortality across a further four centuries through an examination of works by Molière, Voltaire, de Sade, Rousseau, Hegel, Melville, Flaubert, Joyce, Proust, and others. Governor General’s Translation Award Finalist, 2009. ISBN 978-0-88922-587-9 © 2008; 336 pp; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Crimes and Mercies
An English Canadian Poetics
The Fate of German Civilians Under Allied Occupation, 1944–1950 James Bacque
Vol. 1 – The Confederation Poets
More than nine million Germans died from deliberate Allied starvation and expulsion policies after WWII. At the same time, a food-aid program saved an estimated 800 million.
Essays on poetic theory written by Canadian poets from the late 19th century to 1918 that articulate the specific social, cultural, and political circumstances under which their poetry was created.
ISBN 978-0-88922-567-1; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-769-9 © 2007; 320 pp; Photos, maps & illustrations; 3rd printing $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Edited by Robert Hogg With an introduction by D.M.R. Bentley
“Never before or since in Canada have poetry, poetics, environment, identity, and national distinctiveness been more closely intertwined.” – D.M.R. Bentley ISBN 978-0-88922-613-5 © 2009; 320 pp; Photos; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
The Decline of the Hollywood Empire
An Error in Judgement
Hervé Fischer
The Politics of Medical Care in an Indian/White Community Dara Culhane
Translated by Rhonda Mullins Heralds the inevitable move from 35mm to digital distribution, which has levelled the creative playing field between the towering Hollywood empire and marginalized independent artists and producers. Governor General’s Translation Award Finalist, 2007. ISBN 978-0-88922-545-9; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-965-5 © 2006; 160 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
An analysis of the controversy surrounding the death of a Native child in Alert Bay, British Columbia. “Successfully forces the liberal white reader to look beyond totem poles and quaint Indian baskets to common history.” – Vancouver Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-246-5; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-863-4 © 1987; 280 pp; Photos; 6th printing $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Dispatches from the Occupation
Essays on George F. Walker
A History of Change Stephen Collis
Playing with Anxiety Chris Johnson
In these essays, poet, critic, and activist Stephen Collis meditates on the idea of change as it moves through intellectual history, tracing its patterns and comparing its articulation across disciplines. He offers short “dispatches” from his involvement in the Occupy movement, and a prose poem examining the philosophical trope of Rome. ISBN 978-0-88922-695-1; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-720-0 © 2012; 256 pp; Photos; 16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The first book-length examination of the work of Canada’s most-produced and internationally recognized playwright, George F. Walker, who has not only created a substantial body of work, but also impressed it all with his unique “Walkeresque” stamp. ISBN 978-0-921368-82-3 © 1999; 272 pp; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
The Edward Curtis Project
EX MACHINA
A Modern Picture Story Marie Clements & Rita Leistner
Creating for the Stage Patrick Caux & Bernard Gilbert
Marie Clements’s play dramatizes the creation of Edward Curtis’s 20-volume photographic and ethnographic record of the “vanishing” North American Indian. It is presented here alongside Rita Leistner’s parallel investigation of Curtis’s work, which questions the practice of documentary photography with the very medium under scrutiny. ISBN 978-0-88922-642-5 © 2010; 160 pp; Colour photos; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Translated by Neil Kroetsch This full-colour book documents Robert Lepage’s dynamic creative arts company, Ex Machina, constantly on the move in search of new forms of storytelling. Its frenetic dynamism means the company must constantly move simultaneously between story draft and stagecraft as it invites audiences to witness its experiments with both theatre and film. ISBN 978-0-88922-617-3 © 2009; 84 pp; French flaps; Colour photos $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
18 Talonbooks Non-fiction Backlist
Gabriel Dumont Speaks
How to Write
Second Edition Gabriel Dumont
derek beaulieu
Translated by Michael Barnholden This judicious interpretation of Louis Riel’s adjutant general’s memoirs offers a rare opportunity to view one of the central events in the history of the Métis through the eyes of one of their key heroes. “Fascinating.”
– Quill & Quire
ISBN 978-0-88922-625-8 © 2003, 2009; 96 pp; Photos; 2nd printing $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Containing 10 pieces of conceptual prose ranging from the purely appropriated through the entirely recomposed, beaulieu samples Laurence Sterne, Roy Lichtenstein, Agatha Christie, and all the text within one block of his home. W.O. Mitchell Literary Prize Finalist, 2011. “beaulieu produces some of the most baffling, oblique, unreadable – and absolutely logical and necessary – works of conceptual poetry.” – Craig Dworkin ISBN 978-0-88922-629-6 © 2010; 72 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
George Bowering
Imperial Canada Inc.
Bright Circles of Colour The New Canadian Criticism Series Eva-Marie Kröller
Legal Haven of Choice for the World’s Mining Industries Alain Deneault & William Sacher
Edited by Frank Davey
Translated by Fred A. Reed & Robin Philpot
This first book-length study of Bowering explores the relationship between his work and the arts.
Why is Canada home to more than 70 percent of the world’s mining companies? Canada’s imperial heritage continues to offer a politicized legal haven from litigious recourse attempted by any community seriously affected by these industries.
“Perceptive, highly readable account of the avant-garde scene in Canada.” – Vancouver Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-306-6; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-881-8 © 1992; 144 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Great Lakes Suite
ISBN 978-0-88922-635-7 / E-ISBN 978-0-88922-770-5 © 2012; 256 pp; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
David W. McFadden
Indian Myths & Legends from the North Pacific Coast of America
Specially revised and edited, and now in one complete volume, Great Lakes Suite includes the collective record of three trips: A Trip Around Lake Erie, A Trip Around Lake Huron, and A Trip Around Lake Ontario.
A Translation of Franz Boas’ 1895 Edition of Indianische Sagen von der Nord-Pacifischen Küste Amerikas Franz Boas
“Consistently entertaining, consistently engaging.” – Toronto Star “Some of the most fascinating writing being done in this country.” – Windsor Star
Edited and annotated by Randy Bouchard & Dorothy Kennedy; Translated by Dietrich Bertz “The equal of any heroic literature you’ll ever read … a stunning legacy.” – Vancouver Sun
ISBN 978-0-88922-382-0 ; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-963-1 © 1997; 416 pp; Illustrations; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-553-4 ; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-939-6 © 2002, 2006; Photos; 704 pp; 3rd revised printing $39.95 CAN / $39.95 US
griddle talk
In Plain Sight
a yeer uv bill n carol dewing brunch Carol Malyon and bill bissett
Reflections on Life in Downtown Eastside Vancouver Edited by Leslie A. Robertson & Dara Culhane
A series of literary conversations between Malyon, who writes within the objective bounds of standard English usage, and bissett, one of contemporary writing’s most exotic practitioners, working with the visual forms of language in his own non-hierarchic, phonetic orthography. ISBN 978-0-88922-606-7 © 2009; 144 pp; Photos and illustrations $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
A remarkable collection of seven life stories from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, giving voice to women who are seldom heard on their own terms. City of Vancouver Book Award Finalist, 2005. ISBN 978-0-88922-513-8; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-939-6 © 2005; 180 pp; map; 3rd printing $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
A Guide to B.C. Indian Myth and Legend
In the Company of Strangers
Ralph Maud
Mary Meigs
Boas, Teit, Hill-Tout, Barbeau, Swanton, Jenness, the luminaries of field research in British Columbia, are discussed, and their work in Indian folklore evaluated in this comprehensive survey of myth-collecting in British Columbia.
Based on the NFB production of The Company of Strangers, Meigs’s account of the film unfolds in an intricate meditation on time, old age, and bonding.
“Important not for what it might tell us about Indian culture in the past, but for what these myths may tell us about our society.” – Vancouver Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-189-5; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-862-7 © 1982; 224 pp; Photos; 5th printing $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
QSPELL Award for Non-fiction Winner, 1992. “Her book on the film is exquisitely attuned to the interplay between art and life.” – Boston Globe ISBN 978-0-88922-294-6 © 1991; 176 pp; Photos; 4th printing $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
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Talonbooks Non-fiction Backlist 19
In the Midst
Lions Gate
Warren Tallman
Lilia D’Acres & Donald Luxton
Warren Tallman was catalyst, shelter, and anchor to a whole generation of writers and poets, from the beat generation poets to the L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E school writers. In these pieces, Tallman introduces the reader to a world of literary companionship that shaped the language and thought of late 20th-century North America.
Like all great historic landmarks, the Lions Gate Bridge remains a source of powerful, sometimes illuminating, sometimes mysterious stories of the people and times which gave birth to it.
ISBN 978-0-88922-308-0 © 1992; Photos; 320 pp; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-416-2; $34.95 CAN / $29.95 US © 1999; 160 pp; Cloth; Photos & illustrations; 2nd printing
Justice in Our Time
Living by Stories
The Japanese Canadian Redress Settlement Roy Miki & Cassandra Kobayashi
A Journey of Landscape and Memory Harry Robinson
How a community brought the issue of redress for the injustices of the 1940s to the forefront of p ublic debate. “A powerful and moving testament to the successful efforts of the NAJC.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-292-2 © 1991; 160 pp; Cloth; Photos & illustrations $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Compiled and edited by Wendy Wickwire This third collection documents how the arrival of whites forever altered the Salish cultural landscape. “Whenever I need to be reminded that language is magic and that stories can change the world, I go to Robinson.” – Thomas King ISBN 978-0-88922-522-0; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-877-1 © 2005; 288 pp; 3rd printing; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Lasagna
Lost in North America (digital only)
The Man Behind the Mask Ronald Cross & Hélène Sévigny
The Imaginary Canadian in the American Dream John MacLachlan Gray
A biography of the most notorious of the 1990 Oka warriors, leader of the Mohawk armed resistance.
A personal, idiosyncratic tour of the collective work of art we call Canada. “The Global Village” is nothing more than Canadian culture writ large – and here is the guide to Canadian style. John MacLachlan Gray’s tour-de-force answer to Hugh MacLennan’s Two Solitudes is full of wit, insight, and breathtaking discoveries about ourselves and the world.
“The book’s 248 pages are, to put it simply, credible. Read this book – it will open your eyes too.”
– Alberta Native News
un
s,
Winner of the Vancouver Heritage Award. BC Historical Federation Writing Competition. Heritage Society of BC Award. City of Vancouver Book Award, 2000. BC Book Prize Finalist, 2000.
ISBN 978-0-88922-348-6; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-867-2 © 1994; 248 pp; Photos; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
E-ISBN 978-0-88922-868-9 © 2013; 208 pp (print count); $15.95 CAN / $15.95 US
The Lil’wat World of Charlie Mack
Making Theatre
Dorothy Kennedy & Randy Bouchard
A Life of Sharon Pollock Sherrill Grace
Dorothy Kennedy and Randy Bouchard record and recontextualize many Lil’wat stories as told to them by respected Lil’wat elder Charlie Mack over a two-decade period of friendship and ethnographic research. “Kennedy and Bouchard act with subtlety as informative editors giving insight into their own development as ethnographers through the teachings of Charlie Mack.” – Canadian Literature ISBN 978-0-88922-640-1 © 2010; 240 pp; Photos & maps; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
The story of Pollock’s life from her family roots in New Brunswick through her pioneering years as a Canadian playwright to the present as she continues to make theatre. Ann Saddlemyer Award Winner, 2009. “Grace’s insightful exploration of … theatrical performance and the traces of Pollock’s successive re-inventions of herself is unrivalled.” – Patricia Demers ISBN 978-0-88922-586-2 © 2008; 480 pp; Photos; $39.95 CAN / $39.95 US
Lily Briscoe
Margaret Atwood
A Self-Portrait Mary Meigs
A Feminist Poetics
A compelling autobiography about the exercise of will, friendships, and dreaming.
Frank Davey
“A series of landscapes and life drawings, skillfully created.” – Humanities and Applied Arts ISBN 978-0-88922-195-6; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-971-6 © 1981; 264 pp; Photos; 3rd printing $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
The New Canadian Criticism Series Davey reveals Margaret Atwood’s extraordinary facility with language as well as her mistrust of it, and offers a “glossary” of recurrent Atwood images and symbols that unveil the hidden level in her writing. ISBN 978-0-88922-217-5; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-880-1 © 1984; 178 pp; 2nd printing; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
20 Talonbooks Non-fiction Backlist
meanwhile
Other Losses
The Critical Writings of bpNichol bpNichol
An Investigation into the Mass Deaths of German Prisoners at the Hands of the French and Americans after World War II James Bacque
Edited by Roy Miki A thoughtful and provocative 30-year record of Nichol’s approaches to textual production. “Almost 15 years after his untimely death, Nichol is being recognized as a major Canadian literary figure.”
– National Post
ISBN 978-0-88922-447-6; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-872-6 © 2002; Photos & illustrations; 496 pp $34.95 CAN / $29.95 US
This third edition updates Bacque’s research into KGB archives, which meticulously documents proof that nearly one million German POWs died in U.S. and French camps between 1944 and 1949. “A hornet’s nest.”
– Globe and Mail
ISBN 978-0-88922-665-4 © 2011; 392 pp; photos & maps; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
The Medusa Head
Outsider Notes
Mary Meigs
Feminist Approaches to Nation State Ideology, Writers/Readers, and Publishing
A sensitive psychological portrait of a stormy three-way lesbian relationship. “An unsparing account of love, jealousy, and hate.” – Toronto Star “Shaped with intelligence, honesty, and humor.”
– Ottawa Citizen
The New Canadian Criticism Series
Lynette Hunter Tough-minded reappraisals of canonicity, m odernism, postmodernism, marginality, and post-coloniality in Canadian writing.
ISBN 978-0-88922-210-6 © 1983; 160 pp; 3rd printing; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-363-9 © 1996; 320 pp; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Muthologos
Paul Martin & Companies
Lectures and Interviews, Second Edition Charles Olson
Sixty Theses on the Alegal Nature of Tax Havens Alain Deneault
Edited by Ralph Maud Charles Olson once defined “muthologos” as “what is said about what is said.” Revised and expanded. “Document[s] the processual nature and intellectual hunger that situate [Olson’s] poetic imagination not only in the poem but in the range of perception that can be talked about ‘with some life.’ ” – Fred Wah
Translated by Rhonda Mullins A piercing look at what it means when a Canadian prime minister puts his own private interests first. “Stands as an example and a rebuke to the watery discourse that passes for ‘political’ commentary in the anglophone press.” – Geist
ISBN 978-0-88922-639-5 © 1979, 2010; 496 pp; Photos; $39.95 CAN / $39.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-538-1 © 2006; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Nature Power
Peregrinations
In the Spirit of an Okanagan Storyteller, Second Edition Harry Robinson
Conversations with Contemporary Artists Robert Enright
Compiled and edited by Wendy Wickwire Features tales of the shoo-MISH, or “nature helpers.” BC Book Prize Winner, 1993. “Epic, mesmerizing tales by a great Okanagan storyteller that lift [one] eerily and movingly, into a different world.” – Toronto Star ISBN 978-0-88922-504-6; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-876-4 © 1992, 2004; 272 pp; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Informed and considered interviews with the most influential artists of our time. Enright takes us into the environments, both imaginative and actual, that have shaped their personal and artistic histories. “Marvellous interviews … the mind and the world of the artist flooded with light.” – Arthur Danto ISBN 978-0-921368-67-0 © 1997; 352 pp; $24.95 CAN / $18.95 US
NEWS
Performing National Identities
Postcards from the Four Directions Drew Hayden Taylor
International Perspectives on Contemporary Canadian Theatre
In this collection of short, humorous essays originally written for the popular media, playwright, novelist, and screenwriter Drew Hayden Taylor sends his readers fascinating and exotic postcards from his globe-trotting adventures, always on the lookout for the NEWS about Aboriginal peoples around the world.
A collection of 18 original essays on contemporary Canadian theatre by scholars and drama specialists in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, and Japan.
ISBN 978-0-88922-643-2 © 2010; 288 pp; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Edited by Sherrill Grace & Albert-Reiner Glaap
ISBN 978-0-88922-475-9; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-874-0 © 2003; 324 pp; Photos; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
ail
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n,
Talonbooks Non-fiction Backlist 21
Persian Postcards
Rational Geomancy
Iran After Khomeini Fred A. Reed
The Kids of the Book-Machine The Collected Research Reports of the Toronto Research Group, 1973–1982 Steve McCaffery & bpNichol
“An excellent guide to the people, religion, politics, and world view of modern Iran.” – Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin “Both accessible to the uninitiated and a valuable resource.” – Quill & Quire “Assumptions about Iran shattered.”
– Toronto Star
Edited by Steve McCaffery Reports on translation, the-book-as-machine, and the search for non-narrative prose.
ISBN 978-0-88922-351-6 © 1994; 288 pp; Photos; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-300-4 © 1992; Photos & illustrations; 320 pp; 3rd printing $34.95 CAN / $34.95 US
Phyllis Webb and the Common Good
Re: Producing Women’s Dramatic History
Poetry / Anarchy / Abstraction Stephen Collis
The Politics of Playing in Toronto D.A. Hadfield
“As much about Webb as about the cultural and political milieu of her time, this book is necessary reading for anyone interested in Canadian poetry and the ethics of writing as criticism.” – Smaro Kamboureli ISBN 978-0-88922-559-6; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-860-3 © 2007; 228 pp; Colour photos; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
By analyzing publicity materials, photos, programs, reviews, and box office and theatre records, D.A. Hadfield traces the process of creating a theatrical “success” and investigates how the politics involved influences what we perceive as “good” playwriting. ISBN 978-0-88922-563-3; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-968-6 © 2007; 288 pp; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
The Pleasure of the Crown
A Record of Writing
Anthropology, Law, and First Nations Dara Culhane
An Annotated and Illustrated Bibliography of George Bowering Roy Miki
An in-depth analysis of the 130-year history of the Aboriginal title issue in British Columbia, focusing in particular on the Gitksan and Wet’suwet’en case. “Explores fundamental questions … The Pleasure of the Crown is a book that everyone interested in ‘justice for all’ will want to read.” – Vancouver Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-315-8; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-864-1 © 1998; 416 pp; map; 2nd printing $34.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Traces the development of poet laureate Bowering’s many writings through four decades. Gabrielle Roy Prize Winner, Best Critical Book in English, 1990. “An extraordinary contribution to this field.” – Canadian Library Journal ISBN 978-0-88922-263-2 © 1990; 404 pp; Cloth; Photos & illustrations $39.95 CAN / $34.95 US
Poet to Publisher
The Recovery of the Public World
Charles Olson’s Correspondence with Donald Allen
Essays on Poetics in Honour of Robin Blaser
Edited by Ralph Maud
A collection of texts and talks which address the work of poet Robin Blaser.
Documents Olson’s influence on The New American Poetry, Allen’s visionary and revolutionary anthology. “The letters make fascinating reading for their commentary on writers … and literary issues from 1957 to 1969.” – Canadian Literature
Edited by Charles Watts & Edward Byrne
“Poets and thinkers describe his work, assess his accomplishments and contribute r eflections on the literary projects and s ubjects Blaser has helped to construct.” – Publishers Weekly
ISBN 978-0-88922-486-5 © 2003; Illustrations; 192 pp; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-388-2 © 1999; 464 pp; Photos; $39.95 CAN / $29.95 US
The Porcupine Hunter and Other Stories
The Salish People
The Original Tsimshian Texts of Henry Tate
Volume I: The Thompson and the Okanagan Charles Hill-Tout
Edited and annotated by Ralph Maud Henry W. Tate, who died in 1914, was an important Tsimshian informant to ethnographer Franz Boas. “Maud acts as restorer, stripping away a ttitudes and prosody to reveal the vitality of the original text.”
– Vancouver Sun
ISBN 978-0-88922-333-2; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-865-8 © 1994; Illustrations; 176 pp; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Edited by Ralph Maud The first volume of a four-volume set rich in s tories and factual information on the Salish p eople of the Pacific Northwest. ISBN 978-0-88922-148-2; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-885-6 © 1978; 176 pp; Photos, maps & illustrations; 2nd printing $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
22 Talonbooks Non-fiction Backlist
The Salish People
Signs of Literature
Volume II: The Squamish and the Lillooet Charles Hill-Tout
Language, Ideology and the Literary Text Kenneth James Hughes
Edited by Ralph Maud
The history of language as a made thing – a linguistic and structuralist primer.
Includes the Origin Myth as recounted by a s toryteller whose mother saw Captain Vancouver sail into Howe Sound in 1792.
“It’s tough reading but worth a look if you’re into the study of words.” – Vancouver Province
ISBN 978-0-88922-149-9; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-886-3 © 1978; 176 pp; Photos, maps & illustrations $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-236-6; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-882-5 © 1986; 232 pp; Illustrations; 2nd printing $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
The Salish People
Strange Comfort
Volume III: The Mainland Halkomelem Charles Hill-Tout
Essays on the Work of Malcolm Lowry Sherrill Grace
Edited by Ralph Maud
Strange Comfort collects Sherrill Grace’s best essays on Malcolm Lowry, exploring his most important themes: the role of the artist, the nightmare of history, the pressures of memory, and the need to protect the garden of our world.
Stories of the people of the Fraser Valley from Vancouver to Chilliwack, with the earliest account of BC archaeological sites. ISBN 978-0-88922-150-5; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-887-0 © 1978; 176 pp; Photos, maps & illustrations $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
“Transcend[s] the intellectual boundaries … in culture and the arts through cross-disciplinary collaboration.” – Canada Council ISBN 978-0-88922-618-0 © 2009; 224 pp; Photos; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
The Salish People
Subject to Change
Volume IV: The Sechelt and the South-Eastern Tribes of Vancouver Island Charles Hill-Tout
Renee Rodin
Edited by Ralph Maud “The rescuing of unorthodox anthropology from the conspiracy of silence that academics have woven around it.” – Vancouver Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-151-2; 978-0-88922-888-7 © 1978; 192 pp; Photos, maps & illustrations
Comprising stories that sketch the resonant heights and depths of an autobiography, Subject to Change is a series of self-portraits along the road of a life well lived. “A delightful testament to the complexity of people and the many roles we play in our lifetimes.” – Telegraph-Journal “Renee Rodin lives the life I would try to live if I had the time.” – George Bowering
$18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-644-9; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-966-2 © 2010; 160 pp; 2nd printing; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Salonica Terminus
Takeover in Tehran
Travels into the Balkan Nightmare Fred A. Reed
The Inside Story of the 1979 U.S. Embassy Capture Massoumeh Ebtekar
In his extensive travels in the Balkans, Reed encounters a landscape inscribed with a shocking testimony of ethno-racialist aspirations. “The good and evil aspects of nationalism … [A] compassionate account of one of the world’s most difficult regions.” – Toronto Star
as told to Fred A. Reed A revealing first-hand insider account by Iran’s first female vice-president, Massoumeh Ebtekar, of the 1979 revolutionary student movement which captured the American embassy in Tehran.
ISBN 978-0-88922-368-4; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-990-7 © 1996; 272 pp; Photos & maps; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-443-8; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-991-4 © 2000; 244 pp; Photos; 2nd printing $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Shattered Images
Taking My Life
The Rise of Militant Iconoclasm in Syria Fred A. Reed
Jane Rule
Discusses all of the major Islamic faiths in its search for the origins of contemporary fundamentalist movements. “A striking intellectual travelogue … a useful contribution to the literature of interfaith dialogue.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-485-8; E-ISBN 978-0-89922-878-8 © 2003; 260 pp; map; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Discovered among her papers as a handwritten manuscript, Jane Rule’s moving, witty memoir of the first two decades of her life probes in emotional and intellectual terms the philosophical questions that were to preoccupy her throughout her literary career. Afterword by Linda M. Morra. Lambda Literary Award Finalist, 2012. “A beautiful piece of dryly ironic writing, deeply thought out and intellectually honest.” – Quill & Quire ISBN 978-0-88922-673-9; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-728-6 © 2011; 288 pp; Photos; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Talonbooks Non-fiction Backlist 23
The Terror of the Coast Land Alienation and Colonial War on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, 1849–1863 Chris Arnett
e
” cil
An extensively detailed reconstruction of the war between the First Nations and Vancouver Island’s colonial government. “A scholarly, yet compelling account of a neglected and shameful chapter in BC’s history.” – CBRA ISBN 978-0-88922-318-9; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-866-5 © 1999; 384 pp; Photos, maps & illustrations; 3rd printing $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Rock Writings in the Stein River Valley of British Columbia Annie York, Richard Daly & Chris Arnett “An invaluable record … of a vanishing culture.” – Toronto Star “[A] combination of academic exposition and plainfolks narrative that entertains while it educates.” – Georgia Straight ISBN 978-0-88922-331-8 © 1993; 320 pp; Cloth; Photos & illustrations $60.00 CAN / $40.00 US
textual vishyuns
This Is My Own
image and text in the work of bill bissett Carl Peters
Letters to Wes and Other Writings on Japanese Canadians, 1941–1948 Muriel Kitagawa
Drawing on aesthetic manifestos, modern poetics, and film theory, Carl Peters locates bill bissett’s textual and visual work within the larger context of art history, criticism, and practice. “textual vishyuns is not only a book on bill bissett, but also a way of bringing modernist thought and vision together without taking either apart.” – Jerry Zaslove
Edited by Roy Miki Letters written following the uprooting of the JapaneseCanadian community in late 1941. “This collection is skillfully woven together.” – Amerasia Review
ISBN 978-0-88922-661-6 © 2011; 224 pp; Colour photos; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-231-1 © 1985; 304 pp; Cloth; Photos & illustrations; 2nd printing $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Theatre and AutoBiography
Timothy Findley and the Aesthetics of Fascism
Writing and Performing Lives in Theory and Practice Edited by Sherrill Grace & Jerry Wasserman
al
This groundbreaking exploration of an increasingly prominent interdisciplinary realm draws on a wide range of contemporary theorists and playwrights. The breadth of styles and performances discussed here is extraordinary.
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ISBN 978-0-88922-540-4; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-993-8 © 2006; 352 pp; Photos; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
t,
They Write Their Dreams on the Rock Forever
Intertextual Collaboration and Resistance The New Canadian Criticism Series Anne Geddes Bailey Investigates the troubling relationship between narrative meaning and representations of violence within Timothy Findley’s novels. ISBN 978-0-88922-386-8; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-870-1 © 1998; 256 pp; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Then We Were One
Too Good to Be True
Fragments of Two Lives Fred A. Reed
Alcan’s Kemano Completion Project Bev Christensen
Shocked by his brother’s death from injuries sustained in the Vietnam War, Fred A. Reed sets out on a journey of personal discovery. By way of Iran in the aftermath of the Revolution, the Anatolian highlands of the mystic Said Nursi, and in pursuit of ancient and modern iconoclasts, he comes under the spell of Islam. In its embrace he find renewed brotherhood; in its discipline, liberation.
Examines the question of who is to control North America’s vital water and power resources in the 21st century.
ISBN 978-0-88922-667-8; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-729-3 © 2011; 304 pp; Photos; 2nd printing $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
BC Book Prize Finalist, 1996. “This is an essential story, and a fascinating one.” – Books in Canada ISBN 978-0-88922-354-7 © 1995; 352 pp; Photos & maps; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
They Called Me Number One
Tracing the Lines
Secrets and Survival at an Indian Residential School Bev Sellars
Reflections on Contemporary Poetics and Cultural Politics in Honour of Roy Miki
ra.
In the first full-length memoir to be published out of St. Joseph’s Mission, Bev Sellars interweaves personal histories of her grandmother and her mother with her own.
ire
George Ryga Award Winner, 2014. Burt Award Third-Place Winner, 2014. BC Book Prize Finalist, 2014. ISBN 978-0-88922-741-5 / E-ISBN 978-0-88922-742-2 © 2013; 256 pp; Photos; 8th printing $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Edited by Maia Joseph, Christine Kim, Larissa Lai & Christopher Lee The two main areas of poet Roy Miki’s passionate work– social critique and poetics – inform each other in this collection of 26 essays, poems, and interviews marking a milestone in the life of an important public intellectual. ISBN 978-0-88922-694-4 © 2013; 256 pp; Photos; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
24 Talonbooks Non-fiction Backlist
Tracing the Paths
Vancouver
Edited by Roy Miki
A Visual History Bruce Macdonald
A wide spectrum of readings of bpNichol’s c hallenging and innovative long poem.
This stunning full-colour historical atlas brings alive Vancouver’s first 14 decades.
Reading ≠ Writing The Martyrology
“A stimulating companion to those reading, and rereading, Nichol’s quirky, honest, and experimental work.” – Books in Canada ISBN 978-0-88922-256-4 © 1988; 344 pp; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
City of Vancouver Book Award Winner, 1993. BC Book Prize Finalist, 1993. “Bruce Macdonald breaks new ground with an impressive multi-disciplinary atlas.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-311-0 © 1992; 96 pp; Cloth; Photos, maps & illus.; 2nd printing $60.00 CAN / $40.00 US
Transmission Difficulties
Vancouver Anthology
Franz Boas and Tsimshian Mythology Ralph Maud
Second Edition
Ralph Maud delves into the mystery of Boas’s alleged “translations” of the stories gathered by his chief Tsimshian informant, Henry Tate. “A useful contribution to BC anthropology.” – Victoria Times-Colonist ISBN 978-0-88922-430-8; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-871-9 © 2000; 176 pp; Photos & illustrations $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Edited by Stan Douglas Essays on the institutional politics of art, from the 1991 lecture series Vancouver Anthology. Contributors include Marcia Crosby, Sara Diamond, Maria Insell, Robert Linsley, Robin Peck, Nancy Shaw, Keith Wallace, Scott Watson, Carol Williams, and William Wood. This redesigned edition includes a new afterword by Stan Douglas. Alcuin Book Design Award Honourable Mention, 2011. ISBN 978-0-88922-614-2 © 1991, 2011; 320 pp; Cloth; Colour photos $35.00 CAN / $35.00 US
Truth or Death
The Visual Laboratory of Robert Lepage
The Quest for Immortality in the Western Narrative Tradition Thierry Hentsch
Ludovic Fouquet
Translated by Fred A. Reed Governor General’s Translation Award Winner, 2005. QWF Translation Award Winner, 2005. “A work of great depth, magnificently written.” – Le Devoir ISBN 978-0-88922-509-1 © 2004; 416 pp; 2nd printing; $39.95 CAN / $39.95 US
Translated by Rhonda Mullins Lepage’s work has broken barriers in theatre, expanding the territory to include other forms of expression, including photography, cinema, and video. In The Visual Laboratory of Robert Lepage, Fouquet investigates Lepage’s body of work, from 1979 to present, identifying themes and exploring artistic practices that mark him as one of the most highly original creators today. ISBN 978-0-88922-774-3; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-775-0 © 2013; 416 pp; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Twelve Opening Acts
Women in a World at War
Michel Tremblay
Seven Dispatches from the Front Madeleine Gagnon
Translated by Sheila Fischman An account of Tremblay’s discovery of the theatre, from his first recognition at the age of six of how the imagination is actually a public construct, to his winning of a drama competition with his first play. Governor General’s Translation Award Finalist, 2002. ISBN 978-0-88922-466-7 © 2002; 192 pp; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Translated by Phyllis Aronoff & Howard Scott Governor General’s French Non-Fiction Award Finalist, 2001. “An extraordinary work … the book crosses borders of country, culture, and language to touch fundamental truths in lyrical and haunting prose.” – Quill & Quire ISBN 978-0-88922-483-4; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-861-0 © 2003; 320 pp; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Two Houses Half-Buried in Sand
Write It on Your Heart
Oral Traditions of the Hul’q’umi’num’ Coast Salish of Kuper Island and Vancouver Island Beryl Mildred Cryer
The Epic World of an Okanagan Storyteller Harry Robinson
Compiled and edited by Chris Arnett A vital collection of writings collected during the Depression, first published in Victoria’s oldest newspaper. “An engrossing and delightful book.” – Georgia Straight ISBN 978-0-88922-555-8 © 2007; 352 pp; Photos; 3rd printing $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Compiled and edited by Wendy Wickwire BC Book Prize Finalist, 1990. “An important addition to Canadian literature … In reading Robinson, one is virtually forced to read the story out loud, thereby closing the circle, the oral becoming the written becoming the oral.” – Thomas King ISBN 978-0-88922-502-2; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-875-7 © 1989, 2004; 320 pp; Photos; 3rd printing $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Talonbooks Fiction Backlist 25
ail
Against the Wind
The Baldwins
Madeleine Gagnon
Serge Lamothe
Translated by Phyllis Aronoff & Howard Scott
Translated by Fred A. Reed & David Homel
Through poetic letters and journal entries, the reader witnesses one man’s coming into being an artist, and out of the trauma he experienced as a young boy, when he was forced to defend his mother from violent sexual assault.
Set in the post-apocalyptic future, this is a novel of fragments that represents contemporary prose at its most daring and experimental.
“An intuitive novel, a spellbinding look into the mind of a man who is a son, an artist, a lover, and a father.”
– Toronto Star
ISBN 978-0-88922-696-8; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-721-7 © 2012; 168 pp; $14.95 CAN / $14.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-544-2; E-ISBN 978-0-89922-797-2 © 2006; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $15.95 US
All That Glitters
The Bicycle Eater
Martine Desjardins
Larry Tremblay
Translated by Fred A. Reed & David Homel
Translated by Sheila Fischman
Haunted by the iron jealousy of their commanding officer, Dulac and Nell must risk everything to pursue their desires.
Governor General’s Translation Award Finalist, 2006.
Governor General’s Translation Award Finalist, 2005.
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“Serge Lamothe’s novel falls under the sign of utter creative freedom and is filled with word and language play, evocative imagery, and poetic moods.” – Le Devoir
“Compels and disturbs, leaving us with questions about chance and fate, love and war.” – Montreal Review of Books
Governor General’s French Fiction Award Finalist, 2003. “There is something poetic about the way the narrative slips back and forth as easily as a dream, transcending the limits of linear thinking.” – Montreal Review of Books
ISBN 978-0-88922-520-6; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-805-4 © 2005; 160 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-528-2 © 2005; 228 pp; $19.95 CAN / $17.95 US
And Other Stories
Birth of a Bridge
Edited by George Bowering
Maylis de Kerangal
Taking the theme of postmodernity one step further with 23 shortstories edited by Canada’s first poet laureate: Alexis, Arnason, Atwood, Blaise, Bowering, Burnham, Cohen, Dorsey, Elliot, Farrant, Fawcett, Findley, Fraser, Goto, King, Laferrière, Mayr, Rooke, Schoemperlen, Thomas, Verdecchia, and Watson.
Translated by Jessica Moore
ISBN 978-0-88922-451-3 © 2001; 320 pp; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
From one of the most exciting novelists writing in France today comes Birth of a Bridge – the story of a handful of men and women of various backgrounds and classes, who assemble around the construction of a giant suspension bridge in a mythical and fantastic California. Winner of the 2010 Franz-Hessel Prize, Médicis Prize. “This delightful book’s unabashed idealism, combined with those playfully literary proper names, marks it as a kind of aspirational fairy tale.” – Wall Street Journal ISBN 978-0-88922-889-4; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-890-0 © 2014; 256 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
f e
King
The Angel of Solitude
The Black Notebook
Marie-Claire Blais
Michel Tremblay
Translated by Laura Hodes
Translated by Sheila Fischman
Eight lesbian women strive to achieve an all-female utopia within which homophobia and their own pasts and differences are a bolished.
A young waitress recounts her trials and surprising allies in a lifelong battle against social stigma.
“The narrative voice is wise and fatalistic and full of religiosity.” – Paragraph ISBN 978-0-88922-337-0 © 1993; 144 pp; 2nd printing; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
“Emerges as a powerful character study, a social history – as always with Tremblay, the political content is there, but always as an organic element of the story.” – Montreal Review of Books ISBN 978-0-88922-543-5; ebook also available © 2006; 224 pp; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
The Athabasca Ryga
The Blue Notebook
George Ryga
Michel Tremblay
Edited by E. David Gregory
Translated by Sheila Fischman
From his farm-boy childhood to his s truggles as a classconscious wage labourer, Ryga’s early work is offered in a collection of essays, short stories, plays, and novels.
In this third instalment of the Notebook trilogy, Fine Dumas’s Boudoir is shut down and Céline must return to waitressing at the Sélect, where she meets a gorgeous musician and begins a sexual and loving relationship for the first time. As she has done twice before, Céline records the events and adventures of her life in a notebook, but now steps outside herself, using a narrator to tell her story.
“It makes you want to read and re-read e verything the man ever wrote.” – Vancouver Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-276-2 © 1990; 224 pp; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-619-7; ebook also available © 2009; 272 pp; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
26 Talonbooks Fiction Backlist
The Breakdown So Far
Citizen Suárez
M.A.C. Farrant
Guillermo Verdecchia
Farrant continues her assault on the unaccountably disaffected and disillusioned of the Western world with her eighth volume of extremely short stories.
Short stories about people travelling, wandering or lost between countries and languages – people caught between the impulse to flee and the desire to belong.
ReLit Award Longlist, 2008. “If, as Nabokov advises, the monster of grim common sense must be ‘shot dead,’ then Farrant is, indeed, a crack shot.” – Globe and Mail
“At times hilarious, at times moving. A great read!” – Ariel Dorfman “Humorous and strongly political.” – Vancouver Magazine
ISBN 978-0-88922-556-5 © 2007; 160 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-391-2 © 1998; 160 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Cambodia
A Covenant of Salt
A Book for People Who Find Television Too Slow Brian Fawcett
Martine Desjardins
Investigative fictions that examine the intentions of the information revolution. “Cambodia is urgent, blunt, difficult – and vitally necessary.” – Canadian Forum
Translated by Fred A. Reed & David Homel “Mining from the past, Desjardins extracts treasures without ‘getting caught,’ and surfaces like a breath of fresh air. A Covenant of Salt marries literary traditions in a sleek gothic ceremony, silvery salt sprinkled like confetti and the Saint Lawrence coursing through.” – Montreal Review of Books
ISBN 978-0-88922-237-3 © 1986; 208 pp; 10th printing; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-566-4 © 2007; 160 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Capital Tales
Crossing the City
Brian Fawcett
Michel Tremblay
A collection of stories that form tough, uncompromising portraits of people discovering the illusions they live by.
Translated by Sheila Fischman
“Fawcett’s work expands into a well-earned and genuine visionary criticism of the deadly contradictions within society.” – Books in Canada ISBN 978-0-88922-221-2 © 1984; 204 pp; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
In the second novel in Tremblay’s Crossing series, we meet Maria, the mother of Rheauna, as she leaves the city of Providence, Rhode Island, pregnant and without a husband, to join her brother and two sisters in Montreal. Crossing the City takes place a year before but also a year after that of the previous novel, Crossing the Continent. “The empathy and tenderness that Tremblay has for his characters is evident on every page.” – Le Devoir ISBN 978-0-88922-893-1; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-894-8 © 2011; 272 pp; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Chameleon & Other Stories
Crossing the Continent
Bill Schermbrucker
Michel Tremblay
A collection of short stories from the point of view of a young man growing up in Kenya during the time of Mau Mau.
Translated by Sheila Fischman
“The year’s most ambitious work of short fiction and at the same time the most substantial.” – Letters in Canada ISBN 978-0-88922-208-3 © 1983; 160 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
In this, the first of the Crossings novels, which give the backstory to the characters of Tremblay’s Chronicles series, young Nana embarks on an epic train journey from her grandparents’ prairie farm to Montreal, when the mother who left her five years before calls her “home.” “The empathy and tenderness that Tremblay has for his characters is evident on every page.” – Le Devoir ISBN 978-0-88922-676-0; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-730-9 © 2011; 272 pp; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
The Circus Performers’ Bar
Darwin Alone in the Universe
David Arnason
M.A.C. Farrant
Witty and formally innovative stories that examine social, political, and sexual assumptions with an ironic eye. “This is clever, trenchant stuff, by a master of the art.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-218-2 © 1984; 160 pp; 2nd printing; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
A brilliant collection of satirical short stories. “Farrant is better at startling us with unnerving, often misanthropic, visions of everyday life than perhaps any other Canadian writer.” – Globe and Mail “M.A.C. Farrant is a wonderful writer of domestic comedy.” – Bill Richardson, CBC “A brave iconoclast.”
– Publishers Weekly
ISBN 978-0-88922-471-1; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-799-6 © 2003; 160 pp; Illustrations; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Talonbooks Fiction Backlist 27
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Death in Vancouver
The Duchess and the Commoner
Garry Thomas Morse
Michel Tremblay
This brilliant collection of avant-garde fiction reveals edgy new voices that reflect the cultural simultaneity of our cosmopolitan everyday. “Morse’s particular genius is his ability to deliver pitch perfect equivalences of whatever he touches or touches him … not mere impressions or impersonations but rather powerful transversals that combine with but do not displace.” – LINE Magazine ISBN 978-0-88922-607-4; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-796-5 © 2009; 320 pp; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
ks
ISBN 978-0-88922-418-6 © 1999; 256 pp; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Death of the Spider
Dürer’s Angel
Michèle Mailhot
Marie-Claire Blais
Translated by Neil B. Bishop Introduction by Marie-Claire Blais
f s
Translated by Sheila Fischman This third volume in the Chronicles of the Plateau Mont-Royal – an epic series of novels which imagines the lives of the characters of Tremblay’s plays – deals with an explicitly gay thematic: Tremblay’s metaphor for the Québécois desire for a more glamorous identity on the world stage.
A solitary woman’s interior journey of self-discovery. Governor General’s French Fiction Award Winner for Le Passé Composé, 1990. Governor General’s Translation Award Finalist, 1992.
Translated by David Lobdell This third novel in the trilogy of Pauline Archange expresses her desire to translate the events of her life into words. “A writer who stands head and shoulders above her contemporaries.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-111-6 © 1976; 112 pp; 2nd printing; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-298-4 © 1991; 64 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
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Desert of the Heart
Fairy Ring
Jane Rule
Martine Desjardins
Two women meet and fall in love in Reno, Nevada. Set in the late 1950s, this classic of lesbian eroticism is Jane Rule’s first novel.
Translated by Fred A. Reed & David Homel
“Cool, clear-eyed, compassionate, and unsentimental.” – Margaret Laurence, Globe and Mail “An intelligent and utterly believable novel.” – Joyce Carol Oates
ir
ISBN 978-0-88922-449-0 © 2001; 224 pp; 2nd printing; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Dog Attempts to Drown Man in Saskatoon
The Fat Woman Next Door Is Pregnant
Douglas Glover
Michel Tremblay
“Glover is preoccupied with the complicated interweavings of good and evil, and he juggles language superbly.” – Globe and Mail
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Governor General’s Translation Award Winner, 2001. “Fairy Ring sets up familiar targets, tilts at them with wonderful panache and scores weirdly compelling hits.” – Globe and Mail
ISBN 978-0-88922-301-1 © 1964, 1991; 224 pp; 6th printing $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Urbane, stylish, and slightly offbeat stories that touch on the myth-making many of us call reality.
ir
A compulsively readable, beautiful, and dark novel of stormy relationships and all-consuming desires.
“Glover … seeks to combine a metaphysical approach and style with the nitty-gritty details of daily life. It works.” – Books in Canada ISBN 978-0-88922-228-1 © 1985; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Translated by Sheila Fischman Tremblay’s first novel is an affectionate and funny chronicle of the lives of a family in Plateau Mont-Royal in the 1940s. CBC Canada Reads Finalist, 2009. “A comic tour de force covering one day in the life of a Montreal street.” – University of Toronto Quarterly ISBN 978-0-88922-190-1 © 1981; 256 pp; 9th printing; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Down the Road to Eternity
Fearless Warriors
M.A.C. Farrant
Second Edition Drew Hayden Taylor
Indelibly marked by wit, humour, irony, playfulness, and a blend of parody and science fiction, these stories celebrate the literary imagination as an antidote to the popular media. “Short and sharp, wacky and wonderful.” – Globe and Mail
By degrees dramatic, shocking, tender, affirmative, and tragic, each of these stories takes on a different cliché of inter-racial and inter-cultural relations, all of them suffused with incomparable wit, generosity, and humour.
“M.A.C. Farrant is a trapeze artist of the imagination, swinging over the existential void.” – BC Bookworld
“Taylor’s … stories will make you cringe, cry, and when you really need it, laugh a little.” – Windspeaker
ISBN 978-0-88922-615-9; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-804-7 © 2009; 288 pp; Illustrations; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-597-8; E-ISBN 978-0-88922- 802-3 © 1998, 2008; 192 pp; 3rd printing $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
28 Talonbooks Fiction Backlist
The First Quarter of the Moon Translated by Sheila Fischman
The Happiest Man in the World and Other Stories David Arnason
The fifth novel in the Chronicles of the Plateau Mont-Royal juxtaposes the childhood experiences of the “Fat Woman’s” son and his gifted cousin.
A witty, articulate raconteur takes a hilarious yet compassionate look at the new male consciousness taking shape in a “post-feminist” world.
Michel Tremblay
“Touching and extra-real.”
– Quill & Quire
“A wonderful book.”
– Globe and Mail
ISBN 978-0-88922-352-3 © 1994; 240 pp; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-269-4 © 1989; 164 pp; 2nd printing; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
The Five Books of Moses Lapinsky
Harry’s Fragments
Karen X. Tulchinsky
A Novel of International Puzzlement George Bowering
This sweeping, epic novel takes us inside the life of one immigrant Jewish family, from the pivotal 1933 Toronto race riots through the war years and into the early 1950s, creating a stunning fictional statement of a defining moment for a family, a city, and a nation struggling with ideas of freedom, tolerance, and identity in a world broken by war. “Old-fashioned in the very best sense; it’s got lots of heart.” – National Post
In a parody of a thriller novel, Harry the Hack, newly r ecruited literary spy, follows a mystery woman seeking wisdom and sanity. “Deconstructs the sexy spy thriller in a clever pastiche of literary styles.” – Ottawa Citizen ISBN 978-0-88910-387-0 © 1990; 182 pp; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-646-3; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-812-2 © 2010; 496 pp; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
George Ryga
The Heart Laid Bare
The Prairie Novels
Michel Tremblay
Edited by James Hoffman This collection includes Hungry Hills, Ballad of a Stonepicker, and Night Desk. “Propelled by compassion and moral outrage, but also by a peculiar and personal awareness of the life and death of human cultures and the values they contain.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-501-5 © 2004; 320 pp; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Translated by Sheila Fischman A fusty academic has fallen in love with a young actor who works as a salesman while waiting for his big break; however, the academic must learn to make room in his life for the actor’s four-year-old son. This is Tremblay’s first novel to be inspired by experiences from his own life. “[A] simply written, but highly topical and touching tale.” – London Times ISBN 978-0-88922-425-4; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-962-4 © 2002; 258 pp; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Get on Top
Hell & Other Novels
David Homel
Beverley Daurio
In this startlingly original and penetrating novel, the Messiah appears as a woman who shows up in rural America instead of Jerusalem, preaching moral licence, not repentance.
In these haunting, often chilling short stories, Daurio maps the subatomic space of contemporary alienation.
“His novels are acts of witnessing, and his characters carry the conscience of our times.” – Marie-Claire Blais ISBN 978-0-7737-6048-6 © 1999; 282 pp; $22.95 CAN / $18.95 US
“Wonderfully evocative images … well worth reading.” – Quill & Quire “Poetic in their brevity and chilling in their intensity.”
Go Figure
hungree throat
Réjean Ducharme
bill bissett
Translated by Will Browning A hauntingly beautiful tale of a Montreal couple alienated from each other after suffering the m iscarriage of twins. Governor General’s French Fiction Award Finalist, 1994. “Boasts complex flavours that are so savoury and sustaining you may be compelled to go back for seconds.” – Montreal Review of Books ISBN 978-0-88922-482-7 © 2003; 256 pp; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
– Aritha van Herk
ISBN 978-0-88910-421-1 © 1990; 160 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Written in his non-hierarchic, phonetic orthography, bill bissett’s second novel-poem, hungree throat, recounts the relationship of two men – one bold and unafraid, the other burdened by fear and terrible memories. In this uplifting “novel in meditaysyun” about love, in which we witness ten years of a shared life, we are reminded of the overlapping, sometimes conflicting multitude of “hungers” common to us all. ISBN 978-0-88922-745-3 © 2013; 176 pp; Illustrations; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
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Talonbooks Fiction Backlist 29
The Hunting Ground
Latakia
Lise Tremblay
Audrey Thomas
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
A brilliant and intense journey through a relationship, and through language and myth, spanning three continents.
Remarkably engaging stories recounted by different residents of a northern Canadian village that face a gradual but devastating transformation. “[Lise Tremblay presents] a fictional world in precise, lucid language of a simple, graceful fluidity. A world in which the spirit of being is laid bare.” – Le Devoir
“An evocative fictional voice that is one of the most powerful in Canadian fiction.” – Vancouver Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-167-3 © 1979; 176 pp; 3rd printing; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-534-3 © 2006; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $13.95 US
In the Shadow of the Vulture
Like a Child of the Earth
George Ryga
Jovette Marchessault
Set in the desert at the Mexico–U.S. border, this novel deals with the hope and despair of immigrant labourers. “A striking novel that wrestles with important and difficult problems.” – Canadian Literature ISBN 978-0-88922-233-5 © 1985; 288 pp; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Translated by Yvonne M. Klein The first volume of Jovette Marchessault’s turbulent autobiographical trilogy. Prix France-Québec Winner, 1976. “The most profound glimpse into a native Canadian woman’s imaginative experience.” – Books in Canada ISBN 978-0-88922-261-8 © 1988; 176 pp; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Judith’s Sister
Main Brides
Lise Tremblay
Gail Scott
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
The portrait of a woman who is facing the end of the century and creating a history of the present that lifts her out of fear.
In this moving coming-of-age novel set in the summer of 1968, a twelve-year-old girl contemplates with dread her impending high school enrolment. “Explores the delicate passage from childhood to adolescence, that critical period in life which … often contains the seeds of the inevitable betrayals of friends, neighbourhood and social background.” – Le Devoir ISBN 978-0-88922-677-7; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-732-3 © 2011; 128 pp; $14.95 CAN / $14.95 US
“Gail Scott has an extraordinary ability to c ompress scenic observations … into short, jewel-like notations.” – Hugh Hood “Scott is one of the most gutsy writers around.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88910-456-3 © 1993; 240 pp; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Kafka’s Hat
Maleficium
Patrice Martin
Martine Desjardins
Translated by Chantal Bilodeau
Translated by Fred A. Reed & David Homel
In Patrice Martin’s tip of the hat to the writing of Franz Kafka, we follow the comical misadventures of a bureaucrat – aptly named “P.”– as he embarks on the illustrious task of retrieving an important literary relic for his boss. P.’s earnest endeavours derail when he encounters the systematic difficulty in modern bureaucracies – as well as in some of the best 20th-century fiction – of getting things done.
In 19th-century Montreal, seven penitentsfflafflicted with curious maladies confess their encounters with an enigmatic young woman in the Near East. Each man succumbs to a secret vice and suffers her punishments. “Lust, greed, retribution, and shame – Maleficium reads like a flesh-bound catalogue of my favourite sins.” – Jenn Farrell
ISBN 978-0-88922-743-9; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-744-6 © 2013; 144 pp; $14.95 CAN / $14.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-680-7; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-704-0 © 2012; 160 pp; 2nd printing; $14.95 CAN / $14.95 US
The Keeper’s Daughter
A Matter of Gravity
Rose and the Archipelago of Shifting Memories Jean-François Caron
Hélène Vachon
Translated by W. Donald Wilson
This charming intrigue starts with an enigmatic manuscript that brings together two disparate characters. The first is an embalmer who, unable to look after the living, devotes himself to the dead. The other is an ailing concert pianist consorting with the ghosts of his past. Their tragic encounter is brilliantly illuminated by black humour and compassion. Crazy and original.
Young Dorothea is appointed by the tourist bureau to direct a documentary film re-enacting life at a lighthouse off Quebec’s North Shore in the 1940s and ‘50s. The problem is that most of the memories of Rose Brouillard, the interview subject, are invented, not real. But, really, who cares whether it’s true? What matters here are the stories we tell. “Jean-François Caron has given us one of the most accomplished novels of the season.” – La Presse ISBN 978-0-88922-920-4; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-921-1 © 2015; 160 pp; $14.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Translated by Phyllis Aronoff & Howard Scott
“A beautiful, surprising novel that speaks with tenderness and dark humour.” – La Semaine ISBN 978-0-88922-840-5; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-841-2 © 2014; 256 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
30 Talonbooks Fiction Backlist
Mile End
Mother of the Grass
Lise Tremblay
Jovette Marchessault
Translated by Gail Scott
Translated by Yvonne M. Klein
A chilling and masterful look at the interior landscapes of psychosis which mirror so perfectly the emptiness of the exterior surfaces they reflect.
The second volume of Marchessault’s turbulent autobiographical trilogy.
Governor General’s French Fiction Award Winner, 1999. ISBN 978-0-88922-467-4 © 2002; 144 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
“Has enlarged the dimensions of the autobiographical novel by introducing elements of myth and visionary experience.” – Gloria Orenstein ISBN 978-0-88922-267-0 © 1989; 176 pp; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Mimosa
Motortherapy
Bill Schermbrucker
Bill Schermbrucker
An authentic recreation through sweeping prose of an extraordinary life set against the t urbulent backdrop of colonial Africa.
A frank and intensely personal book about human relationships.
BC Book Prize Winner, 1988. “It’s an impressive debut … deceptively subtle and finely crafted.” – Globe and Mail “Intelligent, humane … universal and accessible.” – Quill & Quire ISBN 978-0-88922-254-0 © 1988; 320 pp; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Minor Episodes / Major Ruckus Garry Thomas Morse In tribute to surrealist narrative and film technique, Minor Episodes documents the serial adventures of Minor, ubiquitous “everymogul,” who embodies the economic 1 percent. Major Ruckus, a contrapuntal text parodying the speculative fiction genre, follows a frenzied struggle for time travel. Minor Episodes / Major Ruckus introduces The Chaos! Quincunx novel series. ISBN 978-0-88922-697-5; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-722-4 © 2012; 288 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
“[Stories] stir and shift with deftly-rendered subtleties which at their best recall … Norman Levine and … Alice Munro.” – Quill & Quire “One of the best works of fiction of 1993.” – U of T Quarterly ISBN 978-0-88922-330-1 © 1993; 176 pp; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Mrs. Blood Audrey Thomas “Mrs. Blood wears her nerve ends outside her skin like an updated Katherine Mansfield heroine – and responds intensely to her external environment and to her subconscious. The effect is to create a vivid impression of a personality in crisis … A spectacular tour de force, this.” – New York Times Book Review ISBN 978-0-88922-319-6 © 1970, 1992; 220 pp; 4th printing $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Minor Expectations
My Career with the Leafs & Other Stories
Garry Thomas Morse
Brian Fawcett
In this prequel to the Chaos! Quincunx series, our cheeky diva, Diminuenda, travels to Classical Greece, becoming the subject of the very painting she must steal, and from there on to Ancient Rome, Renaissance Florence, the realm of Louis XIV, and finally WWII Britain, each era offering the author opportunities to satirize literary genres and themes of the period.
Fawcett’s first book of stories examines g rowing up, and learning – literally and figuratively – the rules of the game. “Fawcett sings sweetly and sourly about growing up.” – Vancouver Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-199-4 © 1982; 192 pp; 2nd printing; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-891-7 / E-ISBN 978-0-88922-892-4 © 2014; 232 pp / $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Miss Take
My Name Is Bosnia
Réjean Ducharme
Madeleine Gagnon
Translated by Will Browning
Translated by Phyllis Aronoff & Howard Scott
Teenagers Miles and Chateaugué have run away to Montreal, where they construct a chaste life for themselves. They form a suicide pact to preserve their fleeting innocence but their refusal of the adult world soon confronts physical need.
A young woman escapes the genocide in her homeland in search of a peaceful new life.
“To read Ducharme … is to get luxuriously lost in a chaotic mass of simultaneous, tangential, and sometimes conflicting ideas.” – Rain Review of Books ISBN 978-0-88922-669-2; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-731-6 © 2011; 272 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
IMPAC Dublin Literary Award Longlist, 2007. “Movingly captures the transformative effect of war on human consciousness.” – Publishers Weekly “In Gagnon’s deft hands the narrative is s tirring but never maudlin.” – Quill & Quire ISBN 978-0-88922-542-8 © 2006; 256 pp; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Talonbooks Fiction Backlist 31
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News from Édouard
The Painter’s Wife
Michel Tremblay
Monique Durand
Translated by Sheila Fischman
Translated by Sheila Fischman
This fourth novel in the Chronicles of the Plateau Mont-Royal follows Édouard, the Fat Woman’s brother-in-law, as he explores Paris.
An extraordinary novel about art and passion inspired by the lives of two great artists, Evelyn Rowat and René Marcil.
“Michel Tremblay’s long labour of love … is a lasting study of and tribute to his own working-class origins that should stand in time as a literary landmark.” – Toronto Star ISBN 978-0-88922-435-3 © 2000; 224 pp; 2nd printing; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
ly
Piercing Larry Tremblay
“These essays are rich with information about bissett, but most importantly they revive and re-examine significant moments from his life and career. It is a must-read.” – Broken Pencil
Nuri Does Not Exist
Translated by Linda Gaboriau Three tales spin a web of suspense, impending violence and tragedy that haunt the sleek façade of a city. The three stories in this volume are linked through a shared subtext – that in contemporary urban environments, the only way people break through alienation is through some form of violence. ISBN 978-0-88922-645-6; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-801-6 © 2010; 128 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
The Rain Barrel
Sadru Jetha
George Bowering
In these beautifully crafted and understated stories, Nuri comes of age on the fabled “spice island” of Zanzibar. We accompany him on his quest to understand how servitude transcends slavery and fealty transcends servitude.
Ten years in the making, these stories display Bowering’s meticulous attention to the details of his craft. “Enough irony, subversion, and playfulness for any postmodern fan.” – Books in Canada
“A sharply intelligent and genuinely moving exploration of identity and displacement.” – Canadian Literature
“Bowering’s sure touch brings uncanny overtones even to tales that would seem in synopsis to be shaggy-dog stories.” – Canadian Literature
ISBN 978-0-88922-655-5 / E-ISBN 978-0-88922-773-6 © 2011; 152 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-345-5 © 1994; 272 pp; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
The Obese Christ
Real Mothers
Larry Tremblay
Audrey Thomas
Translated by Sheila Fischman
” n
– Nuit blanche
ISBN 978-0-88922-535-0; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-800-9 © 2006; 176 pp; 2nd printing; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
bill bissett
ISBN 978-0-88922-671-5 © 2011; 176 pp; Illustrations; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
w
“A delight!”
novel In this “novel with konnecting pomes n essays,” bill bissett interweaves fact and fiction – what is considered the conventionally real with the imagined – creating a narrative for the reader that is redolent with surprise and discovery. e
“Resonant, ethereal, poignant. Here is a novel of rare aesthetic intelligence.” – La Provence (France)
A brilliant exercise in unease and paranoia, The Obese Christ demonstrates Tremblay’s powerful ability to evoke dread and fear while immersing the reader in a warped and purtrid world told from the narrarator’s sanctified point of view. This novel situates itself squarely within the realm of Alfred Hitchcock, Roman Polanski, and Stephen King. “This cinematographic novel advances with machine-like precision worthy of Hitchcock.” – Le Soleil
Short stories about mothers and the politics of the family. “These stories are for … anyone who admires a writer in masterly control of her material.” – Globe and Mail “Thomas demands more of her readers than most writers, but the rewards are much greater too.” – Books in Canada ISBN 978-0-88922-191-8 © 1981; 176 pp; 3rd printing; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-842-9; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-843-6 © 2014; 144 pp; $14.95 CAN / $14.95 US
The Pagan Wall
The Red Notebook
David Arnason
Michel Tremblay
Written in the tradition of Umberto Eco and Manuel Puig, The Pagan Wall is a first novel by one of Canada’s master storytellers. “If this is the overture, you can’t even imagine what he may eventually do for a finale.” – John Moore
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ISBN 978-0-88922-312-7 © 1992; 304 pp; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Translated by Sheila Fischman The second in the Notebook trilogy follows Céline Poulin as she becomes hostess in a transvestite bordello. Tremblay celebrates how it is possible for Céline to embrace her difference and to flourish with transcendent eloquence and compassion. “Tremblay’s characters don’t merely exist, they live out complex, sprawling lives.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-588-6; ebook also available © 2008; 288 pp; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
32 Talonbooks Fiction Backlist
Rogue Cells / Carbon Harbour
A Slight Case of Fatigue
Garry Thomas Morse
Stéphane Bourguignon
Rogue Cells / Carbon Harbour resumes the Chaos! Quincunx novel series and presents two ironically dystopic visions of speculative future: a “First” nation at war with the mysterious territory Nutella, and a “green” world of aquaculture, bio-material, and grim labour conditions.
Translated by Phyllis Aronoff & Howard Scott
ReLit Award Shortlist, 2014. ISBN 978-0-88922-776-7; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-777-7 © 2013; 448 pp; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Eddy is in existential crisis. He once had an enviable life, but now he’s separated from his wife, estranged from his son, and his garden’s grown wild – like the rest of his life. Written in multiple voices, with keen psychological insight, this examination of relationships and past wounds is filled with raucous warmth and humanity – and dark humour. Governor General’s Translation Award Finalist, 2009. ISBN 978-0-88922-596-1; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-917-4 © 2008; 224 pp; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Scattered in a Rising Wind
Some Night My Prince Will Come
Jean Marc Dalpé
Michel Tremblay
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
Translated by Sheila Fischman
The rush of events in a small-town apocalypse is recorded barely at the edge of syntax, with a teeming imagination always just ahead of the ability to articulate.
This urban epic of love and desire brings us a b urlesque world of transgression and madness, where pleasures are far from simple, and love is somewhat less than pure. An evocative account of romantic adventure stamped with Tremblay’s s ignature wit and ironic humour.
Governor General’s French Fiction Award Winner, 2000. “An extraordinary book of excellent quality.” – Adrienne Clarkson ISBN 978-0-88922-484-1 © 2003; 160 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-510-7 © 2004; 192 pp; 3rd printing; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
The School-Marm Tree
Songs My Mother Taught Me
Howard O’Hagan
Audrey Thomas
A novel about mountains by one of Canada’s greatest writers on nature, depicting the “ presence” in mountains and the heart’s desire to go beyond mountains.
Republished with a new introduction, this is Audrey Thomas’s classic coming-of-age novel about m adness, loneliness, despair, and escape.
“Testimony to O’Hagan’s intelligence as a novelist.” – Globe and Mail “As basic and enduring a tale as a Greek tragedy.” – Vancouver Province
“Traps in amber that strange distant decade of the Forties.” – George Woodcock, Macleans ISBN 978-0-88922-329-5 © 1973, 1993; 210 pp; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-129-1 © 1977; 256 pp; 2nd printing; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
The Secret Journal of Alexander Mackenzie
The Strange Truth About Us A Novel of Absence M.A.C. Farrant
Brian Fawcett An industrial biography that investigates personal myths and the great “machines” that drive the world to the abyss of development. BC Book Prize Finalist, 1986. “A wonderful book.”
– Kootenay Reporter
ISBN 978-0-88922-227-4 © 1985; 208 pp; 3rd printing; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
A three-part novel-length work of prose fragments, snippets, questions, and speculations, The Strange Truth About Us attempts to imagine a multitude of possible futures for our garrisoned Western world. “M.A.C. Farrant is a master of the literary equivalent of a waking dream, creating subtle insurrections disguised as prose.” – Toronto Star ISBN 978-0-88922-668-5; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-734-7 © 2011; 216 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Shinny’s Girls and Other Stories
Summerland
Mary Burns
George Ryga
These stories all re-examine the myths of mother-daughter relationships, both in the classical sense of “myth” and in the modern sense of “myth” (lies about relationships).
Edited by Ann Kujundzic
“An accomplished and memorable collection.” – Katherine Govier “Blood bonds, Burns seems to be saying, are usually obscured by routine … and it takes a crisis … to force consciousness of those bonds.” – Canadian Literature ISBN 978-0-88922-272-4 © 1989; 208 pp; 2nd printing; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Summerland presents largely unpublished selections from essays, short stories, plays, novels, and poems that George Ryga wrote in Summerland, British Columbia, from 1963 until his untimely death in 1987. ISBN 978-0-88922-313-4 © 1992; 448 pp; $34.95 CAN / $29.95 US
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Talonbooks Fiction Backlist 33
Tchipayuk or The Way of the Wolf Ronald Lavallée Translated by Patricia Claxton A sweeping historical novel about the collision of First Nation and colonial cultures. Winner of the Prix Jules-Verne, Prix Champlain, and the Prix Riel. Governor General’s Translation Award Finalist, 1994.
Trees Are Lonely Company Howard O’Hagan This collection of O’Hagan’s short fiction includes stories spanning the decades of his experience as mountain guide, gentleman adventurer, and s toryteller. “At their best these stories are as stark as anything Camus or Sartre wrote.” – George Woodcock ISBN 978-0-88922-327-1 © 1993; 320 pp; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-338-7 © 1994; 480 pp; $34.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Theme for Diverse Instruments
Turkana Boy
Jane Rule
Jean-François Beauchemin
Jane Rule’s first collection of short stories.
Translated by Jessica Moore
“Jane Rule’s work compares very well with the best fiction being written anywhere.” – Globe and Mail “Rule weaves a delicate pattern … that culminates in a self-portrait which depicts a woman who has confronted sex, career, money, identity, etc., and emerged as a loving, honest person.” – Canadian Literature
In this contemplative novel-poem, we share in the inner world of a man grieving his lost young son. Through reference to the two-million-year-old remains of a boy unearthed in Kenya, Beauchemin addresses processes of memory and the long history of human evolution. “Beauchemin’s writing falls on us like mist, like sorrow, slowly, in the nightfall of things.” – Radio Basse-Ville
ISBN 978-0-88922-060-7 © 1975; 192 pp; 5th printing; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-690-6; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-708-8 © 2012; 144 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Thérèse and Pierrette and the Little Hanging Angel
White Pebbles in the Dark Forests Jovette Marchessault
Michel Tremblay
Translated by Yvonne M. Klein
Translatead by Sheila Fischman
The third novel in Marchessault’s autobiographical t rilogy: a reconciliation between women and men, children and parents, animals and humans.
In this second Plateau Mont-Royal novel, three schoolgirls live the mysteries of their rites of passage. “Includes some subtler melodies in counterpoint to the main theme of this symphonic masterpiece.” – Vancouver Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-198-7 © 1996; 256 pp; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
A Thing of Beauty Michel Tremblay Translated by Sheila Fischman A coda to his great Chronicles of the Plateau Mont-Royal cycle of novels. Tremblay creates, with grace and tenderness, a fictionalized account of the death of his own mother. “Sheila Fischman’s sensitive translation is wonderfully assured.” – Canadian Book Review Annual ISBN 978-0-88922-390-5 © 1998; 224 pp; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
“Rich in emotion in a series of visionary episodes.” – Books in Canada ISBN 978-0-88922-280-9 © 1990; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Wigrum Daniel Canty Translated by Oana Avasilchioaei In October 1944, Sebastian Wigrum absconds from his London flat. Very little is known about him, except his intense curiosity about the world and perhaps his disillusionment in love. The legacy of this man who lived to collect has left in his wake an inventory of some hundred objects, which shed light on the history of our time. Grafika Grand Prize Winner (Typography), 2012. ISBN 978-0-88922-778-1; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-779-8 © 2013; 200 pp; $14.95 CAN / $14.95 US
The Time Being
The World Afloat
Mary Meigs
Miniatures M.A.C. Farrant
An affair born of a correspondence with a d istant admirer leads the lovers to an arranged meeting in Australia. “The reader is left with an elaboration of the impulse towards, and the slow collapse of, a love affair … Meigs has also left us in the company of two unforgettable women.” – Montreal Review of Books ISBN 978-0-88922-374-5 © 1997; 160 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
In this stunning collection of 75 miniature stories, M.A.C. Farrant displays her mastery of the absurd in flashes of narrative that get to the point – through the back window. At once spirited and soothing, The World Afloat provides an antidote for the overstimulated and aging mind amidst a tumultuous, and at times alienating, 21st century terrain. City of Victoria Butler Book Prize Winner, 2014. ISBN 978-0-88922-838-2; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-839-9 © 2014; 112 pp; $12.95 CAN / $12.95 US
34 Talonbooks Drama Backlist
Abraham Lincoln Goes to the Theatre
Ali & Ali
Larry Tremblay
The Deportation Hearings Caymar Chai, Guillermo Verdecchia & Marcus Youssef
Translated by Chantal Bilodeau A theatre director draws inspiration from Lincoln’s assassination to stage the schizophrenia of America. Absurd, hilarious, and haunting, this play asks the questions: How can we ever know who we are, and what is true when the world we know is shifting beneath us? Cast of 3 men. “Explores the wellsprings of psychic and social violence.” – Canadian Encyclopedia ISBN 978-0-88922-649-4; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-815-3 © 2010; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The sequel to the hilarious Ali & Ali and the aXes of Evil, Youssef, Verdecchia, and Chai turn their idiosyncratic brand of post-identity satire to new global realities. “Razor-sharp timing in a play loaded with controversy. – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-782-8 / E-ISBN 978-0-88922-783-5 © 2013; 112 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Adrift
All Fall Down
Marcus Youssef
Wendy Lill
In this play inspired by the novel Adrift on the Nile, by Egyptian Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz, a group of urban Egyptian hipsters engages in debates about secularism and “fundamentalism” with tragic consequences.” Cast of 4 women and 6 men. “Adrift highlights the way we suffer the same losses over and over again, raining revenge on revenge. Our struggle, in essence, never changes.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-585-5 © 2008; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
A “Crucible-inspired” drama surrounding an inquiry into a doubtful molestation incident in a small-town daycare. Cast of 2 women and 2 men. Governor General’s Drama Award Finalist, 1994. “Lill’s masterful, soberingly intelligent play … goes beyond its surface subject – pedophilia.” – Theatrum ISBN 978-0-88922-336-3 © 1994; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
The Adventures of Ali & Ali and the aXes of Evil
All the Verdis of Venice
A Divertimento for Warlords Marcus Youssef, Guillermo Verdecchia & Camyar Chai
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
This hard-hitting and hilarious satire inverts the clichés that define the geopolitics of the Middle East. Cast of 4 men. “[A] clever, cutting cabaret act … that entertains as it tries to enlighten.” – Vancouver Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-516-9 © 2005; 128 pp; 4th printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Normand Chaurette Cast of 1 woman and 4 men. “Invites its audience to think about the nature of self and its socio-cultural construction, as well as the nature of fame, the role of cultural iconography, but doesn’t presuppose answers. The play is never didactic, and more enjoyable for it.” – Rain Taxi ISBN 978-0-88922-442-1 © 2000; 112 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Albertine in Five Times
alterNatives
A New Translation Michel Tremblay
Drew Hayden Taylor
Translated by Linda Gaboriau Tremblay presents the powerful story of one woman, Albertine, at five different times in her life. Together, the five Albertines provide a moving portrait of an extraordinary “ordinary” woman in this Chalmers Award–winning play. Cast of 6 women. “A remarkable play … The conception is brilliant.” – New Statesman
Native activists and environmentally concerned vegetarians are invited to a dinner party, where irreconcilable cultural differences clash over moose roast and vegetarian lasagna. Cast of 3 women and 3 men. “Drew Hayden Taylor has a deft touch for m ixing comedy and commentary in … social satire.” – Vancouver Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-428-5 © 2000; 144 pp; 8th printing; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-627-2 © 2009; 80 pp; 2nd printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Albertine in Five Times
Amigo’s Blue Guitar
Michel Tremblay
Joan MacLeod
Translated by John Van Burek & Bill Glassco
A college student’s life changes when he chooses to sponsor a Salvadoran refugee as a class project. Cast of 2 women and 3 men.
The powerful story of one woman, Albertine, at five different times in her life. Cast of 6 women. “The right play at the right time … A story of life, told by Tremblay with immense compassion.” – Toronto Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-234-2 © 1986; 80 pp; 7th printing; ; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Governor General’s Drama Award Winner, 1991. “Theatre of exceptional power … [A] subtle, often funny and ultimately m oving play.” – Macleans ISBN 978-0-88922-371-4 © 1990, 1997; 96 pp; 3rd printing $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
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Talonbooks Drama Backlist 35
And Slowly Beauty
The Baby Blues
Michel Nadeau
Drew Hayden Taylor
Translated by Maureen Labonté
A highly wrought farce of p atrimony in a stifling, politically correct, post-colonial milieu of “fancy dancers” of every stripe on the powwow trail. Cast of 3 women and 3 men.
Mr. Mann is a middle-aged businessman whose life consists of meetings, schedules, and an endless inbox of work. All of this changes after he attends a production of Chekhov’s Three Sisters. Having become obsessed with the story, Mann’s tightly constructed life begins to unravel. And Slowly Beauty is a drama that explores the way art can alter life.
“A rowdy and often moving journey off the highway and onto the dirt roads of m emory.” – NOW ISBN 978-0-88922-406-3 © 1999; 96 pp; 7th printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Finalist for the 2014 Governor General’s Literary Award for Translation, 2014. ISBN 978-0-88922-786-6; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-787-3 © 2013; 128 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
And So It Goes
Balconville
George F. Walker
David Fennario
The parents of schizophrenic Karen discover her life as a drug-addicted prostitute and its threats both real and invisible. Cast of 2 women and 2 men.
Canada’s first bilingual play set on the balconies of Montreal. Cast of 3 women and 6 men.
“Walker’s questions are, as always, more philosophical than political, and the answers are hidden far from sight in the dark corners and alleyways of the urban landscape … Oh – and did I mention it’s a comedy?” – Globe and Mail
Chalmers Canadian Play Award Winner, 1979. “Balconville is a work of genius. It’s angry, bitter, cruel, and funny.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-145-1; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-996-9 © 1980; 128 pp; 10th printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-654-8 © 2010; 128 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Another Country / bloom
Banana Boots
Guillermo Verdecchia
David Fennario
Two plays, one on Argentina’s Dirty War of 1976–1983, the other on hope flowering in the midst of destruction, constitute an unsparing interrogation of a world perpetually at war. Another Country: cast of 3 women and 2 men. bloom: Cast of 2 women and 4 men.
A one-man-show/memoir in which Fennario recounts, with astonishing insight and wit, the phenomenon of taking his famous bilingual play, Balconville, to Belfast on a British-Canadian cultural mission. Cast of 1 man.
“Verdecchia … know[s] how to modulate emotional tones beautifully … bloom is a poetic look at a world where hope must grow in sandy soil.” – NOW
“Fennario is, to put it lightly, a p henomenon.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-396-7 © 1998; 64 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-570-1 © 2007; 144 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Another Home Invasion
BASH’d
Joan MacLeod
A Gay Rap Opera Chris Craddock & Nathan Cuckow
In this perceptively poignant play, the word “another” conveys both its meanings – something commonplace and something entirely different; MacLeod questions who the real perpetrators are of the heartless betrayal against the elderly Jean and her ailing husband. Cast of 1 woman. Governor General’s Drama Award Finalist, 2009. “A startling commentary on aging and elder care.” – CBC ISBN 978-0-88922-622-7 © 2009; 64 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The angelic personae of a gay-bashing victim and his avenging lover enthrall audiences with the rap opera rhymes of their tragic tale. Cast of 2 men. GLAAD Media Award, Outstanding N.Y. Theater, 2007. “BASH’d shows its rage, its grief and its driven, heartfelt determination.” – New York Times ISBN 978-0-88922-656-2 © 2011; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Assorted Candies for the Theatre
Beating the Bushes
Michel Tremblay
Steven Bush
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
Steven Bush is on a mission to confront the skeletons in his family closet. Did his very own cousins occupy the White House? What can he, a distant relation of the “Bushes,” do to redeem the family name? This stand-up comedy, rant, political protest, and call to action is a brash theatrical tour de force. Cast of 1 man.
An exquisite remembrance of childhood past in Montreal’s Plateau Mont-Royal neighbourhood, adapted and re-crafted to the stage. Cast of 3 women and 4 men. “It’s vintage Tremblay (out-Prousting Proust), filled with primal privations and inspirations of awe, a family’s love and terrors … the whole enthralling works.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-572-5 © 2007; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $15.95 US
“This is less satire than entertaining polemic, leavened by memoir.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-647-0 © 2010; 160 pp; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
36 Talonbooks Drama Backlist
Les Belles Soeurs
Blue Box
Revised Edition Michel Tremblay
Carmen Aguirre
Translated by John Van Burek & Bill Glassco Raucous, reckless, and ribald, Les Belles Soeurs celebrates the working-class lives of a group of Montreal women. Cast of 15 women. “A tart but human satire on Canadian life and aspirations.” – Vancouver Sun
Interweaving recollections of her impassioned revolutionary life in Chile with her fleeting attempts to sustain a volatile romantic relationship in Los Angeles, Carmen Aguirre’s one-woman show Blue Box explores the tensions between love for the political cause and love for another. As ever, Aguirre is assertive, sexy, and political, sharing the sacrifices of her life with humour and courage. Cast of 1 woman.
ISBN 978-0-88922-302-8; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-809-2 © 1974, 1992; 112 pp; 11th printing $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-757-6 / E-ISBN 978-0-88922-758-3 © 2013; 64 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Benevolence
Boiler Room Suite
Morris Panych Full of excruciating twists of fate and malice, this dark comedy of “trading places” resonates with uncomfortable truths about how we see (or don’t see) the people we live with every day. Cast of 2 women and 3 men. “A lethal mixture of black humour and social observation. When it comes to sparkling, erudite, bitchy dialogue, Panych, as a playwright, has few equals.” – Toronto Sun
Rex Deverell The broken lives and the heroic struggle for joy of two “tramps” in a hotel boiler room. Cast of 1 woman and 2 men. Canadian Authors Association Drama Award Winner, 1978. “A beautiful tragicomic look at a couple of losers.” – NBC
ISBN 978-0-88922-584-8 © 2008; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-137-6 © 1978; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
The Berlin Blues
Bolsheviki
Drew Hayden Taylor
A Dead Serious Comedy David Fennario
Concluding Taylor’s Blues Quartet, German developers here show up on the “Otter Lake Reserve” proposing “OjibwayWorld,” a Native theme park designed to attract Europeans tourists to this destination resort. Cast of 3 women and 3 men. “This can be taken as a funny series of events. Those hoping for something deeper can find allegories and metaphors running through history.” – LA Splash ISBN 978-0-88922-581-7 © 2007; 96 pp; 5th printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
WWI veteran Rosie Rollins’s clattering, fast-paced recollection of life and death in the trenches debunks every sentimental notion of duty, heroism, and warfare. Cast of 1 man. “Bolsheviki is vintage Fennario, gritty, authentic, touching, replete with one-liners, never boring … making its radical-pacifist point while paying due respect to veterans.” – Montreal Gazette ISBN 978-0-88922-687-6; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-714-9 © 2012; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Bethune
Bonjour, Là, Bonjour
Second Edition Rod Langley
Revised Edition Michel Tremblay
Chronicles the life of Norman Bethune, a Canadian doctor who died a national hero in the Republic of China. In the 1930s, his socialist convictions took him to Spain, where he supported the resistance during the civil war, then to China, where he came to embody the “barefoot doctor” movement later upheld by Mao Zedong. Cast of 3 women and 6 men.
Translated by John Van Burek & Bill Glassco
ISBN 978-0-88922-858-0 © 1975, 2013; 128 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
A beloved brother returns to his family. Cast of 6 women and 2 men. “Theatre does not often touch the heart the way this succeeds in doing.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-252-6 © 1982, 1990; 92 pp; 3rd printing $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Billy Bishop Goes to War
The Book of Esther
Second Edition John MacLachlan Gray with Eric Peterson
Leanna Brodie
A memory play about war, Billy Bishop documents the glorious exploits of World War I flying ace Billy Bishop. In this second edition of the Canadian musical theatre classic, war remains a terrible thing, but some men say it was the greatest time of their lives. Cast of 2 men. “Thirty years on, Billy Bishop still soars.” – Globe & Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-689-0; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-716-3 © 1981, 2012; 128 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
With the help of a brash young hustler and a gay man who takes in street kids, 15-year-old runaway Esther confronts her conservative-Christian parents – farmers on the brink of financial ruin – and begins to find her way home. Cast of 2 women and 3 men. “The Book of Esther is filled with tenderness, heart, and humour. It is also an eloquent plea for understanding.” – Sky Gilbert ISBN 978-0-88922-682-1; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-710-1 © 2012; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Talonbooks Drama Backlist 37
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Bordertown Café
Les Canadiens
Kelly Rebar
Rick Salutin
Young Jimmy faces a dilemma: embrace the hero of American popular myth as embodied by his father, or engage the task of building a different identity, embodied by his mother “on the Canadian side of nowhere.” Cast of 2 women and 2 men.
Introduction by Ken Dryden
“[A] humorous, human, touching and r ecognizable look at one family’s search for individual identity.” – Hamilton Spectator ISBN 978-0-88922-477-3; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-937-2 © 2003; 128 pp; 3rd printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
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Drew Hayden Taylor
Hilarious drama ensues when a bedraggled troupe of players heads into the wilds of the Cariboo to perform a Christmas pageant. Set in the gold rush era, Cariboo Magi is an unabashed celebration of the power of theatre to renew our lives and banish our cares. Cast of 2 women and 2 men.
In The Boy in the Treehouse, Simon pursues a vision quest in an attempt to reclaim his mother’s First Nations heritage. Cast of 1 woman and 4 men. In Girl Who Loved Her Horses, a non-status girl finds people on the Reserve understand her remarkable talent and strong spirit more than those around her. Cast of 2 women and 3 men.
Lucia Frangione
“A beautifully written tribute to the strength of the human spirit.” – Vancouver Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-527-5 © 2005; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Burning Vision
Carmela’s Table
Marie Clements
Vittorio Rossi
Dene miners, radium painters, and people of Hiroshima labour under the false sun of uranium, which poisons their relationships to the earth and to each other. Cast of 5 women and 12 men.
Italian war veteran Silvio now lives in Montreal with his new family and his mother. Deeply traumatized by his wartime experiences, Silvio’s gradual unravelling ultimately threatens to destroy his family. Cast of 3 women and 2 men.
Governor General’s Drama Award Finalist, 2003.
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ISBN 978-0-88922-122-2 © 1977; 192 pp; 4th printing; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Cariboo Magi
Canada–Japan Literary Award Winner, 2004. e
Chalmers Canadian Play Award Winner, 1978. “An examination of the Canadiens has never been mastered so well.” – Montreal Gazette
The Boy in the Treehouse / Girl Who Loved Her Horses
ISBN 978-0-88922-441-4 © 2000; 160 pp; 6th printing; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
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A play that uses hockey and the “team to beat” as metaphors for the history of Quebec and Canada. Cast of 7 men.
“[A] brave new play that bombards the senses and fires up the mind.” – Globe and Mail
“Second time out, the volatile Rosato family still offers passion through familial drama.” – Variety.com ISBN 978-0-88922-594-7 © 2008; 128 pp; Photos; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-472-8; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-808-5 © 2003; 128 pp; 6th printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
The Buz’Gem Blues
The Carpenter
Drew Hayden Taylor
Vittorio Rossi
The third play in Taylor’s ongoing zany, often farcical examination of both Native and non-Native stereotypes in what is to become what he calls his “Blues Quartet.” Cast of 3 women and 3 men.
This heart-wrenching but beautifully cathartic story of a family coming to grips with itself unfolds with unmistakably poignant honesty. Cast of 4 women and 5 men.
“He skewers liberal and native stereotypes, preferring to deal on a more human level.” – Hamilton Examiner
“Rossi’s plays represent the heftiest addition to the Canadian dramatic canon since David French’s Mercer Cycle or George F. Walker’s East End Plays.” – CBC
ISBN 978-0-88922-462-9 © 2002; 128 pp; 3rd printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-609-8 © 2009; 128 pp; Photos; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Can You See Me Yet?
Chimera
Timothy Findley
Wendy Lill
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A search for sanctuary in an Ontario insane asylum in 1938. Cast of 7 women and 4 men.
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“Seems to me to be an astonishing work, richly textured, sombre, and yet possessing a relieving wit.” – Margaret Laurence
This compelling drama by a former parliamentary critic for persons with disabilities explores the ethical controversy and public policy surrounding reproductive technologies, particularly cross-species chimeras. Cast of 2 women and 5 men.
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ISBN 978-0-88922-119-2 © 1977; 176 pp; 2nd printing; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
“The play comes at a propitious time.”
– The Scientist
ISBN 978-0-88922-569-5; E-ISBN 978-0-89922-771-2 © 2007; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $15.95 US
38 Talonbooks Drama Backlist
Christina, The Girl King
Copper Thunderbird
Michel Marc Bouchard
Marie Clements
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
A multi-layered and visionary drama of a life wracked by both triumph and ordeal, based on the persona of famed Ojibway artist Norval Morrisseau. Cast of 5 women and 4 men.
Sweden’s Queen Christina seeks to make her country the most sophisticated in Europe. But her personal aspirations – and her unconventional sexuality – put her profoundly at odds with her culture’s expectations. Governor General’s Literary Award Finalist, 2013 (French drama). Governor General’s Literary Award Finalist, 2014 (Translation). ISBN 978-0-88922-898-6; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-899-3 © 2014, 96pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Governor General’s Drama Award Finalist, 2008. “Marie Clements … is building a powerful reputation for her innovative approaches to … theatre on aboriginal themes.” – Vancouver Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-568-8 © 2007; 84 pp; 2nd printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Cold Comfort
Corker
Jim Garrard
Wendy Lill
The third in Garrard’s quartet of “bondage” plays explores the complex relationships among three characters at the geographic centre of Canada. Cast of 1 woman and 2 men.
Corker uses the familiar but difficult and treacherous 19th-century device of representing the family as a microcosm of the nation state. Cast of 2 women and 4 men.
“A remarkable achievement … a solid and memorable show.” – Toronto Star “Sheer genius!”
– Arts National, CBC Radio
ISBN 978-0-88922-201-4 © 1982; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Governor General’s Drama Award Finalist, 1999. “Tough, compassionate and surprisingly funny.” – Sunday Daily News ISBN 978-0-88922-394-3 © 1998; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Colours in the Dark
The Coronation Voyage
James Reaney
Michel Marc Bouchard
A theatrical portrayal of the mosaic of experiences that form a childhood. Cast of 2 women, 2 men, 1 girl, and 1 boy.
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
“Both funny and touching … intriguingly original in its conception.” – Quill & Quire ISBN 978-0-88922-001-0 © 1969; 136 pp; 5th printing; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Will a Montreal Mafioso sacrifice his young son for safe conduct to England? Cast of 6 women and 8 men. “Tackles the themes of sacrifice and forgiveness, the interpretation of history, the lost (i.e., sacrificed) generation, innocence, family and love.” – La Presse “Brilliant, artful, satirical.”
– CBC Radio
ISBN 978-0-88922-422-3 © 1999; 128 pp; 3rd printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
The Concise Köchel
Crabdance
Normand Chaurette
Beverley Simons
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
A woman forces the men in her life into assuming the stereotypical privatized roles of husband, lover, father, and son. Cast of 1 woman and 3 men.
A lifetime’s devotion to the music of Mozart c onceals a gruesome secret. Cast of 4 women. “The situation and dialogue are intriguing … The play may be difficult, but Chaurette’s unnerving climax should lead to heated and extended discussions in the lobby after the play is over.” – Stage Directions
“An unusual and searing play about a woman caught in a cage of frustration and neglect.” – Vancouver Sun “One of the most theatrical contemporary plays that I have ever read.” – Malcolm Black
ISBN 978-0-88922-518-3 © 2005; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-016-4 © 1972; 128 pp; 7th printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Consecrated Ground
Cruel Tears
George Boyd
Ken Mitchell
In 1965, Africville, Canada’s largest and oldest black community was razed. What was lost to the politicians of Halifax was an inconvenience, an eyesore. What was lost to the people whose roots ran deep through the community was an entire way of life. Cast of 3 women and 4 men.
An innovative “country opera” set in Saskatoon, with a captivating parallel to Shakespeare’s Othello. Cast of 5 women, 10 men, and a band. “A unique and astonishing dramatic event.” – Calgary Herald
Governor General’s Drama Award Finalist, 2000.
“A brilliantly original theatre piece.”
“Consecrated Ground is the heir of fierce, vengeful, and epic activism.” – George Elliott Clarke ISBN 978-0-88922-666-1 © 1999, 2011; 96 pp; 3rd printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
– Montreal Star
ISBN 978-0-88922-120-8 © 1977; 160 pp; 9th printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Talonbooks Drama Backlist 39
Cul-de-sac
Dead White Writer on the Floor
Daniel MacIvor
Drew Hayden Taylor
Introduction by Daniel Brooks
A funny yet thought-provoking play about identity politics in which Pocahontas, Tonto, and other First Nations characters rewrite their stereotyped roles. Cast of 1 woman and 5 men.
Through this dazzling one-man show we understand that everyone’s story inevitably reflects the preconceptions they bring to its telling. Cast of 1 man. Siminovitch Prize in Theatre Finalist, 2005. Governor General’s Drama Award Finalist, 2005.
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“Wickedly funny.”
– National Post
ISBN 978-0-88922-515-2; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-807-8 © 2005; 80 pp; 3rd printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-663-0 © 2011; 112 pp; 3rd printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Cyrano de Bergerac
The Death of René Lévesque
Edmond Rostand
David Fennario
Translated by John Murrell
An astonishingly profound and prophetic political drama that delivers the powerful and cathartic s tillbirth of a nation, stripped of both pity and fear. Cast of 2 women and 4 men.
An epic and heroic tale that has enchanted generations, in an English prose translation that is eminently readable and stageable. Cast of 5 women, 12 men, and many minor characters.
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“[Cyrano de Bergerac is a] brilliant … unforgettable … impressive achievement.” – Edmonton Journal
ISBN 978-0-88922-480-3 © 2003; 72 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Damnée Manon, Sacrée Sandra
Democracy
Michel Tremblay
John Murrell
Translated by John Van Burek
In the midst of the American Civil War, Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo Emerson discuss the past, the future, life, love and what it means to be human. Cast of 4 men.
“One of the best plays of Michel Tremblay.” – Fugues e
“When a final analysis is made of 20th-century Canadian theatre, the most s ignificant political playwright will undoubtedly be David Fennario.” – CBRA
ISBN 978-0-88922-835-1; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-834-4 © 1995; 160 pp; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Two interweaving monologues on the sacred and the profane. Cast of 1 woman and 1 man.
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“Abstract theatre is not generally associated with comedy … but judging by the laughter issuing from the packed house at Magnus’ opening night of the show, it is also dropdead hilarious.” – The Argus
“A hauntingly powerful evening of theatre.” – Vancouver Express
Alberta Writers’ Guild Prize Winner for Drama. “Even the simplest lines have a quiet e loquence … soft explosions of the heart.” – Quill & Quire
ISBN 978-0-88922-184-0 © 1981; 48 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
ISBN 978-0-921368-28-1 © 1991; 64 pp; $10.95 CAN / $10.95 US
Dancock’s Dance
Diplomacy
Guy Vanderhaeghe
Tim Carlson
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Shell-shocked, judged unfit for society, and haunted by the sins of war, Lieutenant John Carlyle Dancock finds himself committed to an insane asylum where he cannot escape the confines of righteous authority or his own conscience. Cast of 1 woman and 5 men.
Nominally about North American military involvement in Middle East wars, this graphic, conflict-fuelled drama scrutinizes the part the media plays in manufacturing our private reactions to foreign policy. Cast of 1 woman and 3 men.
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“Highly imaginative, vividly written play …” – Saskatoon Star Phoenix
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“It’s a rare thing – the well-argued blast of political outrage.” – Globe and Mail
ISBN 978-0-88922-533-6 © 1996, 2005; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $14.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-611-1 © 2009; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Dead Metaphor
The Dishwashers
George F. Walker
Morris Panych
Dead Metaphor includes three new darkly comic plays by George F. Walker, each addressing in different ways a modern world of ambiguous morals and corruption: Dead Metaphor; The Burden of Self Awareness; and The Ravine.
Haplessly determined to have his own miserable authority vindicated, chief dishwasher Dressler presides over the steam-choked basement of an upscale restaurant, tyrannizing his co-workers with his rants of pride of craft and Marxist rhetoric. Cast of 3 men.
Praise for The Ravine: “a gritty, dark comedy … Brimming with timely political commentary” – Today Magazine ISBN 978-0-88922-928-0; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-929-7 © 2015; 208 pp; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
“Funny, sad, strange and uplifting, sometimes in the same breath.” – Vancouver Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-524-4 © 2005; 132 pp; 2nd printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
40 Talonbooks Drama Backlist
Divinity Bash / nine lives
The Dunsmuirs
Bryden MacDonald
Alone at the Edge Rod Langley
Bryden MacDonald’s most extreme venture into the world of the theatre to date: a play in which everything, and therefore n othing, is sacred. Cast of 3 women, 5 men and 1 transgendered person. “A carnivalesque expression of contemporary zeitgeist.”
– CBC
The first play in this saga of one of Canada’s wealthiest and most ruthless families. Cast of 2 women and 6 men. “The story of the Dunsmuirs is a hell of a tale that’s got everything.” – Victoria Times-Colonist
ISBN 978-0-88922-408-7 © 1999; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-297-7 © 1991; 104 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Doctor Thomas Neill Cream
The Dunsmuirs
(Mystery at McGill) David Fennario
A Promise Kept Rod Langley
In 1876, Jack the Ripper, a.k.a. Canadian Dr. Cream, graduated from McGill’s Faculty of Medicine. Cast of 4 women and 6 men.
A dark family secret emerges in this second play about the wealthy and ill-fated Dunsmuir family. Cast of 3 women and 6 men.
Arthur Ellis Award Nominee, 1994. “Fennario’s in-your-face irreverence [is] ferociously funny.” – U of T Quarterly
“The writing is tight and lively.” – Victoria Times-Colonist ISBN 978-0-88922-304-2 © 1992; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-332-5 © 1994; 112 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Down Dangerous Passes Road
Earshot
Michel Marc Bouchard
Morris Panych
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
Doyle has a very funny problem: he hears too much. He can hear the most intimate details of the lives of everyone living in his apartment building. He blames his hyper-sensitive condition on a physical abnormality, but we’re not so certain. Cast of 1 man.
Fifteen years after the death of their father, three b rothers get together and drive out to the place where it happened: an old fishing spot on the river down Dangerous Passes Road. Cast of 3 men. Governor General’s Translation Award Finalist, 2000. ISBN 978-0-88922-440-7 © 2000; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
“A superbly mounted Panych attack.”
The Driving Force
The East End Plays
Michel Tremblay
Part 1 George F. Walker
Translated by Linda Gaboriau The stormy and angst-filled relationship between Claude and his father, Alex, is compellingly played out with cruel and disconsolate irony in an Alzheimer’s ward. Cast of 2 men. “The text is as severe, intense and implacable as the reality of each character.” – CBC Radio-Canada ISBN 978-0-88922-530-5; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-820-7 © 2005; 64 pp; 2nd printing; $15.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Contains the Governor General’s Award–winning Criminals in Love (1984), Better Living (1986), and Escape from Happiness (1987). With an introduction by Jerry Wasserman. “One of theatre’s most important voices.”
The East End Plays
Michel Tremblay
Part 2 George F. Walker
A collection of five short plays by Quebec’s best-known playwright: La Duchesse de Langeais; Berthe; Johnny Mangano and His Astonishing Dogs; Surprise, Surprise; and Gloria Star. “The plight of the Duchesse mirrors the plight of a society.” – Canadian Literature ISBN 978-0-88922-104-8 © 1976; 128 pp; 2nd printing; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
– Macleans
ISBN 978-0-88922-413-1 © 1999; 256 pp; 4th printing; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
La Duchesse de Langeais & Other Plays Translated by John Van Burek
– National Post
ISBN 978-0-88922-444-5 © 2001; 64 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Three plays exploring characters living in extremity include Beautiful City (1987), Love and Anger (1989), and Tough! (1993). “Walker writes with unprecedented d irectness … [His] characters think and feel out loud in a perpetual present-tense fever because life, and often more, is on the line.” – Village Voice ISBN 978-0-88922-404-9 © 1999; 208 pp; 5th printing; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Talonbooks Drama Backlist 41
The Ecstasy of Rita Joe
Esker Mike and His Wife, Agiluk
George Ryga
Herschel Hardin
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A lyric documentary about a young Native girl who comes to the city only to die on Skid Row. Cast of 5 women and 15 men. Celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2017.
A classic tragedy about Inuit life and how it is a ffected by white settlers, priests, and g overnment officials. Cast of 6 women and 9 men.
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“Scenes of shattering impact … and passages of a purity and intensity that catch you off guard and keep you there.” – Washington Post “It was – and remains – a play for all seasons and for all peoples.” – Vancouver Province
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ISBN 978-0-88922-018-8 © 1973; 96 pp; 4th printing; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
The Edward Curtis Project
Espresso
A Modern Picture Story Marie Clements & Rita Leistner
Lucia Frangione
Marie Clements’s play dramatizes the creation of Edward Curtis’s 20-volume photographic and ethnographic record of the “vanishing” North American Indian. It is presented here alongside Rita Leistner’s parallel investigation of Curtis’s work, which questions the practice of documentary photography with the very medium under scrutiny. Features more than 100 colour photographs. Cast of 2 women and 2 men.
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“Espresso is a high-quality blend of bitter, dark comedy and subtle literary complexities that packs a strong punch.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-495-7 © 2004; 96 pp; 2nd printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Execution
Michel Tremblay
Marie-Claire Blais
Translated by Allan Van Meer
Translated by David Lobdell
The life of a working-class family on “The Main” in East End Montreal. Cast of 4 women and 2 men.
Two school boys plot and enact the m urder of a classmate. Cast of 3 women and 17 men.
“Tremblay courageously insists on the relevance and dilemma of neo-colonial French Canada.” – Books in Canada
“A brilliant play about the maturation of evil.” – CHQM ISBN 978-0-88922-103-1 © 1976; 104 pp; 3rd printing; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
The Ends of the Earth
The Fairies Are Thirsty
Morris Panych
Denise Boucher
Panych’s brilliant tale reminds us all that fear can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Cast of 2 women and 3 men. Governor General’s Drama Award Winner, 1994. “Panych’s witty script is full of laughs and packed with action.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-334-9 © 1993; 144 pp; 2nd printing; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
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Sexy, provocative, and challenging, Espresso inverts the Catholic stereotypes of feminine sexuality to boldly examine their corresponding masculine sexual emblems of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Cast of 1 woman and 1 man.
En Pièces Détachées
ISBN 978-0-88922-092-8 © 1975; 112 pp; 2nd printing; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
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“The play presents the different Eskimo attitude to human life and hence to human relationships.” – Canadian Literature
ISBN 978-0-88922-000-3 © 1970; 128 pp; 28th printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-642-5 © 2010; 160 pp; Colour photos; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
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“A fascinating, moving, and ultimately a very b eautiful play.” – CBC
Translated by Alan Brown Three women – a housewife, a whore, and the Virgin Mary – fight to break out of the stereotypes in which they have been imprisoned for years. Cast of 3 women. “A powerful script and an important play.” – Montreal Gazette ISBN 978-0-88922-200-7 © 1982; 64 pp; 4th printing; $15.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Ernestine Shuswap Gets Her Trout
The Faraway Nearby
Tomson Highway
John Murrell
Based on the signing of the Laurier Memorial, this play is a ritualized retelling of how the Native peoples of British Columbia lost their land, rights, and language – in one of the most tragic cases of cultural genocide to emerge from the history of colonialism. Cast of 4 women.
Georgia O’Keeffe resigns herself to an old age spent alone in the auburn and tawny light of her beloved Faraway mountains, in the desert’s dangerous energies and its desolate beauty, until a stranger enters her life. Cast of 1 woman and 1 man.
“The play is both laugh-out-loud funny and a precarious high-wire act.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-525-1 © 2005; 96 pp; 6th printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
“The writing is John Murrell at the top of his form, which is very high indeed. Tremendous stuff.” – CBC Radio ISBN 978-0-921368-56-4 © 1995; 64 pp; $10.95 CAN / $7.95 US
42 Talonbooks Drama Backlist
Fifteen Miles of Broken Glass
Forever Yours, Marie-Lou
Tom Hendry
Michel Tremblay
Set in Winnipeg in 1945, this CBC-commissioned work looks at postwar Canada through the eyes of a kid just out of high school. “There I was just out of high school, all eager for the future, and there was the road to the future stretching out in front of me like 15 miles of broken glass.” Cast of 2 women and 9 men.
Translated by John Van Burek & Bill Glassco
“Defines a uniquely Canadian experience that expands to the universal.” – Kootenay Reporter ISBN 978-0-88922-096-6 © 1975; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
15 Seconds
Raw and brutal, Tremblay’s penetrating analysis of a Quebec family unit remains one of the great plays of this country’s dramatic literature. Cast of 3 women and 1 man. “Brilliantly insightful, uncompromising drama.” – Detroit News “One of Tremblay’s infinitely hot and dense family dramas.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-349-3 © 1975, 1994; 80 pp; 7th printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
400 Kilometres
François Archambault
Drew Hayden Taylor
Translated by Bobby Theodore
The third play in Taylor’s hilarious and heart-wrenching identity-politics trilogy. Janice Wirth, an urban professional who has discovered her roots as the Ojibway orphan Grace Wabung, is pregnant and must come to grips with the question of her true identity. Cast of 3 women and 2 men.
A young female advertising copywriter, her sports-fan ex-boyfriend, a Gen-X welfare-bum loser and his brother with cerebral palsy. Cast of 1 woman and 3 men. Governor General’s Translation Award Finalist, 2000. “Funny, thought-provoking, poignant, and often dark …” – CBRA ISBN 978-0-88922-427-8 © 2000; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
The Fighting Days Wendy Lill The polarities of public and private lives, and issues of racism and pacifism in the suffragette movement. Cast of 3 women and 1 man. “An unusually insightful investigation of social conscience.” – Arts Manitoba ISBN 978-0-88922-226-7 © 1985; 96 pp; 4th printing; $15.95 CAN / $13.95 US
“Sharply written … Warm and funny.” – Halifax Daily News ISBN 978-0-88922-517-6 © 2005; 128 pp; 3rd printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Fragments of a Farewell Letter Read by Geologists Normand Chaurette Translated by Linda Gaboriau A dramatized inquiry in which five geologists are interrogated on the death of one of their c olleagues in the Mekong Delta. Cast of 1 woman and 6 men. ISBN 978-0-88922-400-1 © 1998; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
For Home and Country
Fronteras Americanas
Leanna Brodie
American Borders Guillermo Verdecchia
The rise of an urban and radicalized feminist agenda in the latter part of the 20th century leads to a head-on collision with its much more conservative, rural roots in the Women’s Institute, founded in 1897. Cast of 16 women and 3 men. “The play’s generosity of spirit equals that of the Women’s Institutes that are its subject.” – Ric Knowles ISBN 978-0-88922-508-4 © 2004; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
One man’s struggle to find a home between two c ultures, exploding the images and constructs built up around Latinos and Latin America. Cast of 1 man. Governor General’s Drama Award Winner, 1993. “Outrageous, funny, devastatingly witty.”
For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again
Fronteras Americanas
Michel Tremblay
American Borders Second Edition Guillermo Verdecchia
Translated by Linda Gaboriau Tremblay offers glimpses of h imself and his mother at five different stages of their lives together. Cast of 1 woman and 1 man. “In Quebec, a new Tremblay play is like a fresh tablet from Moses.” – Montreal Gazette ISBN 978-0-88922-389-9 © 1998; 96 pp; 4th printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
– CBC
ISBN 978-0-88922-383-7 © 1993; 1997; 80 pp; 8th printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Fuelled by equal parts outrage, intelligence, and wit, Fronteras Americanas revisits one man’s struggle to construct a home between two cultures, while exploding the images and constructs built up around Latinos and Latin America. Verdecchia twirls stereotypes and clichés, updates comparative histories, examines myths and mysticism, and provides lessons in language and dancing. Cast of 1 man. ISBN 978-0-88922-705-7; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-727-9 © 2012; 80 pp; 2nd printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
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Talonbooks Drama Backlist 43
George Ryga
Goodnight Disgrace
The Other Plays
Michael Mercer
Edited by James Hoffman “Hoffman provides an effective and multifaceted description for the student seeking a quick understanding of Ryga’s stature as a playwright.” – Canadian Literature ISBN 978-0-88922-500-8 © 2004; 416 pp; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
From his wheelchair in a nursing home, Conrad Aiken recalls his long, stormy r elations with Malcolm Lowry. Cast of 3 women and 4 men. “Knocked out by the richness of its language.” – Vancouver Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-238-0 © 1986; 120 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
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Gideon’s Blues
Gordon
George Boyd
Morris Panych
The profound humanity of Boyd’s characters reminds us that while neither drug abuse nor the breakdown of the traditional family is exclusive to the black community, racism accelerates their destructive effects in ghastly measures. Cast of 3 women and 4 men.
Gordon and his former cellmate, Carl, break into Gordon’s family home, wherein they confront some very disturbing metaphors. Cast of 1 woman and 3 men.
“Boyd’s writing is muscular, vigorous, and commanding.” – Globe and Mail
“A beautifully dark and chillingly funny exploration of … the implications of bringing children into this world.” – Segal Centre for the Performing Arts
ISBN 978-0-88922-496-4 © 2004; 144 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-664-7; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-817-7 © 2011; 128 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Girl in the Goldfish Bowl
The Great Wave of Civilization
Morris Panych
Herschel Hardin
It’s into the goldfish bowl of a dysfunctional f amily that the audience peers with acute recognition, h ysterical laughter, and an overwhelming sense of the creative healing power of the imagination. Cast of 3 women and 2 men.
The Great Wave of Civilization is about the destruction of the people of the Blackfoot Confederacy by the 19thcentury liquor trade in Montana and Alberta. Little Dog of the Northern Blackfoot tribe vs. Snookum Jim, free trader, I.G. Baker, merchant prince of Fort Benton, and the rest of the “great wave of civilization.” Cast of 5 women and 13 men.
Governor General’s Drama Award Winner, 2004. “An uncommon, quirky blend of humour and compassion.” – National Post
“A fable of genocide with conscience-raising fervour.” – Books in Canada
ISBN 978-0-88922-481-0 © 2003; 128 pp; 4th printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-106-2 © 1976; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
The Glace Bay Miners’ Museum
The Gull
A Stage Play Based on the Novel by Sheldon Currie Wendy Lill
Daphne Marlatt
A story of the ill-fated love between a wandering musician social-idealist and a Cape Breton coal miner’s daughter. Cast of 2 women and 3 men. Governor General’s Drama Award Finalist, 1996.
With a Japanese translation by Toyoshi Yoshihara Performed in classical Noh style, The Gull, set in the aftermath of wartime Japanese-Canadian internment, dramatizes the historical link between the fishing village of Steveston, BC, and the coastal village of Mio, Japan. Cast of 1 woman, 4 men, and a chorus. Uchimura Naoya Prize Winner, 2008.
CBC
“A tender, romantic triumph over the genre.” – Eye Weekly
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ISBN 978-0-88922-369-1 © 1996; 128 pp; 8th printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-616-6 © 2009; 128 pp; Bilingual Japanese/English edition; Photos $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
God and the Indian
Halo
Drew Hayden Taylor
Josh MacDonald
While panhandling outside a coffee shop, Johnny, a Cree woman, is shocked to see a face she recognizes from her childhood, which was spent in a Native American boarding school. Desperate to hear him acknowledge what happened to her and other children at the school, Johnny follows Anglican Assistant Bishop George King to his office to confront him. Cast of 1 woman and 1 man.
When an image of Jesus appears on the wall of a Tim Hortons restaurant, the town inhabitants are challenged to ask difficult questions about faith, life, and love. Cast of 3 women and 4 men.
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“A respectful treatment of one of the most painful chapters in Canadian history.” – Georgia Straight ISBN 978-0-88922-844-3; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-840-5 © 2014; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Merritt Theatre Award Nominee for Best Play, 2004. “Halo successfully melds faith, drama and humour … very funny and quite moving.” – Halifax Daily News ISBN 978-0-88922-469-8 © 2002; 128 pp; 5th printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
44 Talonbooks Drama Backlist
Heaven
Hosanna
George F. Walker
Third Edition Michel Tremblay
Instantly recognizable multicultural characters play out their coincidental relationships in a park on the outskirts of a city. Cast of 2 women and 4 men. “Leavened with Walker’s dizzying sense of humour. It is also shot through with hot anger at an uncaring society and with compassion for the disenfranchised and the spiritually maimed.” – Toronto Star ISBN 978-0-88922-429-2; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-806-1 © 2000; 144 pp; 2nd printing; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Translated by John Van Burek & Bill Glassco Claude’s illusions about himself are shattered when, painstakingly remade as his idol Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra, he arrives at a party themed on “great women of history” and is mocked for his glamorous aspirations. Written during the tumult of Quebec’s Quiet Revolution, Tremblay’s political allegory about the authenticity of self resonates ever more so today. Cast of 2 men. ISBN 978-0-88922-831-3; E_ISBN 978-0-88922-832-0 © 1984, 1991, 2013; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Hellfire Pass
The Impromptu of Outremont
A Carpenter’s Trilogy, A Chronicle in Three Plays, Part I Vittorio Rossi
Michel Tremblay
Silvio Rosato shows up at the house of his estranged father and meets the family he raised in Chicago after leaving Silvio in Italy 36 years ago. Cast of 3 women and 4 men. 2006 Montreal English Critics’ Circle Award, Winner 2006. “A powerful, memorable drama.”
Translated by John Van Burek Three sisters have an “impromptu” and re-examine their personal and social problems. Cast of 4 women. “A clear delineation of the problems faced by any colonial culture.” – Vancouver Province ISBN 978-0-88922-185-7 © 1981; 96 pp; 3rd printing; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
– Variety
ISBN 978-0-88922-564-0 © 2007; 128 pp; Photos; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Heretic
Impromptu on Nuns’ Island
John Murphy
Michel Tremblay
“If there is a God, why would He create us? If He’s perfect, all-knowing, there’s nothing he can gain from us.” Murphy’s play, centred around the playwright’s assumed persona of “Jesus Murphy,” opens up a discourse where creation interrogates religion, atheists engage believers, and secularists confront theists. Cast of 1 man. “A scary, brave and ferocious attack on Judeo-Christian religion and its doctrines.” – CBC ISBN 978-0-88922-595-4 © 2008; 64 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Homechild
Translated by Linda Gaboriau In an impromptu get-together in an opera diva’s Nuns’ Island penthouse, on the afternoon of her return from Paris, her celebrity mother and her idealistic daughter lie in wait for her. Cast of 3 women and 1 man. Governor General’s Translation Award Finalist, 2002. ISBN 978-0-88922-470-4 © 2002; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
In a World Created by a Drunken God
Joan MacLeod
Drew Hayden Taylor
Between 1860 and 1930, more than 80,000 unaccompanied British children were “exported” to Canadian factories and farms, often exploited there as indentured child labourers. Cast of 5 women and 3 men.
This play by one of Canada’s best-loved Native playwrights raises powerful questions that transcend issues of culture, race, and history, cutting to the ethical quick of what it means to be human in a chaotic world stripped of the comfortable security of identity politics. Cast of 2 men.
“MacLeod has written a moving story of huge implications – what family, identity and personal history mean.” – CBC ISBN 978-0-88922-582-4 © 2008; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Governor General’s Drama Award Finalist, 2006. ISBN 978-0-88922-537-4 © 2006; 128 pp; 3rd printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
The Hope Slide / Little Sister
In Absentia
Joan MacLeod
Morris Panych
In The Hope Slide, natural disaster becomes a metaphor for the AIDS crisis. Winner of a 1993 Chalmers Canadian Play Award. Cast of 1 woman.
Four seasons after her husband Tom’s disappearance, Colette remains emotionally paralyzed, isolated in a country cottage. She waits in anguish, not knowing whether he is dead or alive, but clinging to hope. Part mystery, part moving story of vanished love, In Absentia explores the notion of disappearance, articulated in very personal terms. Cast of 2 women and 3 men.
Little Sister, MacLeod’s first script for young audiences, tackles the issues of self-image, weight preoccupation and eating disorders. Cast of 3 women and 2 men. “A passionate and rich examination of the human condition’s precariousness.” – Victoria Times-Colonist ISBN 978-0-88922-411-7 © 1999; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-702-6; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-726-2 © 2012; 128 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Talonbooks Drama Backlist 45
In Piazza San Domenico
David French
This comedy of misunderstandings that takes place in bustling 1952 Naples recounts how one broken engagement ripples throughout friends and family, affecting each of their lives in different ways. Cast of 4 women and 4 men.
This sophisticated backstage comedy opens on the night of a preview of a new play. Within minutes, the audience is plunged into the world of the theatre, a world of loves and hates, easily bruised egos, contradictory interpretations of role and script – all complicated by crises and all magnified by opening night “jitters.” Cast of 3 women and 6 men.
“Three cheers for light-hearted entertainment! Billed as a romantic comedy inspired by Feydeau, Goldoni, and Sophia Loren, it bears the mark of all three, with a dash of trademark Galluccio.” – Montreal Gazette
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Jitters
Steve Galluccio
“Jitters is witty, affectionate, bitchy; bitterly touching.” – Toronto Star
ISBN 978-0-88922-674-6; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-733-0 © 2011; 128 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-242-7 © 1980, 1986; 176 pp; 5th printing; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
In the Eyes of God
Joe Beef
Raul Sanchez Inglis
David Fennario
A vicious and unsparing look at the talent agencies that remake the Hollywood stars out of the willing clay of their own flesh. Cast of 3 women and 4 men.
Desperately poor immigrants find refuge in Montreal’s legendary barkeep, Joe Beef. Cast of 5 women and 5 men.
“[This] terrific play … is one of the most vicious exposes of Hollywood venality, misogyny, and the social Darwinism that drives the star-making machinery that you’ll ever see.” – Vancouver Province ISBN 978-0-88922-561-9 © 2007; 144 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
The United Steel Workers’ Union Pauline Julien Prize Winner, 1987. “An evening of political theatre with both guts and skill is a rare commodity these days.” – Montreal Gazette ISBN 978-0-88922-291-5 © 1991; 104 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
In the Eyes of Stone Dogs
King of Thieves
Daniel Danis
George F. Walker
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
New York City, 1928. Master-thief Mac is coerced into joining an FBI sting operation against a cadre of corrupt financiers. Music, murder, and mayhem ensue, both at the speakeasy where criminals scheme and on Wall Street where bankers conspire. This trenchantly satirical play exposes the world of corporate crime and, like John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera which inspired it, examines criminal behaviour at all levels of society. Cast of 5 women and 10 men.
Before fleeing her eccentric island community, Djouke is determined to discover the mystery of her paternity. Cast of 4 women and 5 men. “A skillful blend of lyricism and cruelty, of the tragic and the poetic.” – Voir “Strange, haunting, and unforgettable.” – Stage Directions ISBN 978-0-88922-519-0 © 2005; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-755-2 / E-ISBN 978-0-88922-756-9 © 2013; 128 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Jacob’s Wake
The Lady Smith
Michael Cook
Andrew Moodie
A Maritime family’s tragedy, set in a raging storm. Cast of 2 women and 5 men.
Rather than confront her husband when she sees him with another woman, a blues singer follows the woman and insinuates herself into the other woman’s life. Cast of 3 women and 1 man.
“A powerful play, deeply rooted in its regional context, but universal enough to appeal to an audience anywhere.” – Canadian Literature ISBN 978-0-88922-097-3 © 1975; 144 pp; 6th printing; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
“No question, playwright Andrew Moodie has a gift for naturalism.” – Toronto Star “Amusingly inventive.”
– Globe and Mail
ISBN 978-1-55331-002-0 © 2000; 72 pp; $14.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Je me souviens
Lawrence & Holloman
Lorena Gale
Morris Panych
In this powerful dramatic monologue, Lorena Gale reconstructs for the audience her childhood and the experience of coming of age as an African Canadian in Montreal. Cast of 1 woman.
Lawrence and Holloman, a hapless nerd and a loquacious salesman, meet by chance. From this fleetingly irritating and insignificant encounter comes a viciously murderous and incredulously bizarre plot. Cast of 2 men.
Governor General’s Drama Award Finalist, 2002. “[This] intimate monologue is funny, feisty, h eartfelt.” – Calgary Herald ISBN 978-0-88922-453-7 © 2001; 96 pp; 4th printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
“Lawrence & Holloman is slick stuff indeed.” – Toronto Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-392-9 © 1998; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
46 Talonbooks Drama Backlist
Leave of Absence
Listen to the Wind
Lucia Frangione
James Reaney
A small prairie community is blown apart when an audacious teenaged girl challenges long-held views of spirituality and sexuality. Suspected of being gay, she is tormented by her classmates. At the centre of this searing drama of bigotry and transcendence is the brutal dehumanization of the other – of both the bully and the victim. Cast of 3 women and 2 men.
Two stories intertwine and illuminate the relationship of life to its creative dream. Cast of 4 women, 4 men, 1 girl, and 1 boy. “Keeps reminding us that the way through our world of sickness and breakdown is play.” – Profiles in Canadian Drama ISBN 978-0-88922-002-7 © 1972; 144 pp; 4th printing; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-753-8 / E-ISBN 978-0-88922-754-5 © 2013; 128 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Legoland
Local Boy Makes Good
Jacob Richmond
John MacLachlan Gray
When Mom and Dad are busted for growing pot, Penny and Ezra Lamb embark on the wild road trip that comprises this vaudeville-inspired one-act play. Cast of 1 woman and 1 man.
Three musicals by John Gray: 18 Wheels, Rock and Roll, and Don Messer’s Jubilee.
“Legoland is like a variety show version of South Park.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-610-4 © 2009; 72 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Canadian Authors Association Drama Award Winner, 1988 (Rock and Roll). “John Gray is the most original artist working in the musical theatre in this country.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-248-9 © 1987; 208 pp; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
The Leisure Society
Lost Souls and Missing Persons
François Archambault
Sally Clark
Translated by Bobby Theodore
A comic, biting, surreal investigation of the q uestion of self and identity in the North American middle class. Cast of 9 women and 11 men.
A dark and thoroughly contemporary comedy. Cast of 2 women and 2 men. “A vicious, erotically charged spectacle full of cynical disdain and gripping pathos.” – Montreal Gazette “A dark, twisted, and brilliant take on modern marriage.” – Calgary Sun
“Essentially a serious story told in a t remendously comical way.” – Jerry Wasserman, CBC ISBN 978-0-88922-397-4 © 1998; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-531-2 © 2005; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Life Without Instruction
Ludwig & Mae
Sally Clark
Louis Patrick Leroux
A woman’s struggle for freedom, identity, and dignity. Cast of 3 women and 5 men. “Sally Clark’s great talents as a playwright are her seemingly effortless ability to shift from light to dark and her finely tuned understanding of life’s rich ambiguities.” – Toronto Star ISBN 978-0-88922-347-9 © 1994; 168 pp; Photos; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Translated by Shelley Tepperman & Ellen Warkentin Three plays include Embedded, which establishes Ludwig and Mae’s Strindbergian relationship; Apocalypse, a monodrama in which Ludwig stages his own suicidal ceremonial; and Redemption, Mae’s testimonial, where she finally comes into her own. Cast of 1 woman and 1 man. “Audacious avant-garde spectacles.”
– Jane Moss
ISBN 978-0-88922-623-4 © 2009; 224 pp; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
A Line in the Sand
The Madonna Painter
Guillermo Verdecchia & Marcus Youssef
Michel Marc Bouchard
A young Palestinian is befriended, then tortured and murdered by Canadian soldiers during Operation Desert Storm. Cast of 3 to 5 men. Chalmers Canadian Play Award Winner, 1997. “[A] powerful story.”
– CBRA
ISBN 978-0-88922-375-2 © 1997; 128 pp; 2nd printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Translated by Linda Gaboriau To protect his village from the Spanish flu epidemic, a young Quebec priest commissions a church fresco of the Virgin Mary by a wandering Italian painter. The presence of the foreign artist, his choice of a local virgin to serve as a model, and the frighteningly strange nature of his work upsets the lives and changes the fate of the entire community. Cast of 4 women and 3 men. ISBN 978-0-88922-641-8; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-818-4 © 2010; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
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Talonbooks Drama Backlist 47
The Magnificent Voyage of Emily Carr
Memories of You
Jovette Marchessault
Wendy Lill
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
The life of Elizabeth Smart pivoted on a turbulent affair that produced four children and her one book. This is a portrayal of the book as a record of one great life lived. Cast of 4 women and 1 man.
Marchessault evokes the doubts, the trials and the joys of this singular existence. Cast of 3 women and 1 man. “A worthy trip home for one of Canada’s greatest painters.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-314-1 © 1992; 104 pp; 2nd printing; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
“Beautifully written … its pleasure, its s ensuality and its pain. A courageous and profoundly moving play …” – Robert Enright, CBC ISBN 978-0-88922-489-6 © 1989, 2003; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
La Maison Suspendue
Michel and Ti-Jean
Michel Tremblay
George Rideout
Translated by John Van Burek
In Michel & Ti-Jean, Rideout fashions a hypothetical 1969 meeting in a bar in St. Petersburg, Florida, between Quebec playwright Michel Tremblay and an individual whom he believes to be a truly great writer, the “beat” author Jack Kerouac. At the time of their meeting, Jack Kerouac is 47 years old; Michel Tremblay, 27. Cast of 2 men.
A rich, emotional, sweeping drama of anger and sorrow spanning three generations. Cast of 3 women, 4 men, and 1 boy. Chalmers Canadian Play Award Winner, 1990. “A full and resounding resonance.”
– Theatrum
ISBN 978-0-88922-295-3 © 1991; 104 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
“An unexpected surprise, a daring, novel, audacious idea that actually works on stage.” – The Métropolitain ISBN 978-0-88922-902-0; E-ISBN 978-0-88922903-7 © 2014; 128 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Mambo Italiano
Miss Julie
Steve Galluccio
August Strindberg
Outrageous pathos and hilarity is unleashed when Nino informs his very traditionally Italian parents that he is gay. A perfect balance of fast-paced comedy and poignant drama that explores family dynamics and the vast spaces between the old world and the new. Cast of 4 women and 3 men.
An adaptation by David French
“Manages to combine the sentimental, the silly and the sexy.” – Toronto Star ISBN 978-0-88922-494-0; ebook also available © 2004; 128 pp; 3rd printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
A riveting adaptation of a theatre classic about an affair between the daughter of a count and the count’s man-servant. Cast of 2 women and 1 man. “Direct, accessible, and strangely contemporary, [this adaptation of] Miss Julie is a … blast of dramatic fresh air which retains its provocative power.” – Halifax Chronicle Herald ISBN 978-0-88922-549-7; ebook also available © 2006; 96 pp; 2nd printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Marcel Pursued by the Hounds
Modern Canadian Plays
Michel Tremblay
Volume I, Fourth Edition
Translated by John Van Burek & Bill Glassco
Edited by Jerry Wasserman
How our “innocent” childhood games and fantasies come back to haunt us in adult life. Cast of 4 women and 1 adolescent male.
This fourth edition contains The Ecstasy of Rita Joe; Fortune and Men’s Eyes; Les Belles Soeurs; Leaving Home; 1837: The Farmer’s Revolt; The St. Nicholas Hotel; Zastrozzi; Billy Bishop Goes to War; Balconville; Doc; Drag Queens on Trial; and The Occupation of Heather Rose.
“Tremblay’s grip on matters of the human heart is as precise, knowing, and unforgiving as ever.” – Quill & Quire ISBN 978-0-88922-326-4; ebook also available © 1996; 80 pp; 3rd printing; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-436-0 © 2000; 464 pp; 7th printing; $39.95 CAN / $39.95 US
Marion Bridge
Modern Canadian Plays
Daniel MacIvor
Volume I, Fifth Edition
Includes screenplay and stage play. Cast of 3 women. “In some ways, this moving drama, which tiptoes toward sentimentality without ever reaching it, is the most surprising play that [MacIvor’s] ever written. When was the last time you saw a drama about three distinct, complex women that had nothing to do with their relationships with men?” – New York Times ISBN 978-0-88922-552-7 © 1999, 2006; 192 pp; 4th printing; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Edited by Jerry Wasserman This fifth edition contains The Ecstasy of Rita Joe; Les Belles Soeurs; Leaving Home; Sticks and Stones (The Donnellys, Part One); Zastrozzi; Billy Bishop Goes to War; Balconville; Blood Relations; Drag Queens on Trial; Bordertown Café; Toronto, Mississippi; Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet); Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing; Lion in the Streets, and Life Without Instruction. ISBN 978-0-88922-678-4 © 2012; 568 pp; $49.95 CAN / $49.95 US
48 Talonbooks Drama Backlist
Modern Canadian Plays
My TWP Plays
Volume II, Fourth Edition
A Collection Including Ten Lost Years Jack Winter
Edited by Jerry Wasserman This fourth edition contains Bordertown Café; Polygraph; Moo; The Orphan Muses; 7 Stories; Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing; Amigo’s Blue Guitar; Lion in the Streets; Never Swim Alone; Fronteras Americanas; Harlem Duet; and Problem Child. ISBN 978-0-88922-437-7 © 2001; 408 pp; 7th printing; $39.95 CAN / $39.95 US
A selective anthology of Jack Winter’s plays written while he was the resident playwright of Toronto Workshop Productions, one of the first great experimental troupes of the alternative and experimental theatre movement. The collection and its extensive accompanying notes illuminate a two-decade period important in the evolution of contemporary Canadian theatre. “This is a really excellent addition to our understanding of the birth of our modern Canadian theatre.” – Peter McKinnon, professor of Theatre, York University ISBN 978-0-88922-784-2; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-785-9 © 2013; 336 pp; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Modern Canadian Plays
1949
Volume II, Fifth Edition
David French
Edited by Jerry Wasserman This fifth edition contains Polygraph; 7 Stories; Never Swim Alone; The Glace Bay Miners’ Museum; Counter Offence; Problem Child; Harlem Duet; Street of Blood; The Shape of a Girl; Tempting Providence; Scorched; The Adventures of Ali & Ali and the aXes of Evil; Age of Arousal; BIOBOXES: Artifacting Human Experience; The Edward Curtis Project: A Modern Picture Story; and Kim’s Convenience. ISBN 978-0-88922-679-1 © 2013; 528 pp; $49.95 CAN / $49.95 US
Newfoundland joins Confederation in the c ontinuing saga of the Mercer family. Cast of 6 women, 6 men, and 2 boys. Chalmers Canadian Play Award Finalist, 1988. “Told with French’s warm humour and effortless command of stage convention.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-266-3 © 1989; 176 pp; 2nd printing; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Mom’s the Word
The Noam Chomsky Lectures
Linda A. Carson, Jill Daum, Alison Kelly, Robin Nichol, Barbara Pollard & Deborah Williams
Daniel Brooks & Guillermo Verdecchia
Humorous stories, bittersweet monologues, p oetic reflections and revelatory anecdotes about m otherhood. Cast of 6 women. “I’d almost forgotten what it’s like to enjoy a show this much.” – Georgia Straight ISBN 978-0-88922-431-5 © 2000; 112 pp; 2nd printing; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
An innovative, multi-layered deconstruction of mass media and politics. Cast of 2 men. Chalmers Canadian Play Award Winner, 1992. Governor General’s Drama Award Finalist, 1992. “A … sharp and funny ‘lecture’ on cultural politics and political culture.” – Now “An anti-imperialist primer.”
– Socialist Worker
ISBN 978-0-88922-405-6 © 1991, 1998; 96 pp; 4th printing; $15.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Moo
Nothing to Lose
Sally Clark
David Fennario
When the feisty and rebellious Moragh (Moo) MacDowell meets the intriguing Harry Parker, she decides nothing will ever separate them. Harry has been running ever since. Cast of 5 women and 3 men.
Working-class survivors of the 1960s stage a workers’ sit-down strike. Cast of 9 men.
Chalmers Canadian Play Award Winner, 1990. “Well written, laced with black humour, and filled with a host of sharply drawn characters.” – Toronto Star ISBN 978-0-88754-476-7 © 1984; 132 pp; 4th printing; $12.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Motherhouse
“Restores one’s faith in theatre as a medium of continuing vitality and relevance.” – Southam News Service ISBN 978-0-88922-121-5 © 1977; 144 pp; 2nd printing; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
The Occupation of Heather Rose
David Fennario
Wendy Lill
This powerful drama gives a voice to the disillusioned working-class women employed at the British Munitions Factory in Verdun, Quebec, during World War I. Despite tension over the conscription issue, dedicated mothers, wives, sisters, and sweethearts assemble artillery shells to support the war effort. Meanwhile, their men die abroad and their children starve because of war profiteers.
Young, naive, and inadequately trained nurse Heather Rose arrives in a remote Native community hoping to improve the lives of its residents, but ends up utterly disillusioned by the impotence of her interventions. Cast of 1 woman.
ISBN 978-0-88922-848-1 / E-ISBN 97-0-88922-849-8 © 2014; 128 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
“An achingly honest reminder of the naively enthusiastic attempts that each of us has made to wade bravely into unfamiliar territory.” – Toronto Star ISBN 978-0-88922-593-0 © 2008; 64 pp; Photos; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Talonbooks Drama Backlist 49
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Odd Ducks
Other Schools of Thought
Bryden MacDonald
Morris Panych
Bryden MacDonald’s smart new comedy Odd Ducks tells the story of four forty-something eccentrics struggling to get out of their own way, trying to move on, all the while inventing drama with searing sarcasm to keep things light.
Dramas that encourage adults to reflect on their past and young people to reflect on their future: Life Science, 2B WUT UR, and Cost of Living.
Governor General’s Awards Finalist, 2015 (Drama) “Odd Ducks is a tragedy that is essentially a comedy because really, without comedy, nothing can be taken seriously … The writing sizzles and sings … the play builds to a great finish.” – Chronicle Herald (Halifax)”
“Cost of Living is a brilliant play about g rowing up.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-346-2 © 1994; 140 pp; Photos; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-934-1; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-935-8 © 2015; 128 pp ; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Omniscience
Paradise by the River
Tim Carlson
Vittorio Rossi
The play begs the question of how many of our freedoms have been lost to the institutions engaged in surveillance “for our own protection.” Cast of 2 women and 3 men.
ail
“This assault on the modern media makes a clever stab at warning its audience of what’s to come on this crazy granite planet.” – Vancouver Sun “Never less than intelligently provocative.” – Georgia Straight
After Canada officially declares war with Italy, Romano, a recent immigrant, is a rrested without charge in his own home. Cast of 2 women and 8 men. “Tale of imprisoned Italians delivers e xplosive, full throttle e nergy … he succeeds at giving authentic voice to a specific c ommunity.” – Montreal Gazette ISBN 978-0-88922-393-6 © 1998; 144 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-562-6 © 2007; 96 pp; 2nd printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
On the Job
Lucia Frangione
On Christmas Eve the workers in a Montreal shipping room get drunk and go on strike. Cast of 8 men.
The McKinnons have fallen on hard times and must sell half of their generations-old West Coast estate to a Turkish immigrant family. Cast of 1 woman and 4 men.
Chalmers Canadian Play Award Winner, 1976. “Vibrates with the rough and ready energy of a street fight.” – Quill & Quire
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Paradise Garden
David Fennario
ISBN 978-0-88922-102-4 © 1976; 112 pp; 5th printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
“Playwright and actor Lucia Frangione enters risky emotional territory in Paradise Garden.” – Georgia Straight ISBN 978-0-88922-658-6; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-821-4 © 2011; 128 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
One Crack Out
Past Perfect
David French
Michel Tremblay
Charlie Evans, a pool shark, has two days to pay off a debt or have his legs broken by a psychotic debt collector who is also having an affair with his wife. Cast of 2 women and 8 men.
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
“A definite winner that will be around for a long time.” – Ottawa Citizen ISBN 978-0-88922-488-9 © 2003; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Unleashing the dark secret of her being, Albertine, one of Tremblay’s most unforgettable heroines, sets out to re-conquer the beau she has lost to her younger sister. Cast of 3 women and 2 men. “The really scary, or beautiful, part is how much Albertine there is in every one of us.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-493-3 © 2004; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth
Playing Bare
Drew Hayden Taylor
Dominic Champagne
A Native woman who was adopted by a white family struggles to acknowledge her birth family. Cast of 2 women and 2 men.
Translated by Shelley Tepperman
James Buller Award for Playwright of the Year, 1997. Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play, Small Theatre Division, 1996. “This is not just a great Native production. This is a great production. Period.” – CBC ISBN 978-0-88922-384-4; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-803-0 © 1998; 112 pp; 9th printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
A mordant satire on the relation between t heatre and life. Cast of 2 women and 4 men. Governor General’s Drama Award Finalist, 1994. “It celebrates theatre by paying tribute to Godot, one of its most brilliant gems.” – Vancouver Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-335-6 © 1993; 112 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
50 Talonbooks Drama Backlist
The (Post) Mistress
Remember Me
Tomson Highway
Michel Tremblay
Marie-Louise Painchaud has worked for thirty-one years as postmistress in Lovely, Ontario, a francophone village where she has come to know the lives of everyone in town and vicariously experience their loves, losses, and personal dramas. The (Post) Mistress is a rollicking, emotional rollercoaster ride in the form of a one-woman musical. “The result is a kind of magical realism which expresses the universal aspects of his stories.” – Macleans
Translated by John Stowe Two ex-lovers meet and compare and c onfess their fears and disillusionments. Cast of 2 men. “[Tremblay] has entered a new phase of his d ramatic art.” – Canadian Literature ISBN 978-0-88922-219-9 © 1984; 64 pp; 2nd printing; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-780-4; E-iSBN 978-0-88922-781-1 © 2013; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Power Plays
The Riddle of the World
George F. Walker
David French
First published as a trilogy in 1986, The Power Plays contains Gossip (1977), Filthy Rich (1979), and The Art of War (1983). These three plays showcase the development and the culmination of Walker’s film-noir style.
A stockbroker and an ex-priest get together to console themselves after being abandoned by their mates and are forced to come to terms with their fragile natures as men. Cast of 3 women and 2 men.
“Walker has an eye for the ridiculous and an imagination that packs his plays with action.” – New York Times
“French is one of Canada’s most acclaimed playwrights and an accomplished explorer of the power of memory.” – Quill & Quire
ISBN 978-0-88922-414-8 © 1999; 208 pp; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-487-2 © 2003; 66 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
The Queens
Rose
Normand Chaurette
Tomson Highway
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
A musical set on the Wasaychigan Hill Reserve in 1992. The battle for the future of the community builds to a shattering climax. Cast of 10 women and 7 men.
The shifting passions and ambitions of six women drawn from Shakespeare’s theatre. Cast of 6 women. “This is a theatre of allusions, metaphysical playwriting of a literary richness which has yet to find its equal in Quebec drama.” – Le Devoir ISBN 978-0-88922-403-2 © 1998; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
“Tomson Highway has been a groundbreaking, foundational dramatist – the inaugural voice of a generation of First Nations playwrights in Canada.” – Canadian Literature ISBN 978-0-88922-490-2 © 2003; 160 pp; 2nd printing; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
The Real World?
Saga of the Wet Hens
Michel Tremblay
Jovette Marchessault
Translated by John Van Burek & Bill Glassco
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
A play within a play. A young playwright draws on his family as the raw material for his first work. Cast of 4 women and 3 men.
Four Quebec women writers meet at the centre of a fabulous vortex. Cast of 4 women.
“A virtuoso piece of writing by a master craftsman.” – Toronto Star ISBN 978-0-88922-260-1 © 1988; 80 pp; 3rd printing; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
“Potent feminist literature.”
– Quill & Quire
“[Marchessault’s] fiction is lyrical and h eartfelt, her drama literary, allusive, and absolutely original.” – Books in Canada ISBN 978-0-88922-213-7 © 1983; 136 pp; 2nd printing; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
The Refugee Hotel
Saint Frances of Hollywood
Carmen Aguirre
Sally Clark
More than a dark comedy about a group of Chilean refugees who arrive in Vancouver in 1974 after Pinochet’s coup, this play is Carmen Aguirre’s attempt to give voice to refugee communities from all corners of the globe. Cast of 5 women, 5 men, 1 girl, 1 boy, and 1 male dancer.
The tragic life of Frances Farmer, the raucous, idealistic, non- conforming movie star of the 1930s and 1940s. Cast of 4 women and 4 men.
“A humorous and heartbreaking look at life in exile.” – Mark Taper Forum ISBN 978-0-88922-650-0; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-822-1 © 2010; 128 pp; 2nd printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
“It is this mix of fact and fantasy that Clark has c aptured so brilliantly and used to s triking advantage … the effect is brutally chilling.” – Variety “A searing tragedy.”
ISBN 978-0-88922-366-0 © 1996; 200 pp; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
– Toronto Star
Talonbooks Drama Backlist 51
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Sainte-Carmen of the Main
Saucy Jack
Michel Tremblay
Sharon Pollock
Translated by John Van Burek
While a scholar and the nephew of Queen Victoria dance around the truth of the identity of Jack the Ripper, a hired London actress impersonates each of the seven murdered prostitutes. Cast of 1 woman and 3 men.
A play about cultural identity and cultural awakening based on a country-and-western singer of Montreal’s “The Main.” Cast of 4 women, 13 men, and a chorus. “An absolutely fascinating gesture by a powerful playwright.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-181-9 © 1981; 80 pp; 4th printing; $15.95 CAN / $15.95 US
“Brings those hideously murdered women to such authentic life that we feel a stab of guilt.” – Quill & Quire ISBN 978-0-92136-841-0 © 1994; 64 pp; $10.95 CAN / $7.95 US
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The St. Leonard Chronicles
Schoolhouse
Steve Galluccio
Leanna Brodie
When a young Italian couple announces they are moving to the Anglo suburbs, it’s like they’ve committed a mortal sin against their traditional relatives. Ultimately floodgates open to other unspoken desires and revelations, turning conservative St. Leonard upside down.
Full of warmth and poignant humour, this drama set in a one-room schoolhouse evokes a way of life shared by generations of rural North Americans, exploring timeless themes of rejection, of compassion, of damage, of hope. Cast of 5 women and 7 men.
“After Galluccio’s play Mambo Italiano became the most successful local English-language play from Montreal in almost half as century The St. Leonard Chronicles quickly became the second-most successful.” – Montreal Gazette
“A thoughtful … well-crafted … beautifully inspired piece … compelling and richly rural.” – Citizen ISBN 978-0-88922-571-8 © 2007; 96 pp; 2nd printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-930-3; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-931-0 © 2015; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Sainte-Marie among the Hurons
The Seagull
James W. Nichol
Anton Chekhov
A play about the conscience of a priest during the disastrous mission the Jesuits made to the Huron Indians in the 17th century. Cast of 11 men.
Translated by David French
“The play has a burning sincerity … A fascinating glimpse of two totally different cultures.” – Ottawa Citizen e
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A revitalization of a Russian theatre classic. Cast of 5 women and 8 men. “Witty, while preserving the historical integrity of the characters … French’s effective translation should make this edition the favoured teaching and acting version in North America.” – Canadian Theatre Review
ISBN 978-0-88922-147-5 © 1980; 80 pp; 2nd printing; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-324-0 © 1993; 112 pp; 5th printing; $16.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Salt-Water Moon
Seeds
David French
Annabel Soutar
The third book of the Mercer family saga. Cast of 1 woman and 1 man.
Part courtroom drama, part political satire, Seeds shows farming and scientific communities in conflict, while at the same time penetrating the complex science of genetically modified crops. The play documents the 2004 Supreme Court of Canada showdown between Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser and biotech multinational Monsanto – a David-and-Goliath struggle. Cast of 4 women and 3 men.
Winner of the Canadian Authors Association Drama Award, Dora Mavor Moore Award, Hollywood Drama-Logue Critics Award and ACTRA Award. “A gem of a play … affecting, funny, and as evocative as a dream.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-257-1 © 1988; 88 pp; 7th printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-701-9; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-725-5 © 2012; 144 pp; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
The Satchmo’ Suite
7 Stories
Hans Böggild & Doug Innis
Second Edition Morris Panych
A black cellist invokes the ghost of Louis Armstrong to help him with a difficult passage from Bach’s Six Suites for Solo Cello. The highly mythologized spirit of “the father of jazz himself” takes form in the cellist’s hotel room, where the lives of the characters intertwine and begin to play off each other. Cast of 1 man. “An irresistible meeting of music and drama, The Satchmo’ Suite really swings.” – Montreal Gazette ISBN 978-0-88922-648-7 © 2010; 80 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
In this fast-paced, sophisticated, and darkly comical play, a man’s contemplation of suicide leads to a charming and surprising ending. Cast of 2 women and 3 men. Winner of 6 Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards, 1989. “One of the best plays of the ’80s.”
– CBC
“Stunningly theatrical, endlessly witty, and cruelly clear-headed.” – Georgia Straight ISBN 978-0-88922-281-6 / E-ISBN 978-0-88922-766-8 © 1990; 104 pp; 9th printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
52 Talonbooks Drama Backlist
The Shape of a Girl / Jewel
Skydive
Joan MacLeod
Kevin Kerr
The Shape of a Girl examines the code of silence and tacit complicity that surrounded the sensationalized murder of Reena Virk by school-aged bullies in 1997. Cast of 1 girl.
Two brothers reconnect after many years of separation to fulfill a life-long ambition to go skydiving. Yet we realize that something is being subverted as we watch a highstakes manoevre occur in the final seconds of a daring adventure gone horribly wrong. Written for one ablebodied and one differently abled actor. Cast of 2 men.
Jewel is based on the real-life catastrophe of the 1982 sinking of the Ocean Ranger, an oil rig off the coast of Newfoundland. Cast of 1 woman. “Brilliant.”
– Globe and Mail
“Skydive into the giddy realms of really innovative theatre.” – Vancouver Sun
ISBN 978-0-88922-460-5; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-691-3 © 2002; 96 pp; 10th printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-638-8; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-813-9 © 2010; 96 pp; Photos; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Shoplifters
Soldier’s Heart
Morris Panych
David French
Alma’s a career shoplifter who prefers the “five-finger discount” over some lousy seniors’ deal, but her life of petty crime is halted suddenly by an overzealous rookie security guard. With its cast of oddball characters, Panych’s comedy offers biting observations about society’s haves and have-nots and how much they might actually have in common.
Esau Mercer, a veteran of WWI, tries to p ersuade his alienated 16-year-old son, Jacob, not to leave. Slowly Esau’s devastating and unsparing account of what secrets lie in his soldier’s heart brings father and son together. Cast of 3 men.
“The Shoplifters is a gem in a minor key, as a work of literature and a play.” – The Georgetowner ISBN 978-0-88922-926-6; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-927-3 © 2011; 128 pp; $17.95 CAN / $16.95 US
“When it comes to playwriting, David French is perhaps … the most celebrated in English Canada.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-463-6 © 2002; 96 pp; 4th printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Silver Dagger
Somewhere Else
David French
George F. Walker
French delivers a thriller guaranteed to have a udiences perched on the edge of their seats. Cast of 4 women and 2 men.
Contains Walker’s own selection of his early plays that matter, that for him have stood the test of time: Beyond Mozambique (1974), Zastrozzi (1977), Theatre of the Film Noir (1981), and Nothing Sacred (1988).
Arthur Ellis Award Nominee, 1994. “[A] meta-murder mystery.”
– Canadian Theatre Review
ISBN 978-0-88922-325-7 © 1993; 136 pp; 2nd printing; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
“No other living playwright pushes the boundaries of comedy as far, with often stunning results.” – Chicago Sun Times ISBN 978-0-88922-402-5 © 1999; 256 pp; 2nd printing; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Sisters
Song of the Say-Sayer
Wendy Lill
Daniel Danis
A tough, uncompromising look at a convent-run Native residential school. The soul-destroying d evastation caused by these institutions from the point of view of the nuns running the school. Cast of 4 women and 2 men.
Three brothers strive to unite and care for their ailing sister after the death of their adoptive p arents. Cast of 1 woman and 3 men.
“A moving theatrical experience.”
– Theatrum
ISBN 978-0-88922-289-2 © 1991; 96 pp; 4th printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
“At once sinister and hilariously funny, darkly ominous and positively hopeful.” – Canadian Theatre Review ISBN 978-0-88922-419-3 © 1999; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Six Plays by Mavor Moore
Spectacle of Empire
Mavor Moore
Marc Lescarbot’s Theatre of Neptune in New France
In these theatre pieces stripped to the essentials of character sketches in quick, subtle lines, the emphasis is on the performer’s resources as an actor, rather than the externals of scene changes and stage contexts. “One of the great men of Canadian drama.” – Books in Canada ISBN 978-0-88922-271-7 © 1989; 208 pp; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Edited by Jerry Wasserman Arguably the first North American play, this edition includes the original French script, two English translations, Ben Jonson’s Masque of Blackness, and an extensive historical and critical introduction. “The French play by Lescarbot is a significant literary and cultural artifact.” – Dalhousie Review ISBN 978-0-88922-547-3; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-992-1 © 2006; 108 pp; Maps & illustrations; $21.95 CAN / $21.95 US
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Talonbooks Drama Backlist 53
Still Laughing
Tear the Curtain!
Morris Panych
Jonathon Young & Kevin Kerr with Kim Collier
Just for laughs, Morris Panych updated three comedy classics from a century ago: Gogol’s The Government Inspector, Feydeau and Desvallières’s Hotel Peccadillo, and Schnitzler’s The Amorous Adventures of Anatol. “A summer without a deviceful staging by dauntless extrasensory Morris Panych is … wrong.” – Torontostage.com ISBN 978-0-88922-624-1 © 2009; 320 pp; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Alex is a jaded theatre critic in a gritty film noir rendition of 1930s Vancouver. When he falls for the screen siren Mila, he’s caught between two warring mob families – one controlling the city’s playhouses, the other its cinemas. At the dawn of the talkies, can Alex tear through the artifice of these art forms without losing his life? “A brilliant fusion of two enduring art forms.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-904-4; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-905-1 © 2014; 160 pp; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Studies in Motion
That Summer
The Hauntings of Eadweard Muybridge Second Edition Kevin Kerr
David French
Adultery, jealousy, murder, and an abandoned child haunt the life of pioneer photographer Eadweard Muybridge. Cast of 5 women and 7 men. “A complex, thoughtfully layered script that makes us laugh and care about this deeply troubled man.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-810-8 © 2008, 2013; 144 pp; Photos; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
A woman returns to the cottage country of Ontario where, 32 years before, she vacationed with her family. Cast of 5 women and 2 men. “That Summer is a lyrical and beautifully constructed meditation on the passage of time and the transition from one generation to the next. David French is a playwright at the height of his powers.” – CBRA ISBN 978-0-88922-439-1; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-969-3 © 2000; 128 pp; 3rd printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Suburban Motel
That Woman
George F. Walker
Daniel Danis
Six plays that take place in the same hotel room: Problem Child, Criminal Genius, Risk Everything, Adult Entertainment, Featuring Loretta, and The End of Civilization. “We’re back in the strange world of George Walker, where humour and horror waltz drunkenly around in each other’s arms.” – Washington Post
Translated by Linda Gaboriau The story of a woman sent away from her family by her brother the Bishop after she is found exploring her sexuality at age 17. Cast of 1 woman and 2 men. “It is a tale of heartbreak spun out of an endless golden thread called hope.” – See Magazine
ISBN 978-0-88922-412-4; ebook also available © 1997, 1999, 2006; 320 pp; 8th printing $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-399-8 © 1998; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
The Tale of Teeka
Tiln & Other Plays
Michel Marc Bouchard
Michael Cook
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
Three short plays by Cook: Tiln, Quiller, and Therese’s Creed.
A play set in rural Quebec in the 1950s in which a battered child, Maurice, seeks refuge in a fantasy world. Cast of 1 man and 1 boy. “A play so achingly beautiful, restrained, and moving that it clings to the heart and mind long after the last words are spoken.” – Vancouver Sun
“Evocative imagery, poignant character portrayal.” – Canadian Literature ISBN 978-0-88922-107-9 © 1976; 112 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-410-0 © 1999; 64 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Talking Bodies
Tom at the Farm
Larry Tremblay
Michel Marc Bouchard
Translated by Sheila Fischman
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
A collection of Larry Tremblay’s four memorable solo performances for the stage: A Trick of Fate, Anatomy Lesson, The Dragonfly of Chicoutimi, and Ogre. With an introduction by Jane M. Moss.
As an unexpected guest at his lover’s funeral, Tom is blindsided by the man’s legacy of untruth. With the mother expecting a chain-smoking girlfriend, and the older brother determined to preserve a facade, Tom is coerced into participating in a savage game rooted in the rural family’s dark past. Cast of 2 women and 2 men.
“The Dragonfly of Chicoutimi is surely unique … This is a play that laments rather than preaches.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-445-2 © 2001; 208 pp; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-759-0; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-760-6 © 2013; 96 pp; 2nd printing; 16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
54 Talonbooks Drama Backlist
Tombs of the Vanishing Indian
Twenty Years at Play
Marie Clements
A New Play Centre Anthology
Three young Native American sisters and their mother leave home as part of a 1950s government mandate to relocate reserve Indians to urban centres. As the women try to establish connections to a new land, each finds herself lost. Cast of 4 women and 3 men.
This collection of eight of the finest plays produced by Vancouver’s New Play Centre marked the c ompany’s 20th year.
“A piece of theatrical anthropology about the determined survival of a people, not its demise.” – Toronto Sun
Edited by Jerry Wasserman
“Wasserman provides a fascinating history of the NPC … This book is essential.” – BCLA Reporter ISBN 978-0-88922-275-5 © 1990; 346 pp; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-686-9; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-713-2 © 2012; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Toronto, Mississippi
Two Plays
Joan MacLeod
George Woodcock
Drawing from MacLeod’s experience working with mentally handicapped adults and children, this play celebrates the personal challenges of both self-destruction and selfaffirmation so vital to the process of identity creation. Cast of 2 women and 2 men.
This volume contains two uniquely Canadian s tories of exile: The Island of Demons and Six Dry Cakes for the Hunted.
“See this play and fall in love.”
– Georgia Straight
“Voices from the past that haunt us still.” – Essays in Canadian Writing ISBN 978-0-88922-123-9 © 1977; 112 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-583-1; ebook also available © 2008; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $15.95 US
The Trespassers
2000
Morris Panych
Joan MacLeod
Poignant, thought-provoking and sharply sardonic, The Trespassers focuses on the relationship between 15-year-old Lowell and his grandfather, Hardy. Lowell is no average teenager and Hardy is no conventional role model – much to the consternation of Lowell’s born-again mother, Cash. Cast of 2 women and 3 men.
The relationships of the young, the aging, and the middleaged, and between urban life and nature at the end of the millennium. Cast of 3 women and 2 men.
“Charming and, this being Panych, funny.” – National Post ISBN 978-0-88922-628-9; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-819-1 © 2010; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
“2000 is a remarkable achievement.” – Canadian Book Review Annual “Full of good insights … good lines.”
– University of Toronto Quarterly
ISBN 978-0-88922-373-8 © 1997; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
The Trial of Judith K.
Unity (1918)
Sally Clark
Kevin Kerr
Roughly based on Kafka’s The Trial, this black comedy transforms the lead character into a modern business woman who finds herself accused of an unknown crime. Cast of 4 women and 3 men.
In the fall of 1918, a world ravaged by four years of war was suddenly hit by a mysterious and deadly plague. As fear of the dreaded “Spanish” flu begins to fill the town of Unity with paranoia, drastic measures are taken. Cast of 6 women and 3 men.
Governor General’s Drama Award Finalist, 1991. “The futility of the individual before a dehumanizing bureaucracy has never been so funny.” – Toronto Tonight
Governor General’s Drama Award Winner, 2002. “[A] work of powerful and moving familiarity.” – Globe and Mail
ISBN 978-0-88754-465-1 © 1985; 122 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-461-2; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-814-6 © 2002; 128 pp; 8th printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
The Trigger
The Unnatural and Accidental Women
Carmen Aguirre
Marie Clements
Based on the author’s own experience as a victim of the Paper Bag Rapist, The Trigger is a play written for anyone who has ever dealt with sexual violation and who continues to live with it at their core. Cast of 5 women.
A surrealist dramatization of a notorious 30-year murder case involving many mysterious deaths in the “Skid Row” area of Vancouver. Cast of 11 woman and 2 men.
“The Trigger is a knockout … intelligent, powerful, funny, horrific, theatrically stunning, and utterly free of victimology.” – Jerry Wasserman ISBN 978-0-88922-591-6 © 2008; 64 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
“A beautifully presented and acted play.” – Raven’s Eye “An impressive, powerful work.”
– Eye Weekly
ISBN 978-0-88922-521-3; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-767-5 © 2005; 128 pp; 6th printing; 17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Talonbooks Drama Backlist 55
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The Valley
Walsh
Joan MacLeod
Sharon Pollock
Inspired by the 2007 tasering death of Robert Dziekanski at the Vancouver airport, The Valley dramatizes the often volatile relationship between law enforcement and people in the grip of mental illness. The play connects both sides of this relationship by portraying two families embattled with depression, each guided by good intentions but challenged by their own flawed humanity. Cast of 2 women and 2 men.
A historical documentary of Sitting Bull’s exile in Canada after the Montana massacre at Little Big Horn. Cast of 3 women and 11 men. “Undefinable magic that is the essence of art.” – Ottawa Citizen ISBN 978-0-88922-215-1 © 1973, 1983; 136 pp; 14th printing; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-846-7 / E-ISBN 978-0-88922-847-4 © 2014; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
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The Ventriloquist
Wanted
Larry Tremblay
Sally Clark
Translated by Keith Turnbull “What lingers is a degree of delight at Tremblay’s ability not so much to weave a storyline as to unravel one with such finesse and beauty.” – Toronto Sun
Set during the Klondike gold rush, Wanted is a c elebration of one woman’s determination to t riumph over all who seek to possess her in a harsh social climate of chaos, opportunism, raw desire, greed, and lust. Cast of 2 women and 4 men.
“This is the best new Quebec play in many years.” – CBC Radio-Canada
“[An] entirely original historical drama … an intriguing addition to Clark’s canon.” – Globe and Mail
Theatre of innovation. Cast of 2 women and 2 men.
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ISBN 978-0-88922-536-7 © 2006; 64 pp; $15.95 CAN / $13.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-503-9 © 2004; 160 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
The Vic
War Cantata / Child Object
Leanna Brodie
Larry Tremblay
The Vic creates an ensemble of eight ethnically diverse women ranging in age from their teens to their fifties, each of them eager to claim the entitlement they feel their status as victim has “naturally” conferred upon them. Cast of 8 women.
Translated by Keith Turnbull and Linda Gaboriau
“Leanna Brodie has made a promising debut, and her best work here shows real t alent.” – Toronto Star ISBN 978-0-88922-459-9 © 2002; 128 pp; 2nd printing; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
How far will humanity go in its quest for power? Why do we continually seek to annihilate each other through war? Two new plays by award-winning playwright Larry Tremblay ask these questions and more about the place of the child in contemporary society. War Cantata: Cast of 7 actors. Child Object: Cast of 3 actors. “A great theatrical text that speaks to the mechanics of hatred: hard, visceral, and uncompromising.” – Yves Rousseau, LeQuatrième.com ISBN 978-0-88922-906-8; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-907-5 © 2014; 144 pp; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
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Warriors
Second Edition Morris Panych
Michel Garneau
In Morris Panych’s classic black comedy, Kemp returns after 30 years to be with his aunt Grace on her death bed. Problem is, she’s not dying fast enough. Callous Kemp uses acid wit to cover up his growing discomfort as the death watch stretches from days to months. Cast of 1 woman and 1 man.
Warriors enters the world of advertising where even if the product is war, it is still a product that can be sold. Cast of 2 men.
“A small masterpiece.”
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
– Globe and Mail
“If you want a challenging piece of theatre p repare for Warriors.” – Calgary Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-282-3 © 1989; 104 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-692-0; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-717-0 © 1996, 2012; 80 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
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WASPs
John Murrell
Sally Clark
Set in Calgary during WWII, five women work for the war effort while their men are away. Cast of 5 women.
A play about the elements of our constructed tribal identities: incest, fashion, fetishism, style, populist art, amateur psychobabble, and a fascination with the other. Cast of 4 women and 2 men.
“Waiting for the Parade is an honest play that c aptures precisely the texture of ordinary hopes and despairs.” – Guardian ISBN 978-0-88922-183-3; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-995-2 © 1980; 112 pp; 12th printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
“Clark skewers our nicey-nice apologist c ulture … It’s camp, it’s funny, and it’s nasty.” – Georgia Straight ISBN 978-0-88922-398-1 © 1998; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
56 Talonbooks Drama Backlist
The Weekend Healer
Whereverville
Bryden MacDonald
Josh MacDonald
The disappearance of a young man acts as a catalyst for a drama that questions the nature of family and “traditional values.” Cast of 2 women and 1 man. “If Tennessee Williams were from the Maritimes and writing today, he’d sound a lot like Bryden MacDonald.” – Richard Ouzounian, CBC
On the evening of Loam Bay’s vote on r esettlement, schoolteacher Abby Shea, herself “from away,” must struggle with her own phantom a ttachment to the community before casting her deciding vote. Cast of a1 woman and 4 men. “Fresh and direct, with clear-eyed c ompassion and a surprising amount of humour.” – Halifax Daily News
ISBN 978-0-88922-360-8 © 1995; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-506-0 © 2004; 96 pp; 2nd printing; $15.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Westray
Willful Acts
The Long Way Home Chris O’Neill & Ken Schwartz
Margaret Hollingsworth
Although the Westray mine is dangerously m ismanaged, a young father descends under the ground again to support his family. Cast of 2 women and 3 men. “Crisp, thoughtful, and entertaining, and every bit deserving of a standing ovation.” – Ottawa Citizen ISBN 978-0-88922-491-9 © 1994, 2004; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Whale Riding Weather
An expanded and updated collection of Margaret Hollingsworth’s best known and most popular plays, including The Apple in the Eye, Everloving, Diving, Islands, War Babies and Commonwealth Games. Governor General’s Drama Award Finalist, 1985 (War Babies). ISBN 978-0-88922-385-1 © 1998; 256 pp; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Winners and Losers
Bryden MacDonald
Marcus Youssef & James Long
A faded old man finds his life slipping away from him along with his young male lover, who meets a new, younger man. Cast of 3 men.
Two friends pass the time together playing a made-up game in which they name people, places, or things and debate whether they are successful or not; in other words, winners or losers. Each friend seeks to defeat the other, and because one of these men grew up economically privileged, and the other did not, the competition very quickly adds up.
Governor General’s Drama Award Finalist, 1994. “Powerfully written.”
– Toronto Star
“A roller-coaster ride of pain and humour and pathos and love.” – Vancouver Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-353-0 © 1994; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Governor General’s Awards Finalist, 2015 (Drama). ISBN 978-0-88922-932-7; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-933-4 © 2015; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
What Lies Before Us
With Bated Breath
Morris Panych
Bryden MacDonald
Governor General’s Award–winning playwright Panych turns Waiting for Godot into a comedy while simultaneously heightening the profound existential questions it asks. Cast of 3 men.
A poignant look at the disappearance of a shy, young gay man who starts a new life in the big city. Caught in the cynical and brutalizing cash economy of the city’s redlight district, he retreats ever further into a world of fantasy and anonymity. Cast of 3 women and 3 men.
Governor General’s Drama Award Finalist, 2007. “Panych is … ambitious, talented, funny, feared, beloved … and altogether impossible to ignore.” – Toronto Life
Lambda Literary Award Finalist, 2011. “Quite stunning … full of one-liners and dark poetry.” – Daniel MacIvor
ISBN 978-0-88922-560-2 © 2007; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $15.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-651-7; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-816-0 © 2010; 128 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Where the Blood Mixes
Written on Water
Kevin Loring
Michel Marc Bouchard
Can a person survive their past; can a people survive their history? Irreverently funny and brutally honest, this play about loss and redemption takes us to the bottom of a river, to the heart of a People. Cast of 2 women and 4 men.
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
Governor General’s Drama Award Winner, 2009. “Where the Blood Mixes … was the best of a stream of plays tackling [the Residential Schools’] disastrous legacy.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-608-1; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-768-2 © 2009; 96 pp; 6th printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
A group of seniors struggles to rescue and rewrite their memories when torrential rains wash away all records of their past. Cast of 3 women and 3 men. “A profound reflection on memory and on the act of writing … told with Michel Marc Bouchard’s characteristic humour and poetry.” – CBC ISBN 978-0-88922-492-6 © 2004; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
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Talonbooks Poetry Backlist 57
After Jack
Aurora
Garry Thomas Morse
Sharon Thesen
An homage to poet Jack Spicer and a tribute to his concept of the serial poem, this bristling polyphony jostles the reader with dark undertones.
Sharon Thesen’s poems express the pleasure and magic of a language fully engaging the world, rewarding the reader with daily moments t ransformed into visions of grace.
“In After Jack … translation crosses boundaries of space, time, culture, and language, laying the common property of the poem bare – and gasping for air. Take a deep breath. Now dive back in.” – Stephen Collis
“In mind and heart and laughter, it’s a big book, full of surprises.” – Robin Blaser ISBN 978-0-88910-471-6 © 1995; 80 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-630-2 © 2010; 184 pp; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
All Is Flesh Yannick Renaud Translated by Hugh Hazelton The first English translation of this acclaimed Québécois poet. Includes the book-length prose-poem collections Taxidermy and The Disappearance of Ideas. Afterword by Étienne Lalonde. ISBN 978-0-88922-672-2; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-738-5 © 2011; 160 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
b leev abul char ak trs bill bissett “Themes of love, lust, and the degradation of nature’s order. bissett captures the loneliness of his characters and often the black humour that they reckon from their s ituations. His syntax at first seems like a wall to understanding but once on the other side the bricks become windows to a f antastic imagination.” – filling Station ISBN 978-0-88922-433-9 © 2000; 144 pp; Illustrations; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Amuse Bouche
Back to the War
Adeena Karasick
Frank Davey
Mashing up the lexicon of war with post-industrial consumerism, haute cuisine, couture, language, Eros and desire, Karasick’s sixth book is at once dark and satirical, exuberant, and amorously rigorous.
A careful archeology of the catalogue of innocence assembled by a youthful imagination blossoming during WWII.
“Her writing is an extraordinary tour de force in the new paraliterary initiative of ‘fiction/theory’ that blends various genres and revels in their ‘contamination.’ ” – CBRA ISBN 978-0-88922-604-3 © 2009; 108 pp; Colour illustrations; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
“Davey has given us a rare album of verbal photographs.”
ISBN 978-0-88922-514-5 © 2005; 128 pp; 2nd printing; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Asian Skies
Bardy Google
Ken Norris
Frank Davey
In this third book of Norris’s travel trilogy, he searches for the spiritual “inside passage,” the illusory transcendence of “a passage to India” from the post-industrial world, setting out for that most foreign of shores to the West: Asia. “In this series of poems, Norris … provides a crafty indictment against societal ills and imbalances without appearing on the surface to do so.” – Garry Thomas Morse ISBN 978-0-88922-633-3 © 2010; 128 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
– Arc
“A haunting poetic memoir.” – abcbookworld.com
Bardy Google reinvents poetry’s formal boundaries within the frame of our wired world. With only one hidden exception, this book was constructed through Frank Davey’s use of specifically devised Internet searches. Because the content of the Internet, and the search-engine priorities assigned to it, change continuously, these texts are unique and unrepeatable. ISBN 978-0-88922-636-4 © 2010; 80 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Assembling the Morrow
Blonds on Bikes
Sandra Huber
George Bowering
What happens when the line of Berger’s wave (an EEG recording of brainwaves in sleep) turns into a line of poetry, an act of focused consciousness? Since words are essentially awake, sleep awakens beneath them. At the same time, poetry itself is forced to change, written not by the principles of ink or lead but electroencephalography.
Characteristic of Bowering’s other work, this book is largely made up of sequences. The longest one, the title poem, is a composition of daily riffs during an autumn in Denmark and Italy. “Pictures” is an album of verbal portraits by a husband and wife who see differently. There is a series of tributes to other writers on special occasions.
“Huber allows the emergent properties of sleep to be captured – the poem in the patterns is visible … a daring and relevant addition to the lineage of ‘the line’ in poetry.” – subTerrain
“Bowering … can turn a reader’s head inside out with the turn of a phrase.” – Ottawa XPress
ISBN 978-0-88922-910-5 © 2014; 144 pp; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-381-3 © 1997; 112 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
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bpNichol Comics
Chinese Blue
bpNichol
Weyman Chan
Edited by Carl Peters
In Chinese Blue, the poet “character” sifts through the earth’s history of geological layering and forgetting, drawing upon ancient Chinese traditions that present diverse philosophical modes of being.
Nichol’s comics (1960–1980) informed not only his work in other genres but also the work of other writers. “Nichol engages in visual wordplay and defies the conventional restraints of space and structure in comic books.” – National Post ISBN 978-0-88922-448-3 © 2002; 320 pp; Illustrations; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
“Chan continues to write some of the edgiest lyrics in Canadian poetry, lyrics filled with science and music.” – Prairie Fire ISBN 978-0-88922-681-4 © 2012; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Bread and Salt
The Collected Books of Artie Gold
Renee Rodin
Compiled & edited by Ken Norris & Endre Farkas
Bread and Salt – what you bring for luck to a new house – is a joyous a ffirmation of vision and courage in hard times. “Rodin uses the banal as a way to ground the text, weaving the everyday and the terrible together to create understanding.” – Hour ISBN 978-0-88922-367-7 © 1996; 112 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
A collection of Artie Gold’s eight published books of poetry. “Don’t come to these poems expecting to find a reference to the world, or a reference to Artie Gold’s world of feeling & perceptions. Be prepared to step into a world. The poem is, as Jack Spicer said to Lorca, ‘a collage of the real.’ ” – George Bowering ISBN 978-0-88922-652-4 © 2010; 304 pp; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Cartouches
The Commons
Lola Lemire Tostevin
Second Edition Stephen Collis
The deaths of her father and several friends at the time of a trip to Egypt lead the author to write about the essential relation between language and death. “Lola Lemire Tostevin is an incisive, intelligent, and sharply observant writer.” – Quarry “Lovely, nape-tingling work.”
– Books in Canada
ISBN 978-0-88922-355-4 © 1995; 80 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
By the 19th century, the majority of English common lands were enclosed, depriving communities of independence and self-sufficiency. Recurring peasant revolts failed to thwart “privatization”– but resistance spilled into Romanticism’s advocacy of a literary commons. Underground in poetry since then, the fight against enclosure resurfaces today amidst continuing accumulation and a renascent sense of the commons under globalization. ISBN 978-0-88922-915-0 © 2014; 152 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
The Centre
Coping with Emotions and Otters
Poems 1970–2000 Barry McKinnon
Dina Del Bucchia
“Barry McKinnon’s great skills as a poet make substantial all that living meets with and defines, and must finally accept willy-nilly.” – Robert Creeley “His poems are a radical ‘placing’ of a poetics, but also an act of displacing language from civics … [McKinnon is] absolutely central to Canadian poetics.” – American Book Review
Appropriating the template of the contemporary self-help book, with its neatly numbered and ordered rules on how to change and improve our lives, Dina Del Bucchia fashions this satirical and punchy guide for coming to terms our most difficult emotions. “Subversive, sly, and hilarious … Del Bucchia deftly holds a comic mirror to our own awkward lives in this exciting, accomplished debut.” – Marita Dachsel
ISBN 978-0-88922-497-1 © 2004; 192 pp; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-764-4 © 2013; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Change Room
Corked
Mark Cochrane
Catriona Strang
The body is here fetishized by the c reative power of desire to the point where the love of perfection crosses the boundaries of gender and polity. “Mark Cochrane is a glorious writer.”
– Quill & Quire
“Cochrane’s blast-furnace intelligence … consumes everything in its path.” – BC Bookworld ISBN 978-0-88922-432-2 © 2000; 144 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
In an impressive display of poetic ingenuity, Strang “fabricates” her “own reality” in letters to Marcel Proust. In this thoughtful response to Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, Proust himself serves not only as Strang’s addressee, but as harbour or mooring place for powerful and focused meditations on the female condition. “From her early work, TEM and Low Fancy, through her collaboration with the late Nancy Shaw, with Corked Strang solidifies a unique position in Canadian poetry.” – Jeff Derksen ISBN 978-0-88922-852-8 © 2014; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
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Talonbooks Poetry Backlist 59
Cultural Mischief
Down Time
A Practical Guide to Multiculturalism Frank Davey
Jeff Derksen
A collection of prose poems on the hyperbolic a bsurdities of multiculturalism in action. “Finally, what’s left is an irresistible, irrepressible read that’s bound to raise eyebrows.” – Monday Magazine ISBN 978-0-88922-364-6 © 1996; 144 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Proposes a social self that is able to recognize the ironies and restrictions we live in without r eturning to a garrison mentality. BC Book Prize Winner, 1991. “Wrenching intellectual and emotional d islocation that redefines the act of reading.” – Vancouver Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-278-6 © 1990; 92 pp; 3rd printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Davie Street Translations
DOWNVERSE
Daniel Zomparelli
Nikki Reimer
With versified musical machismo following the San Francisco Renaissance poets, Daniel Zomparelli’s witty, lively, documentary-style series of poems about gay male culture in Vancouver grapples with HIV fears, drug culture, porn fantasy, gay bashing, and online hookups.
In this arresting, quick-witted book, Nikki Reimer defamiliarizes the language of new media – hashtags, YouTube videos, insurance policies – to craft an ode to and elegy for Vancouver’s Gen Y and millennial angst. #insertdinosaurcolouringbookhere
“Zomparelli’s knowledge of place and community is profound, while his dedication to his own poetic vision is unwavering.” – Rachel Rose ISBN 978-0-88922-683-8 © 2012; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
“Both a lament and an expression of frustration, DOWNVERSE perfectly captures the cynicism of a generation, but also represents a desire to find a pathway out of these mired conditions. ” – Canadian Literature ISBN 978-0-88922-854-2 © 2014; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Decompositions
dream / arteries
Ken Belford
Phinder Dulai
Belford’s careful (de)compositions disclose the land as a complex living organism, articulate the names of it, see the whole of it, with a vision and voice that is unique and new.
In his third poetry collection, dream / arteries, Phinder Dulai connects 376 passengers on the Komagata Maru with other New World settler migrants who traveled on the same ship throughout its 36-year history. Dulai demonstrates how the 1914 incident encapsulates a broader narrative of migration throughout the New World.
BC Book Prize Finalist, 2011. “[Belford’s poems] read with the kind of inevitability of image and rhythm that makes other poets grit their teeth with envy.” – Margaret Atwood ISBN 978-0-88922-631-9 © 2010; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
“Combined rhythmic discipline and a wide descriptive palette, wielded by a talented composer of word images; this would be the definition of anyone’s preferred reading.” – Vancouver Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-913-6 © 2014; 136 pp; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Discovery Passages
Dream Pool Essays
Garry Thomas Morse
Gil McElroy
Garry Thomas Morse sets out to recover the appropriated, stolen, and scattered world of his ancestral Kwakwaka’wakw people, from Alert Bay to Quadra Island to Vancouver.
An active multiple streaming of apparently disparate sources: astronomy, theoretical cosmology, and quantum physics, and the literary and visual arts.
Governor General’s Poetry Award Finalist, 2011. BC Book Prize Finalist, 2012. “A master of tonal balance, a virtuoso composer with an ear for epic contrast.” – Canadian Literature ISBN 978-0-88922-660-9 © 2011; 128 pp; Colour photos; 2nd printing $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Gerald Lampert Memorial Award Finalist, 2002. “The expected subjects of faith, work, nature, solitude, and writing itself are r epresented with clarity and beauty.” – Canadian Literature ISBN 978-0-88922-454-4 © 2001; 112 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Dominican Moon
Dwell
Ken Norris
Jeff Derksen
Composed like a dark novel-in-verse, the second book in Norris’s travel trilogy is an unsettling story of the deficiencies of love steeped in a clash of cultures between the third world and the first.
An ironically revealing, humorous, and analytic book.
“Ken Norris … has been hailed as Canada’s premier romantic poet.” – Toronto Star “One of the best poets of his generation.” ISBN 978-0-88922-526-8 © 2005; 144 pp; $17.95 CAN / $15.95 US
– Matrix
Alberta Writers’ Guild Award Finalist, 1994. “[A] canny text, astute and sharp. This is a brilliant mind at work, dwelling in, dwelling on.” – Books in Canada “Language that’s resolute in its probe for m eaningful co-ordinates.” – Fred Wah ISBN 978-0-88922-328-8 © 1993; 108 pp; 2nd printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
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Dyssemia Sleaze
Floating Up to Zero
Adeena Karasick
Ken Norris
Cf. SEMA, unit of meaning: i.e., Dyssemia: (flawed information reception) Sleaze / sli:z/ v. Rough with projecting fibres.
Incisive and light in their touch, these poems meditate on the here and now: the present moment, precariously balanced between a certain frozen past and an uncertain fluid future.
Bumbershoot Most Adventurous Publication Award Winner, 2000. “Her most visually compelling, over-the-top collection to date.” – Publishers Weekly ISBN 978-0-88922-434-6 © 2000; 96 pp; Colour illustrations; 2nd printing $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
“He is, in short, a poet, and a good one.” – Hiram Poetry Review ISBN 978-0-88922-659-3 © 2011; 128 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
The Empress Has No Closure
Fortified Castles
Adeena Karasick
ryan fitzpatrick
The Empress Has No Closure contains, as a centrepiece, the “Alefbet Transfers,” a meditative, spatial explication of the 22 figures of the Hebrew alphabet. “All of it hums with intellectual energy, much of it is even funny.” – Books in Canada “An impressive deconstruction of language and meaning.” – Canadian Literature ISBN 978-0-88922-307-3 © 1992; 100 pp; 2nd printing; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Starting with lyric statement as a point of interrogation, Fortified Castles asks what might cause retreat into the comforting walls of the self. Moving from a tickertape tableau of economic and environmental crisis to the difficulty of finding one another in the streets, these poems locate the Western subject between the ramparts it walks and the barricades it throws up. “It’s a pleasure to wind through its twists and blind alleys.” THIS magazine ISBN 978-0-88922-909-9 © 2014; 112 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
A Few Words Will Do
fractal economies
Lionel Kearns
derek beaulieu
When one person writes “this is what happened, this is what I know,” any reader stands in for the absent “I” or “eye” of that text. This inescapable process of language, preoccupies Kearns in these brief but concentrated pieces. “Lionel Kearns has been hovering over our poetry scene for years. Now we have his selected poems at last, and the bird has landed.” – George Bowering
beaulieu pushes the limits of poetry and poetics, challenging the status quo of the genre and the politics of language itself. “Never read a book of concrete poetry before? This might be the one to hook you.” – FFWD “Represent[s] truly the best of beaulieu’s poetic practice.” – Prairie Fire Review of Books
ISBN 978-0-88922-558-9 © 2007; 128 pp; Illustrations; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-539-8 © 2006; 96 pp; Illustrations; $15.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Fifty
From the Poplars
Ken Norris
Cecily Nicholson
Among its widely diverse poetic forms, Fifty constructs odes, elegies, sonnets, and long-poem sequences, as Norris travels from Maine to Santo Domingo, from Phnom Penh to Montreal, and from the shorelines of the Caribbean to the banks of the Mekong River.
At one end of the North Arm of the Fraser River lies an uninhabited island. It is lush and unspoken, but storied. From the Poplars is the poetic outcome of archival research and of listening to these stories – both old and new. Present in efforts of decolonization, reconciliation, and land protection, this text tempers a silence that inevitably will be heard.
“He is, in short, a poet, and a good one.” – Hiram Poetry Review ISBN 978-0-88922-479-7 © 2003; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize Winner, 2015 (BC Book Prizes, 2015). ISBN 978-0-88922-856-6 © 2015; 104 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Five Star Planet
Genrecide
David W. McFadden
Adeena Karasick
The poems in this third volume of McFadden’s Terrafina Trilogy – which began with Gypsy Guitar and There’ll Be Another – suggest the earth is an exotic way station, a hotel.
Explores through play and pun the intersection of multiple cultures, codes, idioms, and constructs that have an impact on female identity.
“Two qualities … shine in all his works – a laser-like and sometimes uncomfortable honesty and his childlike sense of wonder.” – Windsor Sun ISBN 978-0-88922-468-1 © 2002; 136 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
“Beautiful linguistic carnage.”
– Word
“Bridging the genre gap.”
– The Link
“Visually striking.”
– Jewish Post and News
ISBN 978-0-88922-370-7 © 1996; 96 pp; Illustrations; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Talonbooks Poetry Backlist 61
Get Me Out of Here
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Gypsy Guitar
Sachiko Murakami
David W. McFadden
Why is it so difficult to stay present in the moment? Murakami’s poems, written in response to her open call on the Internet, search airport departures and arrivals for a handhold on the fleeting present. Working within and wriggling out of the constraint of 14 lines, the poems explore how to stay when the mind is begging to leave.
100 poems of love and betrayal – all presented in the unmistakable McFadden style.
“Murakami’s mastery at the turn of phrase transcends the tangential, creating a collective expanse of poem branches that stem out from shared inspiration.” – Rusty Toque
Governor General’s Poetry Award Finalist, 1988. “An exhilarating immersion in a uniquely bizarre and irrepressible imagination.” – Canadian Literature ISBN 978-0-88922-250-2 © 1987; 112 pp; 3rd printing; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-925-9 © 2015; 80 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
gifts
harvest
rob mclennan
a book of signifiers rob mclennan
Unifying this book is the persona of the lover: as an intimate; as an interruption of the determinative self; as an unattainable weightlessness; and as the gravitational pull of the landscape itself.
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“rob mclennan is one of the best contemporary poets in Canada.” – Barry McKinnon ISBN 978-0-88922-605-0 © 2009; 160 pp; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Glengarry
What is harvested here are the signifiers for journeys: tickets, postcards, letters – recording unseemly haste, enforced idleness, losing one’s way, and sometimes finding it again. “For mclennan, there are no rules. His poetry defies convention or classification.” – Room Magazine ISBN 978-0-88922-455-1 © 2001; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
The Hatch
rob mclennan
Colin Browne
Glengarry is a memory book composed of three parts, in which each new poem appears as “an illusion against destructive slide,” because “what else is human hope but momentarily borne.”
The Hatch extends Browne’s formal engagement with the margins of the new documentary. Myth, history, and the present are contemporaneous in these poems; nothing is ever one thing, and nothing is itself for very long. In The Hatch there is a rhythmic and political urgency in which the exchange of forms is lightning quick.
“mclennan is a poet of place, always finding his voice out of the material of his surroundings, the continuity of its existence through history.” – Ottawa Xpress ISBN 978-0-88922-662-3 © 2011; 160 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
“The diversity and dexterity are dazzling, the images stick, the phrasing causes slaps or shivers. … If you haven’t read Colin Browne, I urge you to.” – The Bull Calf ISBN 978-0-88922-938-9 © 2015; 160 pp; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Going Home
Hotel Montreal
Ken Norris
New and Selected Poems Ken Norris
The whole manufactured unreality of our world falls away in these poems, leading us both toward and away from being “at home” in the present. “[Norris] is profoundly original, open, and vulnerable, with a unique personal note that speaks to the heart of the reader.” – Poetry Canada ISBN 978-0-88922-573-2 © 2007; 192 pp; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Selections from 19 groundbreaking books of p oetry that draw together the very best of Norris’s lyric poetry from a 25-year period, while offering the reader an indispensible panoramic view of the work of a poet at the height of his creative powers. “Unlock[s] a chrysalis of perplexity, awe, joy, and revelation.” – Montreal Review of Books ISBN 978-0-88922-456-8 © 2001; 160 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Ground Water
The House That Hijack Built
Colin Browne
Adeena Karasick
Investigates the elements of the spiritual topography of the 20th century and closely examines the conventional symbology passed on to the poet/map-maker by his ancestors.
Explores the possibilities of meaning production when language is pushed to its limits of normative semantic patterns. Includes a homolinguistic “trans’elation” of the Sefer Yetzirah.
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BC Book Prize Finalist, 2003.
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Governor General’s Poetry Award Finalist, 2002. “You are different after you have read this book.” – Georgia Straight ISBN 978-0-88922-465-0 © 2002; 208 pp; Illustrations; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
“Perhaps the strangest, most irreverent, and utterly shameless of possible responses to a tragedy, Karasick’s is also, finally, deeply and compellingly human.” – Publishers Weekly ISBN 978-0-88922-511-4 © 2004; 128 pp; Colour illustrations $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
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hypoderm notes to myself Weyman Chan Chan’s idea for this book is simple: approach the world as metaphor, and it will come to you. hypoderm is a manifesto of intimations, observations, and recognitions of mortality that get under the poet’s skin. “hypoderm … maps the borders and the fence; the lines between friends and family, between forgive and forget.” – derek beaulieu ISBN 978-0-88922-637-1 © 2010; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Internodes Ken Belford The poetic language in Internodes traverses decades at the speed of a search query. In this 21st-century evolution of Marshall McLuhan’s coinage that “the medium is the message,” Belford’s text takes into account the nature of viral marketing and the impact of similar forms of social “trending” on our lives and our language, challenging linearity and order. “In Ken Belford’s poems, ‘The sentence is not limited to what happens.’ Internodes is a meditation linking language to the world.” – Tsering Wangmo ISBN 978-0-88922-792-7 / E-ISBN 978-0-88922-793-4 © 2013; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
I. Another. The Space Between
The Invisibility Exhibit
Selected Poems Jamie Reid
Sachiko Murakami
“Jamie Reid’s later political writing packs a punch, often a dada-esque one … No topic falls beyond Reid’s scope.” – BC Bookworld “[Reid] engages readers in a conversation, asking them always to try to make their neighbourhood, their city, their world a better place.” – Georgia Straight ISBN 978-0-88922-512-1 © 2004; 192 pp; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Murakami’s first book of poetry was written in the political and emotional wake of Vancouver’s “Missing Women.” It investigates the troubled relationship between a marginalized neighbourhood’s “invisible” populations and the city that surrounds them. Governor General’s Poetry Award Finalist, 2008. “An articulate and expertly rendered protest against the violence of erasure.” – Jon Paul Fiorentino ISBN 978-0-88922-579-4 © 2008; 84 pp; 2nd printing; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
In the Dog House
is a door
Wanda John-Kehewin
Fred Wah
Poet Wanda John-Kehewin combines elements of First Nations oral tradition with a style of dramatic narrative that originates from the earliest forms of storytelling yet keeps pace with the rhythms and undulations of contemporary Canadian poetry. Her poems ask us to acknowledge the deplorable conditions on First Nations reserves and to explore ameliorative processes of restorative justice.
Grounded in his encounter with the smashed and broken doors along the hurricane-devastated waterfront of Telchac Puerto on the Yucatàn Peninsula, Fred Wah’s prize-winning poetry watches both sides of the doorway – for the sudden question, the sudden turn, the sudden opening.
“Her work is brave, brilliant, and relentless. Her voice deserves to be heard.” – Garry Gottfriedson ISBN 978-0-88922-749-1 © 2013; 80 pp; 16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
BC Book Prize Winner, 2010. “Without a doubt, [is a door] is a dazzler … thoughtful, playful, and stunningly skillful.” – Globe and Mail ISBN 978-0-88922-620-3 © 2009; 120 pp; 2nd printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
th influenza uv logik
Kerrisdale Elegies
bill bissett
George Bowering
Canada’s most linguistically innovative poet takes on the “linear binary traps” of conventional logic, history, and politics. “An important book … this is a sumptuous and satisfying sampling of beautifully crafted work.” – Books in Canada ISBN 978-0-88922-357-8 © 1995; 144 pp; Illustrations; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Bowering responds to Rilke’s Duino Elegies. In the intertextuality of these two great works can be found post-modern writing that is self-aware, where the other is discovered in the process of the writer writing. “A lyricism that is spring-sweet and without boast or threat … Bowering has poured all his considerable power into one vessel, and he must be read.”
– Globe and Mail
ISBN 978-0-88922-590-9 © 2008; 128 pp; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
inkorrect thots
th last photo uv th human soul
bill bissett
bill bissett
When bill bissett thinks “inkorrect thots” anything can happen.
bill bissett has remained on a permanent world tour for over 30 years; he wrote this book while on a European reading circuit that included p erformances in London, Manchester, Cardiff, Dublin, Paris, Mainz, Trier, and Berlin.
BC Book Prize Winner, 1993. “bissett could be our (Canadian, late 20th-century) answer to e.e. cummings.” – Whig Standard ISBN 978-0-88922-303-5 © 1992; 136 pp; Illustrations; 2nd printing $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
“bissett … writes with savage wit and gravitates toward the lyric moment of spellbound wonder.” – Books in Canada ISBN 978-0-88922-322-6 © 1993; 144 pp; Illustrations; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Talonbooks Poetry Backlist 63
Last Scattering Surfaces
loving without being vulnrabul
Gil McElroy
bill bissett
These poems map out zones of interaction which took place in the “surface of last scattering” – the first formation of matter in the universe.
Poems that tell stories on many different levels: through sound, visual images, political insights, non-narrative fusion, and linguistic music.
ReLit Award Longlist, 2008. “A master of the craft … [McElroy] is very, very intelligent and his ear is infallible.”
– Arc
ISBN 978-0-88922-575-6 © 2007; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
“Anybody who’s never heard [bissett] really ought to, because you’ll never think of p oetry the same way after you hear him.” – Citylife ISBN 978-0-88922-372-1 © 1997; 144 pp; Illustrations; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
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Limbinal
Mêmewars
Oana Avasilichioaei
Adeena Karasick
Here, linguistic limbs fold and migrate, a distant border politicks and trips over the horizon, a river overflows, floods, palimpsests another river, Arendt’s responsibility touches Deleuze’s fold, the body, changeable, restless, searches for resonances. And new translations of Paul Celan’s Romanian poems become a generative field of language that sprout other limbs and broach other thresholds.
Mêmewars is a book writing against itself.
“It takes courage to juxtapose one’s own writing with such giants [as Paul Celan and Nelly Sachs]. She carries it off honourably.” – Montreal Review of Books
BC Book Prize Finalist, 1994. “Mêmewars is electricity in language, eccentricity at its best … This book makes eye contact with she and with me. It reminds me how being a reader can be exciting.” – Nicole Brossard ISBN 978-0-88922-344-8 © 1994; 120 pp; Illustrations; 2nd printing $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-924-2 © 2015; 136 pp; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Limbo Road
The Monument Cycles
Ken Norris
Mariner Janes
Limbo Road – as divorce journal, meditation, travel poem – chronicles the search for the new beloved.
Mariner Janes’s first book of poetry investigates our relation to monuments and works of public art: Why do we make these representations of people, history, and place? Written through the lens of history, geography, and a fear of memory, The Monument Cycles roams from meditations on DNA and remembrance, to transportation, nuclear weapons, and community, veering into societal invective.
“I get a better sense, a tragic and painful sense, of the age we are living in than I do from the daily and nightly broadcasts of world news … profoundly original, open, and vulnerable … speaks to the heart of the reader.” – Louis Dudek, Poetry Canada ISBN 978-0-88922-401-8 © 1998; 160 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88910-751-4 © 2013; 88 pp; Photos; 16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Liquidities
The Moustache
Vancouver Poems Then and Now Daphne Marlatt
Memories of Greg Curnoe George Bowering
Liquidities gathers many of the poems from Marlatt’s Vancouver Poems, in some cases substantially revised, and follows them with “Liquidities,” a series of recent poems about Vancouver’s incessant transformations both on the ground and in urban imagining.
Bowering and Greg Curnoe became friends when their art was in its youth, and for 26 years they grew up parallel, inside each other’s work. “Documents a friendship through the kinship of the creative spirit.” – Kitchener-Waterloo Record
ISBN 978-0-88922-761-3 © 2013; 96 pp; Photos; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88910-457-0 © 1993; 128 pp; Photos; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Love and Savagery
My Darling Nellie Grey
Des Walsh
George Bowering
This finely crafted book of poems, adapted as a feature film in 2009, is a sustained adoration of the beloved that echoes the work of the troubadours. The unnamed Irish woman of this collection leads the narrator on a spiritual quest from the streets of St. John’s to the seemingly impenetrable evergreen thickets of Ireland.
Stalled on a novel he was writing, Bowering thought he needed a challenge, so he made a New Year’s resolution: write a poem for every day of 2006, adhering to a different set of poetic conventions for each month. The result of this uncompromising personal and formal discipline is one of the most fascinating books of poetry ever written.
“A collection to be read and re-read, pondered and savoured.” – Newfoundland Herald ISBN 978-0-88922-599-2 © 1989, 2009; 56 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
BC Book Prize Finalist, 2011. ISBN 978-0-88922-634-0 © 2010; 416 pp; $39.95 CAN / $39.95 US
64 Talonbooks Poetry Backlist
narrativ enigma / rumours uv hurricane bill bissett Through narrative, non-narrative, sound, song, meditation, metaphysical, spiritual, political, and visual poems, bissett explores the fragility and incompletion of all narratives. “Touches on the great themes of humanity … in bissett’s inimitable way.” – Monday Magazine “bissett is one of the leading performance poets in Canada.” – Flak Magazine
northern wild roses / deth interrupts th dansing bill bissett His rejection of the limiting conventions of written language has allowed bissett to foreground the appearance of any linguistic event as a living performance. “[bissett’s] poetry addresses the limitless d iscussion of the boundaries between the personal and the political.” – National Post
ISBN 978-0-88922-507-7 © 2004; 144 pp; Illustrations; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-532-9 © 2005; 160 pp; Illustrations; $17.95 CAN / $15.95 US
The New Long Poem Anthology
On the Material
Second Edition Edited by Sharon Thesen
Stephen Collis
Features the work of Blaser, Bowering, Brand, Carson, Derksen, Dudek, Dewdney, Friesen, Hartog, Kiyooka, Kroetsch, Marlatt, McCaffery, McFadden, McKay, McKinnon, Mouré, Nichol, Ondaatje, Robertson, Stanley, Tostevin, Villemaire, Wah, and Webb. ISBN 978-0-88922-438-4 © 1991, 2001; 496 pp; $39.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Structured in three parts, On the Material is a meditation on geography, socio-economics, the body, and grief. BC Book Prize Winner, 2011. “On the Material is a fine, smart book, indeed … a profound testing of the ability of an innovative poetry (and innovative poet) to address the most urgent and emotional of subjects.” – Hank Lazer ISBN 978-0-88922-632-6 © 2010; 128 pp; 2nd printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
News & Smoke
[OR]
Selected Poems Sharon Thesen
Brian Henderson
“A compact and beautifully designed collection, nicely fleshed out with a broad selection of poems previously published only in journals and periodicals, not to mention its tantalizing sampling of new fare. Many will discover plenty to admire in News & Smoke.” – Toronto Star ISBN 978-0-88922-417-9 © 1999; 160 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
[OR] might be a collection of cipher poems. Or not. Codes are hidden everywhere, sliding through the atmosphere, slipping into microwave towers, handheld devices, your Twitter account. Each poem gets read a few times, its code deciphered or ciphered back up. Each reader reads his or her own poem and encodes it for another. “[OR] is an extraordinary book, brilliant from the first particle trace to the last. A luminous meditative transcendence links it all together, playing deep chords in both mind and flesh.” – Don Domanski ISBN 978-0-88922-908-2 © 2014; 144 pp; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Noise from the Laundry
Ordinary Time
Weyman Chan
Gil McElroy
Weyman Chan’s poems elaborate his singular and solitary work on the renaissance of the contemporary lyric form.
These poems set out to give shape to time. The collection opens with childhood memories of impending Cold War Armageddon. The second section, counted on the Julian calendar, discovers that our movement through space gives time dimensionality. The last section works with the Anglican lectionary to make manifest the arc of a complete yearlong cycle of both “sacred” and “ordinary” time.
Governor General’s Poetry Award Finalist, 2008. Alberta Literary Awards Shortlist, 2009. “The deepest blues on prairie snow are Weyman Chan’s inks, his pen as precise and as elusive as the silken threads of a ‘tiny spider.’ ” – Sharron Proulx-Turner ISBN 978-0-88922-626-5 © 2008, 2009; 104 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-675-3 © 2011; 128 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
NonZero Definitions
Pacific Windows
Gil McElroy
Collected Poems of Roy K. Kiyooka Roy K. Kiyooka
The language of poetics emerges into the light of the purely formalist and luminous “definitions” of things and their movements as they engage in the ceaseless metamorphosis of replication in all of their endlessly unfolding possibilities. “In NonZero Definitions, McElroy really hits his stride.” – Toronto Review of Books ISBN 978-0-88922-499-5 © 2004; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Edited by Roy Miki The most important poetic works of Kiyooka. Association for Asian American Studies Outstanding Book Award Winner, 1998. “All of Kiyooka’s writing … was made up of exquisite moments.” – Ottawa XPress ISBN 978-0-88922-378-3 © 1997; 320 pp; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
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page as bone – ink as blood
Post-Prairie
Jónína Kirton
An Anthology of New Poetry
Métis / Icelandic poet Jonina Kirton’s debut collection explores the unfurling of a woman of “mixed blood” who, now approaching 60 years old, looks back on pivotal events in her life. Kirton addresses the effects of childhood abuse, sexuality, marriage, ancestry, spirituality, and death. “Jónína Kirton’s memoir in verse could be an epic novel, a haunting ballad, a film noir. What it is: a visitation by ghosts and spirits, familial secrets, and retrieved historical mis-memories.” – Betsy Warland
Edited by Jon Paul Fiorentino & Robert Kroetsch Twenty-five individual talents come together in this groundbreaking collection for a rare literary event: the transition of a cultural identity primarily rooted in place to one that is rooted in a rapidly fragmenting, technologybased globalization. ISBN 978-0-88922-523-7 © 2005; 160 pp; $19.95 CAN / $17.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-923-5 © 2015; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Pell Mell
The Properties
Robin Blaser
Colin Browne
Pell Mell, the middle voice, the syntax meeting its astonishments in its forward stride looking b ackwards, imagining an image nation where the heart is always torn to pieces possessed by the other(s).
The poems in The Properties record encounters between desire and the repressed or suppressed interstices of social, economic, political, and unconscious forces. They’re alert to correspondences, attentive to the lines of force to which the poet’s family quietly assented in the contested place that is the northwest coast of North America.
“Robin Blaser became a source for poetry’s authority beyond any simplifying place or time.” – Robert Creeley ISBN 978-0-88922-601-2 © 1988, 2009; 120 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
“A major work from a poet writing at the peak of both outrage and love.” – Daphne Marlatt ISBN 978-0-88922-685-2 © 2012; 176 pp; Illustrations; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
peter among th towring boxes / text bites
The Rap Canterbury Tales
bill bissett
Baba Brinkman
bissett’s deliciously comic interrogation of the socio-political events towering around us like so many boxes we need constantly to imagine our way out of, is counterpoised in this collection by a recurring dream of a future locked in a global war.
Hip-hop artist Brinkman resurrects Chaucer’s brilliant stories into visible and audible contemporary forms.
BC Book Prize Winner, 2003. “[bill bissett is] the shaman of Canadian poetry.” – Georgia Straight
“It’s a fun, crisp, non-literal translation of Chaucer’s work that, at its very best, captures the verve and stylized rhymes of its inspiration.” – Bloomsbury Review ISBN 978-0-88922-548-0 © 2006; 352 pp; Illustrations; 3rd printing $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-464-3 © 2002; 144 pp; Illustrations; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
The Place of Scraps
Rebuild
Jordan Abel
Sachiko Murakami
Jordan Abel’s The Place of Scraps explores the relationship between First Nations cultures and ethnography. Marius Barbeau – an early-20th-century ethnographer who studied First Nations cultures, including Abel’s ancestral Nisga’a Nation – believed that First Nations cultures were about to disappear completely. Through poetic erasure techniques, Abel carves out new and unexpected understandings of Barbeau’s writing.
Sachiko Murakami approaches the urban centre through its inhabitants’ greatest passion: real estate, where the drive to own engages the practice of tearing down and rebuilding.
ISBN 978-0-88922-788-0 © 2014; 272 pp; 2nd printing; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Popular Narratives
“These are angry poems. Proud and angry. But smart and quirky, too, daring us to tear up our death pledge to real estate, and rethink our citizenship in scandalous cities.” – Meredith Quartermain ISBN 978-0-88922-670-8 © 2011; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Richard Brautigan Ahhhhhhhhhhh
Frank Davey
rob mclennan
This book of prose poems strips down the codes and conventions that make up our society’s “popular narratives.” A revealing and witty, exploded view of our culture.
Thoroughly grounded in the media culture of t elevision and film, mclennan’s language casts a deceptively familiar veil over the breadth and depth of reading which inform this work.
“Risqué metaphors … scandalously unpoetic … a powerful alternative to the orthodoxy of poetic beauty.” – Smaro Kamboureli ISBN 978-0-88922-285-4 © 1991; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Archibald Lampman Award Finalist, 2000. “Just the right combination of details … carefully crafted, each line shifting the image slightly.” – Books in Canada ISBN 978-0-88922-424-7 © 1999; 96 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
66 Talonbooks Poetry Backlist
scars on th seehors
Selected Writing
bill bissett
As Elected bpNichol
bissett’s metric performs a kind of absence of n arrative intent that lets everyone and everything speak for itself. As bissett puts it, “eye dont have 2 invent th world ium alredee in it.” “I find his work … very spiritual, very funny, and very astute.” – Alma Lee
Selections range from visual poetry to translations by one of the most important poets in the 20th century writing in English. “bpNichol’s work is the most c ourageous body of work in Canadian literature.” – Frank Davey
ISBN 978-0-88922-387-5 © 1999; 160 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-176-5 © 1980; 144 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Selected Poems
Selected Writing
The Arches Frank Davey
Net Work Daphne Marlatt
Selections from seven of this important poet and editor’s long poems.
Poetry and prose with an instantaneous recognition of perceptions and thought.
“Possesses a concentrated power that is rarely evident.” – Montreal Gazette
“Confronts political realities on the level in which they impinge upon people’s lives.” – Montreal Gazette
ISBN 978-0-88922-174-1 © 1980; 112 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-175-8 © 1980; 144 pp; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Selected Poems
Sentenced to Light
Beyond Even Faithful Legends bill bissett
Fred Wah
This volume represents the most definitive and comprehensive selection of bissett’s writing from the 1960s and 1970s, in voices “erotik, politikul, humorous, lyrikul, sound-vizual, narrative, meditative, konkreet, collage, nd song-chants.“ “Represents a literary revolution.”
– Montreal Gazette
ISBN 978-0-88922-172-7 © 1980; 160 pp; Illustrations; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Sentenced to Light privileges its poetic and formal textual space outside most of the images that are its original twins and offers the reader a glimpse of the dialectic of larger conversations, the unpredictable, improvisatory bavardage that whispers between words and pictures in an intrinsically poetic space. “One has the sense of Wah’s effort to catch inspiration in its everydayness and at its most raw and vital.” – Canadian Literature ISBN 978-0-88922-577-0 © 2008; 160 pp; Colour photos & illustrations $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Selected Poems
The Shovel
Loki Is Buried at Smoky Creek Fred Wah
Colin Browne
Poems of landscape, language, and memory from Wah’s earlier books. “Wah’s poems continually return us to the act of communion and the realization of our shared, not individual, life.” – Montreal Gazette ISBN 978-0-88922-177-2 © 1980; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
In this extraordinary book, Colin Browne inverts the traditional ways we define and privilege forms of the English language; self-expression becomes prosaic, the recording of history poetic. ReLit Award Shortlist, 2008. “The epic sweep of pieces is impressive, at times rapturous. They are worth digging for.” – Quill & Quire ISBN 978-0-88922-574-9 © 2007; 192 pp; Photos; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Selected Poems
Singed Wings
The Vision Tree Phyllis Webb
Lola Lemire Tostevin
Poetry distinguished by its attention to form and thought. Governor General’s Poetry Award Winner, 1982. “Phyllis Webb … is one of the finest poets now writing in Canada.” – Books in Canada ISBN 978-0-88922-202-1 © 1982; 160 pp; 4th printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Lola Lemire Tostevin’s Singed Wings peers into the interior world of Camille Claudel, whose intimate understanding of her subjects, from young girl to old woman, captured quite a different power. Tostevin allocates a place in which a writer facing her own aging process can take the experience to the limits by giving it new shapes in language. “Lola Lemire Tostevin is an incisive, intelligent, and sharply observant writer.” – Quarry “Love, nape-tingling work.” ISBN 978-0-88922-790-3 © 2013; 120 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
– Books in Canada
Talonbooks Poetry Backlist 67
The Singer’s Broken Throat
k ey
David W. McFadden
Writers’ Alliance of Newfoundland & Labrador Heritage and History Award Finalist, 2005.
Three books in one: Heavy-Hearted in Havana, Sex with a Sixteen Year Old, and Anonymity Suite Part II.
“Alternatively tender and bitter, this collection is at once a prayer for love’s endurance and a lament for a nation.” – Fiddlehead “Walsh is, and always has been, Newfound-land’s poet.” – Sunday Independent ISBN 978-0-88922-478-0 © 2003; 64 pp; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Specks Second Edition Michael McClure
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“They are beautifully written and enjoyable to read.” – Quill & Quire “McFadden should be everybody’s favorite poet.” – Ottawa XPress ISBN 978-0-88922-361-5 © 1995; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
This Poem Adeena Karasick
“McClure’s poetry is a blob of protoplasmic energy.” – Allen Ginsberg
This Poem is an ironic investigation of contemporary culture and the technomedia-saturated world in which we are enmeshed. Composed in the style of Facebook updates and extended tweets, each section infuses itself with continuous shifting tones, styles, and commentary, which are in turn provocative, emotive, and deeply satiric.
ISBN 978-0-88922-688-3 © 1985, 2012; 96 pp; Illustrations; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-699-9 © 2013; 112 pp; Colour illustrations; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Sticks & Stones
This Tremor Love Is
Specks assumes the form of a blastula, offering a poetic model of embryonic development that arises from the cellular division known as “cleavage.”
George Bowering
Daphne Marlatt
George Bowering’s first book of poetry. With a preface by Robert Creeley and original line d rawings by Gordon Payne.
This Tremor Love Is is a memory book – an album of love poems spanning 25 years, from Marlatt’s first writing of what was to become the opening section, A Lost Book, to its latest, most recent sequences.
“His feeling for form, for poetry as something made, is what gives his early pieces their ability to endure.” – Vancouver Province ISBN 978-0-88922-268-7 © 1989; 64 pp; Illustrations; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
BC Book Prize Finalist, 2002. ReLit Award Longlist, 2002. ISBN 978-0-88922-450-6 © 2001; 112 pp; 2nd printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
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Des Walsh
sublingual
Thrum
bill bissett
Natalie Simpson
sublingual is perhaps the most highly structured yet of bissett’s “textual visions.” Its first seven poems construct a Genesis, beginning with a poem of birth – our pre- or sub-lingual first breath, a phenomenological gesture of recognition, of both being and belonging, in and of the world. Following this short creation story, the book continues to unfold in luminous and lucid delight.
In these smart and often funny poems, Canada’s breakthrough poet Natalie Simpson expertly tugs and pulls at syntax, re-stitching a language that reveals the fallacy of description, while inviting startling insight. “A collection to keep close by, to remind that wonders are still being worked in the world.” –Sachiko Murakami
ISBN 978-0-88922-589-3 © 2008; 160 pp; Illustrations; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
ISBN 978-0-88922-850-4 © 2014; 128 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Theogony / Works and Days
ths is erth thees ar peopul
Hesiod
bill bissett
Translated by C.S. Morrissey
The quest in this latest fusion of song, sound, performance, and visual poetry from bill bissett is for a human condition outside the perpetual terror of the 21st century.
Philosopher C.S. Morrissey adapts Hesiod’s two great works, Theogony and Works and Days, taking into account the poet’s essential meditative insights that paved the way for the subsequent achievements of Greek philosophy, most notably of Plato, and thereby gave shape to all of Western philosophy. “Morrissey has brought fire and light to Hesiod’s work, and offered it to us with clarity and good humour, in the darkening air of our time.” – vallum ISBN 978-0-88922-700-2; E-ISBN 978-0-88922-724-8 © 2013; 144 pp; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
ReLit Award Longlist, 2008. “His poetry addresses the limitless discussion of the boundaries between the personal and the political.” – National Post ISBN 978-0-88922-557-2 © 2007; 144 pp; Illustrations; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
68 Talonbooks Poetry Backlist
time
Un/inhabited
bill bissett
Jordan Abel
In time, bissett explores the Heraclitean flux of life and fleeting nature of the universe and, specifically, love in the non-particular universal sense. time is a questionand-answer period, asking how much time we have for our fellow humans and how much time we have for our planet, and how much time we have for our shared love. The answer is, quite simply, so long as there is language, so long as there are words dancing in space, so long as there is time.
Un/inhabited questions the use of politically or racially charged language in 91 pulp western novels found on Project Gutenberg. Using a range of techniques, Abel investigates the complex relationship between language and land, including the ways that use and ownership affect both. This art book presents Abel’s practice for the first time in a visual art context.
ISBN 978-0-88922-653-1 © 2010; 160 pp; Illustrations; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
One of 15 best CanLit covers of 2015 (CBC Books) One of the best 75 books of 2015 (CBC Books) ISBN 978-0-88922-922-8 © 2015; 240 pp; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
To the Barricades
Vermeer’s Light
Stephen Collis
Poems 1996–2006 George Bowering
In To the Barricades we move back and forth between historical and contemporary scenes of revolt, shifting along the active seam between poetry and revolution. At once elegy for past revolutionary figures and a call for renewed struggle, this collection of “social lyrics” seeks to drive apathy from the field and to recover forgotten “radical ideas” in the midst of our current “amnesiac condition.” ISBN 978-0-88922-747-7 © 2013; 160 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
“Harrowing and heartbreaking, these pages walk the tightrope of sentiment without falling into sentimentality … [T]he volume is characterized by the terse honesty, purity of voice, and wry humour that are Bowering’s trademark … It’s a tour de force, and a window into the mind of one of Canada’s most significant poets.” – Quill & Quire ISBN 978-0-88922-565-7 © 2006, 2007; 224 pp; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Transnational Muscle Cars
The Vestiges
Jeff Derksen
Jeff Derksen
A withering critique of consumption and capital.
The Vestiges moves across geography of the present linking historical moments when quarters of cities were squatted, when social change boiled and the future was up for grabs. Covering a wide terrain of research, The Vestiges mine various texts, from craigslist “auto parts” sections to Jane Jacobs, Marx to Marcuse, and from historical accounts of cities to real estate promotions.
“Plays ‘chicken’ with postmodernism, hurtling itself with its hard, glossy, and state-of-art body in a challenge to see who will swerve first.” – Sianne Ngai “Accessible in themes, comfortably paced and motored by an anti-heroic punk sensibility.” – Publishers Weekly ISBN 978-0-88922-473-5 © 2003; 128 pp; 3rd printing; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
“a masterful collection of long research poems ... In the end, Derksen puts the reader in the vestiges of hope.” – Canadian Literature ISBN 978-0-88922-794-1 © 2013; 144 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Triage
what’s left
Cecily Nicholson
rob mclennan
Triage documents the resilience of people refusing disposability on the brutal margins of society, and articulates commonalities in their struggle to resist interventions of commercial enterprise in their lives.
Presents us with cues and clues to the poet’s c ompositional strategies.
“This is the heart of Vancouver, beating bravely in the tent village, attesting to daily poverty, daily ingenuity.” – Rita Wong ISBN 978-0-88922-657-9 © 2011; 96 pp; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
“mclennan works with a genuine verbal invention and his cultural ephemera laid out in pastiche make a strong impression.” – University of Toronto Quarterly “mclennan is one of the most promising voices of his generation.” – Toronto Star ISBN 978-0-88922-498-8 © 2004; 144 pp; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
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Talonbooks Backlist by Title 69
Booklist Index by Title
A ABC of Reading TRG ................. 15 Abraham Lincoln Goes to the Theatre ........................... 34 Adrift ........................................ 34 Adventures of Ali & Ali and the aXes of Evil, The ............................ 34 After Completion ...................... 15 After Jack ................................. 57 Against the Wind ...................... 25 Albertine in Five Times (translated by Gaboriau) ......................... 34 Albertine in Five Times (translated by Van Burek & Glassco) ....... 34 Ali & Ali: The Deportation Hearings ........................................... 34 All Fall Down ............................ 34 All Is Flesh ................................. 57 All That Glitters ......................... 25 All the Verdis of Venice ............. 34 alterNatives ............................... 34 American Notebooks ................ 15 Amigo’s Blue Guitar .................. 34 Amuse Bouche .......................... 57 Anatolia Junction ...................... 15 And Other Stories ..................... 25 And Slowly Beauty..................... 35 And So It Goes .......................... 35 Angel of Solitude, The .............. 25 Annihilated Time ...................... 15 Another Country / bloom .......... 35 Another Home Invasion ............ 35 As Always ................................ 15 Asian Skies ................................ 57 Assembling the Morrow ............ 57 Assorted Candies for the Theatre a .......................................... 35 Athabasca Ryga, The ................ 25 Aurora ...................................... 57
B b leev abul char ak trs ............... Baby Blues, The ......................... Back to the War ........................ Balconville ................................. Baldwins, The ........................... Bambi and Me .......................... Banana Boots ............................ Bardy Google ............................ Baseball Love ............................ BASH’d ..................................... Battle of Batoche, The ............... Beating the Bushes ................... Belles Soeurs, Les ...................... Benevolence ............................. Berlin Blues, The ....................... Bethune .................................... Beyond Recall ...........................
57 35 57 35 25 15 35 57 15 35 15 35 36 36 36 36 18
Bicycle Eater, The ...................... 25 Billy Bishop Goes to War, 2nd ed. ............................................. 36 Birth of a Bookworm ................. 16 Birth of a Bridge ........................ 25 Black Notebook, The ................. 25 Blonds on Bikes ......................... 57 Blue Box ................................... 36 Blue Notebook, The .................. 25 Boiler Room Suite ..................... 36 Bolsheviki .................................. 36 Bonbons Assortis / Assorted Candies .................. 16 Bonjour, Là, Bonjour ................. 36 Book of Esther, The ................... 36 Bordertown Café ...................... 37 Box Closet, The ......................... 16 Boy in the Treehouse, The / Girl Who Loved Her Horses .. 37 bpNichol Comics ....................... 58 bpNichol: What History Teaches. 16 Bread and Salt .......................... 58 Breakdown So Far, The .............. 26 Burning Vision .......................... 37 Buz’Gem Blues, The .................. 37
C Cambodia ................................. 26 Can You See Me Yet? ............... 37 Canada, A New Tax Haven ........ 14 Canadian Drama and the Critics ............................................. 16 Canadiens, Les .......................... 37 Capital Tales .............................. 26 Cariboo Magi ............................ 37 Carmela’s Table ......................... 37 Carpenter, The .......................... 37 Cartouches ............................... 58 Centre, The................................ 58 Cerulean Blue ........................... 13 Chameleon & Other Stories ....... 26 Change Room ........................... 58 Charles Olson at the Harbor ...... 16 Chilliwacks and Their Neighbors, The ....................................... 16 Chimera .................................... 37 Chinese Blue ............................. 58 Christina, The Girl King ............. 38 Circumstances Alter Photographs ............................................ 16 Circus Performers’ Bar, The ....... 26 Citizen Suárez ........................... 26 Coast Salish Essays .................... 16 Cold Comfort ........................... 38 Cold Comfort: Growing Up Cold War .................................. 16 Collected Books of Artie Gold, The ............................................ 58 Colours in the Dark ................... 38 Commons, The, 2nd ed............. 58
Concise Köchel, The .................. 38 Consecrated Ground ................. 38 Conversations in Tehran ............ 17 Coping with Emotions and Otters ............................................. 58 Copper Thunderbird ................. 38 Corked ..................................... 58 Corker ...................................... 38 Coronation Voyage, The ........... 38 Cosmophlia .............................. 13 Covenant of Salt, A ................... 26 Crabdance ................................ 38 Crimes and Mercies .................. 17 Crossing the City ...................... 26 Crossing the Continent ............. 26 Cruel Tears ................................ 38 Cul-de-sac ................................ 39 Cultural Mischief ....................... 59 Cyrano de Bergerac .................. 39
D Damnée Manon, Sacrée Sandra ............................................ 39 Dancock’s Dance ....................... 39 Darwin Alone in the Universe .... 26 Davie Street Translations ........... 59 Dead Metaphor ........................ 39 Dead White Writer on the Floor ............................................. 39 Death in Vancouver ................... 27 Death of René Lévesque, The .... 39 Death of the Spider ................... 27 Decline of the Hollywood Empire, The ....................................... 17 Decompositions ........................ 59 Democracy ................................ 39 Desert of the Heart ................... 27 Diplomacy ................................. 39 Discovery Passages .................... 59 Dishwashers, The ...................... 39 Dispatches from the Occupation ............................................ 17 Divinity Bash / nine lives ............ 40 Divine, The; A Play for Sarah Bernhardt .................... 13 Doctor Thomas Neill Cream ...... 40 Dog Attempts to Drown Man in Saskatoon ......................... 27 Dominican Moon ...................... 59 Down Dangerous Passes Road .. 40 Down the Road to Eternity ........ 27 Down Time ............................... 59 DOWNVERSE ............................ 59 dream / arteries ......................... 59 Dream Pool Essays .................... 59 Driving Force, The ..................... 40 Duchess and the Commoner, The ............................................ 27 Duchesse de Langeais & Other Plays, La ...................... 40
Dunsmuirs, The: Alone at the Edge ................. Dunsmuirs, The: A Promise Kept ..................... Dürer’s Angel ............................ Dwell ........................................ Dyssemia Sleaze ........................
40 40 27 59 60
E Earshot ..................................... 40 East End Plays, The: Part I .......... 40 East End Plays, The: Part II ......... 40 Ecstasy of Rita Joe, The ............. 41 Edward Curtis Project, The . 17, 41 Empire of Desire ....................... 17 Empress Has No Closure, The .... 60 En Pièces Détachées .................. 41 Ends of the Earth, The ............... 41 English Canadian Poetics, An .... 17 Ernestine Shuswap Gets Her Trout ..................................... 41 Error in Judgement, An ............. 17 Esker Mike & His Wife, Agiluk ... 41 Espresso .................................... 41 Essays on George F. Walker ....... 17 EX MACHINA ............................ 17 Execution, The .......................... 41
F Fairies Are Thirsty, The ............... 41 Fairy Ring .................................. 27 Faraway Nearby, The ................. 41 Fat Woman Next Door Is Pregnant, The ....................................... 27 Fearless Warriors ....................... 27 Few Words Will Do, A ............... 60 Fifteen Miles of Broken Glass .... 42 15 Seconds ............................... 42 Fifty .......................................... 60 Fighting Days, The .................... 42 First Quarter of the Moon, The . 28 Five Books of Moses Lapinsky, The ....................................... 28 Five Star Planet ......................... 60 Floating Up to Zero ................... 60 For Home and Country ............. 42 For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again ................................... 42 Forever Yours, Marie-Lou .......... 42 Fortified Castles ........................ 60 400 Kilometres ......................... 42 fractal economies ...................... 60 Fragments of a Farewell Letter Read by Geologists ........................ 42 From the Poplars ....................... 60 Fronteras Americanas ................ 42 Fronteras Americanas, 2nd ed. ............................................. 42
70 Talonbooks Backlist by Title
G Gabriel Dumont Speaks ............ 18 Genrecide ................................. 60 George Bowering ...................... 18 George Ryga: The Other Plays ... 43 George Ryga: The Prairie Novels 28 Get Me Out of Here .................. 61 Get on Top ................................ 28 Gideon’s Blues .......................... 43 gifts .......................................... 61 Girl in the Goldfish Bowl ........... 43 Glace Bay Miners’ Museum, The ............................................ 43 Glengarry .................................. 61 Go Figure .................................. 28 God and the Indian .................... 43 Going Home ............................. 61 Goodnight Disgrace .................. 43 Gordon ..................................... 43 Great Lakes Suite ...................... 18 Great Wave of Civilization, The . 43 griddle talk ............................... 18 Ground Water ........................... 61 Guide to B.C. Indian Myth and Legend, A ............................. 18 Gull, The ................................... 43 Gypsy Guitar ............................. 61
H Halo .......................................... 43 Happiest Man in the World and Other Stories, The ................. 28 Harry’s Fragments ..................... 28 harvest ...................................... 61 Hatch, The ................................ 14 Heart Laid Bare, The .................. 28 Heaven ..................................... 44 Hell & Other Novels ................... 28 Hellfire Pass .............................. 44 Heretic, The .............................. 44 Homechild ................................ 44 Hope Slide, The / Little Sister ..... 44 Hosanna ................................... 44 Hotel Montreal ......................... 61 House That Hijack Built, The ...... 61 How to Write ............................ 18 Human Tissue ............................. 7 hungree throat ......................... 28 Hunting Ground, The ................ 29 hypoderm ................................. 62
I I. Another. The Space Between . 62 I, Bartleby ................................ 14 Impeccable Regret .................... 13 Imperial Canada Inc. ................. 18 Impromptu of Outremont, The .. 44 Impromptu on Nuns’ Island ....... 44 In a World Created by a Drunken God ...................................... 44
In Absentia ............................... 44 In Piazza San Domenico ............ 45 In Plain Sight ............................. 18 In the Company of Strangers .... 18 In the Dog House ...................... 62 In the Eyes of God .................... 45 In the Eyes of Stone Dogs.......... 45 In the Midst .............................. 19 In the Shadow of the Vulture .... 29 Indian Myths & Legends from the North Pacific Coast of America ............................................ 18 influenza uv logik, th ................ 62 Injun ........................................... 4 inkorrect thots .......................... 62 Inside the Seed ......................... 10 Internodes .............. .................. 62 Invisibility Exhibit, The ............... 62 is a door ................................... 62
J Jabber ....................................... Jacob’s Wake ............................ Je me souviens .......................... Jitters ........................................ Joe Beef .................................... Judith’s Sister ............................ Justice in Our Time ...................
14 45 45 45 45 29 19
K Kafka’s Hat ............................... Keeper’s Daughter, The ............ Kerrisdale Elegies ...................... King of Thieves .........................
29 29 62 45
L Lady Smith, The ........................ 45 Lasagna .................................... 20 last photo uv th human soul, th ............................................ 62 Last Scattering Surfaces ............ 63 Latakia ...................................... 29 Lawrence & Holloman ............... 45 Leave of Absence ...................... 46 Legoland ................................... 46 Leisure Society, The ................... 46 Life Without Instruction ............ 46 Like a Child of the Earth ............ 29 Lil’wat World of Charlie Mack, The ............................................ 19 Lily Briscoe................................. 19 Limbinal .................................... 63 Limbo Road .............................. 63 Line in the Sand, A .................... 46 Lions Gate ................................ 19 Liquidities ................................. 63 Listen to the Wind .................... 46 Living by Stories ........................ 19 Local Boy Makes Good .............. 46 Lost in North America................ 19
Lost Souls and Missing Persons . Love and Savagery .................... loving without being vulnrabul . Ludwig & Mae ..........................
46 63 63 46
M Madonna Painter, The ............... 46 Magnificent Voyage of Emily Carr, The ....................................... 47 Main Brides ............................... 29 Maison Suspendue, La .............. 47 Making Theatre......................... 19 Maleficium ................................ 29 Mambo Italiano ........................ 47 Marcel Pursued by the Hounds . 47 Margaret Atwood...................... 19 Marion Bridge ........................... 47 Matter of Gravity, A .................. 29 Meanwhile ................................ 20 Medusa Head, The .................... 20 Mêmewars ................................ 63 Memories of You ...................... 47 Mend the Living .......................... 2 Michel and Ti-Jean .................... 47 Mile End ................................... 30 Mimosa .................................... 30 Minor Episodes / Major Ruckus . 30 Minor Expectations ................... 30 Miss Julie .................................. 47 Miss Take .................................. 30 Modern Canadian Plays: Vol. I, 4th ed. ........................ 47 Modern Canadian Plays: Vol. I, 5th ed. ........................ 47 Modern Canadian Plays: Vol. II, 4th ed. ....................... 48 Modern Candian Plays Vol. ||, 5th ed. ........................ 48 Mom’s the Word ....................... 48 Moss Park & Tough! .................. 14 Monument Cycles, The ............. 63 Moo ......................................... 48 Motherhouse ............................ 48 Mother of the Grass .................. 30 Motortherapy ........................... 30 Moustache, The ........................ 63 Mrs. Blood ................................ 30 Muthologos .............................. 20 My Career with the Leafs & Other Stories .................................. 30 My Darling Nellie Grey .............. 63 My Name Is Bosnia .................... 30 MY TWP Plays ......... .................. 48
N narrativ enigma / rumours uv hurricane .................................. 64 Nature Power ............................ 20 New Long Poem Anthology, The ............................................. 64
NEWS ....................................... 20 News & Smoke ......................... 64 News from Édouard .................. 31 1949 ........................................ 48 Noam Chomsky Lectures, The . 48 Noise from the Laundry ............. 64 NonZero Definitions .................. 64 northern wild roses / deth interrupts th dansing ............................ 64 Nothing to Lose ........................ 48 novel ........................................ 31 Nuri Does Not Exist ................... 31
O Obese Christ, The ..................... 31 Occupation of Heather Rose, The ............................................. 48 Odd Ducks ................................ 49 Omniscience ............................. 49 On the Job ................................ 49 On the Material ........................ 64 One Crack Out .......................... 49 Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth ............................... 49 [OR]........................................... 64 Ordinary Time ........................... 64 Other Losses ............................. 20 Other Schools of Thought ......... 49 Outsider Notes .......................... 20
P Pacific Windows ....................... 64 Pagan Wall, The ........................ 31 page as bone – ink as blood ..... 65 Painter’s Wife, The .................... 31 Paradise by the River ................. 49 Paradise Garden ........................ 49 Past Perfect ............................... 49 Paul Martin & Companies ......... 20 Peace in Duress ......................... 17 Peacock Blue ............................. 12 Pell Mell .................................... 65 Peregrinations............................ 20 Performing National Identities . 20 Persian Postcards ...................... 21 peter among th towring boxes / text bites .............................. 65 Phyllis Webb and the Common Good .................................... 21 Piercing ..................................... 31 Place of Scraps, The .................. 65 Playing Bare .............................. 49 Pleasure of the Crown, The ....... 21 Poet to Publisher ....................... 21 Popular Narratives ..................... 65 Porcupine Hunter and Other Stories, The ....................................... 21 (Post) Mistress, The ................... 50 Post-Prairie ................................ 65 Pound @ Guantanamo ................ 5
Talonbooks Backlist by Title 71
Power Plays, The ....................... 50 Prairie Harbour .......................... 13 Price Paid..................................... 1 Properties, The .......................... 65
Q Queens, The ............................. 50
R Rain Barrel, The ......................... 31 Rap Canterbury Tales, The ......... 65 Rational Geomancy ................... 21 Re: Producing Women’s Dramatic History .................................. 21 Real Mothers ............................ 31 Real World?, The ...................... 50 Rebuild ..................................... 65 Record of Writing, A ................. 21 Recovery of the Public World, The ............................................ 21 Red Notebook, The ................... 31 Refugee Hotel, The ................... 50 Remember Me .......................... 50 Richard Brautigan Ahhhhhhhhhhh, The ....................................... 65 Riddle of the World, The ........... 50 Rogue Cells / Carbon Harbour 32 Rom Com ................................. 21 Rose ......................................... 50 Running on Fumes .................... 50
S Saga of the Wet Hens ............... 50 Saint Frances of Hollywood ....... 50 St. Leonard Chronicles, The ....... 51 Sainte-Carmen of the Main ....... 51 Sainte-Marie among the Hurons. 51 Salish People, The; Vol. I ............ 21 Salish People, The; Vol. II ........... 22 Salish People, The; Vol. III .......... 22 Salish People, The; Vol. IV ......... 22 Salonica Terminus ..................... 22 Salt-Water Moon ...................... 51 Satchmo’ Suite, The .................. 51 Saucy Jack ................................ 51 scars on th seehors ................... 66 Scattered in a Rising Wind ........ 32 Schoolhouse ............................. 51 School-Marm Tree, The ............. 32 Scree ........................................ 12 Seagull, The .............................. 51 Secret Journal of Alexander Mackenzie, The .................... 32 Seeds ........................................ 51 Selected Poems: The Arches ...... 66 Selected Poems: Beyond Even Faithful Legends ................... 66 Selected Poems: Loki Is Buried at Smoky Creek ........................ 66
Selected Poems: The Vision Tree ............................................ 66 Selected Writing: As Elected ...... 66 Selected Writing: Net Work ....... 66 Sentenced to Light .................... 66 7 Stories ................................... 51 Sextet ......................................... 9 Shape of a Girl, The / Jewel ....... 52 Shattered Images ...................... 22 Shinny’s Girls and Other Stories ............................................ 32 Shoplifters ................................ 52 Shovel, The ............................... 66 Signs of Literature ..................... 22 Sila ........................................... 14 Silver Dagger ............................ 52 Singed Wings ........................... 66 Singer’s Broken Throat, The ....... 67 Sisters ....................................... 52 Six Plays by Mavor Moore ......... 52 Skydive ..................................... 52 Slight Case of Fatigue, A ........... 32 Soldier’s Heart ........................... 52 Some Night My Prince Will Come ............................................ 32 Somewhere Else ........................ 52 Song of the Say-Sayer ............... 52 Songs My Mother Taught Me .... 32 Specks ...................................... 67 Spectacle of Empire .................. 52 Sticks & Stones ......................... 67 Still Laughing ............................ 53 Strange Comfort ....................... 22 Strange Truth About Us, The ..... 32 Studies in Description ................ 12 Studies in Motion ...................... 53 Subject to Change .................... 22 sublingual ................................. 67 Suburban Motel ........................ 53 Summerland ............................. 32
T Takeover in Tehran .................... 22 Taking My Life ........................... 22 Tale of Teeka, The ..................... 53 Tales of the Emperor ................. 50 Talking Bodies ........................... 53 Tchipayuk .................................. 33 Tear the Curtain!........................ 53 Terror of the Coast, The ............ 23 textual vishyuns ........................ 23 th book ....................................... 6 That Summer ............................ 53 That Woman ............................. 53 Theatre and AutoBiography ...... 23 Theme for Diverse Instruments . 33 Then We Were One .................. 23 Theogony / Works and Days ...... 67 There’ll Be Another ................... 67 Thérèse and Pierrette and the Little
Hanging Angel ..................... 33 They Called Me Number One .... 23 They Write Their Dreams on the Rock Forever ......................... 23 Thing of Beauty, A .................... 33 This Is My Own ......................... 23 This Poem ................................. 67 This Tremor Love Is .................... 67 Thrum ..................... .................. 67 ths is erth thees ar peopul ......... 67 Tiln & Other Plays ..................... 53 time .......................................... 68 Time Being, The ........................ 33 Timothy Findley and the Aesthetics of Fascism ............................. 23 To the Barricades ....................... 68 Tom at the Farm ........................ 53 Tombs of the Vanishing Indian 54 Too Good to Be True ................. 23 Toronto, Mississippi ................... 54 Tracing the Lines ....................... 23 Tracing the Paths ...................... 24 Transmission Difficulties ............ 24 Transnational Muscle Cars ......... 68 Trees Are Lonely Company ........ 33 Trespassers, The ........................ 54 Triage ....................................... 68 Trial of Judith K., The ................ 54 Trigger, The ............................... Truth or Death .......................... Turkana Boy .............................. Twelve Opening Acts ................ Twenty Years at Play .................. Two Houses Half-Buried in Sand Two Plays .................................. 2000 ........................................
54 24 33 24 54 24 54 54
U Un/inhabited ............................ 68 United States of Wind, The ....... 12 Unity (1918) .............................. 54 Unnatural and Accidental Women, The ....................................... 54
V Valley, The ................................ 55 Vancouver ................................. 24 Vancouver Anthology ................ 24 Ventriloquist, The ...................... 55 Vermeer’s Light ......................... 68 Vestiges, The ........... .................. 68 Vic, The .................................... 55 Vigil .......................................... 55 Visual Laboratory of Robert Lepage, The ............... 24
W Waiting for the Parade .............. 55 Walsh ....................................... 55 Wanted .................................... 55
War Cantata / Child Object ....... 55 Warriors .................................... 55 WASPs ...................................... 55 Watershed, The .......................... 1 We the Family ............................. 8 Weekend Healer, The ................ 56 Westray .................................... 56 Whale Riding Weather .............. 56 What Lies Before Us .................. 56 what’s left ................................. 68 Where the Blood Mixes ............. 56 Whereverville ............................ 56 White Pebbles in the Dark Forests ............................................ 33 Wigrum .................................... 33 Willful Acts ............................... 56 Winners and Losers ................... 56 With Bated Breath .................... 56 Women in a World at War ........ 24 World Afloat, The ...................... 33 Write It on Your Heart ............... 24 Writing the Okanagan .............. 12 Written on Water ...................... 56
72 Talonbooks Backlist by Author
Index by Author All books are published in trade paperback unless otherwise indicated. ISBNs refer to print editions.
A Abel, Jordan Injun............................................ 5 978-0-88922-977-8; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Place of Scraps ................... 65 978-0-88922-788-0; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Un/inhabited.............................. 68 978-0-88922-922-8; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Aguirre, Carmen Blue Box ................................... 36 978-0-88922-757-6; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Refugee Hotel .................... 50 978-0-88922-650-0; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
The Trigger ............................... 54 978-0-88922-591-6; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
German Civilians under Allied Occupation, 1944–1950 ....... 17
scars on th seehors ................... 66
978-0-88922-567-1; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Selected Poems: Beyond Even Faithful Legends ................... 66
Other Losses: An Investigation into the Mass Deaths of German Prisoners at the Hands of the French and Americans after World War II ......................... 20 978-0-88922-665-4; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
978-0-88922-589-3; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
th book ....................................... 6 978-0-88922-980-8 $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Timothy Findley and the Aesthetics of Fascism: Intertextual Collaboration and Resistance 23
time .......................................... 68
978-0-88922-386-8; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Barnholden, Michael Circumstances Alter Photographs: Captain James Peters’ Reports from the War of 1885 ........... 16 Cloth: 978-0-88922-621-0; $35.00 CAN / $35.00 US
Beauchemin, Jean-François Turkana Boy .............................. 33 978-0-88922-690-6; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
15 Seconds ............................... 42
fractal economies ...................... 60
978-0-88922-531-2; $15.95 CAN / $13.95 US
sublingual ................................. 67
ths is erth thees ar peopul ......... 67
beaulieu, derek
The Leisure Society .................... 46
978-0-88922-172-7; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Bailey, Anne Geddes
Archambault, François 978-0-88922-427-8; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
978-0-88922-387-5; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
978-0-88922-539-8; $15.95 CAN / $13.95 US
How to Write ............................ 18 978-0-88922-629-6; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
978-0-88922-557-2; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US 978-0-88922-653-1; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
bissett, bill & Carol Malyon griddle talk: a yeer uv bill n carol dewing brunch ..................... 61 978-0-88922-606-7; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
978-0-88922-358-5; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
The Angel of Solitude ............... 25 978-0-88922-337-0; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Dürer’s Angel ............................ 24 978-0-88922-111-6; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
The Execution ........................... 41 978-0-88922-103-1; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Decompositions ........................ 59
Pell Mell .................................... 65
978-0-88922-269-4; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
The Pagan Wall ......................... 31 978-0-88922-312-7; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Arnett, Chris The Terror of the Coast: Land Alienation and Colonial War on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, 1849–1863 ........ ���������������������������������������������� 23 978-0-88922-318-9; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Two Houses Half-Buried in Sand: Oral Traditions of the Hul’q’umi’num’ Coast Salish of Kuper Island and Vancouver Island .................................... 24 978-0-88922-555-8; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Arnett, Chris, Richard Daly & Annie York They Write Their Dreams on the Rock Forever ......................... 23 Cloth: 978-0-88922-331-8; $60.00 CAN / $40.00 US
Avasilichioaei, Oana Limbinal .................................... 63 978-0-88922-924-2; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
978-0-88922-792-7; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Bilodeau, Chantal Sila: The first play in the Arctic Cycle ........................... 14 978-0-88922-956-3; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
bissett, bill b leev abul char ak trs ............... 57 978-0-88922-433-9; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
hungree throat ......................... 28 978-0-88922-745-3; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
th influenza uv logik ................. 62 978-0-88922-357-8; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
inkorrect thots .......................... 62 978-0-88922-303-5; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
th last photo uv th human soul . 62 978-0-88922-322-6; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
loving without being vulnrabul 63 978-0-88922-372-1; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
narrativ enigma / rumours uv hurricane ................ 64 978-0-88922-507-7; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
northern wild roses / deth interrupts th dansing ............................ 64 978-0-88922-532-9; $17.95 CAN / $15.95 US
novel ........................................ 31 978-0-88922-671-5; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
B Bacque, James Crimes and Mercies: The Fate of
peter among th towring boxes / text bites .............................. 65 978-0-88922-464-3; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
978-0-88922-553-4; $39.95 CAN / $39.95 US
The Lil’wat World of Charlie Mack ............................................. 19 978-0-88922-640-1; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Boucher, Denise
Bourguignon, Stéphane
The Circus Performers’ Bar ........ 26
Internodes ................................ 62
Indian Myths & Legends from the North Pacific Coast of America: A Translation of Franz Boas’ 1895 Edition of Indianische Sagen von der Nord-Pacifischen Küste Amerikas .............................. 18
The Fairies Are Thirsty ............... 41
Blaser, Robin
The Happiest Man in the World and Other Stories ........................ 28
978-0-88922-492-6; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Bouchard, Randy & Dorothy Kennedy
American Notebooks: A Writer’s Journey ................................. 15
Belford, Ken 978-0-88922-631-9; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
978-0-88922-759-0; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Written on Water ...................... 56
Blais, Marie-Claire
Arnason, David 978-0-88922-218-2; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Tom at the Farm ........................ 53
978-0-88922-601-2; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Boas, Franz Indian Myths & Legends from the North Pacific Coast of America: A Translation of Franz Boas’ Indianische Sagen von der NordPacifischen Küste Amerikas .. 18 978-0-88922-553-4; $39.95 CAN / $39.95 US
Böggild, Hans & Doug Innis The Satchmo’ Suite ................... 51 978-0-88922-648-7; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
978-0-88922-200-7; $15.95 CAN / $15.95 US
A Slight Case of Fatigue ............ 32 978-0-88922-596-1; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Bowering, George And Other Stories ..................... 25 978-0-88922-451-3; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Baseball Love ............................ 15 978-0-88922-529-9; $19.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Blonds on Bikes ......................... 57 978-0-88922-381-3; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Harry’s Fragments ..................... 28 978-0-88910-387-0; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Kerrisdale Elegies ...................... 52 978-0-88922-590-9; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
The Moustache: Memories of Greg Curnoe ........................ 63 978-0-88910-457-0; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
My Darling Nellie Grey .............. 63 978-0-88922-634-0; $39.95 CAN / $39.95 US
The Rain Barrel .......................... 31 978-0-88922-345-5; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Boldereff, Frances & Charles Olson
Sticks & Stones ......................... 67
After Completion: The Later Letters of Charles Olson and Frances Boldereff .................. 18
Vermeer’s Light: Poems 1996–2006 ........................... 68
978-0-88922-706-4; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Bouchard, Michel Marc Christina, The Girl King ............. 15 978-0-88922-898-6; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Coronation Voyage ............ 38 978-0-88922-422-3; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Divine, The: A Play for Sarah Bernhardt..................... 13 978-0-88922-958-7; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Down Dangerous Passes Road . 39 978-0-88922-440-7; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
The Madonna Painter ................ 46 978-0-88922-641-8; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Tale of Teeka ...................... 53 978-0-88922-410-0; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
978-0-88922-268-7; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
978-0-88922-565-7; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Writing the Okanagan............... 12 978-0-88922-941-9; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Boyd, George Consecrated Ground, 2nd ed. ... 38 978-0-88922-666-1; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Gideon’s Blues .......................... 43 978-0-88922-496-4; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Brinkman, Baba The Rap Canterbury Tales .......... 65 978-0-88922-548-0; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Brodie, Leanna The Book of Esther .................... 36 978-0-88922-682-1; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
For Home and Country ............. 42 978-0-88922-508-4; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Talonbooks Backlist by Author 73
Schoolhouse ............................. 51 978-0-88922-571-8; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Vic ..................................... 55 978-0-88922-459-9; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Brooks, Daniel & Guillermo Verdecchia The Noam Chomsky Lectures .... 48 978-0-88922-405-6; $15.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Chai, Camyar, Guillermo Verdecchia & Marcus Youssef The Adventures of Ali & Ali and the aXes of Evil ........................... 34 978-0-88922-516-9; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Ali & Ali: The Deportation Hearings ............................................ 34 978-0-88922-782-8; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Browne, Colin
Champagne, Dominic
Ground Water ........................... 61
Playing Bare .............................. 44
978-0-88922-465-0; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
The Hatch................................. 14 978-0-88922-938-9; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
The Properties ........................... 65 978-0-88922-685-2; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
The Shovel ................................ 66 978-0-88922-574-9; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Burnham, Clint Pount @ Guantánamo................. 5 978-0-88922-979-2; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Burns, Mary Shinny’s Girls and Other Stories . 32 978-0-88922-272-4; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Bush, Steven Beating the Bushes ................... 35 978-0-88922-647-0; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Byrne, Edward & Charles Watts The Recovery of the Public World ............................................ 21 978-0-88922-388-2; $39.95 CAN / $29.95 US
978-0-88922-681-4; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Human Tissue: a primer for Not Knowing.................................. 7 978-0-88922-981-5; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
hypoderm ................................. 62 978-0-88922-637-1; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Noise from the Laundry ............. 64 978-0-88922-626-5; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Chaurette, Normand All the Verdis of Venice ............. 34 978-0-88922-442-1; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
The Concise Köchel ................... 38 978-0-88922-518-3; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Fragments of a Farewell Letter Read by Geologists ........................ 42 978-0-88922-400-1; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
The Queens .............................. 50
The Seagull ............................... 51
Carlson, Tim Diplomacy ................................. 39 978-0-88922-611-1; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Omniscience ............................. 49 978-0-88922-562-6; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Caron, Jean-François Keeper’s Daughter, The.............. 29 978-0-88922-920-4; $14.95 CAN / $14.95 US
McCaffery, Steve & bpNichol Rational Geomancy: The Kids of the Book-Machine ...................... 21
Carson, Linda A. et al. Mom’s the Word ....................... 48 978-0-88922-431-5; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
978-0-88922-324-0; $16.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Christensen, Bev Too Good to Be True ................. 23 978-0-88922-354-7; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Clark, Sally Life Without Instruction............. 46 978-0-88922-347-9; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Lost Souls and Missing Persons . 46 978-0-88922-397-4; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Moo ......................................... 48 978-0-88754-476-7; $12.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Saint Frances of Hollywood ....... 51 978-0-88922-366-0; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
The Trial of Judith K. ................. 54 978-0-88754-465-1; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Wanted .................................... 55 978-0-88922-503-9; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
WASPs ...................................... 55 978-0-88922-398-1; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Caux, Patrick & Bernard Gilbert
Clements, Marie
EX MACHINA: Creating for the Stage .................................... 17
Burning Vision .......................... 37
978-0-88922-617-3; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
978-0-88922-642-5; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Cochrane, Mark
978-0-88922-472-8; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Copper Thunderbird ................. 38 978-0-88922-568-8; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Tombs of the Vanishing Indian .. 54 978-0-88922-686-9; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Culhane, Dara An Error in Judgement: The Politics of Medical Care in an Indian/ White Community ................ 17 978-0-88922-246-5; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
The Pleasure of the Crown: Anthropology, Law and First Nations ................................. 21
Change Room ........................... 58 978-0-88922-432-2; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Tear the Curtain! ....................... 53
Chekhov, Anton
978-0-88922-778-1; $14.95 CAN / $14.95 US
The Edward Curtis Project: A Modern Picture Story ... 17, 41
Chinese Blue ............................. 58
Canty, Daniel
Wigrum .................................... 33
Clements, Marie & Rita Leistner
Collier, Kim, Jonathon Young, and Kevin Kerr
978-0-88922-335-6; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
C
978-0-88922-942-6; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
978-0-88922-521-3; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Chan, Weyman
978-0-88922-403-2; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
The United States of Wind: A Travelogue ......................... 12
The Unnatural and Accidental Women ................................ 54
978-0-88922-904-4; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
978-0-88922-315-8; $34.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Culhane, Dara & Leslie A. Robertson In Plain Sight: Reflections on Life in Downtown Eastside Vancouver ............................................ 18
Collis, Stephen
978-0-88922-513-8; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
The Commons, 2nd ed. ............ 58 978-0-88922-580-0; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Dispatches from the Occupation: ... A History of Change ............. 17 978-0-88922-695-1; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
On the Material ........................ 64 978-0-88922-632-6; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Phyllis Webb and the Common Good: Poetry / Anarchy / Abstraction ........................... 21 978-0-88922-559-6; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
To the Barricades ....................... 68 978-0-88922-747-7; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Conolly, L.W. Canadian Drama and the Critics, Revised Edition ..................... 16 978-0-88922-359-2; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Cook, Michael Jacob’s Wake ............................ 45 978-0-88922-097-3; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Tiln & Other Plays ..................... 53 978-0-88922-107-9; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Craddock, Chris & Nathan Cuckow BASH’d ..................................... 35 978-0-88922-656-2; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
D D’Acres, Lilia & Donald Luxton Lions Gate ................................ 19 Cloth: 978-0-88922-416-2; $34.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Dalpé, Jean Marc Scattered in a Rising Wind ........ 32 978-0-88922-484-1; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Daly, Richard, Chris Arnett & Annie York They Write Their Dreams on the Rock Forever ......................... 23 Cloth: 978-0-88922-331-8; $60.00 CAN / $40.00 US
Danis, Daniel In the Eyes of Stone Dogs ......... 45 978-0-88922-519-0; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Song of the Say-Sayer ............... 52 978-0-88922-419-3; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
That Woman ............................. 53 978-0-88922-399-8; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Daurio, Beverley Hell & Other Novels ................... 28 978-0-88910-421-1; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Davey, Frank
Cross, Ronald & Hélène Sévigny
Back to the War ........................ 57
Lasagna: The Man Behind the Mask ��������������������������������������������� 20
Bardy Google ............................ 53
978-0-88922-348-6; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Cryer, Beryl Mildred Two Houses Half-Buried in Sand: Oral Traditions of the Hul’q’umi’num’ Coast Salish of Kuper Island and Vancouver Island .................................... 24 978-0-88922-555-8; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
978-0-88922-514-5; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US 978-0-88922-636-4; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Cultural Mischief ....................... 57 978-0-88922-364-6; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Margaret Atwood: A Feminist Poetics .................................. 19 978-0-88922-217-5; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Popular Narratives ..................... 65 978-0-88922-285-4; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Cuckow, Nathan & Chris Craddock
Selected Poems: The Arches ...... 66
BASH’d ..................................... 35
Del Bucchia, Dina
978-0-88922-656-2; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
978-0-88922-174-1; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Coping with Emotions and Otters ................................... 58 978-0-88922-764-4; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
74 Talonbooks Backlist by Author
Del Bucchia, Dina & Daniel Zomparelli Rom Com ................................. 21 978-0-88922-909-9; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Deneault, Alain Canada: A New Tax Haven ........ 14
E
Findley, Timothy
Gale, Lorena
Ebtekar, Massoumeh, with Fred A. Reed
Can You See Me Yet? ............... 37
Je me souviens .......................... 45
Takeover in Tehran: The Inside Story of the 1979 U.S. Embassy Capture ................................ 22
Fiorentino, Jon Paul & Robert Kroetsch
978-0-88922-836-8; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Paul Martin & Companies: Sixty Theses on the Alegal Nature of Tax Havens ................................ 20
978-0-88922-443-8; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Imperial Canada Inc.: Legal Haven of Choice for the World’s Mining Industries .............................. 18 978-0-88922-635-7; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Derksen, Jeff Annihilated Time: Poetry and Other Politics .................................. 15 978-0-88922-612-8; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Down Time ............................... 59 978-0-88922-278-6; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Dwell ........................................ 59 978-0-88922-328-8; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Transnational Muscle Cars ......... 68 978-0-88922-473-5; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Vestiges, The ............................. 68 978-0-88922-794-1; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Desjardins, Martine All That Glitters ......................... 25 978-0-88922-520-6; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
A Covenant of Salt .................... 26 978-0-88922-566-4; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Fairy Ring .................................. 27 978-0-88922-449-0; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Maleficium ................................ 29 978-0-88922-680-7; $14.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Deverell, Rex Boiler Room Suite ..................... 36 978-0-88922-137-6; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Douglas, Stan Vancouver Anthology, 2nd ed.... 24 Cloth: 978-0-88922-614-2; $35.00 CAN / $35.00 US
Ducharme, Réjean Go Figure .................................. 28 978-0-88922-482-7; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Miss Take .................................. 30 978-0-88922-669-2; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Dulai, Phinder dream / arteries ......................... 59 978-0-88922-913-6; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Dumont, Gabriel Gabriel Dumont Speaks, 2nd ed. ............................................ 18 978-0-88922-625-8; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Durand, Monique The Painter’s Wife ..................... 31 978-0-88922-535-0; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Post-Prairie: An Anthology of New Poetry ................................... 65
Enright, Robert Peregrinations: Conversations with Contemporary Artists ............ 20
978-0-88922-538-1; $15.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Deneault, Alain & William Sacher
978-0-88922-119-2; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
978-0-921368-67-0; $24.95 CAN / $18.95 US
978-0-88922-523-7; $19.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Garneau, Michel
Farrant, M.A.C.
Impeccable Regret .................... 13 978-0-88922-949-5; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Breakdown So Far .............. 26
fitzpatrick, ryan Fortifed Castles ......................... 60 978-0-88922-909-9; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
978-0-88922-471-1; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
978-0-88922-615-9; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
The Strange Truth About Us: A Novel of Absence .............. 33 978-0-88922-668-5; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Fouquet, Ludovic The Visual Laboratory of Robert Lepage ................................. 24 978-0-88922-545-9; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Frangione, Lucia Cariboo Magi ............................ 37 978-0-88922-527-5; $15.95 CAN / $13.95 US
The World Afloat: ..................... 33 978-0-88922-838-2; $12.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Espresso .................................... 41
Fawcett, Brian Cambodia: A Book for People Who Find Television Too Slow ........ 26 978-0-88922-237-3; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
978-0-88922-495-7; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Leave of Absence ...................... 46 978-0-88922-753-8; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Paradise Garden ........................ 49 978-0-88922-658-6; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Capital Tales .............................. 26 978-0-88922-221-2; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
My Career with the Leafs & Other Stories ........................ 30 978-0-88922-199-4; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
The Secret Journal of Alexander Mackenzie ............................ 32
978-0-88922-396-7; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
1949 ........................................ 48 978-0-88922-266-3; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
One Crack Out .......................... 49 978-0-88922-488-9; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
The Riddle of the World ............ 50 978-0-88922-487-2; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Salt-Water Moon ...................... 51 978-0-88922-257-1; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Silver Dagger ............................ 52 978-0-88922-325-7; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Soldier’s Heart ........................... 52 978-0-88922-463-6; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
That Summer ............................ 53 978-0-88922-439-1; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
978-0-88922-480-3; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Doctor Thomas Neill Cream (Mystery at McGill) ................ 40 978-0-88922-332-5; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Joe Beef .................................... 45 978-0-88922-291-5; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Motherhouse ............................ 48 978-0-88922-848-1; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Nothing to Lose ........................ 48 978-0-88922-121-5; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
On the Job ................................ 49 978-0-88922-102-4; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Cold Comfort ........................... 38 978-0-88922-201-4; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Gilbert, Bernard & Patrick Caux EX MACHINA: Creating for the Stage .................................... 17 978-0-88922-617-3; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Glaap, Albert-Reiner & Sherrill Grace Performing National Identities: International Perspectives on Contemporary Canadian Theatre ............................................ 23 978-0-88922-475-9; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Glover, Douglas Dog Attempts to Drown Man in Saskatoon ............................. 27 978-0-88922-228-1; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
The Collected Books of Artie Gold ............................................. 58
978-0-88922-242-7; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
978-0-88922-687-6; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Death of René Lévesque ..... 39
978-0-88922-282-3; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Garrard, Jim
Jitters ........................................ 45
Banana Boots ............................ 35 Bolsheviki: A Dead Serious Comedy ............................................. 36
Warriors .................................... 55
Gold, Artie
Balconville ................................. 35 978-0-88922-145-1; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
978-0-88922-930-3; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
French, David
978-0-88922-227-4; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Fennario, David
978-0-88922-494-0; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Decline of the Hollywood Empire .................................. 21
F
Down the Road to Eternity: New & Selected Fiction ............. 27
978-0-88922-674-6; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Mambo Italiano ........................ 47 The St. Leonard Chronicles......... 51
978-0-88922-545-9; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Darwin Alone in the Universe .... 26
In Piazza San Domenico ............ 43
Fischer, Hervé
Fitzgerald, Judith
978-0-88922-556-5; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
978-0-88922-453-7; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Galluccio, Steve
G Gagnon, Madeleine Against the Wind ...................... 25 978-0-88922-696-8; $14.95 CAN / $14.95 US
As Always.................................. 15 978-0-88922-896-2; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
My Name Is Bosnia .................... 30 978-0-88922-542-8; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Women in a World at War: Seven Dispatches from the Front ..... 24 978-0-88922-483-4; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
978-0-88922-652-4; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Grace, Sherrill Making Theatre: A Life of Sharon Pollock .................................. 19 978-0-88922-586-2; $39.95 CAN / $39.95 US
Strange Comfort: Essays on the Work of Malcolm Lowry ........ 22 978-0-88922-618-0; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Guay-Poliquin, Christian Running on Fumes ...................... 3 978-0-88922-975-4; $14.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Grace, Sherrill & Albert-Reiner Glaap Performing National Identities: International Perspectives on Contemporary Canadian Theatre ............................................ 20 978-0-88922-475-9; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Grace, Sherrill & Jerry Wasserman Theatre and AutoBiography: Writing and Performing Lives in Theory and Practice .............. 23 978-0-88922-540-4; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Talonbooks Backlist by Author 75
Gray, John Maclachlan Local Boy Makes Good .............. 46
Vol. III: The Mainland Halkomelem ............................................ 22 978-0-88922-150-5; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
978-0-88922-248-9; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Gray, John MacLachlan, with Eric Peterson Billy Bishop Goes to War, 2nd ed. ............................................. 36 978-0-88922-689-0; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
H Hadfield, D.A. Re: Producing Women’s Dramatic History: The Politics of Playing in Toronto ................................. 21
Vol. IV: The Sechelt and the South-Eastern Tribes of Vancouver Island.................... 22 978-0-88922-151-2; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Hogg, Robert An English Canadian Poetics Vol. I: The Confederation Poets ............................................ 17 978-0-88922-613-5; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Hollingsworth, Margaret Willful Acts ............................... 56 978-0-88922-385-1; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
978-0-88922-563-3; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Hardin, Herschel
Homel, David
Esker Mike and His Wife, Agiluk . 44
Get on Top ................................ 28 978-0-7737-6048-6; $22.95 CAN / $18.95 US
978-0-88922-018-8; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
The Great Wave of Civilization .. 43 978-0-88922-106-2; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Huber, Sandra Assembling the Morrow ............ 57
Henderson, Brian [OR] .......................................... 64 978-0-88922-908-2; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
978-0-88922-910-5; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Hughes, Kenneth James Signs of Literature ..................... 22
Hendry, Tom Fifteen Miles of Broken Glass .... 42 978-0-88922-096-6; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
978-0-88922-236-6; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Hunter, Lynette Outsider Notes .......................... 20
Hentsch, Thierry Empire of Desire: The Abolition of Time ........... 17 978-0-88922-587-9; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Truth or Death: The Quest for Immortality in the Western Narrative Tradition ................ 24 978-0-88922-509-1; $39.95 CAN / $39.95 US
978-0-88922-363-9; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Karasick, Adeena Amuse Bouche .......................... 57 978-0-88922-604-3; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Dyssemia Sleaze ........................ 60
Inglis, Raul Sanchez In the Eyes of God .................... 45 978-0-88922-561-9; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Innis, Doug & Hans Böggild The Satchmo’ Suite ................... 51 978-0-88922-648-7; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Theogony / Works and Days ...... 67
978-0-88922-307-3; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Genrecide ................................. 60 978-0-88922-370-7; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US 978-0-88922-511-4; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Mêmewars ................................ 63 978-0-88922-344-8; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US 978-0-88922-699-9; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Kearns, Lionel 978-0-88922-558-9; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Kennedy, Dorothy & Randy Bouchard Indian Myths & Legends from the North Pacific Coast of America: A Translation of Franz Boas’ 1895 Edition of Indianische Sagen von der Nord-Pacifischen Küste Amerikas .............................. 18 The Lil’wat World of Charlie Mack ............................................. 19 978-0-88922-640-1; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Kerangal, Maylis de Birth of a Bridge ........................ 25 978-0-88922-889-4; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Mend the Living .......................... 2
Kerr, Kevin
Jaeger, Peter
Skydive ..................................... 52
Ernestine Shuswap Gets Her Trout ........................................... 41
ABC of Reading TRG ................. 15
978-0-88922-525-1; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US 978-0-88922-780-4; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Rose ......................................... 50 978-0-88922-490-2; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Hildebrandt, Walter The Battle of Batoche: British Small Warfare and the Entrenched Métis .................. 15 978-0-88922-693-7; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Hill-Tout, Charles The Salish People (ed. Ralph Maud) Vol. I: The Thompson and the Okanagan ............................. 21 978-0-88922-148-2; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Vol. II: The Squamish and the Lillooet ................................. 22 978-0-88922-149-9; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Janes, Mariner The Monument Cycles .............. 63 978-0-88922-751-4; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Jetha, Sadru Nuri Does Not Exist ................... 31 978-0-88922-655-5; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
John-Kehewin, Wanda In the Dog House ...................... 62 978-0-88922-749-1; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Johnson, Chris Essays on George F. Walker: Playing with Anxiety ......................... 17 978-0-921368-82-3; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Joseph, Maia, et al. Tracing the Lines: Reflections on Contemporary Poetics and Cultural Politics in Honour of Roy Miki ................................... 23 978-0-88922-694-4; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Post-Prairie: An Anthology of New Poetry ................................... 65 978-0-88922-523-7; $19.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Kröller, Eva-Marie George Bowering: Bright Circles of Colour .................................. 18 978-0-88922-306-6; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Kurd, Rahat Cosmophilia .............................. 13 978-0-88922-946-4; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
A Few Words Will Do ................ 60
J
The (Post) Mistress .................... 50
Cloth: 978-0-88922-292-2; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Kroetsch, Robert & Jon Paul Fiorentino
This Poem ................................. 67
978-0-88922-973-0; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
978-0-88922-423-0; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Justice in Our Time: The Japanese Canadian Redress Settlement ............................................ 19
The House That Hijack Built ....... 61
Highway, Tomson
978-0-88922-700-2; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Kobayashi, Cassandra & Roy Miki
978-0-88922-434-6; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
The Empress Has No Closure ..... 60
978-0-88922-553-4; $39.95 CAN / $39.95 US
I
Hesiod
K
L Lafond, Jean-Daniel & Fred A. Reed Conversations in Tehran ............ 17 978-0-88922-550-3; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Lamothe, Serge The Baldwins ............................ 25 978-0-88922-544-2; $15.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Langley, Rod Bethune .................................... 36 978-0-88922-088-1; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
The Dunsmuirs: Alone at the Edge ............................................. 40 978-0-88922-297-7; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
The Dunsmuirs: A Promise Kept .40 978-0-88922-304-2; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Lavallée, Ronald Tchipayuk: or The Way of the Wolf ��������������������������������������������� 33
978-0-88922-638-8; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
978-0-88922-338-7; $34.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Studies in Motion: The Hauntings of Eadweard Muybridge ............. 53
Leistner, Rita & Marie Clements
978-0-88922-810-8; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Unity (1918) .............................. 54 978-0-88922-461-2; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Kerr, Kevin, Kim Collier & Jonathon Young Tear the Curtain! ....................... 53 978-0-88922-904-4; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Kirton, Jonina page as bone – ink as blood ...... 65 978-0-88922-923-5; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Kitagawa, Muriel This Is My Own ......................... 23 Cloth: 978-0-88922-231-1; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
The Edward Curtis Project: A Modern Picture Story ... 17, 41 978-0-88922-642-5; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US Cloth: 978-0-88922-376-9; $39.95 CAN / $34.95 US
Leroux, Louis Patrick Ludwig & Mae .......................... 46 978-0-88922-623-4; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Lill, Wendy All Fall Down ............................ 34 978-0-88922-336-3; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Chimera .................................... 37 978-0-88922-569-5; $15.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Corker ...................................... 38 978-0-88922-394-3; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Kiyooka, Roy K.
The Fighting Days ..................... 42
Pacific Windows: Collected Poems of Roy K. Kiyooka ................. 64
The Glace Bay Miners’ Museum .43
978-0-88922-378-3; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
978-0-88922-226-7; $15.95 CAN / $13.95 US 978-0-88922-369-1; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Memories of You ...................... 47 978-0-88922-489-6; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
76 Talonbooks Backlist by Author
The Occupation of Heather Rose ............................................. 48 978-0-88922-593-0; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Sisters ....................................... 52 978-0-88922-289-2; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Long, James & Marcus Youssef Winners and Losers ................... 13 978-0-88922-932-7; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Loring, Kevin Where the Blood Mixes ............. 56 978-0-88922-608-1; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Luxton, Donald & Lilia D’Acres Lions Gate ................................ 19 Cloth: 978-0-88922-416-2; $34.95 CAN / $29.95 US
McCaffery, Steve & bpNichol Rational Geomancy: The Kids of the Book-Machine ...................... 21 978-0-88922-300-4; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
McClure, Michael Specks, 2nd ed. ........................ 67 978-0-88922-688-3; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
McElroy, Gil Cold Comfort: Growing Up Cold War .............................. 16 978-0-88922-684-5; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Dream Pool Essays .................... 59 978-0-88922-454-4; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Last Scattering Surfaces ............ 63 978-0-88922-575-6; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
M Macdonald, Bruce Vancouver: A Visual History ....... 24 Cloth: 978-0-88922-311-0; $60.00 CAN / $40.00 US
NonZero Definitions .................. 64 978-0-88922-499-5; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Ordinary Time ........................... 64 978-0-88922-675-3; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
MacDonald, Bryden
McFadden, David W.
Divinity Bash / nine lives ............ 40
Five Star Planet ......................... 60
978-0-88922-408-7; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Odd Ducks ................................ 49 978-0-88922-934-1; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Weekend Healer ................. 56 978-0-88922-360-8; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Whale Riding Weather .............. 56 978-0-88922-353-0; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
With Bated Breath .................... 56 978-0-88922-651-7; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
MacDonald, Josh Halo .......................................... 43 978-0-88922-469-8; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Whereverville ............................ 56 978-0-88922-506-0; $15.95 CAN / $15.95 US
MacIvor, Daniel Cul-de-sac ................................ 39 978-0-88922-515-2; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Marion Bridge ........................... 47 978-0-88922-552-7; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
MacLeod, Joan Amigo’s Blue Guitar .................. 34 978-0-88922-371-4; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Another Home Invasion ............ 35 978-0-88922-622-7; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Homechild ................................ 44 978-0-88922-582-4; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Hope Slide / Little Sister ...... 44 978-0-88922-411-7; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
The Shape of a Girl / Jewel ........ 52 978-0-88922-460-5; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Toronto, Mississippi ................... 54 978-0-88922-583-1; $15.95 CAN / $15.95 US
The Valley ................................. 55 978-0-88922-846-7; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
2000 ........................................ 54 978-0-88922-373-8; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
978-0-88922-468-1; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Great Lakes Suite ...................... 18 978-0-88922-382-0; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Gypsy Guitar ............................. 61 978-0-88922-250-2; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
There’ll Be Another ................... 67 978-0-88922-361-5; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
McKinnon, Barry The Centre: Poems 1970–2000 ��������������������������������������������� 54 978-0-88922-497-1; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
mclennan, rob gifts .......................................... 61 978-0-88922-605-0; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Glengarry .................................. 61 978-0-88922-662-3; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
harvest: a book of signifiers ...... 61 978-0-88922-455-1; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
The Richard Brautigan Ahhhhhhhhhhh .................... 65 978-0-88922-424-7; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
what’s left ................................. 68 978-0-88922-498-8; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Mailhot, Michèle Death of the Spider ................... 27 978-0-88922-298-4; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Saga of the Wet Hens ............... 50 978-0-88922-213-7; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
White Pebbles in the Dark Forests ��������������������������������������������� 33
Miki, Roy & Cassandra Kobayashi Justice in Our Time: The Japanese Canadian Redress Settlement . 19
978-0-88922-280-9; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Cloth: 978-0-88922-292-2; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Marlatt, Daphne
Mitchell, Ken
The Gull .................................... 45
Cruel Tears ................................ 38
978-0-88922-616-6; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Liquidities: Vancouver Poems Then and Now................................ 63
978-0-88922-120-8; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Moodie, Andrew The Lady Smith ......................... 45
978-0-88922-761-3; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Selected Writing: Net Work ....... 66 978-0-88922-175-8; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
978-1-55331-002-0; $14.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Moore, Mavor Six Plays by Mavor Moore ......... 52
This Tremor Love Is .................... 67 978-0-88922-450-6; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Martin, Patrice
978-0-88922-271-7; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Morse, Garry Thomas After Jack ................................. 57
Kafka’s Hat ............................... 29 978-0-88922-743-9; $12.95 CAN / $12.95 US
978-0-88922-776-7; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Death in Vancouver ................... 27
Maud, Ralph Charles Olson at the Harbor ...... 16
978-0-88922-607-4; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Discovery Passages .................... 59
978-0-88922-576-3; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
A Guide to B.C. Indian Myth and Legend ................................. 18 978-0-88922-189-5; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Poet to Publisher: Charles Olson’s Correspondence with Donald Allen ......................... 21 978-0-88922-486-5; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
The Porcupine Hunter and Other Stories .................................. 21 978-0-88922-333-2; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Transmission Difficulties: Franz Boas and Tsimshian Mythology ...... 24
978-0-88922-660-9; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Minor Episodes / Major Ruckus . 30 978-0-88922-697-5; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Minor Expectations ................... 30 978-0-88922-891-7; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Prairie Harbour........................... 13 978-0-88922-940-2; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Rogue Cells / Carbon Harbour ... 32 978-0-88922-776-7; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Murakami, Sachiko Get Me Out of Here .................. 61 978-0-88922-925-9; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Invisibility Exhibit ................ 62
978-0-88922-430-8; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Meigs, Mary
978-0-88922-579-4; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Rebuild ..................................... 65
Beyond Recall ........................... 18 978-0-88922-505-3; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
The Box Closet .......................... 16
978-0-88922-776-7; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Murphy, John The Heretic ............................... 44
978-0-88922-253-3; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
In the Company of Strangers ..... 18 978-0-88922-294-6; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
978-0-88922-595-4; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Murrell, John Democracy ................................ 39
Lily Briscoe: A Self-Portrait ......... 29 978-0-88922-195-6; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
978-0-921368-28-1; $10.95 CAN / $7.95 US
The Faraway Nearby .................. 41
The Medusa Head ..................... 20 978-0-88922-210-6; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
978-0-921368-56-4; $10.95 CAN / $10.95 US
Waiting for the Parade .............. 55
The Time Being ......................... 33
978-0-88922-183-3; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
978-0-88922-374-5; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Malyon, Carol & bill bissett
Mercer, Michael
N
griddle talk: a yeer uv bill n carol dewing brunch ..................... 18
Goodnight Disgrace .................. 43
Nadeau, Michel
978-0-88922-606-7; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Marchessault, Jovette Like a Child of the Earth ............ 29 978-0-88922-261-8; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
The Magnificent Voyage of Emily Carr ............................. 47 978-0-88922-314-1; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Mother of the Grass .................. 30 978-0-88922-267-0; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
978-0-88922-238-0; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Miki, Roy A Record of Writing .................. 21 Cloth: 978-0-88922-263-2; $39.95 CAN / $34.95 US
Tracing the Paths: Reading ≠ Writing The Martyrology ................... 24 978-0-88922-256-4; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Tracing the Lines ....................... 23 978-0-88922-694-4; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
And Slowly Beauty .................... 35 978-0-88922-786-6; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Nichol, bp bpNichol Comics ....................... 58 978-0-88922-448-3; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Meanwhile: The Critical Writings of bpNichol ............................... 20 978-0-88922-447-6; $34.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Selected Writing: As Elected ...... 66 978-0-88922-176-5; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Talonbooks Backlist by Author 77
Nichol, bp & Steve McCaffery Rational Geomancy: The Kids of the Book-Machine ...................... 21
Girl in the Goldfish Bowl ........... 43 978-0-88922-481-0; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Gordon ..................................... 43 978-0-88922-664-7; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
978-0-88922-300-4; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Nichol, James W.
In Absentia ............................... 44
Sainte-Marie among the Hurons . 51 978-0-88922-147-5; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
978-0-88922-702-6; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Lawrence & Holloman ............... 45
Nicholson, Cecily Triage ....................................... 68
978-0-88922-392-9; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Other Schools of Thought ......... 49 978-0-88922-346-2; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
978-0-88922-657-9; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
From the Poplars ....................... 60
7 Stories ................................... 51 978-0-88922-281-6; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
978-0-88922-856-6; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Norris, Ken
Sextet ......................................... 9
Asian Skies ................................ 57 978-0-88922-633-3; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
978-0-88922-984-6; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
The Shoplifters .......................... 10
Dominican Moon ...................... 59 978-0-88922-526-8; $17.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Fifty .......................................... 60
978-0-88922-926-6; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Still Laughing: Three Adaptations by Morris Panych ....................... 53 978-0-88922-624-1; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
978-0-88922-479-7; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Floating Up to Zero ................... 60
Trespassers, The ........................ 54 978-0-88922-628-9; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
978-0-88922-659-3; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Going Home ............................. 61
Vigil, 2nd ed. ............................ 55 978-0-88922-692-0; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
978-0-88922-573-2; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Hotel Montreal: New and Selected Poems .................................. 61 978-0-88922-456-8; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Limbo Road .............................. 63 978-0-88922-401-8; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
What Lies Before Us .................. 56 978-0-88922-560-2; $15.95 CAN / $15.95 US
978-0-88922-327-1; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
textual vishyuns: image and text in the work of bill bissett .......... 25 978-0-88922-661-6; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Pollock, Sharon Saucy Jack ................................ 51 978-0-921368-41-0; $10.95 CAN / $7.95 US
Walsh ....................................... 55 978-0-88922-215-1; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
978-0-88922-491-9; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Olson, Charles Muthologos: Lectures and Interviews, 2nd ed. ............... 20 978-0-88922-639-5; $39.95 CAN / $39.95 US
Q Quartermain, Meredith I, Bartleby ................................ 14
Olson, Charles & Frances Boldereff After Completion: The Later Letters of Charles Olson and Frances Boldereff .................. 15 978-0-88922-706-4; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
978-0-88922-918-1; $14.95 CAN / $14.95 US
R Reaney, James Colours in the Dark ................... 38 978-0-88922-001-0; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US 978-0-88922-002-7; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Panych, Morris
Rebar, Kelly
Benevolence ............................. 36
Bordertown Café ...................... 37
978-0-88922-584-8; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Dishwashers ....................... 34 978-0-88922-524-4; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Earshot ..................................... 40 978-0-88922-444-5; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
The Ends of the Earth ................ 41 978-0-88922-334-9; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
978-0-88922-443-8; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Then We Were One: Fragments of Two Lives .............................. 23
978-0-88922-477-3; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Reed, Fred A. Anatolia Junction: A Journey into Hidden Turkey ....................... 15 978-0-88922-426-1; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Persian Postcards: Iran After Khomeini .............. 24 978-0-88922-351-6; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Rossi, Vittorio Carmela’s Table: A Carpenter’s Trilogy, A Chronicle in Three Plays, Part II .......................... 37 978-0-88922-594-7; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
The Carpenter: A Carpenter’s Trilogy, A Chronicle in Three Plays, Part III .......................... 37 978-0-88922-609-8; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Hellfire Pass: A Carpenter’s Trilogy, A Chronicle in Three Plays, Part I ............................................ 44
978-0-88922-667-8; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Reed, Fred A. & Daniel Lafond Conversations in Tehran ........ 17 978-0-88922-550-3; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
978-0-88922-564-0; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Paradise by the River ................. 49 978-0-88922-393-6; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Rostand, Edmond
Reid, Jamie
Cyrano de Bergerac .................. 39
I. Another. The Space Between: Selected Poems....................... 62
Rother, Jason Patrick
Reimer, Nikki
Inside the Seed ......................... 10
978-0-88922-835-1; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
DOWNVERSE ............................. 59 978-0-88922-854-2; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Renaud, Yannick
978-0-88922-986-0; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Rule, Jane Desert of the Heart ................... 27
All Is Flesh ................................. 57 978-0-88922-672-2; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
978-0-88922-301-1; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Taking My Life ........................... 22 978-0-88922-673-9; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Theme for Diverse Instruments . 33
978-0-88922-610-4; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
978-0-88922-060-7; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Rideout, George
Ryga, George
Michel & Ti-Jean ....................... 47
The Athabasca Ryga ................. 25
978-0-88922-902-0; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
978-0-88922-276-2; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Robertson, Leslie A. & Dara Culhane
The Ecstasy of Rita Joe .............. 47
In Plain Sight: Reflections on Life in Downtown Eastside Vancouver ��������������������������������������������� 18
George Ryga: The Other Plays ... 43
978-0-88922-513-8; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
978-0-88922-000-3; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US 978-0-88922-500-8; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
George Ryga: The Prairie Novels ............................................ 28
Robinson, Harry & Wendy Wickwire
In the Shadow of the Vulture...... 29
Living by Stories: A Journey of Landscape and Memory ........ 19
Summerland ............................. 32
978-0-88922-501-5; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US 978-0-88922-233-5; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
978-0-88922-522-0; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Nature Power: In the Spirit of an Okanagan Storyteller ............ 20 978-0-88922-504-6; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Listen to the Wind .................... 46
P
Takeover in Tehran: The Inside Story of the 1979 U.S. Embassy Capture .................. 22
Legoland ................................... 46
O’Neill, Chris & Ken Schwartz Westray: The Long Way Home .. 56
978-0-88922-485-8; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Richmond, Jacob
978-0-88922-129-1; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Trees Are Lonely Company ........ 32
Shattered Images: The Rise of Militant Iconoclasm in Syria ... 32
Studies in Description: Reading Gertrude Stein’s Tender Buttons ............................................ 12 978-0-88922-961-7; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
The School-Marm Tree .............. 32
978-0-88922-368-4; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Peters, Carl
O O’Hagan, Howard
Salonica Terminus: Travels into the Balkan Nightmare ................. 24
Write It on Your Heart: The Epic World of an Okanagan Storyteller 24 978-0-88922-502-2; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Rodin, Renee Bread and Salt .......................... 58 978-0-88922-367-7; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Subject to Change .................... 21 978-0-88922-644-9; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Rogers, Janet Peace in Duress ......................... 17 978-0-88922-911-2; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
978-0-88922-313-4; $34.95 CAN / $29.95 US
S Sacher, William & Alain Deneault Imperial Canada Inc.: Legal Haven of Choice for the World’s Mining Industries .............................. 18 978-0-88922-635-7; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Salutin, Rick Les Canadiens ........................... 37 978-0-88922-122-2; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Schermbrucker, Bill Chameleon & Other Stories ....... 26 978-0-88922-208-3; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Mimosa .................................... 30 978-0-88922-254-0; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Motortherapy ........................... 30 978-0-88922-330-1; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
78 Talonbooks Backlist by Author
Schwartz, Ken & Chris O’Neill Westray: The Long Way Home .. 58 978-0-88922-491-9; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Scobie, Stephen bpNichol: What History Teaches ��������������������������������������������� 16 978-0-88922-220-5; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Scott, Gail Main Brides ............................... 29 978-0-88910-456-3; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Sellars, Bev Price Paid: The Fight for First Nations Survival ............... 1 978-0-88922-972-3; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
They Called Me Number One: Secrets and Survival at an Indian Residential School ................. 23 978-0-88922-741-5; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Dead White Writer on the Floor ��������������������������������������������� 39
Judith’s Sister ............................ 29
978-0-88922-663-0; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Mile End ................................... 30
Fearless Warriors, 2nd ed. ......... 27 978-0-88922-597-8; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
400 Kilometres ......................... 42 978-0-88922-517-6; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
God and the Indian ................... 43 978-0-88922-844-3; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
In a World Created by a Drunken God ...................................... 44 978-0-88922-537-4; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
NEWS: Postcards from the Four Directions ...................... 20 978-0-88922-643-2; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth ..................................... 49 978-0-88922-384-4; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Sévigny, Hélène & Ronald Cross
Thesen, Sharon
Lasagna: The Man Behind the Mask ��������������������������������������������� 20
Aurora ...................................... 57
Simons, Beverley
The New Long Poem Anthology, 2nd ed. ................................. 64
Crabdance ................................ 38 978-0-88922-016-4; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Simpson, Natalie Thrum ....................................... 67 978-0-88922-850-4; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Soutar, Annabel Watershed, The ........................ 11 978-0-88922-988-4; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Seeds .......................................... 5 978-0-88922-701-9; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Strang, Catriona Corked ..................................... 58 978-0-88922-852-8; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
978-0-88910-471-6; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
978-0-88922-438-4; $39.95 CAN / $29.95 US
News & Smoke: Selected Poems . 64 978-0-88922-417-9; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Thomas, Audrey Latakia ...................................... 29 978-0-88922-167-3; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Mrs. Blood ................................ 30 978-0-88922-319-6; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Real Mothers ............................ 31 978-0-88922-191-8; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Songs My Mother Taught Me .... 32 978-0-88922-329-5; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Strindberg, August
Tostevin, Lola Lemire
Miss Julie .................................. 47
Cartouches ............................... 58
978-0-88922-549-7; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Suttles, Wayne Coast Salish Essays .................... 16 978-0-88922-212-0; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
978-0-88922-790-3; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Singed Wings ........................... 66 978-0-88922-790-3; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Tremblay, Larry Abraham Lincoln Goes to the Theatre ................................. 34
T Tallman, Warren In the Midst .............................. 19 978-0-88922-308-0; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Taylor, Drew Hayden alterNatives ............................... 34 978-0-88922-428-5; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
The Baby Blues .......................... 35 978-0-88922-406-3; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Berlin Blues ........................ 36 978-0-88922-581-7; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Boy in the Treehouse / Girl Who Loved Her Horses ... 37 978-0-88922-441-4; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
The Buz’Gem Blues ................... 37 978-0-88922-462-9; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Cerulean Blue ........................... 13 978-0-88922-952-5; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
978-0-88922-649-4; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Bicycle Eater ....................... 25 978-0-88922-528-2; $19.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Obese Christ, The ..................... 31 978-0-88922-842-9; $14.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Piercing ..................................... 31 978-0-88922-645-6; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Talking Bodies ........................... 53 978-0-88922-445-2; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
The Ventriloquist ....................... 55 978-0-88922-536-7; $15.95 CAN / $13.95 US
War Cantata / Child Object ....... 55 978-0-88922-906-8; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Tremblay, Lise The Hunting Ground ................. 29 978-0-88922-534-3; $15.95 CAN / $13.95 US
The Impromptu of Outremont ... 44
978-0-88922-677-7; $14.95 CAN / $14.95 US
978-0-88922-185-7; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Impromptu on Nuns’ Island ....... 44
978-0-88922-467-4; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
978-0-88922-470-4; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Tremblay, Michel
La Maison Suspendue ............... 47
Albertine in Five Times (translated by Gaboriau) ......................... 34
Marcel Pursued by the Hounds . 47
978-0-88922-295-3; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
978-0-88922-627-2; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Albertine in Five Times (translated by Van Burek & Glassco) ....... 34
978-0-88922-326-4; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
News from Édouard .................. 31 978-0-88922-435-3; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
978-0-88922-234-2; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Past Perfect ............................... 49
Assorted Candies for the Theatre ��������������������������������������������� 35
The Real World? ....................... 50
978-0-88922-493-3; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
978-0-88922-572-5; $15.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Bambi and Me .......................... 15
978-0-88922-260-1; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
The Red Notebook .................... 31
978-0-88922-380-6; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Les Belles Soeurs ....................... 36
978-0-88922-588-6; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Remember Me .......................... 50
978-0-88922-302-8; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Birth of a Bookworm ................. 26
978-0-88922-219-9; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Sainte-Carmen of the Main ....... 51
978-0-88922-476-6; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
The Black Notebook .................. 25 978-0-88922-543-5; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
978-0-88922-181-9; $15.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Some Night My Prince Will Come ............................................. 32
The Blue Notebook ................... 25 978-0-88922-619-7; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Bonbons Assortis / Assorted Candies .................. 16 978-0-88922-541-1; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
978-0-88922-510-7; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Thérèse and Pierrette and the Little Hanging Angel ..................... 33 978-0-88922-198-7; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
A Thing of Beauty...................... 33
Bonjour, Là, Bonjour ................. 36 978-0-88922-252-6; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
978-0-88922-390-5; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Twelve Opening Acts ................ 24
Crossing the City ...................... 26 978-0-88922-893-1; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Crossing the Continent ............. 26 978-0-88922-676-0; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
978-0-88922-466-7; $18.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Tulchinsky, Karen X. The Five Books of Moses Lapinsky ��������������������������������������������� 28
Damnée Manon, Sacrée Sandra .39
978-0-88922-646-3; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
978-0-88922-184-0; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
The Driving Force ...................... 40 978-0-88922-530-5; $15.95 CAN / $13.95 US
The Duchess and the Commoner ............................................ 27 978-0-88922-418-6; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
La Duchesse de Langeais & Other Plays ........................... 40 978-0-88922-104-8; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
En Pièces Détachées .................. 41 978-0-88922-092-8; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
The Fat Woman Next Door Is Pregnant ............................... 27 978-0-88922-190-1; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
The First Quarter of the Moon ... 28 978-0-88922-352-3; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again ................................... 42 978-0-88922-389-9; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Forever Yours, Marie-Lou .......... 42 978-0-88922-349-3; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
The Heart Laid Bare ................... 28 978-0-88922-425-4; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Hosanna, 3rd ed. ...................... 44 978-0-88922-831-3; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
V Vachon, Hélène Matter of Gravity, A .................. 29 978-0-88922-840-5; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Vanderhaeghe, Guy Dancock’s Dance ....................... 39 978-0-88922-533-6; $16.95 CAN / $14.95 US
Verdecchia, Guillermo Another Country / bloom .......... 35 978-0-88922-570-1; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Citizen Suárez ........................... 26 978-0-88922-391-2; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
Fronteras Americanas: American Borders, 1st ed........ 42 978-0-88922-383-7; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Fronteras Americanas: American Borders, 2nd ed.
42
978-0-88922-705-7; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Verdecchia, Guillermo & Daniel Brooks The Noam Chomsky Lectures .... 48 978-0-88922-405-6; $15.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Talonbooks Backlist by Author 79
Verdecchia, Guillermo, Camyar Chai & Marcus Youssef The Adventures of Ali & Ali and the aXes of Evil ........................... 34 978-0-88922-516-9; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Ali & Ali: The Deportation Hearings ��������������������������������������������� 34 978-0-88922-782-8; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Verdecchia, Guillermo & Marcus Youssef A Line in the Sand ..................... 46 978-0-88922-375-2; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
W Wah, Fred is a door ................................... 62 978-0-88922-620-3; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Scree: The Collected Earlier Poems, 1962–1991............................ 12 978-0-88922-947-1; $49.95 CAN / $49.95 US
Selected Poems: Loki Is Buried at Smoky Creek.......................... 66 978-0-88922-177-2; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
Sentenced to Light .................... 66 978-0-88922-577-0; $29.95 CAN; $29.95 US
Walker, George F. And So It Goes .......................... 35 978-0-88922-654-8; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Dead Metaphor ........................ 38 978-0-88922-928-0; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
The East End Plays: Part I ........... 46 978-0-88922-413-1; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
The East End Plays: Part II .......... 40 978-0-88922-404-9; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Heaven ..................................... 44 978-0-88922-429-2; $17.95 CAN / $13.95 US
King of Thieves ......................... 45 978-0-88922-755-2; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Moss Park and Tough!: The Bobby and Tina Plays............. 14 978-0-88922-954-9; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
The Power Plays ........................ 50 978-0-88922-414-8; $19.95 CAN / $15.95 US
Somewhere Else ........................ 52 978-0-88922-402-5; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Suburban Motel ........................ 53 978-0-88922-412-4; $29.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Modern Canadian Plays: Vol. I, 5th ed. ........................ 47 978-0-88922-678-4; $49.95 CAN / $49.95 US
Modern Canadian Plays Vol. II, 4th ed. ....................... 48
978-0-88922-679-1; $49.95 CAN / $49.95 US
978-0-88922-982-2; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Wasserman, Jerry Modern Canadian Plays: Vol. I, 4th ed. ........................ 47 978-0-88922-436-0; $39.95 CAN / $39.95 US
$40.00 US
Young, Jonathon, Kevin Kerr & Kim Collier
978-0-88922-547-3; $21.95 CAN / $21.95 US
Adrift ........................................ 34
Twenty Years at Play: A New Play Centre Anthology ................. 54
978-0-88922-904-4; $18.95 CAN / $18.95 US
Youssef, Marcus 978-0-88922-585-5; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Jabber........................................ 14
978-0-88922-275-5; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
978-0-88922-950-1; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Wasserman, Jerry & Sherrill Grace Theatre and AutoBiography: Writing and Performing Lives in Theory and Practice .............. 23 978-0-88922-540-4; $29.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Watts, Charles & Edward Byrne The Recovery of the Public World ��������������������������������������������� 21 978-0-88922-388-2; $39.95 CAN / $29.95 US
Webb, Phyllis Peacock Blue ............................. 12 Cloth: 978-0-88922-912-9; $45.00 CAN / $45.00 US
Youssef, Marcus & James Long Winners and Losers ................... 56 978-0-88922-932-7; $16.95 CAN / $16.95
Youssef, Marcus & Guillermo Verdecchia A Line in the Sand ..................... 46 978-0-88922-375-2; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Youssef, Marcus, Camyar Chai & Guillermo Verdecchia The Adventures of Ali & Ali and the aXes of Evil ........................... 34
Selected Poems: The Vision Tree . 66 978-0-88922-202-1; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Wells, Oliver N.
978-0-88922-516-9; $17.95 CAN / $17.95 US
Ali & Ali: The Deportation Hearings �������������������������������� 34
The Chilliwacks and Their Neighbors ��������������������������������������������� 16 978-0-88922-255-7; $24.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Wickwire, Wendy & Harry Robinson Living by Stories: A Journey of Landscape and Memory ........ 19 978-0-88922-522-0; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Nature Power: In the Spirit of an Okanagan Storyteller ............ 20 978-0-88922-504-6; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Write It on Your Heart: The Epic World of an Okanagan Storyteller ............................. 24 978-0-88922-502-2; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
My TWP Plays: A Collection Including Ten Lost Years ........ 48
We the Family: A Play ................. 8
Cloth: 978-0-88922-331-8; $60.00 CAN /
Tear the Curtain! ....................... 53
Love and Savagery .................... 63
978-0-88922-478-0; $15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
They Write Their Dreams on the Rock Forever ......................... 23
Spectacle of Empire: Marc Lescarbot’s Theatre of Neptune in New France .......................... 52
Winter, Jack
The Singer’s Broken Throat ........ 67
York, Annie, Chris Arnett & Richard Daly
978-0-88922-437-7; $39.95 CAN / $39.95 US
Modern Candian PLays Vol. ||, 5th ed. ..... .................. 48
Walsh, Des 978-0-88922-599-2; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Y
978-0-88922-784-2; $24.95 CAN / $24.95 US
Tales of the Emperor ................. 50 978-0-88922-944-0; $19.95 CAN / $19.95 US
Woodcock, George Two Plays .................................. 54 978-0-88922-123-9; $16.95 CAN / $12.95 US
978-0-88922-782-8; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Z Zomparelli, Daniel Davie Street Translations ........... 59 978-0-88922-683-8; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
Zomparelli, Daniel & Dina Del Bucchia Rom Com ................................. 21 978-0-88922-909-9; $16.95 CAN / $16.95 US
80 Talonbooks Sales Representation and Ordering
North American Sales Representation
Ordering Information
CANADA
CANADA
Publishers Group Canada 300–76 Stafford Street, Toronto, ON M6J 2S1 tel: (416) 934-9900 · fax: (416) 934-1410 toll free: (800) 747-8147 www.pgcbooks.ca
Raincoast Books (Publishers Group Canada) 2440 Viking Way, Richmond, BC V6V 1N2 toll free: tel: (800) 663-5714 · fax: (800) 565-3770 customerservice@raincoast.com
Book Manager & Wordstock EDI Sales in Atlantic Canada Jessica Rattray Michael Martin & Associates 3 – 135 Dowling Avenue, Toronto, ON M6K3A9 tel: (416) 909-9266 · fax: (416) 769-5967 jessica@martinsalesagency.ca
Sales in Ontario & Quebec Martin and Associates Sales Agency 594 Windermere Avenue, Toronto, ON M6S 3L8 tel: (416) 769-3947 · fax: (416) 769-5967 toll free: (866) 225-3439 michael@martinsalesagency.ca · margot@martinsalesagency.ca Jessica Rattray tel: (416) 909-9266 · fax: (416) 769-5967 jessica@martinsalesagency.com
tel: (604) 323-7138 · toll free: (800) 661-5450 Telebook: SAN S1150871
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Returns Perseus Distribution Services 193 Edwards Drive Jackson, TN 38301-5070 tel: (800) 343-4499
UNITED KINGDOM, IRELAND & EUROPE Sales in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan & Manitoba Aydin Virani Aydin Virani Sales & Marketing 8038 – 211B Street, Langley, BC V2Y 0K3 tel: (604) 417-3660 · fax: (604) 371-3660 avbookrep@shaw.ca Kamini Stroyan 4389-206th Street, Langley, BC V3A 4Z8 tel: (604) 771-5436 · fax: (604) 371-3660 kstroyan@telus.net Rorie Bruce 737 Montrose Street, Winnipeg, MB R3M 3M5 tel: (204) 488-9481 rorbruce@mts.net
Libraries Margot Stokreef Toll Free: (866) 225-3439 Fax: (416) 769-5967 margot@martinsalesagency.ca
USA Consortium Book Sales & Distribution The Keg House 34 Thirteenth Avenue NE, Suite 101 Minneapolis, MN 55413-1007 toll free: (800) 283-3572 · local: (612) 746-2600 Fax: (612) 746-2606 Pubnet: SAN 631760X info@cbsd.com www.cbsd.com
General Inquiries Moira McCann Perseus Books Group 69-70 Temple Chambers 3-7 Temple Avenue London, UK EC4Y 0HP tel: 020-7353-7771
Ordering Bill Bailey 16 Devon Square Newton Abbot Devon, UK TQ12 2HR tel: 01-626-331-079 info@billbaileypubreps.co.uk
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND Camilla Dorsch Scribo International, Sales & Marketing Equinox Centre, 18 Rodborough Road Frenchs Forest NSW, Australia 2086 tel: 02-9021-8179 camilla.dorsch@scribo.com
n
Canadian Trade Terms CANADIAN TRADE DISCOUNT Retail
CANADIAN RETURNS POLICY Discount
Under $150.00 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 20% Over $150.00 ................................................................................... 40% Note: Talon, BookExpress, Raincoast, and Publishers Group Canada can be combined to meet minimum requirements.
New & Recent Releases (single title discount) Retail
Discount
25–49 ............................................................................................... 50–249 ............................................................................................. 250–499 ........................................................................................... 500–999 ........................................................................................... 1000 + .............................................................................................
Backlist (single title discount) Quantity
42% 43% 44% 45% 46%
Discount
1–10 .................................................................. see trade discount above 11 + ................................................................................................. 25%
LIBRARY DISCOUNT Retail
Discount
Under $150.00 ................................................................................. 20% Over $150.00 ................................................................................... 40%
SCHOOLS AND EDUCATIONAL SALES Retail
Discount
Under $150.00 ................................................................................. 10% Over $150.00 ................................................................................... 30%
CANADIAN FREIGHT Booksellers and wholesalers whose shipments are valued at $400 net or more will receive free freight on ground shipments within Canada, as will those whose net purchases from Raincoast, Publishers Group Canada and BookExpress combined total at least $100,000 per year. Otherwise, all terms are FOB our warehouse. Customers may opt for a minimum value on back-order shipments to avoid higher shipping costs for single items. Call customer service for more details on this and also on our expedited shipping options.
1. All books purchased from us may be returned to us for full credit, unless otherwise indicated, between 3 months (min.) to 1 year (max.) from date of invoice. If a publisher should change distributors, notices will be placed in the appropriate trade journals regarding the shortened return period. Permission to return books is not required. 2. Returns will be credited in full only if accompanied by an accurate packing slip which shows the following: invoice numbers and dates, ISBN and list price of title, discounts and quantities of each title returned. “Returns” must be marked on the outside of the box. Please number the boxes. 3. Books must be returned in re-saleable condition. We cannot accept books in unsaleable condition whether shop-worn, ink-priced, stickered or sticker-damaged. Outdated annuals, titles for which we no longer have Canadian rights and books not purchased from us will not be accepted. 4. Travel guides and annuals: old editions are full-cover strippable for credit for 3 months after the publication date of a new edition (send full front and back covers). Current editions are not strippable and must be returned whole-copy. 5. Other revised editions: Whole-copy returns will be accepted for 3 months after a new edition has been issued. 6. Books ineligible for credit will be returned at the customer’s expense. Unacceptable returns are shipped in the same manner as new books. 7. We cannot be responsible for goods either not received by us or damaged in transit. 8. BookExpress titles purchased from Raincoast are returnable up to 6 months from the invoice date and are subject to a 15% restocking fee. Invoice n umbers must be quoted: a 5% penalty of the net total will be applied if invoice numbers are not provided. BookExpress Calendars are sold at a 40% discount and are non-returnable (see BookExpress catalogue for more details). 9. We do not accept returns sent freight collect.
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NEW ACCOUNTS
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Talonbooks 278 East 1st Avenue Vancouver, BC Canada V5T 1A6 www.talonbooks.com Printed in Canada