Writing a book is tough work . . . but someone has to do it?
Here we see the Ocean Endeavour. Come September 5, we’ll board that vessel in Kugluktuk (Coppermine) and sail east through the Northwest Passage . . . all the way to Greenland, there to climb into a zodiac and wend among the most spectacular icebergs in the northern hemisphere. As the Adventure Canada historian on board,…
Read MoreThe Franklin-search tempest: adding pieces to the jigsaw
A few social media threads are following the Franklin-search tempest whirling around Paul Watson, Jim Balsillie, John Geiger, and The Lost Franklin Ships. This documentary, full disclosure, includes riveting footage of yours truly talking history (see left). Since the story broke, one researcher (Wolfgang Opel) turned up the Jim Balsillie letter that Watson quoted to…
Read MoreThis Franklin-search “scandal” looks like sour grapes and grandstanding
Several people have nudged me to comment on this latest Franklin-search “scandal.” Journalist Paul Watson resigning in a huff? Complaining that the Toronto Star has been suppressing a story of great public interest. I get the Star delivered to my doorstep every day, and I have to admit that the response of publisher John Cruickshank…
Read MoreWhen will Franklin searchers discover that dead body on Erebus?
The next step in searching the Erebus, according to Parks Canada’s chief underwater archaeologist, is “to start exploring the inside in more depth, because that is where 97% of the artifacts are, where all the information that is going to tell us what happened is going to be.” Quoted in the digital magazine Tabaret, based…
Read MoreRachel Dolezal inspires renewed call for a book-world revolution
Some of my writer-friends are (rightly) irritated that Rachel Dolezal “admitted” to indulging in “creative nonfiction.” She lied, damn it. Writers of creative nonfiction tell the truth. But Dolezal’s “admission” reminds me of why, a few years back, writing in the Globe and Mail, Our Hero called for a book-world revolution. C’mon, surely you remember…
Read More150 Canadian authors illuminate a triple-whammy extravaganza
OK, this one has me clasping my head. We’re looking at a multi-media project two years in the making. It’s going to showcase photo-portraits of 150 Canadian authors. Yup: 150 from across the country! The photographer, Mark Raynes Roberts, traveled 20,000 km to take 22,500 photos . . . and the story hasn’t hit the…
Read MorePortrait of Evan Solomon as a thirty-one-year-old novelist
(Big shout-out to Linda Richards at January Magazine. She went into her files and turned up an interview she did back in the day with Evan Solomon. Made me think, gee, in 1999, I spun a yarn myself when I was working as a literary journalist and Solomon published a novel called Crossing the Distance.…
Read MoreTurns out history is happening in Canada. It’s the next big thing.
It’s not much to look at, this modest paperback, especially with the stickies hanging out the side. Oh, and the Toronto Public Library bar code laying across the first word of the title. But, well, dare I say it? I find Canadians and Their Pasts, an academic study by The Pasts Collective, subversive and exciting.…
Read MoreRed Cross certifies Our Hero as set to sail in the Northwest Passage
I know, I know: I shared this on Facebook already. But it’s not every day that a guy gets Red-Cross certified. So for the Enduring Record that is this blog (?): yes, I can do CPR. I was all over that dummy yesterday. In truth, the course is no walk in the park: 9 to…
Read MoreHats off to the Irish! And to the witty genius who led the charge . . . .
Hats off to Ireland, the first country to recognize gay marriage by popular vote. Following an emotional campaign, the Irish voted 62.1 per cent favor of this move, which signals a social revolution. Overnight, Ireland has become a model of inclusivity and tolerance. Yet I would suggest that this transformation could have been foreseen. Faithful…
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