running for cover

Hey all,

I'm not bragging, honest I'm not, but since the cover for Prairie Fire's second book is so pretty, I thought I'd share it...



For those now mildly curious if the book is as...well, toothsome...inside as out, I'm happy to report that it also contains an intriguing early poem from Margaret Laurence and a fabulous photo essay on the beautiful ugliness of Winnipeg by artist/curator Tricia Wasney.

Wasney writes:

The character of a city is shaped by what has been built and remains visible and also by what has been lost. Loss is embedded both in physical evidence and in discrete traces that remain in memory only. In this way loss is also about fullness; large and overstuffed with the knowledge of the past as well as the possibility of the future.

Speaking of the being stuffed full, here's a quote from the interview with novellist and literary sportswriter Jack Ludwig that constituted my contribution to the book, where he discusses returning to Winnipeg after being away for many years:

...But yesterday I did something I'd wanted to do for a long time, cross the Redwood Bridge again. I did that a lot when I was a child and always felt the river's strength and power and loved its beauty. Water is a dominant force in this city. In order to get onto the bridge, though, I had to pass the ugliest stretch of unnatural unpastoral franchise stuff - Kentucky Fried Chicken is ubiquitous, it even slimes the approach to this wonderful river. Once past the west side's cookie-cutter set, and on the bridge, look down: leaves stull on the trees add colour to the banks, a strong northward motion in the Red. Urban blight's washed away. There's my lovely old river.

I think I could say "There's my lovely old river," all day long...