a bibliography anew

it has been a few months since i published the last biblio of my recent life, and since i do read a fair amount, the books to be shared have increased in number and i am pressed to spit out at least a short descriptor of each. looking at the books in the to-read pile growing in a stack beside my bed, or those shelved along the living room wall – it is clear there is no one theme or subject that occupies my literary imagination, but over time there are groups of subject-interest that emerge as life unfolds, making for a library both diverse and practical in addition to being reflective of the person i have become.

Beyond Remembering – Al Purdy
the collected works of Al Purdy – a legendary canadian poet who died in 2002 – i haven’t actually read this whole book yet. Purdy is my favourite canadian poet, and his works are redolent of the land, culture and politics of bc and the north particularly (although he was born in ontario, he spent much of his life in the west). two of his works that have moved me particularly are “say the names” and “trees at the arctic circle” – which are evocative of the land-base from which they rose. there are also several poems in this collection about purdy’s time in cuba in the early 60s, his chance meeting with che guevara and reflections on hearing castro speak. purdy drank and travelled and chain-smoked – and wrote poetry that reflected travels both sublime and ludicrous. if you like poetry and haven’t read purdy – this is the best collection of his works to date. (by the way – chapters carries almost no canadian poets – i had to go to people’s co-op books to find this in the city)

Strangely Like War: The Global Assault on Forest – George Draffan and Derrick Jensen
this addition to the Jensen/Draffan collection is a decent compendium of facts and arguments about the perils of multi-national, industrial forestry. of particular interest is the time the authors spend discussing the continuing threat to old-growth forests in bc which are some of the last remaining forests of their age in north america. if you are familiar with the struggle to save the forests there will be little new in this book, but it is a good review of the arguments against multi-national forestry companies and their practices and for community-based forestry.

Walking on the Land – Farley Mowat
another canadian whose work is rooted in the intricacies of land and culture, Mowat’s work Walking on the Land is a painful portait of the north in the 1940s and 50s when white euro-canadians were finally getting around to destroying the lives of the indigenous people there. this book is the story of the Ilhalmiut people who were moved around by the canadian government producing the “unwitting genocide” that saw people starved and driven to desparate measures in order to survive. mowat’s writing is informed by his desire “to help ensure that man’s inhumane acts are not expunged from memory, thereby easing the way for repetitions of such horrors, ” – and there is no question this gripping work is a reminder of a past both recent and shameful. very few books make me cry outloud, but this one did.

The Healing Earth – Phillip Sutton Chard
i bought this book ages ago and it sat in the “to-read” pile until a few weeks ago when i took it with me on a camping trip – partly because the description on the back calls it a “self-help” book which turned me off. however, this thin volume turned out to be the only useful book of eco-psychology practice i have come across so far with examples and exercises designed to help bridge the connection between self and nature. this is radical stuff in a world focussed on material goods and chemical solutions to personal difficulties – and there are lots of interesting ideas here for facilitating good mental health.

You are, Therefore I Am: A Declaration of Dependence – Satish Kumar
i heard satish kumar on a sunday morning on the cbc-radio show about spirituality – “tapestry”. on the program kumar discussed his life as a child monk and emergence as a non-violence activist leading to his peace-oriented work spanning several decades now. part of his story included the tale of his pilgramage from india to pakistan to london to washington, dc he undertook in the 60s with a fellow peace activist. this journey was embarked upon with no money and no belongings – both men relying on their inner fortitude and the kindness of strangers as they went. hearing this tale, i was fascinated to read more about him and his thoughts on the increasinsgly troubled world we live in.

while i am not totally enamoured with kumar’s total devotion to non-violence (i respect it, though i don’t agree with it), in this book he makes an eloquent argument for interdependence as a mantra to counter our increasingly individualistic society and explores the roots of his own spiritual and political beliefs. kumar has undoubtedly lived these beliefs whole-heartedly for much of his life, which makes for some compelling stories and examples of how he walks in the world.

Serpents in the Garden: Liasons with Culture and Sex – Cockburn and St. Clair (eds)
i am a “friend of ak press” which means i pay them a certain amount of money each month ($20 US) and in return i receive a copy of every new book they print. i think this is a more than fair arrangement as every couple of months i get a fat envelope with a book or two, a cd or dvd, some stickers and a comic (or sometimes a different combination of stuff depending on what they produce). it’s like having organic vegetable delivery – you never know what you will receive and you end up trying stuff you would have never bought at the grocery. this book of short-essays is a rambling book of lighter material but an enjoyable read covering off the intersections between politics, art, music, architecture and sex via the words of a number of authors. looking through the lens of pop-culture often gives real insight into the values, aspirations and the “dark-side” of any society – something this this recent addition to the counterpunch book series delivers on in the waning days of the american empire.

Landscapes of the Interior: Re-explorations of Nature and the Human Spirit – Don Gayton
nathan gave me this book shortly after we started seeing each other, as he wanted to give me a portrait of the land he grew up on in the interior of bc. gayton, a draft-dodger who has long been resident in nelson,bc is a forester and naturalist who writes with clarity from both a scientific and social perspective about the histories of place and development in our increasing alienation from the natural world. in this book of essays, gayton travels from the kootenays into washington and idaho, exploring his connection to the land and its imprint on him over time. his work is important precisely because it explores his own “interior landscape” while relating that to places and scientific ideas about the world. my one criticism about gayton’s writing is of his belief that technology will somehow answer the ecological devastation we have wrought as a species and his optimism in the persistence of fossil fuels long into the future. while he sees the need to make change in the way we view and manage the world – the changes he proposes are in my view, half-measures – though i do believe that to make *any* changes at all, these types of individual-connections to the land are integral to changing the frame of reference through which we view our decisions.