Killdeer

WINNER OF THE 75th GOVERNOR GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARD FOR POETRY WINNER OF THE 25th TRILLIUM BOOK PRIZE WINNER OF AN ALCUIN AWARD FOR DESIGN SHORTLISTED FOR THE GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE These are poems of critical thought that have been influenced by old fiddle tunes. These are essays that are not out to persuade so much as ruminate, invite, accrue. Hall is a surruralist (rural & surreal), and a terroir-ist (township-specific regionalist). He offers memories of, and homages to -- Margaret Laurence, Bronwen Wallace, Libby Scheier, and Daniel Jones, among others. He writes of the embarrassing process of becoming a poet, and of his push-pull relationship with the whole concept of home. His notorious 2004 chapbook essay The Bad Sequence is also included here, for a wider readership, at last. It has been revised. (It's teeth have been sharpened.) In this book, the line is the unit of composition; the reading is wide; the perspective personal: each take a give, and logic a drawback. Language is not a smart-aleck; it's a sacred tinkerer. Readers are invited to watch awe become a we. In Fred Wah's phrase, what is offered here is "the music at the heart of thinking."

From his earliest days as a midshipman in the new American Navy to his eventual ownership of a vast shipping empire, Richard Holmwood displays an uncanny sixth sense for the sea and heroics. Richard battles Barbary Pirates off North Africa, then earns a fortune as a privateer during the War of 1812, where he is called ÒThe KilldeerÓ by his enemies. At warÕs end, the Navy sends Richard to defend the Great Lakes territory. At that remote outpost, Richard and his young wife and family struggle with unimaginably harsh weather and isolation, longing to return to their home in coastal Virginia. This sweeping story of American history shows personal triumph and frontier spirit that overcomes tragedy and loss.

DIVAn intrepid reporter’s investigation into the death of a controversial major reveals a surprising story of betrayal and redemption/divDIV It is 1866, and Sam Morrison, reporter for the St. Louis Herald, is aboard a steamer bound for Fort Standish off the coast of Massachusetts, determined to solve a mystery. The fort is about to be renamed in honor of Charles Rawley, a major who recently died in a fire while trying to prevent the escape of a captured Sioux chief. But just who was Rawley? Morrison is told a dizzying host of tales about the man—some call him a despot but others describe him as a martyr. He was a man all too willing to execute a deserter, but one who would spur his troops to do the utmost to ensure the safety of women and children. As the investigation unfolds, Morrison doesn’t know which stories to believe—especially when it comes to the truth about Rawley’s death. /divDIV /divDIVThrilling and wily, Killdeer Mountain is a deft triumph of historical fiction./divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features an illustrated biography of Dee Brown including rare photos from the author’s personal collection./div

The bestselling natural history of birds, lavishly illustrated with 600 colorphotos, is now available for the first time in flexi binding.