Old Man S Garden

Through pen and ink illustrations and stories, Old Man's Gardenconveys the legends and folklore connected with Southern Alberta's wildflowers, native plants, and Indigenous culture. Originally published in 1954, Annora Brown's Old Man's Gardenis a Canadian classic that tells the story of Southern Alberta's native plants and wildflowers through art and in consideration of Indigenous traditional knowledge from the region. Accompanying the new RMB edition of Old Man's Garden, Sidney Black of Fort Macleod, the Indigenous Anglican Bishop for Treaty 7, provides his own commentary about Annora's art and writing in relation to the Blackfoot, while independent art curator Mary-Beth Laviolette broadens the story about the artist's contribution to Canadian art. Also included in this new edition are full-colour images of Annora's later paintings of Blackfoot lodges (tipis) and regalia, the dramatic landscape of the Oldman RIver region such as Waterton National Park, and her abiding, lifelong regard for the flora of her homeland. According to Annora Brown, Old Man's Gardenis a "book of gossip about the flowers of the West." A one-of-a-kind work featuring 169 black-and-white drawings of flowers and native plants, this classic text is about more than botany. Throughout its pages there is a sparkle to her stories of early exploration and settlement, her concern for conservation, and her regard for the Blackfoot Nation, and Indigenous culture.

‘Love is not consolation, it is light’ From the author of Maps for Lost Lovers and The Wasted Vigil comes a novel set in the months after 9/11, when Western armies invaded Afghanistan—a story of love, hope and grief, of uncorrupted faith and of what it means to be alive. Jeo and his foster-brother Mikal leave their home in Pakistan to help care for wounded Afghans. Within hours of entering the wide-horizoned Afghan landscape, Mikal and Jeo are separated and, emerging from the carnage, Mikal begins his search for Jeo. But his deepest wish is to return home—to the young woman he loves and who loves him, Jeo’s wife. The Blind Man’s Garden maps a place both phantasmally beautiful and chilling. Taking us on a journey from Al Qaeda’s hideouts in Waziristan and American-built military prisons to a family left behind—Mikal’s and Jeo’s blind, regretful father, Jeo’s resolute wife and her superstitious mother—it unflinchingly examines war and brotherhood, devastation, separation and remorse, while celebrating the redemptive power of nature, art and literature.

“Gardeners trapped inside on a rainy day need only two things to get by—a cup of chocolate in their left hand and One Man’s Garden in their right.” —Southern Living This “wonderful” essay collection from the former Washington Post columnist and author of The Essential Earthman (Horticulture) offers a harvest of sharp observations and humorous adventures gathered during a year in the garden—along with much down-to-earth advice. “A year’s worth of wry observations about the peculiarities and pleasures of gardening . . . His book, designed primarily for small town gardens of less than a quarter-acre, and written from the relatively balmy perspective of Washington, D.C. (climatic zone 5), is the perfect makings of a winter read for those planning next year’s garden. Mitchell’s chatty style is entertaining as well as informative . . . Water gardeners in particular will enjoy Mitchell’s obsession with water lilies, other aquatic plants and fish.” —Publishers Weekly “An experienced gardener/environmentalist who mixes solid gardening information along with the right blend of humor and human interest.” —Library Journal “Every page is filled with his irascible, wholly unpretentious voice. He never tries to be funny or erudite. He just is.” —The New York Times

Set in Nigeria, Bitter Leafing Woman relates the experiences of Woman as she chews the bitter leaves of patriarchal oppression in a bid to transform them into gender balanced sweetness. Here Woman becomes a symbol of the oppressed; of women and men alike. The style of writing ranges from plain prose as in The Edi Kai Ikong War, magical realism as in World of the Fat/Thin House, the social satire of The Bone Eater, the densely poetic and symbolic Broken Plate and the biblical imbued style of Bitter Leafing Woman who finding herself drowning in the soup of gender oppression for forty years attempts to murder her Deacon fiancé. In this collection we become involved with serious issues of conflicts, which nevertheless we try to treat with sardonic humour and insight.

This book examines marvels as tangible objects in the literary, courtly, and artisanal cultures of medieval England, but these clever devices, neither wholly semiotic nor purely positivist objects, are imbued with diverse cultural significance that illuminates in new ways the familiar literature of the Ricardian period.

Vols. 22-23 include illustrations by George Cruikshank.