ALONE ON A WINDY RIDGE: I've said I don't write book reviews, but

Saturday, December 04, 2010

I've said I don't write book reviews, but

...you'll find a capsule review by yours truly in today's Winnipeg Free Press.

I had the pleasure of reviewing The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America by Donald and Lillian Stokes. The limit was 100 words. I rarely say good morning in less than 100 words, so needless to say it was a challenge.

7 comments:

Bernadette said...: Is it on line? I took a cursory glance at the website but did not see the title or your name...; 4/12/10 2:08 PM
Brenda Schmidt said...: Yep, it's here in "Table-top treats", a survey of gift books.; 4/12/10 2:25 PM
Brenda Schmidt said...: :)
I'm tickled. That guide is a great addition to our already huge collection of field guides.; 4/12/10 4:45 PM
Unknown said...: I haven't got this guide yet - next on my order list. I like the Stokes guides. Bob Luterbach says this new one is very impressive as well. Good, concise review, Brenda.; 5/12/10 7:51 AM
Brenda Schmidt said...: Thanks Kathy! We already had a number of Stokes guides and CDs too, so I feel especially lucky that this review copy came my way as I'm not sure I would've picked it up otherwise. It's a dandy.; 5/12/10 9:42 AM
carin makuz said...: Nice review! I'm putting this on my list of things-I-hope-to-find-in-my-stocking-if-I-whinge-enough-about-them...
Usually works.; 6/12/10 7:05 PM
Brenda Schmidt said...: Thanks! Ha! Yes, the fine art of whinging! It takes years to master, but I'm proud to say I have. Or I think I have. I'll know for sure if I find that Leafs scarf under the tree.; 6/12/10 7:16 PM

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"This is a skilled poet having good fun, and inviting us all to join the party." - Shelley A. Leedahl, SaskBooks Reviews. Read more.

"Employing a variety of forms and the culvert stories — who knew? — of numerous people, she digs beneath the obvious roads to find out what keeps the water — the subconscious, the unconscious — flowing smoothly, discovering a variety of things about herself, notably the everyday masks we wear and the aging process we won’t always admit to." - Bill Robertson, The Star Phoenix. Read more.

"For Schmidt is indeed a poet. Readers can expect to encounter many visual and acoustic delights along the way, from internal rhymes to arresting images." - Trevor Cook, The Antigonish Review #196.

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"You can just feel the stones rattling off your undercarriage on this Grid." - Bill Robertson, The Star Phoenix. Read more.

"Like the Prairies, this is not a collection that gives itself away: the true beauty of this book lies in subtleties that may not be obvious at first glance." - Emily McGiffin, The Malahat Review. Read more.

"In Grid, moments are approached in their apparent stability only to be swept away in song rife with interruption and fresh stimuli, lending a new perspective. It is as though the familiar ground is an eye glancing back and the reflection only a nodal-point, open to opportunity and play." - Justin Dittrick, SPG Book Reviews. Read more.

"There is grit in these poems, so much that it seems unfair to think of them as nature poems; like the best nature writing, they undo our expectations of nature rather than uphold them." - Tanis MacDonald, Arc Poetry Magazine. Read more.

"In her fourth collection Grid, Schmidt’s wry humour transcends what we have watched heap up in Canada for more than a century—nature poems—balancing in canola fields between the beautiful lure of nature and our curious urge to separate ourselves from disappearing allotments of our own solace. We have wandered “off the grid” but fortunately Schmidt is an entertaining and insightful guide who can still find Li Po in a Dark-eyed Junco, if she has to." - Garry Thomas Morse, Jacket 2. Read more.

"These supple, witty, and incisive poems delineate our relationship to grids and systems both visible and invisible, natural and political." - Judges' citation, Saskatchewan Book Award for Poetry nomination. Jurors: Shawna Lemay, Barbara Nickel, Sharon Thesen.