A couple of years ago, Sarah Emsley invited me to join a Halifax Reading Circle that was formed specifically to focus on identifying passages from fiction novels, short stories, or poetry written by authors from Nova Scotia that qualify as possibilities for a Bookmark from Project Bookmark Canada.

Our vision is to blaze a Canadian literary trail connecting hundreds of Bookmarks in cities, towns and other areas across the country.

Word by word and kilometre by kilometre, Project Bookmark Canada is enhancing reading culture in Canada, strengthening our sense of ourselves,  and using literature to link local communities to nation-wide conversations.

Someday I’d like to visit them all. But until then (it could be decades!) I thought it would be fun to read through them. I’m in no hurry; it’s just something I want to work on over time and keep track of.

For a look at the map, and to explore the Bookmarks further, click here.

The Bookmarks: 

(Clicking on the highlighted titles will take you to my review of the book/poem.)

1) In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje (Toronto)

2) Rogues’ Wedding by Terry Griggs (Owen Sound)

3) “Mexican Sunsets” by Bronwen Wallace (Kingston)

4) “Essentialist” by Ken Babcock (Toronto)

5) Garbo Laughs by Elizabeth Hay (Ottawa)

6) Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels (Toronto)

7) “Song for the Field Behind Mississauga Valley Public School” by Jeff Latosik (Mississauga)

8) The Queen of Unforgetting by Sylvia Maultash Warsh (Midland)

9) “Giants” by John Terpstra (Hamilton)

10) Sailor Girl by Sheree-Lee Olson (Port Colborne)

11) “The Sea Breeze Lounge” by Al Pittman (Woody Point)

12) The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy (Vancouver)

13) The Republic of Love by Carol Shields (Winnipeg)

14) No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod (Port Hastings)

 

15) Any Known Blood by Lawrence Hill (Oakville)

16) The Fishers of Paradise by Rachael Preston (Hamilton)

17) The Cat and the Wizard by Dennis Lee, with illustration by Gillian Johnson (Toronto)

18) The Convict Lover by Merilyn Simonds (Kingston)

19) Barometer Rising by Hugh MacLennan (Halifax)

 

20) The City Still Breathing by Matthew Heiti (Sudbury)

21) “The Gable Window” by L.M. Montgomery (Cavendish, PEI)

22) Love Enough by Dionne Brand (Toronto)

23) If I Die Before I Wake: The Flu Epidemic Diary of Fiona Macgregor by Jean Little (Toronto)

 

(I have read No Great Mischief and Barometer Rising, but haven’t reviewed them on the blog.)