Review: Sleeping with Satan: Salem Witch-hunt, 1692

This poetry collection chronicles the stories of the women of Salem during the witch-hunt of 1692. They roughly take the reader from the bones of the events, through the tragedy and its impact on the lives of the survivors and perpetrators alike. Nearly all of the poems take the point of view of one of the women or girls, accusers and accused.

I chose this book for the Hallow e'en book review because the subject of the witch-hunt is so often brought up around this time. This isn't a book to thrill or entertain; it is a melancholy and sober work. It is not merely about the events of the witch-hunt, but the persecution of women which is ongoing in so much of our world. These poems touch very lightly on folk religion, mostly in the early poems featuring Tituba. The focus is largely on misogyny, the victims targeted because they are wealthy, fashionable, or prominent women of influence.

Mary Ann Mulhern, from St.Thomas, Ontario, now lives in Windsor. Her poems have appeared in Tower, the Windsor Review, Room of One's Own, and Windfall. Click here to read my review of Mary Ann's book Touch the Dead.

Inside Out

I wear hats
with golden plumes
my bodice scarlet
roses threaded
round and high
sultry underskirts
edged with lace

in a Salem court
my clothes turn me
inside out
a witch hidden
in silky seams
sewn by
the Devil's hand

on Gallow's Hill
my eyes feed
a midnight owl
my dress lines
nests of crows
torn lace
trailing down

Book Review: The Nightcrawler by Mick Ridgewell

Think back to the old stories, the fairy tales and myths. The hero is approached by a man, or a woman, desperately poor and almost unimaginably ugly. They ask for something simple, maybe some bread or shelter for the night. The hero is disgusted and turns them away. When does that ever end well?

Today I will be reviewing The Nightcrawler by Mick Ridgewell. Earlier this year, I interviewed the author. Since then, the Nightcrawler has been placed on the Horror Writers Association's Stoker Reading List and recommended for the Bram Stoker Award.

 I will admit that I my experience with the horror and thriller genres begins and ends with academic work with Gothic novels so cannot make any comparisons with other works. But I can commend the storytelling which is, after all, what is most important.

My personal taste is for novels where engaging characters drive the plot, and the Nightcrawler certainly delivers there. It is a story about journeys for two men, but primarily of corporate VP Scott Randall. Despite the modern urban setting of the story, there is a deep, mythic quality to Scott's trip to L.A. It seems the spirit of Nemesis has come to visit in the form of a homeless man in Detroit. Given the current global recession, having Randall chased by the furies of the homeless does have its resonance, especially when the story unfolds from Detroit across the U.S.A.

Ridgewell carefully works up to the surreal so gradually that, like Randall, the reader has one foot in the realm of psychological terrors when the Nightcrawler is fully revealed. The chilling atmosphere is insidious. If nothing else, you'll never be able to hear the phrase 'okey dokey' quite the same again.
The Nightcrawler is available in digital formats from Barnes and Noble, Samhain Publishing, and in print and for the Kindle at Amazon.

Mick Ridgewell will be signing copies of The Nightcrawler in the upcoming months:

Mason's Haunted House of Shalom in Amherstburg. Oct. 19, 20, 26, 27, 28, and 30, from 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm. A portion of the proceeds from each book sold will be donated to the House of Shalom Youth Center.

Oct. 23rd Stars of the Game will be hosting a launch party for The Nightcrawler at 7:30.

The fine people at Stars will be serving up some tasty treats and I will have copies of The nightcrawler available.

Oct. 21st at the Caboto Club attending a fundraiser for Windsor Essex Literacy Leadership Student Program.

Dec. 2nd in Maidstone at the Windsor Essex Local Authors Book Expo at St. Mary's Hall, from 10:am - 4:00 pm.

Review: Music: Reflections on 1812

It always surprises me when I hear that the War of 1812 was boring. Growing up in Windsor, I heard many stories about General Issac Brock, the astonishing victories, the ridiculous defeats. I always kept coming back for more. The Windsor Regional Writers Group, the local chapter of the Songwriters Association of Canada produced Reflections of 1812, a collection of original songs to commemorate the war's bicentennial. The CDs were distributed gratis to promote Canadian heritage.

An eclectic mix of folk songs, a blend of traditional tunes and traditionally-flavoured original music  performed by local musicians recreate the feel of 1812. The perspectives, the anxieties and boasts of the people who struggled through that difficult era in our region's history draw these songs together. Paulette Ingram's expressive vocals and adaptation of the traditional lyrics of Come All Ye Bold Canadians is refreshing and evocative.

The collection is performed by Peter Boyer, John Broadwell, Dale Butler, Judy Butler, Mark Campsie, Adam Gilchrist, Linda Girard, Paulette Ingram, Roger John, BJ Laub, David Light, Sharon Light, Tim Logsdon, Glen MacNeil, Chris Martin, Anneke McCabe, Jeff Meloche, Philip Scott Poli, Ryan St.Denis, Terry Taylor, and Sue Wilson.

Track Listings:

1. Dance Queen Charlotte Dance
2. Come All Ye Bold Canadians
3. The Wonder of All the World
4. The Ranger's Lament
5. La Riviere Detroit (Detroit River)
6. Detroit Coming Down
7. Our Last Storm
8. Tecumseh
9. The Messenger
10. And I March
11. The Road Leading Home
12. One Hundred Man Strong

The collection will be performed on the Reynolds Stage in the Kings Navy Yard Park August 4th - 5th.

Review: Contes du Détroit

A treasury is the term for this book. Contes du Détroit (Tales of Detroit) is a collection of fairy tales and folk tales told for generations by the French community of Essex County, and their neighbours on the American side of the Detroit River. The tales were gathered in 1938 by Joseph Médard Carrière. Carrière was a scholar of Franco-Ontarian language and culture. His transcripts of oral storytelling are published here for the first time, edited by Marcel Bénéteau and Donald Deschênes. The book won the Prix Mnémo in 2006. However, there is some question concerning his sources of these tales; 25 years after he collected his stories, he claimed Joseph Groulx of Tecumseh as his source. It is a claim which his daughter denied at the time. It is unlikely that the question will ever be resolved.

The book has a broad appeal; being the first edition of these stories, they are published with critical apparata, and can be read and enjoyed for their charm. There is a conversational, casual quality to the stories which truly evokes the oral storytelling tradition of another time. For readers unfamiliar with the local French dialect, there is a glossary of archaic and regional words which pepper the stories. Among the unfamiliar stories, there are also version of traditional classics but told with a local twist.

For a taste of the collection, here is the shortest story from Contes du Détroit:

Tinette et Ses Roulettes

Une fois, j'étais après jouer avec Tinette.
Tinette m'a volé mes roulettes. J'ai dit: «Tinette, donne-moi mes roulettes!»
Tinette dit: «Je te donnerai pas tes roulettes sans que tu me donnes une croûte de pain.» 
J'ai été à maman. J'ai dit: «Maman, donne-moi une croûte de pain.»
Maman dit: «Non, je te donnerai pas une croûte de pain sans que j'aie les clés.»
J'ai été à papa, je lui ai dit: «Papa, donne-moi les clés.»
Papa il dit: «Non, tu auras pas les cles sans que j'aie de l'huile d'ours.»
J'ai été à l'ours pis j'ai dit: «L'ours, donne-moi de l'huile.»
L'ours dit: «Non, je te donnerai pas d'huile sans que j'aie une cuisse de veau.»
J'ai été au veau, j'ai dit: «Veau, donne-moi une cuisse.»
Le veau il dit: «Non, je te donnerai pas une cuisse sans que j'aie du lait.»
J'ai été à la vache pis j'ai dit: «Vache, donne-moi du lait.»
La vache elle dit: «Non, je te donnerai pas de lait sans que j'aie du foin.»
J'ai été à la fourche, j'ai dit: «Fourche, donne-moi du foin.»
La fourche dit: «Non, je te donnerai pas du foin sans que j'aie du lard.»
J'ai été à la truie, j'ai dit: «Truie, donne-moi du lard.»
La truie elle dit: «Non, je te donnerai pas du lard sans que j'aie des glands.»
 J'ai été au chêne. J'ai dit: «Chêne, donne-moi des glands.»
Le chêne il dit:  «Non, je te donnerai pas des glands sans que j'aie du vent.»

J'ai venté le chêne, le chêne m'a glanté; j'ai glanté la truie, la truie m'a larré; j'ai larré la fourche, la fourche m'a fouiné; j'ai fouiné la vache, la vache m'a laité; j'ai laité le veau, le veau m'a cuissé; j'ai cuissé l'ours, l'ours m'a huilé; j'ai huilé papa, papa m'a cleté; j'ai cleté maman, maman m'a croûté; j'ai croûté Tinette, Tinette m'a rendu mes roulettes.

Contes du Détroit is available from Amazon.ca, and the University of Windsor Bookstore. You can also read three of the tales from the collection at the Virtual Museum of Canada.

Review: The Truth About Roller Skating by Laurie Smith

Something happened when I brought home Laurie Smith's The Truth About Roller Skating. The book vanished from my shelf and reappeared in my mother's hands. It remained there all night until she very reluctantly relinquished it so she could go to bed. I think it is fair to say that it isn't usual form to refer to a collection of poetry as a 'page-turner' but that's exactly what it is.

This collection illustrates a childhood spent in the suburbs of Riverside in the 1960s and 70s. Julie Newmar's cat woman is pitted against Eartha Kit's version (Newmar 1, Kit 0), Zorro makes an appearance as the author's childhood avatar, and new development projects are fiercely resisted with sabotage. The incidents are lively, and steeped in Smith's wry wit. This is what gives the book its magnetism; these are poems courageous enough to laugh, and the laughter is contagious.

Laurie Smith B.Ed., MA., is co-publisher of Cranberry Tree Press in Windsor, a freelance editor, and leads creative writing workshops at Juniper Books. She is the first ever recipient of the Adele Wiseman Poetry Prize, is a two-time winner of the Mayor's Awards of Excellence in the Arts, and has won numerous additional awards for poetry and short fiction. Her other works include gall/stones, One Ninth of a Cat's Life, and Menagerie.

'barbie remodeled' by Laurie Smith, from The Truth About Roller Skating

small tits, big hips
fat-cheeked wide-eyed not a line or
blemish but still falsely haired;
who are we fooling?

himself hairless, curious,
my brother used black marker
to scribble in bush on my dolls, even
adolescent skipper,
and barbie did not get pregnant, though
ken did not sleep in another compartment
but stiffly on top of her in the pink wardrobe case
their eyes open all night

i would still have those staples through my belly,
the disfigurement of paper dolls, the airbrushed
elegance of perks and pearls but barbie at 38
will outlive my dreamhouse, will have g.i. joe and
spiderman perverting her if ken is unavailable
and she will not decompose, left out in the sandbox.

i too have been chewed by dogs; i have been
packaged, dressed,
stripped, decapitated, envied, ridiculed
- yet i still do love
all the new clothes.

Laurie Smith will be holding a book signing of The Truth About Roller Skating at Chapters at Devonshire Mall tomorrow, April 22nd, from 1 to 4.

The Truth About Roller Skating is available for $14.95 at the following retailers:

Juniper Books
U of W Bookstore
The Sugar Shack
Bergeron Art and Frame

Review: Touch the Dead by Mary Ann Mulhern

The grave digger's daughter, former nun, and present poet Mary Ann Mulhern shares her peculiar childhood in this collection of poems inspired by growing up in a graveyard in the 1940s. Mary Ann, from St.Thomas, Ontario, now lives in Windsor. Her poems have appeared in Tower, the Windsor Review, Room of One's Own, and Windfall.

Touch the Dead was short-listed for the Acorn-Plantos award in 2007, an award for Canadian poetry written with accessible language and imagery. The poems in this collection are directly inspired by the poet's memories of her childhood, experiences reflected and transformed into strikingly moving images. The language is intimate and narrative. Each short poem tells the story by drawing the reader into a moment from years ago. Coming to terms with mortality, but also the co-existence of life with death run through the poems making the collection very engaging.

'Root Cellar' by Mary Ann Mulhern from Touch the Dead

My father digs a root cellar

deeper than a grave

Earth takes back her harvest

apples, potatoes, turnips and squash

Seeds still alive

like a woman whose

buried children turned to ghosts

while they still had breath and eyes

to beg for sustenance

Apples for a Sunday pie

potatoes for a stew

turnips and squash streaming in a pot

Sweet resurrection

Touch the Dead and other works by Mary Ann Mulhern are published by Black Moss Press and available from Amazon.ca.