Book Description

Montreal's rich tradition of literature in both English and French makes it unique in the world. As the result of immigration it has begun to incorporate many varied strands of writing from around the world. In Putting Down Roots, writers from around the world who have made their homes in Montreal grapple with questions of reconciling loyalty to their origins and to their own most private selves with the need to find a readership and the desire to belong to the society where they live. They address the difficulties of adjusting to not one but two new languages in a host society itself feuding over language. The book follows the author's exploratory journeys among writers of Italian, Haitian, Arab, South Asian, and Chinese origin as well as those writing in Yiddish, Spanish, and Hungarian. It lays no claim to being exhaustive or scholarly and is a mere sampling of the rich material about Montreal's writers that has come to her attention.

Selected Contents: Flourishing in Three Languages: Montreal Writers of Italian Background Keeping the Flame Alight: Montreal is Home to Two Yiddish Literary Stars Harvest from Haiti: Rooted in the Caribbean, Writers Blossom in Quebec Forging a Dynamic Literary Tradition in Spanish Plus interviews with Marco Micone, Mary di Michele, Chava Rosenfarb, Yehuda Elberg, Jol Des Rosiers,Ramon Guardia, Alfredo Lavergne, Gyrgy Vitz, John Asfour, Bhagwan Gidwan, and Ying Chen. ... Read more

Book Description

John Price, an English Canadian Federalist living in Vancouver, has been hearing a lot in the news media about Quebec and the Separation movement. Not understanding the reasons, he decides to find out by going to Quebec. He leaves his job and, once in Quebec, falls hopelessly in love with Yvonne Pelletier, who is also pro-Separatist. This novel, on the conflict between the English and French Canadian, is also a poignant love story between two persons searching to discover their identity. It is anticipated that this book will generate significant interest in Canada. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Vivid documentation of the French Canadian viewpoint
This book is not only well written but gives an excellent perspective, from the French Canadian viewpoint, why there is a desire to Balkanize Canada. I agree with the reviewer from Iceland that this book would be the basis for a very interesting film.

My only regret is that the book is too short!

Gives a stunning insight into Canadian culture-a must read
As a European, "Two Canadians??" was a very exciting novel to read. I now have a much better perspective of the sentiments both within and outside Quebec as well as the potential gravity of the separation movement on the future of Canada. I always thought that Canada was a melting pot of cultures, very similar to the U.S.A. I guess I have been very wrong! The book is well written and I didn't stop until I finished the whole book. I think this story would make an excellent movie. This book has definitely made me want to visit Montreal on my next vacation. My strong recommendation to the author and publisher is that this book gets translated into the French language. Finally, thanks to Amazon.Com for introducing me to this book so soon after it was published ... Read more

Book Description

Three of Norman Bethune's close Montreal friends and associates from the Thirties collaborated to write this informal portrait of Bethune during a critical and fascinating period of his life.

Soon after Bethune's 1928 return from the United States to Canada, Montreal fell into the grip of the Depression. His research soon showed a correlation between worsening economic conditions and an increase in the number of tuberculosis victims in the city. Like many other intellectuals and professionals, he was drawn towards the political left as he tried to understand the basis for the economic crisis. These experiences led him to Russia, to Spain and finally to China, each journey strengthening his growing political convictions.

The authors of Bethune: The Montreal Years were all involved with Norman Bethune and his work during this period. Each provides a unique personal portrait of Bethune, his friends and his work, and together they convey their great affection and respect for this distinguished Canadian
... Read more

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Catholic New Times, published by Catholic New Times, Inc. on February 29, 2004. The length of the article is 450 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Claude Ryan dies in Montreal.(Canada)(former Quebec liberal leader)(Obituary)
Publication: Catholic New Times (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 29, 2004
Publisher: Catholic New Times, Inc.
Volume: 28Issue: 4Page: 5(1)

Article Type: Obituary

Distributed by Thompson Gale ... Read more

Book Description

A much-discussed bestseller in Quebec, The Trickster tells the inside story of political events in that province during the tumultuous two years that followed the defeat of Meech Lake. ... Read more

Book Description

First published in 1980, Rick Salutin's biography captures Kent Rowley's unforgettable personality and details his life struggle: an epic tale in which one man's life intersects with all the major issues of his time.

Kent Rowley's remarkable odyssey through Canadian history began with a Montreal high school strike. In the depths of the Depression he organized office workers. He was interned under the War Measures Act in 1940, emerging from jail to take on Premier Maurice Duplessis and the textile giants of Quebec alongside Madeleine Parent, a brilliant and influential union organizer. He survived fifteen years in the wilderness during the Cold War; and his stubborn opposition to international unions culminated in the founding, in 1968, of the Confederation of Canadian Unions dedicated to fight for independent Canadian trade unionism.

Kent Rowley is a brilliant examination of the career of one of the great figures of Canadian labour history. ... Read more

Book Description

Following the love story of painter Joseph Légaré's niece, Isabelle Forest, and novelist Philippe Aubert de Gaspé, Sylvie Chaput carefully and creatively chronicles her picture of Quebec in the 1830s. Chaput writes of the turbulence Quebec endured as her lovers battle the dangers of severe political unrest and a huge cholera epidemic. This novel also recalls the role of art, specifically painting, as a permanent force in a tumultuous world. ... Read more

Book Description

A sensitive man grows up in an abusive atmosphere in the timberland of Quebec. ... Read more

Book Description

Nick Auf der Maur led a uniquely Montreal life that he shared with readers of his column in The Gazette. "He wrote about Montreal the way Jimmy Breslin wrote about New York," a colleague commented. "It wouldn't work anywhere else, but there were universal moments of truth in it." Other cities existed, in Nick's mind, mostly to be compared with Montreal. And everyone who came through Montreal met Nick. From Rudolf Nureyev to Jack Kerouac. From Conrad Black to Courtney Love. He wrote about them all, as he wrote about politics, sports, food and life after dark. In the last year of his life, he also wrote, with courage that touched thousands, of his illness. In this posthumous collection, the first of Nick's columns, Vhicule Press brings you the best of Nick.

The introduction is by Nick's friend Mordecai Richler, with whom he shared many a working lunch in his office on Crescent Street. Illustrations of Nick over the years are by Aislin. The collection is edited by Dave Bist of The Gazette. Among Nick's friends who contributed to the book are: Warren Allmand, Hubert Bauch, Allan Fotheringham, Josh Freed, John Lynch-Staunton, L. Ian MacDonald, Margo MacGillivray, Brian McKenna, Terry Mosher, Brian Mulroney, Stephen Phizicky, Jake Richler, Mark Starowicz, Brian Stewart, Bernard St. Laurent and Anthony Wilson-Smith. His daughter Melissa adds a postcript.

The effect of Nick, and his work on his fellow Montrealers was apparent with his passing in April 1998, when nearly 3,000 people came to his funeral at St. Patrick's Basilica. All the net proceeds from Nick: A Montreal life, including author royalties and the publisher's profits, will be contributed to the Nick Auf der Maur Memorial Fund at the Montreal General Hospital. ... Read more