Literary trip through Canada
This Canada Day, take a literary trip across our beautiful country through the words of some of Athabasca University’s past writers-in-residence.
Craving a summertime trip to the Canadian prairies? Tim Bowling’s The Heavy Bear takes readers on a surreal journey through downtown Edmonton. The narrator, who happens to have the same name as the author, serves as the perfect tour guide of the unexpected.
Next up—a prairie road trip! Hit the highway and travel southwest to Nanton, Alta., with Hiromo Goto’s Chorus of Mushrooms. For readers saddened by the cancellation of Western Canada’s most famous summer event, Goto even includes a side trip to the Calgary Stampede. Pack your cowboy boots.
Venturing beyond our home province of Alberta, who would miss an opportunity to see the beautiful islands of Haida Gwaii? John Vaillant will take you there with his award-winning non-fiction book The Golden Spruce.
If you’re the kind of person who travels to meet new people, social distancing has robbed you of that adventure. Luckily, Richard Van Camp excels at bringing characters to life on the page. Make yourself comfy with his acclaimed short-story collection Moccasin Square Gardens and get to know the wide cast of intriguing characters on this energetic visit to Fort Smith, N.W.T.
In the mood for more international travel? Try the Bay of Bengal with Anita Rau Badami’s The Hero’s Walk, Tanzania with Tololwa M. Mollel’s My Rows and Piles of Coins, Berlin with Esi Edugyan’s Half-Blood Blues, or Cyprus with Steven Heighton’s The Nightingale Won’t Let You Sleep.
