I Count Myself Among Them

An Evening with Morten Asfeldt

Review of Randall Maggs' Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems

If the Olympics proved anything, it’s that Canada rules hockey. No wonder then that even some of our greatest literature revolves around the sport. Roch Carrier’s The Hockey Sweater. Paul Quarrington’s King Leary. And now you can add Randall Magg’s Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems.

Told in a series of mostly narrative poems, Night Work is the biography of Terry Sawchuk, one of the NHL's greatest goalies of all time. Had Sawchuk been an entirely fictional character, Maggs' poetry would stand on its own. That Sawchuk actually existed simply adds to the mystique.

It's a mystique that Maggs' somehow manages to salvage, while paradoxically making Sawchuk more human. How can you relate to a man that spits out bits of his teeth and continues to play a game? Because he feels the rejection of fickle fans. Because he doesn't always behave responsibly. Because he knows the pressure of expectation. Maggs presents a quintessential hero with humanity.

The strengths of Maggs' poetry are many. Often told from varying points of view (Terry, other players, Maggs himself) the changing perspective might be confusing at first. But it’s something you eventually get used to , without the help of a FoxTrax puck. Maggs captures the language and feel of the game without patronizing it or dumbing it down. "Arse" has never sounded so poetic.

This is one of the best biographies you’ll ever read, even if you’re not a fan of the sport.

Randall Maggs, winner of Newfoundland’s Winterset Award and most recently the $25,000 Kobzar Award (for literature with a Ukrainian Canadian theme), will be visiting Yellowknife at the end of March. Stay tuned to the this blog and to the Yellowknifer for reading times and locales as well as how to sign up for a poetry workshop.

Spaces Between: the Art of Songwriting

Join Northern song-writer Dana fora workshop that will help you take the song in your soul onto the stage! Dana draws her inspiration from the lakes of dreams and the spaces in between of Denendeh and beyond. She has called the North home for several years, graced many of its stages and represented the NWT in several capacities as a songwriter, including the 2007 True North Concert in Iqaluit. Most recently, she penned an ode to the Tuktoyaktuk Pingos for The CBC Great Canadian Songquest. Come spend an interactive evening with Dana and other Northerners, exploring the art of the written song, and learn some techniques and practices to help get your creative pen flowing. Bring a journal and an instrument (including but not limited to fingertips and tongue).

Thursday, March 4, 2010

7:00 to 9:30 p.m.

YK Public Library Meeting Rooms

Cost: $10 – Register in advance at the

Yellowknife Book Cellar

Steve Galloway Workshop and Public Reading

NorthWords invites you to get rid of the February blahs by joining Steven Galloway for a Literary weekend, February 13-14, 2010.

Workshop: Practical Techniques of Fiction

This day and a half workshop for serious emerging writers deals with elements of structure in short and long fiction.

Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010: 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. (Lunch break) 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010: 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Aurora College, Room 308, Yellowknife NWT

Cost: $50. Pre-registration required at the Yellowknife Book Cellar. Limited spots so book early!

Public Reading and Meet & Greet

Come and meet Steve and hear him read from his latest book The Cellist of Sarajevo.

This event is free and open to the public.

There will be time to ask questions and speak with the author.

Sunday, Feb. 14, 2 p.m - 4 p.m.

Yellowknife Public Library Meeting Room

Fiction Workshop with Steve Galloway

NorthWords is pleased to announce that Steve Galloway will be in Yellowknife to offer and intensive fiction-writing workshop on February 13 - 14, 2010. Steven Galloway is the author of three novels, most recently the international bestseller “The Cellist of Sarajevo,” which won the Borders New Voices Award, The Evergreen Award and the George Ryga Award, and was nominated for the Dublin Impac Prize, The Giller Prize, and the Ethel Wilson Prize. His work has been translated into over thirty languages. Galloway lives in New Westminster and teaches fiction writing at the University of British Columbia.

Stayed tuned for more information about the workshop.