Waiting: An Anthology of Essays

by Rona Altrows (Editor), Julie Sedivy (Editor), Samantha Albert (Contribution by), Sharon Butala (Contribution by), Jane Cawthorne (Contribution by)

Overview

The verb esperar means to wait. It also means to hope.—“The Past Was a Small Notebook, Much Scribbled-Upon”, Cora Siré Waiting, that most human of experiences, saturates all of our lives. We spend part of each day waiting—for birth, death, appointments, acceptance, forgiveness, redemption. This collection of thirty-two personal essays is as much about hope as it is about waiting. Featuring literary voices from the renowned to the emerging, this anthology of contemporary creative nonfiction will resonate with anyone who has ever had to wait. Contributors: Samantha Albert, Rona Altrows, Sharon Butala, Jane Cawthorne, Weyman Chan, Rebecca Danos, Patti Edgar, John Graham-Pole, Leslie Greentree, Edythe Anstey Hanen, Vivian Hansen, Jane Harris, Richard Harrison, Elizabeth Haynes, Lee Kvern, Anne Lévesque, Margaret Macpherson, Alice Major, Wendy McGrath, Stuart Ian McKay, Lorri Neilsen Glenn, Susan Olding, Roberta Rees, Julie Sedivy, Kathy Seifert, Cora Siré, Steven Ross Smith, Anne Sorbie, Glen Sorestad, Kelly S. Thompson, Robin van Eck, Aritha van Herk

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781772124187
Publisher:	The University of Alberta Press
Publication date:	10/05/2018
Series:	Robert Kroetsch Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	248
File size:	649 KB

About the Author

Jane Cawthorne is a writer, editor, and feminist activist. Her first novel, Patterson House, is forthcoming with Inanna Publications in 2022. She recently published the anthology, Writing Menopause, with Elaine Morin in 2017. Jane writes about women on the brink of transformation.
Leslie Greentree is the author of two books of poetry, guys named Bill (2002) and go-go dancing for Elvis (2003), shortlisted for the Griffin Award for Excellence in Poetry. Her short story, The Brilliant Save, was a winner of CBC Radio's annual Alberta Anthology competition. Leslie has read across much of Canada and at the Dublin Writers’ Festival. She lives in Red Deer, Alberta. This is her first book of short stories.
Alice Major emigrated from Scotland at the age of eight, and grew up in Toronto before coming west to work as a weekly newspaper reporter. She served as the City of Edmonton’s first poet laureate from 2005–2007. A widely-published author, she has won many distinctions. Her most recent book, Intersecting Sets: A Poet Looks at Science, received the Wilfrid Eggleston Award for non-fiction as well as a National Magazine Award gold medal. Her website is www.alicemajor.com.
Aritha van Herk teaches Creative Writing, Canadian Literature and Contemporary Narrative at the University of Calgary. van Herk is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and is active in Canada’s literary and cultural life, writing articles and reviews as well as creative work. Her novel, No Fixed Address, was nominated for the Governor General's Award for Fiction. She is well known in the broader community of the city, the province, and the country as a writer and a public intellectual.

Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgements Burgeoning 1 | Bill of Fare // Susan Olding 2 | Saturday // Anne Lévesque 3 | Waiting for Now: Four Stories // Steven Ross Smith 4 | The Escape // Edythe Anstey Hanen 5 | Waiting for Alexandra // Glen Sorestad Scope 6 | The Art Hospital, the Floating Hospital, and the Burning House // Elizabeth Haynes 7 | The Past Was a Small Notebook, Much Scribbled-Upon // Cora Siré 8 | Beyond the Horizon // Julie Sedivy 9 | Two Women Waiting // Rebecca Danos 10 | Esperando // Patti Edgar 11 | Currents // Alice Major Moment 12 | Letter of Intent // Rona Altrows 13 | The Next Minute // Jane Cawthorone 14 | Frozen // Lorri Neilsen Glenn 15 | Harder, But Still Not Painful // Robin Van Eck 16 | Alterations // Wendy Mcgrath Soul 17 | Who Will Find Me // Weyman Chan 18 | in the event of // Stuart Ian Mckay 19 | Whisper Talk // Anne Sorbie 20 | Waiting for the Impossible // Aritha Van Herk 21 | On the Pleasure of Waiting // Richard Harrison 22 | Storage // Sharon Butala Irretrievable 23 | Heavy Weight of Silence Lee Kvern 24 | Impressions // Margaret Macpherson 25 | Telling // Vivian Hansen 26 | Tom Petty Just Isn’t There for You: Riffs on Waiting // Leslie Greentree Guts 27 | Wait Training // Samantha Albert 28 | Waiting for a Hero // Jane Harris 29 | Bones, Honey // Roberta Rees 30 | Undeterred // John Graham-Pole 31 | Sa Ta Na Ma // Kathy Seifert 32 | We Come and We Go // Kelly S. Thompson Notes Contributors

What People are Saying About This

Angie Abdou

"I would buy this book based on the contributor list alone. The essays are well balanced—short mixed in with long, very well-established writers mixed in with new ones, a variety of approaches and styles, and surprising interpretations of the waiting theme mixed in with more expected explorations. Waiting is as strong a collection as I have read."

From the Publisher

"I would buy this book based on the contributor list alone. The essays are well balanced—short mixed in with long, very well-established writers mixed in with new ones, a variety of approaches and styles, and surprising interpretations of the waiting theme mixed in with more expected explorations. Waiting is as strong a collection as I have read."—Angie Abdou, author of Home Ice: Reflections of a Reluctant Hockey Mom

Editorial Reviews

"I would buy this book based on the contributor list alone. The essays are well balanced—short mixed in with long, very well-established writers mixed in with new ones, a variety of approaches and styles, and surprising interpretations of the waiting theme mixed in with more expected explorations. Waiting is as strong a collection as I have read."—Angie Abdou, author of Home Ice: Reflections of a Reluctant Hockey Mom
"A great deal of our lives is spent waiting. As humans we wait for public transit and for food at restaurants and food courts... And we wait for longer, more existential things: the birth of a baby, the progression of an illness, the arrival or departure of a friend or family member, acceptance or rejection of a job opportunity, love. In this edited anthology, a broad array of writers...examine various aspects of why and how we wait."—Quill & Quire
# 2 on Calgary Herald's Non-Fiction Bestsellers list, October 6, 2018—Calgary Herald
# 9 on Calgary Herald's Non-Fiction Bestsellers list, October 13, 2018—Calgary Herald
# 2 on Edmonton Non-Fiction Bestsellers list, October 19, 2018
"Each of these thirty-two essays is powerful, distinctive, authentic.... I closed this book feeling that I’d been on thirty-two life journeys.... Waiting is not just filling blank time. It is also about courage and love." [Full review at https://www.ottawareviewofbooks.com/single-post/2019/02/02/Waiting-An-Anthology-of-Essays-edited-by-Rona-Altrows-and-Julie-Sedivy]—Elizabeth Greene, Ottawa Review of Books
"There’s plenty to debate here... These are just a few of the kinds of waiting essayed here, and they are all very much worth reading." Saskatoon StarPhoenix, January 26, 2019 [Full review at https://thestarphoenix.com/entertainment/books/book-reviews-the-literary-history-of-saskatchewan-vol-3-waiting]—Bill Robertson
"Waiting is a universal phenomenon, and in this impressive collection editors Rona Altrows and Julie Sedivy curate a variety of nuanced and distilled personal essays from 32 writers exploring the liminal experiences of people waiting for results, news, change, release or understanding"—Jannie Edwards

From the Publisher

"Waiting is a universal phenomenon, and in this impressive collection editors Rona Altrows and Julie Sedivy curate a variety of nuanced and distilled personal essays from 32 writers exploring the liminal experiences of people waiting for results, news, change, release or understanding"

Jannie Edwards

"There's plenty to debate here... These are just a few of the kinds of waiting essayed here, and they are all very much worth reading." Saskatoon StarPhoenix, January 26, 2019 [Full review at https://thestarphoenix.com/entertainment/books/book-reviews-the-literary-history-of-saskatchewan-vol-3-waiting]

Bill Robertson

"Each of these thirty-two essays is powerful, distinctive, authentic.... I closed this book feeling that I'd been on thirty-two life journeys.... Waiting is not just filling blank time. It is also about courage and love." [Full review at https://www.ottawareviewofbooks.com/single-post/2019/02/02/Waiting-An-Anthology-of-Essays-edited-by-Rona-Altrows-and-Julie-Sedivy]

Ottawa Review of Books - Elizabeth Greene

# 9 on Calgary Herald's Non-Fiction Bestsellers list, October 13, 2018

Calgary Herald

"A great deal of our lives is spent waiting. As humans we wait for public transit and for food at restaurants and food courts... And we wait for longer, more existential things: the birth of a baby, the progression of an illness, the arrival or departure of a friend or family member, acceptance or rejection of a job opportunity, love. In this edited anthology, a broad array of writers...examine various aspects of why and how we wait."

Quill & Quire