Syllabus Shocker

Today at work I Googled my co-author Jim Hole's name to see if there were any new reviews of his latest book, What Grows Here? Volume Two. I found a couple, but way more interesting was the link found at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. The syllabus for their Master of Liberal Arts programs includes a quote from a piece Jim and I wrote for last year's issue of Spring Gardening. Here's the relevant excerpt from the syllabus:

LBS 511: Topics in Literature and Language: The Writer in the Garden

Special Instructor Linda McCloskey, Dept. of English mccloske@oakland.edu
MW 6:30 - 9:50 p.m.
In his essay, "The Art of Interpretation," Jim Hole states, "Even the most modest garden is a work of art in its own right, if you've imbued it with your own personal vision." In this course, we will explore the garden in literature as both literal and symbolic, including each writer's personal vision and expression of his or her relationship with nature, from the Biblical Garden of Eden through the secret garden of children's fiction to the contemporary garden essay. Emphasis will be placed on the connection between personal reflection and universal meaning. Students may investigate interdisciplinary depictions of the garden in painting, sculpture, film and history as well. A visit to the gardens at Cranbrook is planned as part of the course. Students will learn to hone their literary/personal essay writing skills, and garden essays will be gathered to produce a collection at the semester's end. Course requirements also include regular attendance and active participation in class discussions. Required texts:

Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden. (The Modern Library Classics
edition)
Roger Evans, The Writer in the Garden.
Jane Garmey, editor, The Writer in the Garden.
Jamaica Kincaid, My Garden (Book)
Bonnie Marranca, American Garden Writing: An Anthology.
Michael Pollan, Second Nature: A Gardener's Education.
Charles Dudley Warner, My Summer in a Garden.

I'm so psyched. I know it's silly, but I really feel like this helps validate the work I've been doing for Hole's. Sure, it's likely that the instructor was just searching for something reasonably quotable for the syllabus description, but it's still darn cool that she picked something I wrote. Woo woo!

Earl & Sylvia at the BPAA Awards

Better Luck Next Year

Jim Hole's book What Grows Here, Volume One: Locations was nominated for trade non-fiction book of the year by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. Everyone in the publishing department attended the awards ceremony last Saturday at the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald, but Linda Goyette's Edmonton: In Our Own Words walked away with the trophy. Still, everyone had fun, and wow, our table definitely had the best-looking women. I don't mean that in a sexist way; I just looked around the table at one point and thought to myself, "Huh. What a good-looking bunch."

During the course of the evening, I found out that Sylvia was once into wall-climbing, and appeared on Access climbing the walls. Now she does it at home without the benefit of a television audience.

Racing Up the Charts

What Grows Here? is now at #5 on the Edmonton non-fiction charts!

#7, No Bullet

I found out today that our latest book, Jim Hole's What Grows Here? Volume One: Locations, has just hit #7 on the Edmonton Journal's non-fiction bestseller list. Woo woo!
Jim's first solo title.