ARTS EAST

One man, one dog, a grand adventure across the Newfoundland wilderness . Recently we spoke with adventurer, author, filmmaker and public speaker Justin Barbour about his latest effort, Man and Dog, the chronicle of his journey across his home province with his Cape Shore canine Saku. What are your roots? I'm a Newfoundlander born and bred. I grew up in the small outport community of Bauline. Where do you currently reside, and how old are you? I currently live in Grand Falls-Windsor, NL and I am 31 years old. When and why did you start writing? I've always written, for school of course. And I don't think it was until I wrote a paper on the obesity epidemic in university that I realized I enjoyed it. Not only the writing, but also the research and organizing of information. When I received the graded paper from my prof there wasn't near as much red ink on it as my past works of failure and my grade was my best ever, 80 percent. Time passed and I did...

Born in rural Nova Scotia near the Bay of Fundy, author Christy Ann Conlin grew up listening to the heroic and moving tales of her heritage. “ My father used to read me the poetry of William Butler Yeats, and my mother recited Robbie Burns as we skipped through the fog on the beac,” she recalls. “Both sides of the family told stories of selkies and merrows, creatures from the sea.” It was the delicate intricacies of these stories, and of poetry - particularly the work of Seamus Heaney – along with the mystical lure of Celtic mythology and stage play that first inspired young Conlin to put pen to paper. “I love how poetry evokes imagery, and how characters come to life off the page through their dialogue - not just the words but the rhythm and tone of their language and words. Today, I write also for the challenge of trying new forms, of weaving together the traditional with innovation.” Conlin has enjoyed a strong and successful career within the Atlantic Canadian lit...