These poems span the gamut of life from love to death; a eulogy for a people, who for the most part, are no longer with us. Their evolution in rural Newfoundland has taken hundreds of years and there is a good possibility that we will never see their likes again. Full of knowledge, self-sufficiency, independence, pride and dignity, most of them, I think, would be deeply insulted by some of our contemporary characterizations of them. One could easily argue that this collection is a portrayal of the tyranny of progress, the displacement of people, the destruction of community or part of the natural progression of human history. Either way, one cannot help being affected by their demise and the transformation of people and place into a form of human madness. Therefore, these poems might be viewed as a lament for ordinary people who were the most extraordinary men and women whom I was fortunate enough to have known. It behoves us never to forget them.

Larry Small was born on Twillingate Island and grew up in Moreton’s Harbour, the home of his ancestors for two centuries. He did an M. A. in Folklore at Memorial University and a Ph. D. in Folklore and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, after which he taught at Memorial University until his retirement.

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