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Biography & Autobiography Cultural Heritage

Canadian Folk

Portraits of Remarkable Lives

by (author) Peter Unwin

Publisher
Dundurn Press
Initial publish date
Sep 2013
Category
Cultural Heritage, Historical, General
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781459710276
    Publish Date
    Sep 2013
    List Price
    $21.99
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781459710290
    Publish Date
    Sep 2013
    List Price
    $8.99

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Description

An amusing collection of lives and stories from the eccentric side of Canada’s history.

A joyous romp through the back pages of Canadian quirkiness, Canadian Folk provides a fresh look at the saints, sinners, oddballs, and outright nutbars who have populated the Canadian landscape.

They were perpetually northbound or south; they were inveterate walkers, or world class runners, millionaires in ill-advised Citroen half-tracks. The restless characters who spanned those miles and who fill the pages of this book were fuelled by the ambitions, the doubts, and the certainties of their times, a certainty that now seems unfathomable to us and frequently maddening. From doomed explorers to celebrated poets of cheese, this collection provides a fascinating look at the eminent and no-so-eminent characters who came before us and left their colourful mark on Canada’s history.

 

About the author

Peter Unwin was born in Sheffield, England, and raised in Southern Ontario. He studied at Carleton University in Ottawa. His fiction includes the short story collection The Rock Farmers, which was shortlisted for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, and the novel Nine Bells for a Man. His non-fiction includes The Wolf’s Head: Writing Lake Superior and Hard Surface: In Search of the Canadian Road. He has travelled extensively in the Canadian north. Currently, he is a Master’s candidate in Culture and Communications at York and Ryerson universities. An avid practitioner of martial arts, baseball, and literature, he lives in Toronto with his wife and two daughters.

Peter Unwin's profile page

Editorial Reviews

Peter Unwin is a talented storyteller with a dry sense of humour who makes history interesting.

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