by Kevin Van Tighem,
Rocky Mountain Books, 2024
Kevin Van Tighem retired as superintendent of Banff National Park in 2011, and since then he has shared his expertise on Alberta’s flora and fauna through books and columns, including in this publication, which, he writes, “gave me the chance to write about things that I believe make Alberta what it is. Things that aren’t just about oil and money.” In short, evocative essays, Van Tighem discusses the impact of industrial development on Alberta’s landscape, the state of wildlife across the province and the ethics of hunting. This updated edition also includes a preface detailing his experience running for the NDP in Livingstone-Macleod during the 2023 provincial election.
by Premee Mohamed,
ECW Press, 2024
“We tell the kids, Never travel alone. We tell them, Go where you like. But don’t go alone.” In the second installment of Premee Mohamed’s post-apocalyptic series, following The Annual Migration of Clouds, Reid Graham has biked from a ruined Edmonton campus across a dangerous Alberta to attend Howse, a university hidden in the Rocky Mountains. Her new community survives by sharing resources and supporting those sick with the mysterious Cadastrulamyces. At Howse, Graham is surrounded by relative opulence—Howse has no gathering places such as cafeterias or study halls, but also no death board because there are “not just days but weeks, months when no one dies. For [Graham’s community] it’s every day.” In exacting prose Mohamed questions the extent of our responsibility to family, community and personal survival.
