Blowdown

By Craig Spence

I wrote Blowdown shortly after a violent storm in December 2006 that flattened large sections of Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia. Like most everyone, I was shocked by the scale of the carnage and inclined to anthropomorphize the event – attributing it to a malevolent force in Nature.
It’s not surprising people reacted that way. The sacredness of Stanley Park has been recognized for centuries... millennia. To see its giant Douglas firs scattered about like pick-up sticks sent shockwaves through many communities that revere what is perhaps the most precious 405 hectares of vestigial wilderness on the West Coast.
But rather than pin the images I was seeing to my memory board with a vague sense of anger, I wanted to understand the disaster from a spiritual perspective: yes, the aftermath was ugly; yes, it would take years for the park to recover; but storms are a natural catastrophe; it would be a mistake to characterize the devastation as an act of cosmic vandalism.
The process of adjusting my reaction has resulted in a book that’s hard for me to classify. On the one hand it scans like children’s literature, which I delight in both reading and writing; on the other, the themes and language may be challenging even for adults.
For some of the chapters I drew from the legends of the Squamish people as chronicled by Pauline Johnson in her conversations with Chief Joe Capilano at the turn of the last century. But any interpretations of First Nations’ legend, culture or spirituality you encounter here must be understood strictly as an adaptation through the eyes of a European child, trying to understand his place in family, society and nature.
It has taken six years for me to understand this distinction and overcome my deep concerns around issues of cultural appropriation. So even as I acknowledge the First Nations whose legends are part of the fabric of Stanley Park, I have to say emphatically that this story is written from the only perspective I know – that of a European child growing up in a multicultural land, whose first peoples still struggle to gain the rights and respect they deserve.
I have learned much about my world by witnessing and participating in First Nations events and ceremonies. I hope they and any other readers of Blowdown will enjoy this little book in the spirit it has been written.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Craig Spence
• Release date: Aug 13, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301855711

Craig Spence

Writing - or more accurately, narrative story telling - has been a driving passion for as long as I can remember. It has flowed around and through my life experiences as husband, father, journalist and communications guy. I will be a writer ‘til the day I die; it’s how I explore and synthesize my world. My partner in life, Diana Durrand, is an artist. Our sons Daniel and Ian have put up with us for 25 and 22 years respectively. Daniel plays hockey in Joensuu, Finland; Ian is learning the skills of the drywall trade in Langley, BC. They are both great guys. If you want to know more about me, please visit craigspencewriter.ca and click the bio link. You will also find there a list of my works (including works in progress). Other published books include: Josh & the Magic Vial, 2006, which was shortlisted for the BC Book Prize award for children’s literature, and Einstein Dog, 2009. An author of course, is nothing without an audience. Thanks for bringing my story to life by reading.

Book preview

BLOWDOWN

By Craig Spence

Published by Cover To Cover

& Craig Spence at Smashwords

Copyright 2013 Craig Spence

License Notes

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BLOWDOWN

Copyright 2013

by Craig Spence

Cover by Diana Durrand

craigspencewriter.ca

[e-mail]

250-208-3825

911 Oliphant Avenue

Victoria, BC, V8V 4V4

Table of Contents

Introduction

Before Times

Turn of Events

First Sightings

Cannibal Man

The Powerful Slave

Forebodings

Wind Warrior

Whirlwind

The End

About the Author

Introduction

I wrote Blowdown shortly after a violent storm in December 2006 that flattened large sections of Stanley Park. Like most everyone, I was shocked by the scale of the carnage and inclined to anthropomorphize the event – attributing it to a malevolent force in Nature.

It’s not surprising people reacted that way. The sacredness of Stanley Park has been recognized for centuries… millennia. To see its giant Douglas firs scattered about like pick-up sticks sent shockwaves through many communities that revere what is perhaps the most precious 405 hectares of vestigial wilderness on the West Coast.

But rather than pin the images I was seeing to my memory board with a vague sense of anger, I wanted to understand the disaster from a spiritual perspective: yes, the aftermath was ugly; yes, it would take years for the park to recover; but storms are a natural catastrophe; it would be a mistake to characterize the devastation as an act of cosmic vandalism.

The process of adjusting my reaction has resulted in a book that’s hard for me to classify. On the one hand it scans like children’s literature, which I delight in both reading and writing; on the other, the themes and language may be challenging even for adults.

For some of the chapters I drew from the legends of the Squamish people as chronicled by Pauline Johnson in her conversations with Chief Joe Capilano at the turn of the last century. But any interpretations of First Nations’ legend, culture or spirituality you encounter here must be understood strictly as an adaptation through the eyes of a European child, trying to understand his place in family, society and nature.

It has taken six years for me to understand this distinction and overcome my deep concerns around issues of cultural appropriation. So even as I acknowledge the First Nations whose legends are part of the fabric of Stanley Park, I have to say emphatically that this story is written from the only perspective I know – that of a European child growing up in a multicultural land, whose first peoples still struggle to gain the rights and respect they deserve.

I have learned much about my world by witnessing and participating in First Nations events and ceremonies. I hope they and any other readers of Blowdown will enjoy this little book in the spirit it has been written.

Table of Contents>>

Before Times

A long time ago, centuries before