Fourth Installment from the Christmas Card Collection of Jack Higgins: Courtesy of the Centre for Newfoundland Studies Archives

As we approach the sixth night of Christmas, a New Year's Greeting from Rattling Books.

This is the fourth installment in a series of Christmas card postings from the Higgins' collection (John G. "Jack" Higgins (1891-1963)). The collection may be viewed at the Centre for Newfoundland Studies Archive

Possible Christmas Conspiracy involving Newfoundland: Did Santa once operate out of St. Anthony in collusion with Wilfred Grenfell?

This photograph of Santa's reindeer and some of Santa's Nelfers (term for Newfoundland elves) was taken in St. Anthony circa 1907.

This photographic slide can be found in the International Grenfell Association Lantern Slides Collection presented online by the Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Digital Archive Initiative (DAI).

Photographic evidence of Santa's reindeer and Nelfers active in St. Anthony during Wilfred Grenfell's time there suggests that the Grenfell Association may have functioned as a cover for Santa's activities during that period.

Wilfred Grenfell is otherwise best known for being adrift on an ice pan and writing a best selling account of his adventures. That account, Adrift on an Ice Pan, a gripping one with absolutely no mention of Santa, is available as an unabridged audio edition from Rattling Books.

End of Year Special at rattlingbooks.com

Save 30% on our selection of Canadian audiobooks at rattlingbooks.com

End of Year Special!

Spending Christmas with Captain Bob Bartlett Dec. 29, 1913

...As soon as it was light on the twenty-ninth I kept a sharp eye out for land; south by west, by the compass, I could see a blue cloud raised up on the horizon. According to the soundings we should have been nearer Wrangell Island than Herald Island; I was inclined to think that it was Herald Island, although working out our position with our chronometer readings gave us Herald Island sixty miles to the south. Afterwards I found out that our observations at this time were correct but that the soundings were not right on the chart. What deceived us more than anything else was the big mirage; Herald Island looked large and distorted for many days. Later in the day I went aloft to see if I could make out which island it really was but on account of the imperfect light I found it impossible to tell.

Some time during the night the ice cracked about a hundred yards from the ship and made an open ribbon of water ten inches wide; during the next day the young ice was cracking a good deal all around us....

This excerpt is from The Last Voyage of the Karluk An Epic of Death and Survival in the Arctic, 1913-1916 as related by her captain, Robert A. Bartlett and here set down by Ralph T. Hale (published in 1916 by Small, Maynard and Company, Inc.; unabridged audio edition narrated by Frank Holden published by Rattling Books). 

As the fifth night of Christmas approaches may there be no cracks in the ice around you.

Audiobook mentions of Christmas : The Big Why by Michael Winter

A Christmas mention from a Rattling Books audiobook: The Big Why by Michael Winter

"That Christmas, Gerald Thayer had taken me to seven parties. We had drunk a lot and were vulnerable to awe. But the things we saw were all glitter and no substance. A store was shut and a sign said,

CLOSING SALE
UP TO

As though they hadnt decided what percentage to mark off. Then I saw: the percentage was there, but it had faded. it had been marked in red, the most fugitive of colours. The store, Gerald said, was closed. It's been closed a long time. This shocked me, this realization that what could have been a fresh thought (closing) had been an old act (closed long ago). I want, I said to Gerald, to avoid that predicament. I want a thickness to pour into me, like honey or cement.

You want, Gerald said, to slough off the baubles.

He said you can get that only if you move to a small place, to the periphery, to a community that is one organism and does not change. That loves itself.

So that is why we moved.

And Newfoundland? ..."

*********************


The above excerpt is from The Big Why by Michael Winter.


The unabridged audiobook edition of The Big Why narrated by Robert Joy was recently published by Rattling Books. It is available from rattlingbooks.com as either an MP3 CD or Digital Download. Listening time 10.5 hours.

Janneying, a Christmas poem by Mary Dalton from Merrybegot

Janneying
(by Mary Dalton from Merrybegot)


Every winter it was the same racket.
A hint of the janneying, our mother'd
Have copper kittens, but after a bit
She'd give in to us, say yes we could go.
We'd rig ourselves up in any old fit-out,
Pillows and nets, cotton drawers on our heads.
The boys let out squeaks, the girls spoke all gruff -
One fellow missing a finger made up a
False one so he couldn't be guessed.
Once we'd get in, we'd kick up the mats,
Fire up the accordion, dance the whole night -
The floor-boards'd shiver, the funnel turn red.
First light of the sun, off we'd head home,
Bellies rumbling and we ready
To eat the leg off the Lamb of God.

Merrybegot, a collection of poems by Mary Dalton was originally published in 2003 by Véhicule Press. It is available as an unabridged audio recording from Rattling Books. The audiobook edition of Merrybegot is performed by Anita Best and Patrick Boyle.

From the Dictionary of Newfoundland English: janny and janny-talk

From the Dictionary of Newfoundland English:

janny n, usu pl also janney, jenny, johnny [phonetics unavailable]. Cp OED johnny 1 'a fellow, chap'; EDD john 2 (6 a) 'the mummers used to be called John Jacks' (1875-) W; O Sup2 janney Nfld (1896-).
1 Elaborately costumed person who participates in various group activities at Christmas; FOOL, MUMMER n.
1896 J A Folklore ix, 36 Old teaks and jannies, boys and men who turn out in various disguises and carry on various pranks during the Christmas holidays, which last from 25th December to Old Christmas day, 6th January. [c1900] 1978 RLS 8, p. 27 ~ a mummer. 1925 Dial Notes v, 335 Johnnies—Christmas mummers. Also jennies. 1928 Nfld Qtly Dec, p. 15 The merry party of 'Jannies,' or 'Mummers' made the welkin ring with their weird shouts and cries and their 'false faces' sent many [a] frightened child in haste to its mother's knee. 1937 DEVINE 29 ~ ies. Mummers; persons dressed in disguise at Christmas for visiting. 1957 Atlantic Advocate xlviii, 23 ... extra large kitchens that served as the stage for the 'Fools' or 'Mummers' or 'Janneys,' to give them their peculiar local names. T 45-64 You had no rhyme or nothing goin' out in these janneys. We usen't. Only get in [a house] and try and talk way they wouldn't understand you or get out and waltz or dance. T 172/3-65 Same thing, janney. Since that, we're not known as mummers today, they're janneys today. T 181-65 They have those johnnies, they calls 'em now. So many boys and girls around, but they got no recitations, see, nothing to say. 1969 Christmas Mumming in Nfld 65-6 There are 'big janneys,' adults, and 'little janneys,' children... Some are able to 'talk like a janney'—ingressive utterances at a high pitch. 1973 PINSENT 55 Apparently this janny had been making the rounds for years and not once had anyone guessed him—till this night. 1973 WIDDOWSON 424 'Now they big Janneys is comin' in! They'll take you tonight if yous don't be good!'
2 Phr go out in the jannies: to dress in the disguise and costume of a Christmas mummer; cp FOOL 2. T 45-64 Oh yes, we went out in the janneys several times down home before we left. 3 Comb janny-night: any night during Christmas season on which jannies go around visiting at people's houses. C 67-2 On janny-night they used to get dressed up and go from house to house. Would dance and get something to eat. Usually had a harmonica or a jews harp... Would go out most nights from Christmas Eve to New Year.

janny-talk: distorted or ingressive speech of a mummer used as a means of disguising one's identity. 1969 Christmas Mumming in Nfld 211 When the janneys come to a house they wish to visit, they open, without knocking, the storm-door, stick their heads inside the 'porch' and 'sing out': 'Any janneys in tonight?' in the high-pitched, squeaky voice that janneys always use—'janney-talk.' T 257-66 Oh yes, 'twas queer talk—janney talk. Some people can't talk and some of 'em can, you know. Some of them make a queer talk, draw in their voice, and make a queer sound.

A primer for listening to Merrybegot by Mary Dalton, read by Anita Best, from Rattling Books.

Third Installment from the Christmas Card Collection of Jack Higgins: Courtesy of the Centre for Newfoundland Studies Archives

This is the third installment in a series of Christmas card postings from the Higgins' collection (John G. "Jack" Higgins (1891-1963)). The collection may be viewed at the Centre for Newfoundland Studies Archive

Continuing our Christmas wishes through the twelve days of Christmas from Rattling Books.

Christmas Excerpt: The Last Voyage of the Karluk by Captain Bob Bartlett, setting: Dec. 26-27, 1913

"...On Friday the twenty-sixth a crack in the ice made from the waist of the ship towards the stern, running for about a hundred yards off the starboard bow. The crack did not open, but for the first time in our drift we felt a slight tremor on the ship. In about an hour we felt another slight tremor. I followed the crack for a hundred yards and then lost it. There was a fresh north-northeast wind which moderated as the day wore on but it looked as if we were in for some more bad weather, though the barometer was steady, and next day we began to get things ready to leave the ship at once, in case we should have to get out in a hurry. Everything was where we could lay our hands on it at once...."

This excerpt is from The Last Voyage of the Karluk An Epic of Death and Survival in the Arctic, 1913-1916 as related by her captain, Robert A. Bartlett and here set down by Ralph T. Hale (published in 1916 by Small, Maynard and Company, Inc.; unabridged audio edition narrated by Frank Holden published by Rattling Books).

John G. "Jack" Higgins (1891-1963): Collector of our Featured Christmas Cards

Photo: John Higgins and the Oxford Canadian ice hockey team. John Higgins is in the back row, second from right. Courtesy of the Centre for Newfoundland Studies Archives (Coll - 086), Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland.

Jack Higgins: Newfoundlander Through and Through
From the files of The Gazette July 9, 1998.

It is indeed an ironic twist of fate that Senator John G. Higgins died on Canada Day, July 1, 1963. As a veteran of the First World War, he would have said he died on Memorial Day, the day Newfoundlanders commemorate the massacre of the Newfoundland Regiment at Beaumont Hamel. It was just as ironic that Jack Higgins was even a member of the Canadian Senate; he had fought long and hard to keep Newfoundland out of Canadian Confederation in the late 1940s. But such ironies were an integral part of the life of this unheralded Newfoundlander.

....Shortly after his graduation he was selected as the 1909 Rhodes Scholar for Newfoundland and spent the next three years at Merton College, Oxford, where he read law, and captained the seven-member Oxford-Canadian Ice Hockey Team, which also included Newfoundland 1910 Rhodes Scholar, Robert Tait. This team, which toured Europe, was undefeated in the 17 matches it played, outscoring the opposition 204 goals to 17.

...Higgins became one of the leading members of the Responsible Government League, firm in his belief that Newfoundland should return to self-government before any negotiations should be begun with Canada. He participated in both referenda campaigns, contributing his speaking and writing talents and financial support. Never one to take defeat lightly, on March 31, 1949, he hung black crepe, a symbol of mourning, over the door of his house.

There had been no elected House of Assembly in Newfoundland during the 15 years of the Commission of Government. An election was scheduled to elect a new House on May 27, 1949. Higgins, never before a candidate for elected office, was returned by the voters of St. John's East as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party. As party leader H. G. R. Mews had been defeated in the election, Higgins became the leader of the opposition, the first in post-confederate Newfoundland. His term in the house was short-lived, however, as he was not a candidate in the next election in 1951, preferring the logic of the law courts to the fractious debate of the House of Assembly.

His political career was not over. On January 15, 1959, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker appointed Higgins as the first Progressive Conservative Senator from Newfoundland.

...Higgins married Alice Casey of Harbour Grace on August 13, 1925. They had three children, Gilbert, Mary Margaret and John. He was made King's Counsel in 1932. He was also a fine poet, who published in local magazines such as the Newfoundland Quarterly on a regular basis. Much of his poetry remains unpublished.

Jack Higgins was an ardent Newfoundlander. He was a lover of books from childhood and began collecting Newfoundland books at an early age. He purchased many rare and valuable documents, mainly from England, concerning Newfoundland...

(excerpt from the Gazette article stored in the digital archive of the Centre for Newfoundland Studies)

Jack Higgins' son Gilbert was a great friend of Rattling Books before it even existed. I have fond memories of visiting Gilbert in his book stuffed apartment in Stephenville where to have a cup of tea I had to first wait while Gilbert removed stacks of books to clear a seat for us, his access to the tea and even the stove. Those books and articles so lovingly cared for by Gilbert are now under the care of Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Thank-you Gilbert for your unbounded and contagious enthusiasm for books.

A Christmas Excerpt from In the Chambers of the Sea by Susan Rendell

Light Years by Susan Rendell
in memory of Jim Truscott

A selected excerpt for Christmas:

...That November they took Mom to St. John's, to the hospital. I wasn't around when she went, but I knew when I came in the house she was gone, I could feel it.

That was the Christmas I found out there was no Santa Claus. Not how most kids finds out; you know, their Mom or Dad tells them or they hears it at school, but it's not so bad because they still get presents and everything. But when me and Brian went down over the stairs Christmas morning the year Phonse died and Mom went away, taking the stairs two at a time like we always did, pushing and shoving each other - it's a wonder we never broke our necks because there was no carpet or nothing on them stairs and they were as slippery as a gutting table - our stockings were as flat as pancakes; we could see 'em laying limp over the clothesline by the stove before we were even halfways down.

I couldn't believe it. The old man never said nothing to us when he got up, and we never said nothing to him. The old bastard; dead to the world on Christmas Eve on all that money, and me and Brian laying awake for the longest time, listening for the reindeer to pitch on the roof....

Light Years, a short story by Susan Rendell, read by Joel Thomas Hynes, from the Rattling Books recording of In the Chambers of the Sea by Susan Rendell.

Second Installment from the Christmas Card Collection of Jack Higgins: Courtesy of the Centre for Newfoundland Studies Archives

This is the second installment in a series of Christmas card postings from the Higgins' collection (John G. "Jack" Higgins (1891-1963)). The collection may be viewed at the Centre for Newfoundland Studies Archive

On the first day of Christmas, Rattling Books wish for you and yours:

Be blest with health and peace and sweet content.

 

Excerpt: Christmas Day with Captain Bob Bartlett on the Karluk, Dec 25, 1913 from The Last Voyage of the Karluk

The following excerpt is from The Last Voyage of the Karluk An Epic of Death and Survival in the Arctic, 1913-1916 as related by her captain, Robert A. Bartlett and here set down by Ralph T. Hale (published in 1916 by Small, Maynard and Company, Inc.; unabridged audio edition narrated by Frank Holden published by Rattling Books). 

"...At six o'clock on Christmas morning the second engineer and McKinlay started in decorating the cabin with the flags of the International Code and a fine lot of colored ribbon which Mr. Hadley had brought with him from Point Barrow for the trading he had hoped to do in Banks Land. Later in the morning I went around and distributed presents to the Eskimo. I gave each of the Eskimo men a hunting-knife and a watch and the Eskimo woman a cotton dress, stockings and underwear, talcum powder, soap, a looking-glass, a comb and brush and some ribbon, with a cotton dress for each of the little girls.

At eleven 0'clock the first event on our type-written programme began - the sports. This was the list:

D.G. S. Karluk. Xmas Day, 1913

The events of the sports programme arranged for the day will take place in the following order:
1. 100 yards sprint
2. Long jump (standing)
3. Long jump (running)
4. Sack race
5. High jump
Interval for refreshments
6. Three-legged race
7. Putting the weight
8. 50-yard burst
9. Hop, step and leap
10. Tug of war
11. Obstacle race
12. Wrestling
Proceedings will commence at 11 A.M. (Karluk time); dogs and bookmakers not allowed on the field.

The doctor was umpire and wore a paper rosette.

...Dinner as usual was at half past four. I confess that I felt homesick and thought of other Christmas dinners. It was my fourth Christmas in the Arctic; in 1898 I had been with Peary at Cape D'Urville on the Windward and in 1905 and 1908 at Cape Sheridan with the Roosevelt, but our situation now had far more elements of uncertainty in it than we hd felt on those occasions and in addition this time it was I who had the responsibility for the lives and fortunes of every man, woman and child in the party.

We sat down at 4:30 P.M. to a menu laid out and typewritten by McKinlay:

"Such a bustle ensued"
Mixed Pickles Sweet Pickles
Oyster Soup
Lobster
Bear Steak
Ox Tongue
Potatoes Green Peas
Asparagus and Cream Sauce
Mince Pie Plum Pudding
Mixed Nuts
Tea Cake
Straswberries
"God Bless You, Merry Gentlemen;
May Nothing You Dismay!'

Murray produced a cake which had been given in Victoria to cut for this particular occasion and which he had kept carefully secreted. Dinner, which was a great credit to Bob, the cook, was followed by cigars and cigarettes and a concert on the Victrola which had been presented to the ship by Sir Richard McBride. We had records that played both classical and popular music, vocal and instrumental, and we kept this up with singing, to a late hour. Malloch wrote a Christmas letter of many pages to his father, a letter which, alas, was destined never to be delivered.... (to be continued)"

The unabridged audiobook recording of The Last Voyage of the Karluk by Captain Robert Bartlett, narrated by Frank Holden is available from Rattling Books.

Saltfish Valentine: a Christmas Recipe from Andy Jones, author of Letters from Uncle Val

Salt Cod Valentine (Brandade De Morue Avec Twist Terre Neuvienne)
(A Xmas Pâté for Celia)

Preparation Time: 70 minutes
Start to Finish Time: 13 hours
Yield: about 3 cups

1 pound center-cut salt cod (the thickest part of the fillet)
1 medium baking potato (6 ounces)
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium White Onion, minced
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus several whole sprigs for garnish
pinch of Newfoundland Savoury
1 loaf bread, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices and toasted
1/2 cup white wine

Soak salt cod in cold water in the refrigerator 12 hours, changing the water three times.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Bake potato until tender, about 50 to 60 minutes. While the potato is cooking, drain and rinse salt cod, then place in a medium pot covered with cold salted water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until fish is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool in liquid. As soon as the potato is done, split it in half, scoop out the steaming flesh, and pass through a sieve or a ricer.

Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over moderate heat. Add garlic and white onion; cook until soft, then add cream and simmer 7 minutes. Stir in the white wine during these seven minutes. Remove from heat. Drain cod and pat dry. Remove the skin and bones, then pulse a few times in food processor to break into coarse pieces. With the machine running, add the garlic-cream mixture in a steady stream. Transfer to a medium bowl, add the potato and a pinch of Newfoundland savoury, and stir until everything is mixed well. Season with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Add more salt and/or lemon juice if necessary. If not using the salt cod Valentine immediately, cover and refrigerate. (It will keep for up to a week.)

To serve, place in a large iron pan and warm over medium heat, stirring constantly, until heated through. Stir in parsley, spoon into a serving bowl, and serve surrounded by toasts. Garnish with a few olives.

Andy Jones is the author and performer of Letters from Uncle Val.

Letters from Uncle Val is a Canadian audiobook produced by Rattling Books in Newfoundland and Labrador

Excerpt / Recipe / Alternative to Turkey: Jiggs' Dinner from Hard Light by Michael Crummey

Jiggs’ Dinner

Out of bed by seven to leave plenty of time to dress for church. The salt beef in to soak overnight to take off the brine: put it on to boil in the largest pot in the pantry. Drain off half the salt water and replace it with fresh every hour. Clear a spot on the counter. Start the vegetables.


Potatoes
Potatoes are inevitable, like grace before a meal. You’ll want a spud for everyone eating, two if they’re smaller than your fist. The skin is mottled brown and spotted with eyes, the flesh is white and damp. The taste is neither here nor there, like its colour, it complements everything you serve. Cut the largest in half or three to avoid stony pits enduring after everything else is ready to eat.

Carrots
Carrots are the middle child, no one’s particular favourite, but well enough liked by all. A good rule of thumb is to cook more than you think you need. Never worry about leftovers: a carrot holds its flavour like no other vegetable, it tries so hard to please.

Turnip and Parsnip
Predictable vegetables, sturdy and uncomplicated, tasting of the winter root cellar, the warmth of darkness smouldering beneath snow. Turnip is served mashed with a tablespoon of butter and a pinch of fresh pepper. Parsnip served like carrot, the beautifully tapered torso laid naked on the plate.

Greens
Leaf and stalk of turnip, boiled until tender. The dark green of deep water shoals. As tart as spinach and better for you, the limp stalk wrapped around your fork like thread on a spool, a spill of green liquor on your lips with every mouthful.

Cabbage
Similar to lettuce, but heavier and more densely rounded: the quieter and more secretive of two siblings. Too firm and fibrous to be eaten raw, boil the cabbage whole until the inner leaves have paled almost to white and part before a fork like the Red Sea before the staff of Moses.

Onions
Slip the pocket of tears from its papery shell. Do not bring the knife near the flesh. Drop two or three whole onions into the pot to cook the tang from the core. Eat them by the forkful, the translucent layers soft and sweet as orange sections, every bit of bitterness boiled away.
When the church bell peals, place all vegetables to boil with the salt meat. The pease pudding is wrapped separately in cheesecloth or a piece of rag and placed last in the pot, before leaving for church at a quarter to eleven.

By twelve-thirty everything is ready. Take up the vegetables in separate dishes and people will serve themselves as they please. Ladle a spoonful of the salty liquor from the pot over your food, or dip up a mugful to drink with your meal. Protect your Sunday clothes with a linen or cotton napkin. Bow your heads before you eat.

Be thankful.


Hard Light by Michael Crummey (the book) is available from Brick Books. The section of Hard Light entitled 32 Little Stories, narrated by Michael Crummey, Ron Hynes and Deidre Gillard-Rowlings is available as an audio CD or MP3 Digital Download from Rattling Books.

Listen to Didi reading Jiggs' Dinner.
Jiggs' Dinner was also included (along with a piece each from Andy Jones and Mary-Lynn Bernard) in Three Servings, a chapbook from Running the Goat Press.

From the Christmas Card Collection of Jack Higgins (#1): Courtesy of the Centre for Newfoundland Studies Archives, Memorial University of Newfoundland

A card from the collection of Jack Higgins which articulates Rattling Books' wish for you this Christmas. We'll bring you more between now and Old Christmas Day.

John G. "Jack" Higgins (1891-1963): b. St. John's; Rhodes Scholar, Merton College, Oxford, 1909; Oxford Canadians Ice Hockey Team, 1910-1911; called to Newfoundland Bar, 1913; served in World War I, 1916-1918; practised law in St. John's 1919-1959; leading member of the Responsible Government League, 1947-1949; first Leader of the Opposition after Confederation, 1949-1951; first Progressive Conservative from Newfoundland appointed to Canadian Senate.

Jack Higgins was a collector. He seldom threw anything away, as it might have some value in the future. We are very fortunate that he had this trait. Included in his personal papers on deposit in the archives are a small collection of Christmas cards, many dating back to the turn of the century. ...These and other Christmas cards from the Higgins' collection may be viewed at the Centre for Newfoundland Studies Archives.

SoundCloud listening clip from today's suggested EarLit snack: The Way the Light Is by Lisa Moore

SoundCloud listening clip from today's suggested EarLit snack: The Way the Light Is by Lisa Moore.

 The Way the Light Is by Lisa Moore is from a collection of short fiction entitled Open.  Both the single story and the collection are available from Rattling Books.

Suggested EarLit Snack for the day & with a Christmas Reference : The Way the Light Is by Lisa Moore

Canadian audiobook EarLit snack referencing Christmas:

The Way the Light Is, from Open

by Lisa Moore

(An installment in a series featuring excerpts from Rattling Books titles involving reference to Christmas.)

"Mina, in Paris, about to miss her flight home for Christmas. She has to find an elevator, a moving sidewalk underground, swinging doors on the left. Forget that. She drags the luggage cart outside and crosses the four-lane highway between the two wings of the airport."

*********************

The above excerpt is from the short story The Way the Light Is by Lisa Moore. It is from Moore's collection of short fiction entitled Open. The unabridged audio edition of Open narrated by Lisa Moore, Holly Hogan and Mary Lewis published by Rattling Books is available from rattlingbooks.com as either an MP3 CD or Digital Download. Listening time roughly 6 hours.

SoundCloud listening sample from Sea Legend and Other Poems by Mark Callanan

We have posted the poem Nativity on Rattling Books' SoundCloud page.  This poem, written and read by Mark Callanan, is from the poetry collection Sea Legend and Other Stories suggested as today's EarLit Snack.

Listening on SoundCloud is free.



 This Canadian audiobook recording was produced by Rattling Books in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Suggested EarLit snack for today is a poetry morsel from Mark Callanan: Sea Legend and other Poems

It's Friday evening and Christmas draws nearer. You've gone all day without an EarLit snack and you don't want to overeat now.

Try this poetry snack written and read by Mark Callanan. Sea Legend and other Poems.

With our 30% off Christmas Sale you'll still have money for beer.



This Canadian audiobook recording was produced by Rattling Books in Newfoundland and Labrador.

What do these four birds have in common this Christmas?

What do these four birds have in common this Christmas?

a) they are all Razorbills (Alca torda)

b) they are all listening to Rattling Books recordings of literature to listen to from Newfoundland and Labrador

c) they are all Guds (what?)

d) they live at rattlingbooks.com

e) all of the above)

For the lawyer in your life: Judge Prowse Presiding by Frank Holden

Judge Prowse Presiding, written and performed by Frank Holden

The perfect gift for the Newfoundland lawyer in your life.
Or the Newfoundland history buff.
Or just the Newfoundlander.

Buy the CD at Fred's Records or order from abebooks.com or download the digital audiofile from Rattling Books.

Suggested EarLit Snack for today: Say Nothing, Saw Wood by Joel Thomas Hynes

To help you get through Christmas
Listen to an EarLit Snack

Today's Suggested EarLit snack: Say Nothing, Saw Wood by Joel Thomas Hynes.

Narrated by the author this is a dark tale of murder from the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland's Southern Shore.

Rattling Books produced this Canadian audiobook in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Excerpt: The Last Voyage of the Karluk by Captain Bob Bartlett, setting: Dec. 18-23, 1913

The following excerpt is from The Last Voyage of the Karluk An Epic of Death and Survival in the Arctic, 1913-1916 as related by her captain, Robert A. Bartlett and here set down by Ralph T. Hale (published in 1916 by Small, Maynard and Company, Inc.; unabridged audio edition narrated by Frank Holden published by Rattling Books).

"...Murray lost his dredge again on the eighteenth when it caught on the ice and parted the line; the chief engineer started work at once on another.

December 21 was the Arctic midnight, the day of days in the Arctic, the day that we all looked forward to, for now the sun was coming towards us every day, and every day the daylight would lengthen. We were not, of course, getting real daylight but at midday we got a kind of twilight that was good enough to get about by, out of doors. Mr. Hadley and I experimented with the acetylene lights but found that outside of the ship they would not work because the water froze.

On the twenty-second much of the twilight time was used in clearing away the huge banks of snow that had drifted about the ship. The chess tournament was decided on that day. The men had been playing it for a good while and now the winner of the most games received the first prize, a box of fifty cigars, and the next man the second prize, a box of twenty-five cigars. Mamen took the first prize and the mate, Mr. Anderson, the second.

The dogs, which we had been keeping all together in the box-house, broke their chains on the twenty-third, and some of them got into a fight; our best, Jack, was so badly bitten that he could not walk. I took him on board and down into the carperter's shop where Mr. Hadley sewed up his wounds with surgical needle and silk cord. Poor Jack was in bad shape and at first refused all food. He received constant attention from Mr. Hadley but could not bear a harness until the latter part of February. The fight in which he was hurt warned us that we must not keep too many dogs together, so I had the Eskimo build several snow kennels in a large snowbank near the ship. They sprinkled ashes on the floor of the kennels and chained up the nine most quarrelsome dogs, each in his separate kennel.

With the approach of Christmas all hands began to make plans for the proper celebration of that good old holiday. The spirits of the whole party were excellent; now that they were in the neighborhood of the place where Santa Claus came from they seemed determined to observe the day in a manner worthy of the jolly old saint..."

For the Navigator in your Nest: Coasting Trade by Robin McGrath

Coasting Trade: a Performance for three voices with soundscapes  is the product of a collaboration between author Robin McGrath, radio producer Chris Brookes and actors Robert Joy, Rick Boland and Anita Best.

Coasting Trade follows the voyage of a Yankee trading schooner, circumnavigating the island of Newfoundland sometime after 1865. As the vessel puts in at various ports, lyrical narratives weave back and forth through a century of change while the 19th century sailing notes adapted from Sailing Directions for the Island of Newfoundland by J.S. Hobbes (1865) remain timeless.

Canadian audiobooks from Rattling Books in Newfoundland and Labrador

Excerpt: Mat, a poem by Mary Dalton from Merrybegot (with reference to Christmas)

MAT

Some of them could go fast as the wind -
Nell now - and she was a great hand at it,
Scrolls and squares and dogs and roses
And one time a red punt on the water.
And then the scrubbing -
Dragging mats down to the cove in summer.
We beat them against the beach rocks,
And the salt water gave back their colour.
And come Christmas
Out we went mummering,
Out in the fools, happy as kings.
Mat rags sewed into our clothes.

Merrybegot, a collection of poems by Mary Dalton was originally published in 2003 by Véhicule Press. It is available as an unabridged audio recording from Rattling Books performed by Anita Best and Patrick Boyle.

Canadian audiobooks from Rattling Books in Newfoundland and Labrador

Soundcloud Listening Sample for today's suggested audiobook snack The Naked Ladies

To listen to a clip from The Naked Ladies, today's suggested Canadian audiobook EarLit snack visit
Rattling Books' SoundCloud page.

Written and read by Janis Spence The Naked Ladies is a short story from the collection of short fiction by Spence entitled On the Beach in Spanish Room.

Canadian audiobooks from Rattling Books in Newfoundland and Labrador

Canadian audiobook suggested snack of the day: The Naked Ladies by Janis Spence

Rattling Books' suggested EarLit snack for the day: The Naked Ladies by Janis Spence.

The Naked Ladies is a short story set in downtown St. John's, Newfoundland. Available as a short fiction Single, The Naked Ladies is drawn from the collection of related short fiction by Janis Spence entitled On the Beach in Spanish Room.

On the Beach in Spanish Room won Rattling Books it's first of several EarPhones Awards from Audiofile Magazine.

Canadian audiobooks from Rattling Books in Newfoundland and Labrador

Rattling Book Christmas Sale 30% off everything until Year End

A Christmas Sale on Canadian audiobooks from Rattling Books.

From today until the end of the Year 30% off the entire catalogue.

There is something for everyone's time and energy budget.

From an EarLit snack for less than a dollar 

(Benny by Catherine Hogan Safer)

to a Christmas Day length listen in the Arctic 

with Captain Bob Bartlett 

(The Last Voyage of the Karluk)

Listen, Listen, Listen!

Soundcloud Listening Sample for today's suggested audiobook snack This Way Out

Rattling Books has posted a poem on SoundCloud from Carmine Starnino's  This Way Out audiobook

edition.

SoundCloud tracks are easy to listen to and free of charge.

We invite you to listen to Carmine Starnino reading his poem Lucky Me.

Canadian audiobooks from Rattling Books in Newfoundland and Labrador

Canadian audiobook suggested snack of the day: This Way Out by Carmine Starnino

In 2012 Chantal Dumas and Carmine Starnino produced an audiobook edition of the poetry book This Way Out by Carmine Starnino.  Selections were made, narrations by Carmine recorded by Chantal, soundscape recordings made and composed by Chantal for some of the narrations and a new Canadian poetry audiobook came in to being.

This Way Out was originally published by Gaspereau Press.

The audiobook edition of This Way Out by Carmine Starnino with sound by Chantal Dumas is available for purchase from Rattling Books online.

Listening Clip for today's Canadian audiobook snack of the day: The Grey Islands

We invite you to listen to an excerpt from Rattling Books' Canadian audiobook snack of the day, The Grey Islands by John Steffler:

Frank Holden performs a piece from The Grey Islands entitled Two More Women.

You can find other listening clip recordings from Rattling Books on SoundCloud.  Rattling Books publishes Canadian audiobooks.  Rattling Books is based in Newfoundland and Labrador. 

Canadian audiobook snack for the day: The Grey Islands by John Steffler

The Grey Islands by John Steffler

Today's suggested Canadian audiobook snack for the day from Rattling Books will keep you going for about 2 1/2 hours.  The Grey Islands by John Steffler is narrated by a cast of characters against a backdrop of island soundscape recordings. 

The author John Steffler known to many as Parliamentary Poet Laureate of Canada from 2006 to 2008 is joined in this audiobook recording by (in order of appearance) Frank Holden, Janis Spence, Deidre Gillard-Rowlings and Darryl Hopkins.  

Listening clip for Asking Jesus to Dance by Susan Rendell read by Joel Thomas Hynes

Listen to an excerpt from today's EarLit snack, Asking Jesus to Dance by Susan Rendell. This short story from Rendell's collection In the Chambers of the Sea is read by Joel Thomas Hynes.

Canadian Audiobook Snack of the Day: Asking Jesus to Dance by Susan Rendell

Rattling Books brings you another in a series of Canadian audiobook snacks to supplement your diet of literature at Christmas. 

Today's EarLit morsel is Asking Jesus to Dance by Susan Rendell, read by Joel Thomas Hynes.  A short story single from the collection of short stories by Susan Rendell entitled In the Chambers of the Sea.

Nineteen minutes of audiobook fiction for the price of a bag of chips.

Rattling Books new listening clip on SoundCloud: A Woman's Way Through Unknown Labrador

Rattling Books has posted a new listening clip on SoundCloud.

A Woman's Way Through Unknown Labrador by Mina Hubbard was originally published in 1908. Rattling Books published an unabridged audiobook edition which you can now listen to an excerpt of on SoundCloud.

Mina Benson Hubbard (April 15, 1870 - May 4, 1956) was a Canadian explorer. She is credited with providing the first accurate map of the Nascaupee and George River system on the Quebec Labrador Peninsula.  This feat she achieved in 1905 following in the footsteps of her late husband Leonidas Hubbard who had died from starvation on his 1903 expedition.  Her husband's tragic misadventure was documented by Dillon Wallace in Lure of the Labrador Wild.

The audiobook Digital Download may be purchased online.

EarLit audiobook snacks for the Christmas Countdown: Mouths, Open by Lisa Moore

Preparing for Christmas can be hectic.  Sometimes one needs a quick shot of distraction. Here's one that won't break the bank.

We suggest an EarLit snack for your ipod or other listening device.

What is an EarLit Snack? It is a piece of short fiction in audiobook format from the Canadian audiobook publisher Rattling Books.  No calories. Just literature to listen to.

Try this one from Lisa Moore read by Mary Lewis. Mouths, Open was originally published in the collection entitled Open from House of Anansi Press.

Crumbfest is coming - Christmas Audiobook tells all!

Crumbs will be crumbling this coming Crumbfest!

Do your research and listen to the The True Meaning of Crumbfest audiobook before you cut the cake.

This audiobook of David Weale's classic "Christmas" tale, told from the perspective of the mice in the hice, has charmed all sizes of people.

Be thee little or l'old, listen to this classic children's christmas story that never mentions the word and arm thyself with awe.


Antonia Francis was five years old when she narrated Crumbfest. Her narration won an Audiofile Earphones Award. The True Meaning of Crumbfest is available as an audio book CD or an MP3 audio book download.

Canadian audiobooks from Rattling Books in Newfoundland and Labrador

Rattling Books Canadian audiobooks still alive

Announcing the continued presence of Rattling Books, the Canadian audiobook publisher based in Newfoundland and Labrador founded in 2003 and still alive in 2017.


Our catalogue of Canadian audiobooks is available online as digital downloads.

Physical CD copies of our unabridged audiobooks from Newfoundland are available at Fred's Records and The Bird House in downtown St. John's, Newfoundland.

Canadian audiobooks from Rattling Books in Newfoundland and Labrador