Review of Terry's book from "The Georgia Straight"

No - it's not spelled wrong.  The Georgia Straits are the body of water
separating lower Vancouver Island from the BC Mainland; the Georgia
Straight is a publication that has survived since its radical origins in
'60s Vancouver into the entertainment rag and occasional =
literary-political
force that it is today.

The following item was from today's issue:

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THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT .SEPT 24~OCT. 1,1998 p.24

A Chronicle of the Use of Skookum
A Voice Great Within Us:
By Charles Ullard with Terry Glayin. New
Star Books. 120 pp, $16. s;~o'er.
BY JIM CHNSTY

It is rare that a reviewer receives a book about which there is no =
evil-not
even a cavil-to be uttered.  A Voice Great Within Us, begun by the late
Charles Lillard and completed by Terry Glavin, provides a look at the
fascinating living history of that melange of English, French, and Native
tongues that is the Chinook language. Chinook - and a language it is, not=
 a
jargon - is here approached from various angles. There is an exploration =
of
its development, a gazetteer and word list, a poem by Glavin (a version =
of
which was published in Essay), and personal essays by Lillard that show =
how
Chinook is part of the life of the province, especially coastal life.

This latter fact we too often take for granted or are not even aware of.
Lillard mentions the young hitchhiker he picked up near Prince George, =
who
greeted him with "Klahowya?" ("How are you?"). When Lillard replied in
kind, the perplexed fellow said his "Indian-hating father" would "shake
like a dog shitting peach pits" if he found out he'd been using a Native
word all his life.  There are plenty of delightful illustrations and a
collection of excerpts from books and articles chronicling the use of
skookum over the decades. But the best thing about A Voice Great Within =
Us
is that the subject is approached, and the information imparted, in a way
that strikes me as perfectly fitting to the mountain kingdom. The route =
may
not always be direct; the road winds and there are detours full of
esoterica, but Lillard always has a pot of coffee (kaupy) on. Typical of
his method is a reference he makes to an old Wobbly named Smith, who =
loved
his tools. At first, one might wonder what this could have to do with
Chinook. But Smith introduced Lillard to Robert Swanson, whose work just
happens to he filled with Chinook. And you get a picture of Lillard and
this skookum Smith emoting, reciting poetry. trading Chinook words and =
work
words out back of the boathouse and down by the chuck where a sluice fed
the Pelton wheel and turned the saws.  And that is a picture of British
Columbia artfully drawn.

Besides being a look at the resource that is Chinook and at the eternal
British Columbia, A Voice Great Within Us gives a glimpse of Charles =
"Red"
Lillard, whose work, probably more than that of any other writer (tzum
man), embodied the land this side of the Rockies.

Mike Cleven
ironmtn at bigfoot.com
http://members.home.net/ironmtn/

The thunderbolt steers all things.
                           - Herakleitos