The narrative explores the challenges and triumphs of women entering the trades, particularly through the author's personal journey as a carpenter. Kate Braid shares her experiences of overcoming skepticism and discouragement since the 1970s, shedding light on the often-overlooked contributions of women in this field. This book serves as both a memoir and a commentary on the evolving role of women in traditionally male-dominated professions, highlighting their resilience and determination.
In 1930, Emily Carr met Georgia O'Keeffe at an exhibition of O'Keeffe's paintings in New York. Inspired by the idea of a bond between these two powerful painters, award-winning poet Kate Braid has expanded that momentary meeting into a passionate, revolutionary friendship. In Georgia O'Keeffe's voice, she envisions what might have happened if the two women had visited each other in the landscapes that inspired their art: O'Keeffe's New Mexico and Carr's British Columbia. Thus begins an extraordinary journey through landscape, art and desire--and inward to the bones. This Kate Braid classic was originally published by Polestar in 1998. It was nominated for the Pat Lowther Memorial Award and the Milton Acorn People's Poetry Prize. Inward to the Bones was a winner of the Vancity Book Award.
Selected for Poetry in Transit 2009A Well-Mannered Storm is an exploration of loose correspondence between one of Canada's greatest musicians, Glenn Gould, and "K," an admiring fan. Braid weaves an intimate dynamic as K struggles with the loss of her hearing in one ear, finding her greatest comfort in Gould's music--particularly when he plays Bach. Gould's poems don't directly reply, but they do echo a response as he struggles with his own difficult life; his family, his health, his strong beliefs in how music should be presented and his personal habits considered "eccentric" by an ever-watchful press. K starts to accept her changing world, just as Gould begins a downward spiral into disintegration. In his final reflection, Gould acknowledges that in spite of his personal trials, his music now circles the world in the spacecraft Voyager as Earth's example to other possible life forms of what is most beautiful in this civilization.A Well-Mannered Storm is a striking and masterful volume of poems that does justice to Gould's brilliance, offering insights into his personal life and art, even as it showcases Braid's own virtuosity.
The journey of Emily Carr reveals her evolution from a "contrary" child to a defiant artist who chose her passion for art over societal expectations of marriage. As she matured, her eccentricity became more pronounced, yet she remained true to her inner voice. Carr's distinctive artistic style reflects the essence of British Columbia, showcasing her commitment to creating a unique cultural identity through her work.
Usually, we take for granted or plain ignore the Earth we walk on, the Sky above, the Water we drink and bathe in or that falls as rain, the Fire we assume for heat, and the Wood that makes up our landscape and building materials. But over fifteen years as a construction carpenter, Kate Braid began to pay more attention to the materials she worked with and depended upon. Out of these she has crafted an intimate picture of what it is like to be wholly engaged with the elemental materials of earth, sky, water, fire and wood that we depend upon every day. Elemental is a poignant, intelligent collection that asks us to look more closely at ourselves and the details that construct our rich and delicate world.
