The Child of Someone

Ashley Thomson is a full librarian at Laurentian University and co-editor or co-author of nine books, most recently Margaret Atwood: A Reference Guide, 1988-2005.

Born in 1938, David Helwig is the author/editor of more than 20 books of
poetry and fiction. In his first autobiographical work (the
“someone” referred to in the title is his mother), Helwig chronicles
life in Niagara, to which the Helwigs moved in 1948 so that his father
could open a furniture repair and finishing business; England, where his
mother was born; Kingston, where he taught at the University and at the
Penitentiary; and Toronto, where he worked for the CBC’s legendary
John Hirsch. There were, of course, many places in between.

This is not a conventional autobiography. Each chapter reads like a
prose-poem, and the overall structure is unpredictable. Of particular
appeal are the snapshots of family members, friends, and acquaintances
who have crossed the author’s path. Most vivid of all is the portrait
of Helwig himself.