South Okanagan Anthology

Rosalie I. Tennison is Editor of Communicator Magazine.

The South Okanagan Anthology is a collection of short stories and poems by contributors from the Okanagan Valley. The volume commemorates the participants in the National Book Week Festival 1984.

Some of the writers are being published for the first time; their exposure through an anthology such as this will certainly be encouraging. It is unfortunate that numerous printing errors mar the book, because it gives an air of amateurism to the volume, which ultimately reflects on the writers. The omission of part of a stanza of a delightful poem, “When Danny Stole the Haggis,” by Harvey and Heather Glebe, breaks the reader’s attention.

A number of the entries deal with native folklore and legends. An ambitious piece by Catheran Moraes titled “The Valley of Early Leaves” falls a little short of her goal but is nevertheless good in its attempt. The poetry is a mix between modern and traditional and on the whole is much better than the stories. One very short piece by Allison Flack, “Len,” shows promise and would make an excellent longer story.

As a forum to give new writers exposure, the South Okanagan Anthology is good, although it is hardly a volume that would interest a large readership. It does, however, give a sampling for anyone who wants to know what’s happening in the Okanagan Valley.