Crossing the Gulf

David E. Kemp, a former drama professor at Queen’s University, is the
author of The Pleasures and Treasures of the United Kingdom.

Keith Harrison is a novelist, critic, and teacher. Crossing the Gulf is
a collection of nine short stories and a novella. The novella, “Colour
Bodies,” is the story of Raisa, a newly awakened clone. In “Near Big
Timber,” Jesse and his father Adam are forced to re-evaluate both
themselves and their relationship when they are trapped in their car by
a freak hailstorm. In “The Malcolm Lowry Professional Development
Grant,” Harrison turns a satirical eye on a visit to Mexico (for work
on his thesis), while in “Tennis at Popham Beach” he charts the
relationships between four people—a couple, their son, and a
friend—against the backdrop of a set of tennis. The appeal of these
lucidly written tales lies in watching the characters reinvent
themselves in response to changing circumstances.