North Coast Collected

Don Precosky teaches English at the College of New Caledonia and is the
co-editor of Four Realities: Poets of Northern B.C.

North Coast Collected is an anthology of prose and poetry from the B.C.
northwest—Prince Rupert, Terrace, and the surrounding areas. Although
a few of the contributors are well known (George Stanley, Jean Rysstad,
and Andrew Wreggitt), most are unfamiliar. The writing concentrates on
local settings and experiences, the most common subject matter being the
fishery, lumbering, First Nations people, and the difficult lives faced
by women in a predominantly macho environment.

Most of the 50 pieces crammed into the book are very short and
contribute to a kind of choppiness of flow. I suspect that many of the
writers made it into the collection because they are members of the
local writing fraternity. Aside from the pieces by the three writers
mentioned above, I would recommend “The Second River” by LaVerne
Adams, “Albert as Hero” by Joan Skogan, and “Butter” by Grace
Hols as being among the best writing in the collection.