Ghost in the Gears

Shortlisted for the 1994 Dorothy Livesay BC Book Prize

This collection of poems is steeped in the west coast tradition of storytelling and mythmaking, a tradition Howard White has nurtured for two decades. The poems are as real, down-to-earth and funny as White''s award-winning prose.

He admits to having a messy yard, describes city street crazies and the late-night "undermind," teaches his boys how to hammer, and sits down to dinner with fancy people. He takes the trouble to figure out that if Canada''s unemployed people were laid head to toe, they''d stretch from Vancouver to Winnipeg. His poems are rich with west coast denizens-loggers, fishermen, executives and industrialists, slugs, ravens, loons, and even Old Scabby Mackay, who got his nickname for breaking one strike in 1937 and who says, "We Canadians, we gotta be the stupidest damn race of people that ever walked."

"His work is as refreshing, as spirited and melodious as a vibrant April shower. White''s style is always crisp, fresh and ebullient."
-Virginia Aulin, Vancouver Sun

"Howard White is a pure delight to read."
-George Melnyk, Calgary Herald

"White''s is a major coastal voice. . . the best of his work is about seeing."
-Charles Lillard, Victoria Times-Colonist