Sadhu (Sanskrit)—literally meaning “good.” The name given to a Hindu holy man or woman who wanders throughout India. They have renounced material life and live in a state of perpetual pilgrimage.
Saltair na Rann (Medieval Irish)—Psalter of Verse, a tenth-century manuscript containing songs and poems about “life, the universe and everything.”
Salut (Canadian French)—Hi
Saskehavas (Coast Salish)—Sasquatch in Canada, Bigfoot in the US, and in Tibet, the Yeti, or Abominable Snowman
Sensible (French)—sensitive
Son nom? (French)—His name?
Tabernac (Canadian French)—swear word referring to “tabernacle.” Many French-Canadian curses refer to the Roman Catholic Church. Also used in the book are câlisse for calice (chalice) and maudit (damned).
Tabula rasa (Latin)—blank/clean slate
Toujours (French)—always
Tria digita scribunt, totus corpora laborat. (Medieval Latin)—Three fingers write, but the whole body labors. (More graffiti written by another monk long ago.)
Umiak (Inuktitut)—skin boat
Un peu (French)—a little
Une chanson irlandaise (French)—an Irish song
Vite! Rapidement! (French)—Quick! Hurry!
Vitement (French)—quickly
Voyageur canadien (Canadian French)—woodsman, guide, trapper, boatman, explorer. Literally “Canadian traveler.”
Lyrics from “Le Canot” and “Les Canayens sont Toujours Là” are used with the kind permission of the Centre francoontarien de folklore, Université de Sudbury, Ontario.
Lyrics from “GIANT,” Stan Rogers (SOCAN) © 1977, used with the kind permission of Fogarty’s Cove Music and Ariel Rogers.
The following material found in Chapter 21 is used with the kind permission of Ronald Caplan, editor of Down North: The Book of Cape Breton’s Magazine, published by Doubleday in 1980 and reprinted by Breton Books: the Scots Gaelic poem “An Calluinn” transmitted by Mr. Roderick MacLeod, the Acadian song from Miss Marguerite Gallant (English translation by O.R. Melling), ceann groppi recipe from Mrs. Sadie MacDonald, spruce beer from Mrs. Lillian Williams, and larrigans from Mr. Donald Garrett MacDonald.
References to and dialogue quotes from Tim Severin’s The Brendan Voyage (various publishers) used with kind permission of the author.
References to Sharon Butala and her work used with kind permission of the author and her publisher, HarperCollins Canada.
Lyrics from “Kathy I” (Chapter 25) and “O Siem” (Chapters 41 and 42) used with kind permission of the artist and songwriters: Susan Aglukark, Aglukark Entertainment Inc (SOCAN), Chad Irschick (SOCAN), and Kelita Haverland Music (SOCAN).
Throughout the book there are quotes from other sources such as the Bible, Shakespeare, Farid ud-din Attar’s Parliament of the Birds, Hildegard of Bingen (as translated by Matthew Fox), Hannah Arendt, Scott Peck, Henry David Thoreau, and various poets such as Rainer Maria Rilke, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Samuel Coleridge, William Blake, and Wallace Stevens. These are found in italics.
Most of Grandfather’s statements are teachings of Elders given to me or found on record. His words concerning the land are from the written brief In the Spirit of the Land: Statement of the Gitskan and Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, 1987–1990.
Quotes from the I Ching or Book of Changes are taken from the Richard Wilhelm translation rendered into English by Cary F. Baynes (Penguin Arkana).
Lyrics from “Vive la Canadienne!” and “She’s Like the Swallow” are found in The Penguin Book of Canadian Folk Songs compiled by Edith Fowke (Penguin Books, 1973).
Any songs or poems not acknowledged above were written by the author.
O.R. Melling was born in Ireland and grew up in Toronto with her seven sisters and two brothers. At eighteen, she hitchhiked across Canada to California, seeking adventure. A year later, she was off to Malaysia and Borneo on a youth exchange program. That set her motto for life, “to travel hopefully.” She has a B.A. in Philosophy and Celtic Studies and an M.A. in Medieval Irish History. To date, her books have been translated into Japanese, German, Chinese, Russian, Czech, and Slovenian. She lives in her hometown of Bray in Ireland with her teenage daughter, Findabhair. Visit her Web site at www.ormelling.com.
The print version of this book was designed by Maria T. Middleton and Jay Colvin and art directed by Chad W. Beckerman. It is set in Horley Old Style MT, a Monotype font designed by the English type designer Robert Norton. The chapter heads are set in Mason, which was created by Jonathan Barnbrook based on ancient Greek and Roman stone carvings.
O.R. Melling was born in Ireland and grew up in Toronto with seven sisters and two brothers. At age eighteen, she hitchhiked across Canada to California, seeking adventure. A year later, she was off to Malaysia and Borneo on a youth exchange program. That set her motto for life: “to travel hopefully.“ She has a B.A. in Philosophy and Celtic Studies and an M.A. in Medieval Irish History. To date, her books have been translated into Japanese, German, Chinese, Russian, Czech, and Slovenian. She lives in her hometown of Bray, in Ireland, with her daughter, Findabhair. Visit O.R. Melling at www.ormelling.com.
Jacket illustration copyright © 2009 Cliff Nielsen
Jacket design by Chad W. Beckerman and Becky Terhune
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