17 January 2014, Special: The Old Man's Last Sauna
The Old Man's Last Sauna
A Short Story Collection By Carl Dow
' . . . told with the pristine elegance . . . of Stephen Leacock . . . Pierre Berton.'
Award-Winning author Emily-Jane Hills Orford
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A note to our readers: Patronize The Arts: Buy one or more copies of The Old Man's Last Sauna By Geoffrey Dow
Publisher, the BumblePuppy Press
It is with pride and no small measure of defiant embarassment that I convinced my father (for that is our biological relationship) to take advantage of his position at True North Perspective and release this special, shamelessly self-promoting, edition of his publication. We have no intention of making a habit of this sort of thing, but The Old Man's Last Sauna is the first volume of fiction by Carl Dow and, as such, we believe it will be of interest to many of our readers. Certainly Carl's work is of interest to him and to myself — in fact, I took the plunge and became a publisher precisely because I believed so strongly in it. True North Perspective will resume regular publication as a monthly at the end of January. With greater reader financial support, our frequency will increase. For those of you who are curious about The Old Man's Last Sauna and the future creative work of Carl's, please read on ... |
 True North Perspective publishes in
the best traditions of Canadian journalism
If you think it's too radical, please read
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For those of you who missed the book launching of The Old Man's Last Sauna, I'll be at Brittons, 846 Bank Street, a few steps north of Fifth Avenue, on Saturday 18 January, 1 to 3 p.m. The book launching was standing room only with the Kevin Dooley and Friends band playing traditional music.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Association of Journalists has a freelancer's mailing list, which permits members one Shameless Plug per year. On Sunday 29 December 20I3, I filed the following plug. Below that are two of the responses. — Read more.
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Award-Winning author Emily-Jane Hills Orford reviews The Old Man's Last Sauna by Carl Dow
 'Life is scary, frustrating and sometimes funny. All of these themes are explored in Carl Dow’s collection of short stories, told with the pristine elegance that we haven’t seen since the likes of Stephen Leacock or even Pierre Berton.' (More) |
Free fiction! A story from The Old Man's Last Sauna
It wasn't long after they arrived that her parents were privately and urgently telling her that they should do something about the lies her son told. While her parents were having their afternoon hiatus, she revealed all to her husband as they watched their four-year-old liar building sand castles on the beach.
He frowned and smiled and took his wife in his arms for a brief hug and a tender kiss. He was happy in being so lucky to find such a perfect mother for his progeny. She was thorough, quick to perceive, and kept telling him he should write a book about raising children. A reasonable man could ask no more. She cuddled against him as he said she should tell her parents that he would deal with the boy's lies on the eighty-kilometre return trip to the nearest butcher shop this afternoon. She kissed him in response, saying that she was sure he would, and that she would tell them. After all, they agreed, there was no point in having unhappy grandparents during their weekend visit. — Read more.
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The Old Man's Last Sauna
What will you do when you run out of ideas? I was once asked in Toronto, then you’ll have nothing to write.
While it’s true that there are some writers who may write themselves out, any writer worth his keyboard knows that ideas never run out. Each idea will give birth to ten and then ten times ten.
Writers never run out of ideas unless they write in a vacuum. So long as they engage with humanity they will harvest rich fields. Many of the world’s best known writers have drawn on their personal experiences as children, or of coming of age, as adults young, middle aged, and old.
But to continue their craft, writers draw not only on their own experiences, but on the experiences of others that may come through observation, and through literature. By my definition, literature includes page, stage, and screen.
A good story, well told, unearths a universally human experience, then wraps itself inside a unique, culture-specific expression to which all can identify.
Story telling, needless to say, is an art form that goes back at least as far as to when our hunter-gatherer ancestors sat around a campfire outside their cave and exchanged recollections of the day’s hunt. Through thousands of years stories have been told, retold, and embellished by succeeding generations. Plain and simple, people have liked stories, probably since the very first story was ever well told. (More)
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• Murder . . . from before the grave
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' . . . a powerful voice for the 21st century . . .'
From odes to loves found and loves lost, to a clear-eyed look at what it takes to destroy a strong man; from the web of love between a mother and a son, to a father’s understanding of the difference between his child’s imagination and the lies that lurk in the minds of the boy’s grandparents . . .
With his debut as a writer of fiction Carl Dow, whom then-editor of Canadian Magazine named as one of Canada's 10 best writers when he was writing for national magazines, offers a truly eclectic selection of stories that will move, amuse and even shock with their subtle explorations of the human spirit.
The Old Man’s Last Sauna introduces a powerful voice for the 21st century, born of the turmoil, violence and struggle for justice and understanding that marked so much of the 20th.
To order an autographed copy of The Old Man's Last Sauna directly from the publisher, please click here.
For information on how to order either the ebook version, or a copy of our (very slightly revised) 2nd edition, please click here.
If you would like to be informed of new BumblePuppy Press releases and events, we will soon be launching a mailing list. To be added to it, for now please use the Edifice Rex contact form here. Please include your name and email address and include "Mailing List Request" in the subject line to make sure your email doesn't get lost in our spam filter. Note: We will send you an opt-in email when the list is launched, and you'll be able to unsubscribe at any time. And of course, we won't sell (or give) your contact information to anyone else.
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Inside The Old Man's Last Sauna
Sorry, Room for One Only
If you're planning a murder, make sure there are no loose ends. A short story in the spirit of Stephen King that you'll not want to put down even after the final words.
Deo Volente (God Willing)
A page from a motorcycle diary is about a biker's love of women set against a background of musical fantasy that rises to Gloria! in symphonic vibrato.
The Quintessence of Mr. Flynn
A rollicking account of ambitious, hot blooded young journalists, feasting, skinny-dipping, and getting to know each other in the moonlight at a secluded beach.
Our School Bus is Missing!
You can't fool 4 and 5 year-olds! A splendid bedtime read for your children and grandchildren. (And seven more stories, each a unique experience!)
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The Old Man's Last Sauna is available for every electronic device, in a print-on-demand paper edition, and in a limited first edition, signed by the author. Autographed copies can be purchased directly from the BumblePuppy Press via http://www.ed-rex.com/bumblepuppy/books/ordering.
E-book editions are available in all formats through Smashwords or at your favourite ebook vendor. And you can buy paper or ebook editions through BumblePuppy Press' Amazon Store or through the link below!
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"News is what (certain) people want to keep hidden. Everything else is just publicity."
-- PBS journalist Bill Moyers.
Your support makes it possible for True North to clear the fog of "publicity" and keep you informed on what's really happening in the world today. Please send your donation to:
Carl Dow, True North, Station E, P.O. Box 4814, Ottawa ON Canada K1S 5H9.
Or use our new Paypal system! Just click the secure link below —
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