Waiting
An Anthology of Essays
Published on 20. August 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
296 pages
978-1-77212-383-8 (ISBN)
Description
Waiting, that most human of experiences, saturates all of our lives. We spend part of each day waiting-for birth, death, appointments, acceptance, forgiveness, redemption. This collection of thirty-two personal essays is as much about hope as it is about waiting. Featuring literary voices from the renowned to the emerging, this anthology of contemporary creative nonfiction will resonate with anyone who has ever had to wait.
Contributors: Samantha Albert, Rona Altrows, Sharon Butala, Jane Cawthorne, Weyman Chan, Rebecca Danos, Patti Edgar, John Graham-Pole, Leslie Greentree, Edythe Anstey Hanen, Vivian Hansen, Jane Harris, Richard Harrison, Elizabeth Haynes, Lee Kvern, Anne Levesque, Margaret Macpherson, Alice Major, Wendy McGrath, Stuart Ian McKay, Lorri Neilsen Glenn, Susan Olding, Roberta Rees, Julie Sedivy, Kathy Seifert, Cora Sire, Steven Ross Smith, Anne Sorbie, Glen Sorestad, Kelly S. Thompson, Robin van Eck, Aritha van Herk
Contributors: Samantha Albert, Rona Altrows, Sharon Butala, Jane Cawthorne, Weyman Chan, Rebecca Danos, Patti Edgar, John Graham-Pole, Leslie Greentree, Edythe Anstey Hanen, Vivian Hansen, Jane Harris, Richard Harrison, Elizabeth Haynes, Lee Kvern, Anne Levesque, Margaret Macpherson, Alice Major, Wendy McGrath, Stuart Ian McKay, Lorri Neilsen Glenn, Susan Olding, Roberta Rees, Julie Sedivy, Kathy Seifert, Cora Sire, Steven Ross Smith, Anne Sorbie, Glen Sorestad, Kelly S. Thompson, Robin van Eck, Aritha van Herk
Reviews / Votes
"I would buy this book based on the contributor list alone. The essays are well balanced-short mixed in with long, very well-established writers mixed in with new ones, a variety of approaches and styles, and surprising interpretations of the waiting theme mixed in with more expected explorations. Waiting is as strong a collection as I have read." -- Angie Abdou, author of Home Ice: Reflections of a Reluctant Hockey Mom "A great deal of our lives is spent waiting. As humans we wait for public transit and for food at restaurants and food courts... And we wait for longer, more existential things: the birth of a baby, the progression of an illness, the arrival or departure of a friend or family member, acceptance or rejection of a job opportunity, love. In this edited anthology, a broad array of writers...examine various aspects of why and how we wait." * Quill & Quire * # 2 on Calgary Herald's Non-Fiction Bestsellers list, October 6, 2018 * Calgary Herald * # 9 on Calgary Herald's Non-Fiction Bestsellers list, October 13, 2018 * Calgary Herald * # 2 on Edmonton Non-Fiction Bestsellers list, October 19, 2018 "Each of these thirty-two essays is powerful, distinctive, authentic.... I closed this book feeling that I'd been on thirty-two life journeys.... Waiting is not just filling blank time. It is also about courage and love." [Full review at https://www.ottawareviewofbooks.com/single-post/2019/02/02/Waiting-An-Anthology-of-Essays-edited-by-Rona-Altrows-and-Julie-Sedivy] -- Elizabeth Greene * Ottawa Review of Books * "There's plenty to debate here... These are just a few of the kinds of waiting essayed here, and they are all very much worth reading." Saskatoon StarPhoenix, January 26, 2019 [Full review at https://thestarphoenix.com/entertainment/books/book-reviews-the-literary-history-of-saskatchewan-vol-3-waiting] -- Bill Robertson "Waiting is a universal phenomenon, and in this impressive collection editors Rona Altrows and Julie Sedivy curate a variety of nuanced and distilled personal essays from 32 writers exploring the liminal experiences of people waiting for results, news, change, release or understanding" -- Jannie Edwards #7 on Calgary Non-Fiction Bestsellers list, August 21, 2025More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Edmonton
Canada
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 226 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
408 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-77212-383-8 (9781772123838)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Rona Altrows is an editor, fiction writer, essayist, and playwright. With Naomi K. Lewis, she co-edited Shy (UAlberta Press), and with Julie Sedivy she co-edited Waiting (UAlberta Press), both theme-based anthologies. Her most recent work of fiction is At This Juncture and her website is www.ronaaltrows.com.
Content
Preface
Acknowledgments
Burgeoning
1 | Bill of Fare // Susan Olding
2 | Saturday // Anne Levesque
3 | Waiting for Now: Four Stories // Steven Ross Smith
4 | The Escape // Edythe Anstey Hanen
5 | Waiting for Alexandra // Glen Sorestad
Scope
6 | The Art Hospital, the Floating Hospital,
and the Burning House // Elizabeth Haynes
7 | The Past Was a Small Notebook,
Much Scribbled-Upon // Cora Sire
8 | Beyond the Horizon // Julie Sedivy
9 | Two Women Waiting // Rebecca Danos
10 | Esperando // Patti Edgar
11 | Currents // Alice Major
Moment
12 | Letter of Intent // Rona Altrows
13 | The Next Minute // Jane Cawthorone
14 | Frozen // Lorri Neilsen Glenn
15 | Harder, But Still Not Painful // Robin Van Eck
16 | Alterations // Wendy Mcgrath
Soul
17 | Who Will Find Me // Weyman Chan
18 | in the event of // Stuart Ian Mckay
19 | Whisper Talk // Anne Sorbie
20 | Waiting for the Impossible // Aritha Van Herk
21 | On the Pleasure of Waiting // Richard Harrison
22 | Storage // Sharon Butala
Irretrievable
23 | Heavy Weight of Silence Lee Kvern
24 | Impressions // Margaret Macpherson
25 | Telling // Vivian Hansen
26 | Tom Petty Just Isn't There for You: Riffs on Waiting // Leslie Greentree
Guts
27 | Wait Training // Samantha Albert
28 | Waiting for a Hero // Jane Harris
29 | Bones, Honey // Roberta Rees
30 | Undeterred // John Graham-Pole
31 | Sa Ta Na Ma // Kathy Seifert
32 | We Come and We Go // Kelly S. Thompson
Notes
Contributors
Acknowledgments
Burgeoning
1 | Bill of Fare // Susan Olding
2 | Saturday // Anne Levesque
3 | Waiting for Now: Four Stories // Steven Ross Smith
4 | The Escape // Edythe Anstey Hanen
5 | Waiting for Alexandra // Glen Sorestad
Scope
6 | The Art Hospital, the Floating Hospital,
and the Burning House // Elizabeth Haynes
7 | The Past Was a Small Notebook,
Much Scribbled-Upon // Cora Sire
8 | Beyond the Horizon // Julie Sedivy
9 | Two Women Waiting // Rebecca Danos
10 | Esperando // Patti Edgar
11 | Currents // Alice Major
Moment
12 | Letter of Intent // Rona Altrows
13 | The Next Minute // Jane Cawthorone
14 | Frozen // Lorri Neilsen Glenn
15 | Harder, But Still Not Painful // Robin Van Eck
16 | Alterations // Wendy Mcgrath
Soul
17 | Who Will Find Me // Weyman Chan
18 | in the event of // Stuart Ian Mckay
19 | Whisper Talk // Anne Sorbie
20 | Waiting for the Impossible // Aritha Van Herk
21 | On the Pleasure of Waiting // Richard Harrison
22 | Storage // Sharon Butala
Irretrievable
23 | Heavy Weight of Silence Lee Kvern
24 | Impressions // Margaret Macpherson
25 | Telling // Vivian Hansen
26 | Tom Petty Just Isn't There for You: Riffs on Waiting // Leslie Greentree
Guts
27 | Wait Training // Samantha Albert
28 | Waiting for a Hero // Jane Harris
29 | Bones, Honey // Roberta Rees
30 | Undeterred // John Graham-Pole
31 | Sa Ta Na Ma // Kathy Seifert
32 | We Come and We Go // Kelly S. Thompson
Notes
Contributors
"The verb esperar means to wait. It also means to hope." -Cora Siré, The Past Was a Small Notebook, Much Scribbled-Upon