Baker, Nicholson. Substitute: Going to School with a Thousand Kids. New York: Blue Rider Press, 2016.
Baker is one of my favorite authors, and when I saw a short review of his latest book in the New Yorker I went out and bought it right away at my local Barnes & Noble (only because there are no independent bookstores nearby). His nonfiction always makes me think, and as an educator I am looking forward to what he has to say about his brief teaching experiences.
I was recently re-reading Douglas Reimer’s book Surplus at the Border on Canadian Mennonite writing, and in the last chapter where he briefly discusses a few lesser-known writers he mentions that Lois Braun’s short stories have some queer themes. I’ve never read any of Braun’s work before, but Reimer’s description of it was intriguing enough that I decided to buy her four short story collections, and they have all arrived over the past few days. I ordered them from amazon.com’s network of independent booksellers.
Braun, Lois. The Montreal Cats. Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 1995.
—. The Penance Drummer and Other Stories. Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 2007.
—. The Pumpkin-Eaters. Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 1990.
—. A Stone Watermelon. Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 1986.
Daniel Shank Cruz 