Sword Dance

The soulful telling of a mother’s childhood in Glasgow, and her triumphant tale of emigration to Canada. A woman’s childhood life in Scotland and a new life in Canada are explored by her daughter in this memoir-style poem that profoundly embodies the classic Canadian immigrant tale. The characters, beginning with the emigrating ancestors Tom, Dick and Harry, to the everyday Glasgow cousins John Lennon in a scheme to raise pigs, and a bicycle riding Richard Nixon who arrives just after a factory blow-up, to the author’s father, a young soldier who catches the eye of his wife-to-be at the glove counter in Woolworth’s, are all real. Framed by a prologue and epilogue–with an introduction by the author, and a “A Short Glaswegian Guide” (Glossary) on end–the story is told in a working-class vernacular, the voices gritty, witty and distinct as they produce a beautiful tapestry by way of the music and language of Glaswegian storytelling.

Veronica Gaylie is a poet, writer, teacher and environmentalist. Her work has been published in literary journals around the globe, including Poetry Review (UK), Crannog(Ireland), and the Canadian journals ELQ/Exile Quarterly, Geist, Grain, Geez, Lake, Ditch, Room, Carte Blanche and Filling Station. Veronica’s heart belongs to Glasgow, though her soul wanders on Canadian mountains and Irish peninsulas. The author lives in Vancouver.