GORE BAY—On Saturday, November 1 at Split Rail Brewing Company, Sophie Anne Edwards launched her new book, ‘A Mouth of Vowels,’ with a reading, Q & A and a book signing. Natalie Edward provided live music interludes and there was complimentary tea, coffee and cake available for all. “It was fabulous,” Ms. Edwards said of the day, “a good crowd, everyone was very attentive. There were so many people that were there who care about me and I care about, and the support. …it was just a really beautiful event.”
The book is a daring and innovative work of fiction dealing with domestic violence. Taking place on November 1, the event coincided with Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Manitoulin Family Services, Noojmowin Teg Health Centre and Manitoulin Northshore Victims Services were invited to attend the book launch and they came, set up booths, and were a presence to make people aware of the services and resources available to anyone who may need their support.
“The form of the book echoes the experience. That’s why we call it an experimental novel,” Ms. Edwards explained. “In this book, I chose to tell the woman’s story in the footnotes, and the upper page is about the man and the marriage. I’ve erased that, so she gets the voice, he doesn’t. But there are little irruptions, because in post trauma there are memories and flashbacks of his voice, so you’ll see little bits of it on the upper page, kind of like it’s bubbling onto the page. So, her story is all on the bottom of the page, but by the end of the book she takes over the whole page and it’s no longer footnotes…It is fragmentary, but the fragments become cohesive over time. I was curious about how the form of the novel could echo the experience of the theme,” Ms. Edwards said.
‘A Mouth of Vowels’ was long listed for the Omnidawn 1st/2nd Book Prize (US) before being selected by Stuart Ross for his new experimental fiction, Imprint 1366 Books at Guernica Editions. “Imprint is dedicated to experimental fiction, and Stuart Ross won the Trillium Book Award a few years ago, he’s a very respected writer. He started Imprint with Guernica. My book is the fourth book in the series. Guernica is one of the older independent book publishers in Canada,” Ms. Edward explained.
In a press release from Guernica Editions, publicist Marisa Jorgensen said, “’A Mouth of Vowels’ marks Ms. Edwards’ first work of prose following her acclaimed poetry collection ‘Conversations with the Kagawong River’ (Talonbooks, 2024). That collection became a regional phenomenon—selling more than 650 copies in two months, a significant number for Canadian poetry—and was featured on both CBC Books and Quill & Quire’s “Most Anticipated” lists. Both books were supported through funding from the Canada Council for the Arts.”
“It’s exciting to have two books published in two years.” Ms. Edwards said. “I’ve been wanting to write since I was about eight or nine years old, but I didn’t begin to write seriously till I was 50. As I said at the book signing, it’s not a retirement plan,” and she laughed. “You don’t make a lot of money at this, not with the smaller publishing companies.”
Critics are already praising ‘A Mouth of Vowels’ for its innovation and emotional precision. Literary critic Rob Mclennan calls it “a remarkable book,” while author Chris Turnbull describes it as “a celebration of resistance, emergence, and timing.”
“It’s an interesting and a challenging book to read,” admits Ms. Edwards, “because it’s not a traditional novel, and because of the topic, but she does find her own voice, and she takes over the page. I wanted to emphasize that the character does take over the page and reclaims her life. We need to talk more about the strength and courage of the women coming out of abusive relationships,” she said.
Back to the event itself, the book launch, “I’m so grateful for Andie Smith who organized this and who has been a friend for decades. We were very careful about it because of the theme and because we were inviting the agencies to come. It was very thoughtfully done. And, with Natalie Edward’s beautiful music, it was a really great event and I just feel so supported and humbled.”
Order your book online, directly from Guernica Editions: guernicaeditions.com/products/a-mouth-of-vowels.
Locally the book will be available at The Expositor Office in Little Current. Phone 705-368-2744 or email services@manitoulin.com.
by Margery Frisch
