Waiting

"I would buy this book based on the contributor list alone. The essays are well balancedshort 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 Id 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 * "Theres 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

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.

Preface Acknowledgments Burgeoning 1 | Bill of Fare // Susan Olding 2 | Saturday // Anne Lvesque 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 Sir 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 Isnt 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