Given (40 page)

I turned to look for Rainy, who stood beside the wreck, her eyes heavy-lidded, her head rolling to one side, crying, but happily this time. She held Given in her arms and blew me a kiss. I mouthed the words, ”look after him for me, I catch up wid you later,” as an icy raindrop landed on Rainy's chin, melted, then travelled up her cheek, like a tear that had changed its mind.

AFTERWORD

When I finished
Cargo of Orchids
in 1999, I immediately began writing a sequel. I felt I wasn't done with my characters, nor were they finished with me.
Given
is the second book in what might well become a trilogy (at the time of this writing I still feel I am not done with my characters, nor are they finished with me.)

I believe this book stands alone and that readers do not have to have read
Cargo of Orchids
in order to enter Frenchy and Rainy's world, and the world of my first-person (unnamed) narrator. References to a hostage taking, the island of Tranquilandia, the birth and death of baby Angel, and the narrator's subsequent incarceration on Death Row allude to the world within
Cargo of Orchids,
and anyone curious to know more about the events leading up to this novel,
Given
, should hunt down a copy of
Cargo of Orchids
. (
Cargo of Orchids
was published by Knopf, Canada, in 2000, and is still in print. It was also published in Italy by Meridiano Zero, and in Australia by HarperCollins.)

In order to avoid divulging the actual location of the island of Kliminiawhit, and identifying the genesis of the Yaka Wind First Nation, I have used many phrases from the Chinook Jargon, which are translated within the body of the narrative. Chinook Jargon became the official language of trade along the Pacific coast from Alaska to southern California in the 1800s (not to be confused with the more complex “Old Chinook” language spoken by the people living along the Columbia River, Chinook Jargon was an agglutinous, or “Pidgin” language, its words composed of morpheme, or word-element sequences.) Missionaries, in their zeal to convert the indigenous peoples, translated hymns and bible texts (as well as “The Night Before Christmas”) into Chinook. The dialect is now seldom heard, except in ceremonial usage.

It has become fashionable to acknowledge great lists of people whose life and times have influenced the writing of any novel. I will refrain. There is one person, though, without whom this book, etc. etc. and that of course is my tireless editor and oldest, dearest friend, Seán Virgo. He has the skill, and the nerve, to resurrect the dead. As Rainy and Frenchy would put it, “he be da bomb diggity, best believe.”

Susan Musgrave
Haida Gwaii, February, 2012

Author of 27 books, Susan Musgrave has published poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and children's literature. Her most recent titles include:
When the World Is Not Our Home
(poetry),
You're in Canada Now . . . A Memoir of Sorts
(essays), and
Cargo of Orchids
(novel). Her latest collection of poetry,
Origami Dove,
was a finalist in the 2011 Governor General's Awards. Recent prizes include the B.C. Civil Liberties Association Liberty Award for Art, June 2012, and the Spirit Bear Award, a tribute recognizing the significance of a vital and enduring contribution to the poetry of the Pacific Northwest. Patrick Lane, presenting the award, said, “Her artistic presence over the past forty years has helped create who we are. She is as important to us as Emily Carr. Her continuing legacy will long endure.” Susan teaches in UBC's Optional-Residency MFA in Creative Writing Programme and lives on Haida Gwaii where she owns and manages Copper Beech Guest House. She remains one of Canada's most unique writers.