Books published by University of Alberta Press

Front french flap Hazard Lepage, the last of the studhorse men, sets out to breed his rare blue stallion, Poseidon. A lusty trickster and a wayward chevalier, Hazard's outrageous adventures are recorded by Demeter Proudfoot, his secret rival, who, as the narrator, writes this story while sitting naked in an empty bathtub. In his quest to save his stallion's bloodline from extinction Hazard leaves a trail of anarchy and confusion. Everything he touches erupts into chaos necessitating frequent convalescences in the arms of a few good women, except for those of Martha, his long-suffering intended. Told with the ribald zeal of a Prairie beer parlor tall tale and combining the mythic magnitude of a Greek odyssey, The Studhorse Man marks Robert Kroetsch's celebration of unbridled character set against the backdrop of rough-and-ready Alberta emerging after the war. Back french flap As an extensively published novelist, poet, critic and scholar, Robert Kroetsch is one of Canada's most accomplished authors. Born in Heisler, Alberta in 1927, he earned his PhD with the University of Iowa's Writer's Workshop. In 1969 his second novel, The Studhorse Man, won the Governor General's Award for Fiction. He has published nine novels and twelve books of poetry as well as diverse travel and scholarly writing. His most recent collection of poetry, The Hornbooks of Rita K (University of Alberta Press), was short-listed for the Governor General's Award for Poetry in 2001. Recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Alberta, he is the recipient of the second Award of Distinction from the Manitoba Arts Council, Arts. Robert Kroetsch lives in Winnipeg. Aritha van Herk grew up in Robert Kroetsch's Battle River country. Inspired by his writing, she has chronicled Alberta in eight works of fiction and non-fiction. Her latest book, Mavericks: An Incorrigible History of Alberta, won the Grant MacEwan Author's Award for Alberta writing. She is a University Professor and Professor of English at the University of Calgary. Photograph of Robert Kroetsch by ENVISION. Cover Image: Silvers by Joe Fafard, APII, 1999, 36"H x 48"L x 12"W, ed. of 7. Used by permission of the artist. Back cover panel, block quotes "Have you seen a blue stallion?" Hazard inquired. He knew that Poseidon, by virtue of living in a house, would not be adverse [averse?] to entering a doorway. For this reason he inquired after his stallion in places like the Rialto Theatre, the Palace of Sweets, and Mike's newsstand. He ducked into Woodward's and asked a girl if she had seen a big blue stallion come in. "Only a pair of grays," the girl replied, pointing to where a floorwalker was cleaning up horse turds with a feather duster. "They went toward lingerie." -from The Studhorse Man

Mapper of Mountains follows the career of Dominion Land Surveyor Morrison Parsons Bridgland, who provided the first detailed maps of many regions of the Canadian Rockies. Between 1902 and 1930, this unheralded alpinist perfected phototopographical techniques to compile a series of mountaintop photographs during summers of field work, and spent his winters collating them to provide the Canadian government, tourists, and mountain climbers with accurate topographical maps. Bridgland was a great climber and co-founder of the Alpine Club of Canada. Mapper of Mountains also tells the story of the Rocky Mountain Repeat Photography Project, which studies the changes sustained in the Rockies, repeating the field work accomplished by Bridgland almost a century ago.

An Ark of Koans is a meditation on the mystery of what happens at the moment it happens. Although it takes animals as its threshold, animals only serve as innocent guides toward fathoming, if not understanding, events as small, inconceivable miracles.

Alberta''s Conservative governments have employed several strategies to resist feminist claims for women''s equality, from stonewalling during the 1970''s oil boom, to grudging initiatives during the subsequent bust. Recently-under the guise of deficit reduction-Alberta has adopted a neoliberal ideology that seeks to shrink the province''s role as a guarantor of equality. Lois Harder has written the definitive study of the modern evolution of politics in Alberta as seen through the lens of women''s political struggles.