Those of you who own the book will see my name in the fine print as the designer of the interior pages. A small thing, to be sure, but I am pleased and proud to be associated with such a prestigious win.

Finally, I will offer a cheerful slap on the back to designer Michel Vrana, who created the stunning final cover of Half-Blood Blues for Thomas Allen. Lovers of literary trivia may be interested to note that his was not the original cover as approved during my time at Key Porter; that original, unused design is now relegated to my portfolio pages, as an example of what might have been.

Hearty congratulations to all! This is a fabulous and well-deserved award for a beautiful piece of work.

Despite my nervousness, I was delighted to be given this opportunity. For me, the moment was not a little surreal: an unexpected but serendipitous mash-up of two important sections of my life, heretofore unconnected. My grateful thanks go to Jowi, as well as to artist James Gary Stark for shooting the video, and to the Alcuin Society’s organizer of the event, Linda Gustafson of Counterpunch, for cheerfully aiding and abetting.

For those not familiar with Voyageur and the Six String Nation project, I heartily encourage you to check out Jowi Taylor’s website at www.sixstringnation.com – it’s a marvelous, inspiring story. A rich and rewarding slice of Canadiana, engagingly told.

And for those who might be interested, I’ll say that the song is my interpretation of “When I First Came to Caledonia,” a grand old folk song of unrequited love from the coal mines of Cape Breton. First collected from the singing of Amby Thomas of Deep Cove, Cape Breton, this song is still kept in lively circulation through beautiful recordings by Waterson/Carthy, Chris Wood and Andy Cutting, the late Tony Cuffe, and Jamie Snyder, among others. I was fortunate enough to include my own version of the song on the debut CD from my friend, the wonderful Irish piper Deborah Quigley. “Caledonia” in the lyrics is a reference to the Caledonia coal mine in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, and “number three” is the name of the particular mine where our narrator finds work.

I hope you enjoy the song.