Ann Love and Jane Drake in Nunavut

Cold on the Outside, Warm on the Inside
Early May Book Tour in Nunavut

Kugluktuk

It’s -28⁰C outside and so windy the sparse ground snow drifts sideways.
Overhead, the sun shines for long hours and bakes the snow to near-ice hard.
Ravens still perch on heat vents outside the RCMP station but the stronger sunlight promises spring. The white feathers of the ptarmigan are turning brown and the local kids, parkas unzipped and flapping, ride their bikes. As we review our school talk, a shower of ice pellets hits our window at the Inn. A local carver and his daughter want to show us their works. At 7 pm the sun continues to shine and the wind howls. Marvin the principal has made “snacks” – a platter of dried, sliced meats. Eight school boys ride up to the school door, lean their bikes on a nearby snowdrift and march into the library to check out our talk – the entertainment in town. They sit down and grin widely – but don’t want to take off their parkas.

Cambridge Bay.

Now it’s -29⁰C, with steady ground drifting and dazzling sunlight above. How many shades of white are possible? Carmen the librarian introduces us to her no-whisper library – that means she encourages people to talk. A young man plays his fiddle near the computer station. Half a dozen elders meet, drink tea, and sew traditional clothing and kayak skins for library displays. The elders have chairs to sit on but most prefer to stretch their legs and work seated on the carpeted floor. At the end of the public reading, a girl approaches to say she is a writer. After a school reading the next day, she offers us a copy of one of her poems. She writes about the isolated arctic world she calls home and how she finds companionship in the memories held by the ancient landscape.

Iqaluit

Reaching melting temperatures by day but freezing hard at night, walking in Iqaluit is treacherous. But the streets have to be explored – buildings that are remarkable architectural feats rise beside standard government-issue housing, construction sites, and junk piles. The election phrase “money for infrastructure” comes to mind. Ken, the chief librarian, has arranged a tight schedule – 10 readings in 2 days. With the help of his active library volunteers, each reading is a celebration. Polar Man, a real-life superhero, appears at our final writing workshop, journal in hand. We note a red beard and twinkling blue eyes behind his face mask. Fortunately he leaves his super-shovel outside the library door. Polar Man joins the spirit of the workshop, reads from his journal of superfeats, and walks away with new ideas about an online presence. Although it’s -10⁰C, he is comfortable outside in his shirt sleeves – bare skin showing at his elbows above his gauntlets. We notice his dufflebag is bulging with transform