The Possible Lives of WH, Sailor

Written and illustrated by Bushra Junaid

Running the Goat, Books & Broadsides

978-1-927917855

60 pp.

Ages 9-12

2022

Who was the 19th c. sailor whose remains were discovered in Labrador in the 1980s? Where did he come from? How did he live? What was the story of his death?  Bushra Junaid examines these questions and tells us the sailor's possible stories in poetic rhyme of historical depth.

From The Possible Lives of WH, Sailor by Bushra Junaid

In verse, Bushra Junaid speaks of the bones found on the Strait of Belle Isle and exposed by erosion in 1987 near the village of L'Anse au Loup. The bones suggest a young man of short stature and missing a forearm, with kinky hair and strong teeth. Alongside the bones were some clothing, shoes, a knife and a pouch, several carved with the initials W-H. Though the story of WH is lost, Bushra Junaid insists on remembering this man, as a memorial for "all the Black fathers and brothers who plied these waters, For all the unnamed mothers and daughters bound to plantations" and for all they experienced before and after becoming seafarers.

She wonders at his origins and the memories he may have carried from his homeland whether perhaps West Africa, the Caribbean, the American south or even Nova Scotia. Was he taken by force or did he enlist to be a sailor? Did he fight battles, learn to read and write or acquire other skills? Was he treated fairly or discriminated against? And what of his family? With her questions, Bushra Junaid gives WH's life a legacy.

All these things we can't possibly know–

They have only made my curiosity grow

About all the possible lives you have lived.

I don't know from whence you came,

And I don't know your rightful name, but you

Remain.

Respect is due. It's time that you

Were laid to rest anew.

From The Possible Lives of WH, Sailor by Bushra Junaid

Born to Jamaican and Nigerian parents, Bushra Junaid accepts a responsibility to tell the story of WH, in essence claiming his bones as family. And with the telling of these possible stories, Bushra Junaid ensures that WH is honoured and will never be forgotten to history.

Some may say I've got no skin in the game,

Yet if it's really all the same,

This child of the diaspora would like to claim

You as kin.

Bushra Junaid is the respected illustrator of Adwoa Badoa's Nana's Cold Days (Groundwood, 2002) but The Possible Lives of WH, Sailor is her debut picture book as author and illustrator, and I think she successfully tells a story with great heart and lyricism. WH's true history may never be known but he will not be dismissed, and her words make us think about what that history may be and what the artifacts may tell us and what they don't. (Appended to the story are photographs of these artifacts housed at The Rooms in St. John's NFLD as well as extensive background and historical notes and references.)

 

Though WH's story may be a simple one of birth, life and death, that story's context is complex. As such, the simplicity of Bushra Junaid's art of lines and shapes created from pen and ink and watercolours complement her words. There is far too much that could be part of WH's story, so by focusing on simple vignettes of villages or ships at sea, Bushra Junaid grounds the man in the tangible.

From The Possible Lives of WH, Sailor by Bushra Junaid

I know that teachers will undoubtedly be using The Possible Lives of WH, Sailor for teaching purposes, especially for history–a list of discussion questions as part of an appended teachers' guide will be ever so useful–but this picture book should be seen as an exemplar for empathy and compassion for times and people gone and unknown. History, legacies and ancestry cannot always be corroborated but by giving them attention, even through speculation, we honour them.

Creeps

by Darren Hynes

Razorbill/Penguin Canada

978-0-14-318714-1

309 pp.

Age 13 +

August, 2013

Just to be clear:  Creeps is not a creepy book.  It may be unsettling for some readers by the horror of the protagonist's reality but it is neither supernatural nor blood-curdling.  In fact, Creeps is the descriptor that 15-year-old Marjorie Pope uses for herself and the protagonist of the story, Wayne Pumphrey, also 15.  And perhaps being a little different in Canning, Labrador is all it takes to feel like a creep there.

There's obviously something about Wayne that makes him the target of Pete "The Meat" Avery and his posse–Kenny, Bobby and Harvey–who relentlessly abuse him physically and verbally.  In the written but unsent letters he records in a journal, Wayne gives voice to the questions, fears, confusion that he refuses to express to Pete, his parents, his older sister Wanda, and others.  In fact, that's how Wayne becomes better acquainted with Marjorie Pope, a girl who wears her poverty without shame and ignores the sexual rumours Pete doles out about her.  When she witnesses one of Pete's attacks on Wayne, she distracts The Meat with comments about his biological father and early childhood with which he has issues.

In Wayne's efforts to belong to something, anything to help get through high school, he auditions for the school's production.  Although he doesn't earn a role, Mr. Rollie, the drama teacher, sees some leadership potential and asks him to be his assistant director.  Dealing with his dad's alcoholism, his mother's constant threat to leave because of her husband's drinking, and Pete The Meat's abuse, Wayne recognizes that

"...I'll take the job anyway because it's good to have somewhere to go and something to do and someone other than the wall to look at and say stuff to." (pg. 59)

Marjorie, on the other hand, wins the lead role in the play, mesmerizing everyone with the emotional depth of her performance.  However, she's probably just as happy to have someplace else to go, away from her mother whose husband's death has unhinged her, even believing that Marjorie feels no grief over her father's passing.

The threat of leaving Canning for elsewhere, anywhere, is a common theme amongst Creeps characters, and often distracts Wayne from his worries of Pete The Meat but not always.  This is especially true after Dad insists on confronting Pete's parents about their son's abuse of Wayne and causes the assaults to escalate.

While Wayne may believe that his reluctance to stand up for himself is because

"...sometimes I don't feel like I'm worth very much..." (pg. 226)

he is the only one who doesn't seem to consider running away.  There's Dad who leaves the daily grind of working in the mine by indulging in drink.  His mother wants to run away in reaction to his drinking.  Wanda is planning on taking off for Toronto with a friend.  Marjorie often thinks of escaping her mother's bizarre behaviour and reactions.  But, even with the psychological and physical degradation that Wayne experiences, he is more likely to contemplate the why's and how's rather than react, ultimately helping him to understand others better.

I truly hope that the anguishing circumstances that Darren Hynes so evocatively portrays in Creeps are not the norm of small towns in more remote areas such as Labrador and not the high school years that the author experienced.  No one, young or old, creep or not, should ever endure the humiliation too easily sketched by Darren Hynes' harsh word choice and graphic imagery.  Creeps may adhere to the old adage that "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger"–as happens for Wayne and Marjorie, thankfully–but be prepared for the wretchedness of anticipating the worst for the characters while still knowing that some degree of deliverance is forthcoming.