Klee Wyck [Paperback]

Emily Carr (Author), Kathryn Bridge (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 11, 2004

The title of artist, writer, and rebel Emily Carr's first book means "Laughing One," the nickname given her by the Native people of Canada's west coast. She returned the favor with Klee Wyck, a collection of 21 "word portraits" of their lives and ways. The memoir describes in witty, vivid detail Carr's visits and travels as she painted their totem poles and villages and got to know a people whose "quiet strength healed my heart." The book is reissued here with restored text and features the original introduction by Ira Dilworth and a new introduction by Carr scholar Kathryn Bridge.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I did not write Klee Wyck, as the reviewers said, long ago when I went to the West Coast Villages painting. I was too busy then painting from dawn till dusk. I wrote Klee Wyck...in hospital. They said I would not be able to go about painting here and there any more, lugging and tramping. I was sore about it, so, as I lay there, I relived the villages of Klee Wyck. It was easy for my mind to go back to the lovely places. After fifty years they were as fresh in my mind as they were then, because while I painted I had lived them deep. I could sail out of hospital and forget about everything."

When asked to write about the "struggle story" of her work out West in collaboration with a biographer, Emily replied:

--- "Nobody could write my hodge-podge life but me. Biographers can only write up big, important people who have done great deeds to which the public can attach dates. I could not be bothered with collaborators, nor would they be bothered with the little drab nothings that have made up my life."
--

Her first book, Klee Wyck won a Governor General's award for general literature, the year that it was published.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author

Emily Carr is a Fitzhenry and Whiteside author. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Douglas & McIntyre (March 11, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1553650255
• ISBN-13: 978-1553650256
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #734,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written and visualized, June 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Klee Wyck (Paperback)

this book by Emily Carr gives a very wonderful and descriptive account of the Pacific Northwest along British Columbia's shores. Emily Carr was a very unique woman who defied her times in her interactions with Native Peoples and her adventurous independance. This book details her explorations among the Queen Charlotte Islands. It is so descriptive it makes one feel that they are actually on the west coast.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spirit of Place, February 16, 2001

By 

"[e-mail]" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Klee Wyck (Paperback)

If you are interested in the environment which generated the powerful West Coast Native art, the artist, Emily Carr, conjures it up in this original book. Her travels to their coastal villages are translated into these atmospheric essays.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Emily Carr paints with words....., March 9, 2011

By 

G. Fine (Seattle) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Klee Wyck (Paperback)

Emily Carr paints with words in this wonderful little book about her life. The stories give glimpses into the life and heart of this marvelous painter as she explores the Pacific NW coast in search of Native Totems to paint. A delightful piece of light reading which I like to re explore often.