|
INTERVIEW WITH JACQUELINE BALDWIN THREADBARE LIKE LACE Karin: Welcome Jacqueline Baldwin. You are originally from New Zealand and you immigrated to Canada at the age of twenty-two. Why did you decide to move to Canada? Jacqueline Baldwin: Why? It,s difficult to answer that question from here. A sense of adventure has a lot to do with it. I love the geographical images in Canada that we got in New Zealand. Living in a tropical country, the images of Canada were appealing to me. I had images in my head all the time from stories I read as a child. With the culture that I grew up in, travel was considered a necessity. Also, I was at an age when many people want to leave home. Dee: Why did you decide to move and settle in British Columbia? Jacqueline Baldwin: Well, I used to be a downhill skier. I loved living in Vancouver where you could ski and play tennis on the same day. That, to me, was paradise. I had a deep interest in athletic life when I was younger. Also, I like the scenery here. Karin: Congratulations on the success of your first book of poetry, Threadbare like Lace. It was number six and number ten on the B.C. non- fiction lists in January and February of 1998. Were you surprised that it was listed on the non-fiction lists? Jacqueline Baldwin: I was very surprised! Actually, it was not only one of the top ten best selling books of poetry, but it was on the bestseller list for non-fiction, which seemed odd to me. I didn,t understand why, because a lot of it is fiction, of course (laugh), thankfully. Poets are writing fiction aren,t they? But it was number six and number ten on the B.C. non-fiction lists in January and February 1998. Karin: Do you know how many copies have been sold to date? Jacqueline Baldwin: It,s in its third printing. The first print run sold out in three weeks. Then there was a delay while the next copies came from the printers in Montreal and they sold out in January. I believe they,re halfway through the third printing now.
|
