Red Sky at Night

by Vernon Oickle

“Red sky in the morning, sailor take warning; red sky at night, sailor's delight.” Atlantic Canadian tradition holds that such warnings be taken seriously. And with good reason; lives often hang in the balance. Sailors aren’t alone in seeing in the world a connectedness that is often lost in the modern world. In Atlantic Canada, thankfully such beliefs still play a role in everyday life. This is a collection of many of those age-old beliefs from the region’s best and most eclectic compiler of folklore.

We also get well known Atlantic Canadians to weigh in with some of their superstitions. Gemini award winning actor and writer and star of the hit comedy This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Cathy Jones recalls many of the “old sayings” from her childhood. Author Allan Lynch remembers home remedies administered by his parents, aunts and grandparents. Former NHLer Glen Murray talks about the superstitions of the game. And singer/songwriters Dave Gunning, Joel Plaskett, Terry Kelly and Rita MacNeil all admit to being just a little bit superstitious. From Nancy Regan, meteorologist Peter Coade, movie reviewer Richard Crouse, and Bluenose II Captain Philip Watson, they are all here.

220 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

Vernon Oickle lives in Liverpool, Nova Scotia. He studied journalism in Lethbridge, Alberta and upon his graduation in 1982, he returned to his hometown to begin his newspaper career. Since then, Vernon has won many regional, national and international awards for writing and photography. In 2012, he won the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors’ Golden Quill Award for best editorial writing, becoming only the third Canadian and the first Nova Scotian to win this honour since it was first presented in 1961.

Today, he is the editor of the nationally award-winning newspaper, The Lunenburg County Progress Bulletin in Bridgewater. Since October 1995 he has been writing the popular and award winning column, The Editor’s Diary. Helping to shape and influence public opinion on a wide range of topics that over time, his writing increasingly touches a populist nerve by airing topics important to his readers.

In addition to being an award winning journalist and editor, Vernon is the author of 18 books, many of which collect and preserve the heritage and culture of Atlantic Canada. In 2010 he launched a series of novels that get their names from a Maritime folklore rhyme about seven crows.

Reviews

[Tanya Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book so far.

[Wendy Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting little book about local superstitions and such.