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ISBN: 9780889227880 | paperback / softback

$24.95 | 288 pages | Pub. Date: 2013
9 W × 6 H × 1 D inches
Poetry | Backlist | Bisac: POE011000
ISBN 13: 9780889227880 | Rights: WORLD

The Place of Scraps
By Jordan Abel

George Ryga Award for Social Award: Jordan Abel, The Place of Scraps (Finalist)
BC Book Prize, Poetry: Jordan Abel, The Place of Scraps (Winner)

The Place of Scraps revolves around Marius Barbeau, an early-twentieth-century ethnographer, who studied many of the First Nations cultures in the Pacific Northwest, including Jordan Abel’s ancestral Nisga’a Nation. Barbeau, in keeping with the popular thinking of the time, believed First Nations cultures were about to disappear completely, and that it was up to him to preserve what was left of these dying cultures while he could. Unfortunately, his methods of preserving First Nations cultures included purchasing totem poles and potlatch items from struggling communities in order to sell them to museums. While Barbeau strove to protect First Nations cultures from vanishing, he ended up playing an active role in dismantling the very same cultures he tried to save.

Drawing inspiration from Barbeau’s canonical book Totem Poles, Jordan Abel explores the complicated relationship between First Nations cultures and ethnography. His poems simultaneously illuminate Barbeau’s intentions and navigate the repercussions of the anthropologist’s actions.

Through the use of erasure techniques, Abel carves out new understandings of Barbeau’s writing – each layer reveals a fresh perspective, each word takes on a different connotation, each letter plays a different role, and each punctuation mark rises to the surface in an unexpected way. As Abel writes his way ever deeper into Barbeau’s words, he begins to understand that he is much more connected to Barbeau than he originally suspected.

Winner 2014 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize (B.C. Book Prizes)

Short-listed 2014 Gerald Lampert Memorial Award


Read more about Jordan Abel



…second book, following upon his award-winning The Place of Scraps, and is co-published by Project Space and …

…the sequel to his award-winning first collection, The Place of Scraps, Un/inhabited maps the terrain of the public …

news | 2014-10-01
Sneak a Peek: Un/Inhabited by Jordan Abel at the Vancouver Art Book Fair

…Jordan Abel, whose first collection of poetry, The Place of Scraps , won the Dorothy Livesay Prize, will debut his …

news | 2014-06-23
Books for National Aboriginal Month

…Talon favourites and award winners have included The Place of Scraps by Jordan Abel and They Called Me Number One by …

news | 2014-05-05
The Place of Scraps Wins Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize

…to Jordan Abel, whose first book of poetry, The Place of Scraps , has just won the Dorothy Livesay poetry prize! … were announced on Saturday evening in Vancouver. The Place of Scraps is Abel’s first book of poetry. Through erasure …

news | 2014-04-14
rob mclennan Interviews Jordan Abel

…he conducted with Jordan Abel, author of The Place of Scraps – which has recently been shortlisted for the … Here is a little taste of the interview: rm: the place of scraps is your first trade collection of poetry. What …

news | 2014-04-03
The Place of Scraps Shortlisted for 2014 Gerald Lampert Award!

…Congratulations to Jordan Abel, author of The Place of Scraps , which has this week been shortlisted for the … a $1,000 prize. This year’s shortlist includes: The Place of Scraps by Jordan Abel (Talonbooks) Rove by Laurie D. … in downtown Toronto on June 7, 2014. We wish The Place of Scraps the best of luck! …

news | 2014-04-01
It’s Poetry Month!

…awards shortlists (which include Jordan Abel’s The Place of Scraps) and its winners (one of whom is our very own … Award; and the B.C. Book Prizes have included The Place of Scraps on their shortlist for the Dorothy Livesay Award. …

news | 2014-03-12
BC Book Prizes 2014 Shortlists Announced!

…non-fiction); and poet Jordan Abel, whose book, The Place of Scraps , has been shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay … Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize: Jordan Abel, The Place of Scraps (Talonbooks) Jennica Harper, Wood (Anvil Press) …

news | 2014-03-03
Essay: Arc Poetry Magazine on The Place of Scraps

…on Jordan Abel’s remarkable book of poetry, The Place of Scraps (Talon, 2013). Brief extracts give a sense of … and Riffle: Jordan Abel’s Exuberant Excisions in _The Place of Scraps_”. …