Barbara Smith

When she began work on this collection, Barbara Ellen Smith was asked, 'Why work on a book about women in the South? Nobody writes books about women in the Midwest'. In an era of intensified globalization, when populations, cultures, and capital move across the boundaries of nation-states in multiple forms and directions, the concept of a subnational region seems parochial and out-of-date. 'But', Smith argues, 'it is precisely because of the historical construction of the secessionist South as an embattled region when all manners of social problems tend to be blamed on poor women and children and those whose skin is anything but white, that the experiences of racially diverse women in a region legendary for both white supremacy and male supremacy are important to explore'. Collecting in one volume the work of such well-known scholars on Appalachia and the South as Carol Stack, Mab Segrest, and Sally Maggard, among others, "Neither Separate Nor Equal" analyzes the complex and dramatic developments in the lives of contemporary Southern women. Case studies vividly portray women's diverse circumstances and activities from rural African American women in the Mississippi Delta taking on new roles as community builders to female textile workers in North Carolina contending with automation and reorganization of the mills. Focusing on the South's historical legacies as they are manifested and contested in the lives of women today, including the tensions between long-lasting patterns of regional distinctiveness and the disruptions of globalizations, this collection approaches differences of race and class not as forms of separation among women, but as social be they often contentious, difficult, or exploitative relationships. Unifying around a theme of relationality, "Neither Separate Nor Equal" offers searching empirical studies of Southern women and a conceptual model for feminist scholarship as a whole. Barbara Ellen Smith is Director of the Center for Research on Women and Associate Professor of Sociology at The University of Memphis.

Canadians are very polite -- but they also commit murder. And those who think that mass homicides and wanton killings are recent phenomena in Canada should treat themselves to Fatal Intentions. Using contemporary accounts, Barbara Smith vividly recreates a number of murder cases from 1920s Nova Scotia to 1980s British Columbia. Some, like the Boyd Gang adventures, are still rememebred often inaccurately or romantically; others, like the murder of Flora Gray in Yarmouth, or the murder of 23 innocents in Quebec in 1949, can now be recalled by only a few. In some cases, the "truth" may exist only in dusty archives; in others, the truth may have gone to the graves of the victims -- or the accused. Robert Cook's killing spree -- all seven in his family -- in Stettler, alberta, will probably be recounted, locally, for generations. But, did he do it? Toronto's Boyd Gang boasted about hot cars and beautiful women -- the stuff of folklore. And newspaper writers of that time were only too willing to add to the romantic tales. The last woman to be hanged in Canada, her disabled brother, and his employer all went to the gallows -- two for greed, one for lust. These and otehr stories are part of our history -- and often part of our folklore. They also can remind us taht human nature doesn't change easily, over decades or distances. Greed, lust, and other deadly sins can lead to fatal intentions, anytime, anywhere.

Ben Jonson (1572-1637) is recognised as one of the major poets and dramatists of his time. It is surprising, therefore, that this should be the first study to look specifically at the role of women in his poetry. Barbara Smith challenges previously held conceptions of Jonson as a misogynist, upholding the patronage system that allowed him to work. Through detailed examination of his poetic structures, the influence of Juvenal, Martial and Horace, and Jonson's attitudes to his own female patrons, the Countess of Bedford and Lady Mary Wroth, The Women of Ben Jonson's Poetry demonstrates how seventeenth century cultural values and ideas of gender are both supported and subverted in the poems. ’If we "survey Jonson in his works and know him there", we will find the independence of spirit and originality that made him a rarity in his time and ours.'

Quiet pleasant communities, sparkling under the clear blue skies of Alberta, have witnessed bloody murders and violent mayhem. From a wide variety of accounts, Babara Smith has selected eight intriguing stories that will astound and amaze you. Mystery still surrounds the fate of pro golfer Frank Willey who disappeared in 1962. Two men were convicted of his murder, but his body has never been found. No suspect, however, was ever found in the case of MaryAnn Plett. The pretty, young real-estate agent disappeared after going to show a property to a client — but some skeletal remains were discovered seven months later. In 1948, a family could hardly have guessed that their newly purchased home would come complete with a corpse; and, in another case, Winnie Wanner’s bathroom was found splattered with blood. Although her estranged husband was seen leaving the apartment with a suspiciously large bag, Winnie vanished from the face of the earth. These chilling tales, previously little known outside Alberta, also include matters of greed, rum running, shoot-outs, and hostages. They will be every bit as fascinating to the crime buff as those found anywhere.

Contrary to popular belief, ghosts do not necessarily reside in draughty old castles and ancient graveyards. In this book, the author has collected ghost stories specifically from Alberta where she has discovered strange tales of hauntings in schools, restaurants, theatres, hotels, government buildings and modern houses from Calgary and Edmonton to rural areas and the Rocky Mountains. Several spine-tingling tales are legendary accounts of native spirits who still inhabit the land. In Edmonton, two former firehalls are widely reputed to be haunted; the McKay Avenue School is said to have at least half a dozen spirits; and employees of radio station CKUA have experienced a ghostly presence. "Alberta’s Most Haunted Place" is probably the Deane House and Tea Room at Fort Calgary, where a number of different ghosts are taken for granted by the staff. This eerie collection of supernatural tales includes, among others, the story of the Medicine Hat ghost train; the strange phenomena in a rural "castle" that cannot drive its owner away; the hauntings of the Banff Springs Hotel; the ghostly arsonist in a photograph at Chateau Lake Louise; evil ghosts of the Alberta Badlands; the beautiful lady in white who haunts Prince House in Heritage Park; the Canmore Opera House spirits; and the ghostly bookworm.