A collection of short stories about people and animals by the legendary Emily Carr that mingle the sad and the joyous, the cruel and the tender, in her unique style.

The Heart of a Peacock is a collection of 51 short stories by the legendary writer and painter Emily Carr. The stories are arranged in themes such as her experiences with Native people, her adventures with various beloved creatures (particularly birds), her love of nature, and a whole section of stories about her mischievous pet monkey Woo. Together, they underline Emily Carr's place as a writer with the sharp yet tender eye of an artist, with a deep feeling for the tragedies of life and with a rich sense of the comic. The Heart of a Peacock has been in print ever since its publication in 1953, and, like her other books, has been read and loved by a couple of generations. The book is enhanced by seven of Carr's own line drawings of scenes from nature.

Carr's first book, published in 1941, was titled Klee Wyck, won the Governor General's Literary Award for non-fiction. Her writing is vital and direct, aware and poignant, as well regarded today as when first published.

Emily Carr was born in Victoria, British Columbia, in 1871, and died there in 1945. She studied art in San Francisco, London and Paris. Except for a period of fifteen years when she was discouraged by the reception to her work, she was a commited painter. After 1927, when she was encouraged by the praise of the Group of Seven, interest in her paintings grew and she gained recognition as one of Canada's most gifted artists. Now, nearly sixty years after her death, her reputation continues to grow.

Freelance writer Rosemary Neering has long been interested in Emily Carr and her female contemporaries. Her short biography of Carr was first published in 1975 and revised in 1999. She is the author of Wild West Women:Travellers, Adventurers and Rebels, an award-winning look at unconventional women in the Canadian west between 1850 and 1950; Down the Road: Journeys through Small-Town British Columbia, and a long list of other books on the history and society of British Columbia. She has written extensively for magazines on the lesser-known regions of the province. As did Carr, she lives in Victoria, and her travels have taken her to many of the places where Carr found inspiration for her paintings and her writings.

Ira Dilworth taught English at Victoria High School from 1915-26 and was the school's principal from 1926-34. He was a friend and mentor of the great Emily Carr, whose writing career he promoted as her literary agent. He taught at UBC for four years before joining CBC Radio, directing the corporation's BC operations from 1938-46. Dilworth founded the CBC Vancouver Orchestra in 1938 and in 1956 became director of the CBC English language network.

Contents

Introduction by Rosemary Neering
Preface by Ira Dilworth

Five Birds
The Heart of a Peacock
One Crow
Uncle Tom
Sally and Jane

Some Animals
Balance
Even a Rat ...
Bravo, Mary Anne!

More Birds
Height
Eagles of Skeena River
Two Women and an Infant Gull
Wild Geese
Stern Parent
Birds of England
Bullfinches
Garden Gone Wild
Alice's Sparrows
Sitka's Ravens
Indian Bird Carving

Indian and Other Stories
In the Shadow of the Eagle
The Hully-up Paper
Lilies
Worship

Small and Her Creatures
When I Was Little
A Debt
Ducks and Mother and Father
Father Is a Cannibal
The Curly Coat
Waxwings


Woo's Life
Buying Woo
The House
Woo's Appearance
Woo's Calls
Three Sisters
My Garden
Winter Quarters
Mrs. Pinker's Visit
Maternity
Woo and Lizzie
Woo's Enemies
Monkey Love
The Fox Fur
Canadian Club Lecture
Sewing
Ginger Pop Dies
Pictures, Key, Bantam Rooster
Orgy
Tea Party
Woo Saves Dolf
A Smack for His Majesty
Woo and Ha'Penny and Camping
Exit