Author, historian, environmentalist Ann Brennan
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Ann Brennan making an appropriately costumed entrance
at her book launch in September 2014. Photo courtesy Brigitte Marsden |
I met Ann Brennan recently at the Bath Meeting House where her publisher (Keith Helmuth of Chapel Street Editions) was launching her latest book as part of a special Evening Salon. Serving as a very lively m.c. for that evening’s entertainment, Mrs Brennan also read several poems from her Earth Carries Spirit which turns out to be written in such a glowing, straight-forward manner that even those who think they don’t care for poetry will be enchanted.
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Mrs Brennan's new book is available
direct from the publisher at $15
or through Amazon.
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The introduction to that six-part profile notes just some of her remarkable achievements which range from ”raising six children to tackling federal and provincial government policy. She has travelled in Europe for her own studies as well as to supervise elections… published [five books] in the area of poetry, fiction, and history… and participated in the N.B. Writers in Schools Program. Her biography of Katherine Ryan (a.k.a. Klondike Kate), the first female member of the North West Mounted Police, has been adapted for the stage in Canada and Ireland. In 2003, Ann received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal for her decades of community service.”
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This poem, from Earth Carries Spirit, mentions the Labyrinth,
for which the entry banner is shown at bottom. The stone-bordered,
80-foot-wide Labyrinth is open to the public in season
at 201 South Johnville Road, near Bath NB. (See video below.) |
Well Ann, let’s start by talking about activism, activism for women in particular.
You never set out consciously to change the world but events sometimes put you on that path and you do what you feel is right in your heart. I ran as a federal Liberal candidate in 1979 after having been active politically for some time ─ I was speaking out for women back in the 1960s and continue to see the need for a woman’s voice. That voice has to be heard and we tried fifty years ago but they’re still not listening.
In that election you lost to the P.C. candidate but came in a very respectable second. Did you try again?
No, I had a young family and it’s hard enough to run once when you know that you won’t be elected, let alone twice. The system was so male dominated but at least now it’s started to change at the local level and in the last provincial election several good women won. But it’s not easy being a female candidate and maintaining your dignity.
In the end, did you continue trying to change that entrenched system?
No, I got out of it. I went to political writing and volunteered to be part of Frank McKenna’s policy advisory board before he was elected premier in 1987. I was part of the team that helped put together what became his "Manifesto for Change." He gave all of us in this province a sense of pride. We need that kind of leadership again.
Your master thesis was on the topic of “deep ecology” and I confess that I’m not at all familiar with that term.
A deep ecologist focuses on the effects of development, looking as far forward as the next seven generations. Our role should be to advance without doing too much harm to nature. You really can’t control nature, it controls us, so let’s seek a balance. What we need now is to start planning on a positive note ─ and we don’t need to destroy the environment to get there. Even if you want to protest, you need to come up with an alternate plan. I try to look for better ways, like zero-point energy, but money has become our god. It seems to be all about big corporations.
I’ve always been able to see fairies.
It doesn’t matter if you believe, they’re just there.
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Message Fairies all hear my call The time has come For one and all to gather near Our words are needed Our voices to be heard Above the cities roar With magick to reveal To soothe and heal The aching heart of earth From "Earth Carries Spirit" |
Your farm here in Johnville has two amazing natural attractions that are open to the public: a Labyrinth and a Fairy Garden. They’re both magical!
I’d seen labyrinths in Europe and we built ours in 2000 after we stopped farming. It’s a creation gift that, spiritually, teaches the way home. Studying it, the rotating pattern is found in many ways in nature, a daisy for instance, and it’s also the pattern of the eight-year cycle of the planet Venus. When you walk it, your body shifts physically, almost like a Slinky toy. (See video below.) However, the Fairy Garden (photo at left) pre-dates the Labyrinth. I’m delighted to share ─ especially with the children.
Any words of advice for the next generation of activists?
I’ve been fortunate to travel and to participate in the public sphere and even though I’m more reflective now, I say: Be brave, be bold and step off the cliff for you might be able to fly!