Shortlisted, New Brunswick Book Award (Non-Fiction)

From acclaimed author Mark Anthony Jarman comes Touch Anywhere to Begin, his first book of travel writing since the publication of the critically acclaimed Ireland's Eye in 2002.

In 18 unusual, head-spinning essays, Jarman can drift through Venice amid the revelry of carnival and the arrival of the impending pandemic or visit a private club along Shanghai's Huangpu River to be serenaded by a band of retired People's Liberation Army singers. In "Panthers and Gods Prowl a Palace of Sin," an invitation to the Kala Ghoda Festival in Mumbai forges a connection with a jetlagged pair of Arctic throat singers and a doctor fascinated by Canada. In "Jesus on the Mainline," an extended hospitalization beside the intubated victim of a drunk-driving accident reveals a difficult family drama.

And this, of course, is only the beginning. Masterfully written, Touch Anywhere to Begin penetrates the impressionistic moments and intimacies of travel to reveal character and place like none other.

About the Author
Mark Anthony Jarman is an award-winning Canadian author of six books of fiction and the critically acclaimed Ireland's Eye. He has won a National Magazine Award in non-fiction, and his essays have appeared in the Walrus, Canadian Geographic, Hobart, the Barcelona Review, Vrig Nederland, and the Globe and Mail. He lives in Fredericton.

Reviews
"Touch Anywhere to Begin is a rich and satisfying collection of personal essays garnered from the journeys of a wanderer by nature. Mark Anthony Jarman is a quirky and sometimes irritable travel companion who describes himself as a rotten traveller..., but whose deep love for the places and people he meets along the way...will have you hanging on every word. And it's not just what he writes about that will keep you riveted; it's his first-rate writing that will hold you." -- Wanda Baxter * Miramichi Reader *


Awards
Short-listed for New Brunswick Book Award (Non-Fiction) 2022 (Canada).



Book Information
ISBN 9780864929198
Author Mark Anthony Jarman
Format Paperback
Page Count 256
Imprint Goose Lane Editions
Publisher Goose Lane Editions
Weight(grams) 340g
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 140mm * 17mm