in the shelter of the covered bridge – manuscript completed!!
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Last year, in the competition of April 1, 2015, I was awarded a Creation Grant from artsnb (The New Brunswick Arts Board). The award was to create a manuscript of poems about plants and animals living in the shelter of covered bridges in New Brunswick.
I have now completed the manuscript and am ready to submit my final report. During the project I visited 28 covered bridges in the drainage basin of the Saint John River and 5 in Charlotte and Westmorland Counties. I was also able to use the notes and records from my visits to some covered bridges in 1992.
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The final manuscript includes 81 pages, 8 new drawings, and 63 poems, organised into five themes:
liminal spaces – 8 poems about bridges as places of transition and change
notch of a lily pad – 10 poems about the covered bridge as habitat
grit of a blade – 9 poems about engravings and graffiti produced by human visitors to the covered bridge
a blade of grass between thumbs -10 poems about mysterious discoveries in covered bridges
heads of timothy – 6 poems about encounters at the bridge
gaps between boards – 10 poems about deterioration and loss due to vandalism, fire and flood
a loose board rattles – 10 poems about the sounds resonating in a covered bridge
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Many thanks to artsnb for helping me in the making of the manuscript and for the chance to undertake such an enjoyable project!
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Copyright 2016 Jane Tims
nichepoetryandprose 
Dear Jane,
I have a problem. No. You’d better make that ‘two’.
In the mail today, I received one of those Creation Grant cheques you keep telling us about. The Arts Council bureaucrats said the cash would help me finish my research document entitled ‘100 Ways for a Narcissist to Spend Government Money(on Himself)(Who Else?). There’s just one hitch. They said my manuscript needed to be peer reviewed by a dozen colleagues. I’m currently one shy. Can I put you down?
And, secondly, the cheque’s only for a measly $46,246. Are they holding back on the other half? What should I do?
Your best friend ever,
Neil
PS – You wouldn’t happen to have a spare room in the basement, would you? I can pay.
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neil
March 11, 2016 at 8:09 pm
Glad you have funding for what sounds like a project. Since I don’t know much about your subject, I don’t think I would be a good reviewer. However, I’m certain you will find someone. Are you sure you checked the decimal place on that grant? Basement flooded, have to go. Have a nice day. Jane
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jane tims
March 11, 2016 at 8:34 pm
How exciting, Jane! You’ve discovered so many things by taking a closer look at covered bridges, while most of us have admired them only briefly and from a distance. To share that knowledge in poetry and art is a very special gift.
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Barbara Rodgers
March 10, 2016 at 2:29 pm
Hi Barbara. The same could be said of all the interests we make our own. Thanks for the encouragement! Jane
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jane tims
March 10, 2016 at 3:05 pm
Well done, Jane!! 🙂 I think it’s fascinating that you could learn so much, find so many themes, around what appears to be one subject (covered bridges). I know from my daily walks about connections between man and nature, but it’s still fascinates me. Beautiful drawings to go with this post.
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Robin
March 9, 2016 at 9:56 am
Thanks Robin. I still think it’s amazing how different the bridges are, in spite of their similarity … A part of the built landscape that I really love. Jane
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jane tims
March 9, 2016 at 11:44 am
Congrats, Jane. I’d forgotten how lovely your drawings are.
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Jane Fritz
March 9, 2016 at 8:51 am
Hi Jane. I still have a few drawings planned. Thanks! Jane
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jane tims
March 9, 2016 at 11:42 am
Congratulations!
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ladysighs
March 9, 2016 at 8:21 am
Thanks!
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jane tims
March 9, 2016 at 11:40 am
Congratulations! I love your themes and look forward to seeing it in print.
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seedbud
March 9, 2016 at 8:09 am
Hi. Thanks. It was fun visiting the bridges and learning to identify some new bird calls! Jane
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jane tims
March 9, 2016 at 11:40 am