Everyone is invited
for a reading of
Enriched by Catastrophe:
Social Work and Social Conflict after the Halifax Explosion
with author Michelle Hébert Boyd

Tuesday, December 4, 7 pm
Halifax North Memorial Public Library

2285 Gottingen St., Halifax
in honour of the 90th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion (December 6)

Word On The Street - September 23, 2007

Michelle Hebert Boyd will be reading from, discussing and signing her book at this year's Word on the Street festival in Halifax. Join us at the Cunard Event Centre on the Halifax waterfront, Sunday, 23 September 2007, from 11am- 5pm.

http://www.thewordonthestreet.ca/halifax/whats_on_authors.asp

About the Title

"Enriched by Catastrophe" is a quote taken from Dr. Samuel Prince, one of the founders of the Maritime School of Social Work at Dalhousie University. In 1921, he wrote a PhD dissertation on the social consequences of disasters. In it, he drew on the experience of the Halifax Explosion, and stated that the profession of social work had been "enriched by that catastrophe". Since my book was about how social work developed as a result of the explosion, I thought Prince's words would make an apt title. Since the book has been published, I've been surprised to learn that many people assume "Enriched by Catastrophe" actually refers to the people of the North End -- an assumption that they somehow were "enriched" or profitted, materially, from the relief effort. Indeed, it seems some explosion survivors have been dismayed at the title, believing that my book must be critical of them or accusing them of profiteering. This interpretation had never occured to me, and it was certainly not my intention. It is interesting, however, to see how these sensitivities and misconceptions still exist, 90 years after the disaster.

Join us for the Book Launch - 9 May 2007

Please join Fernwood Publishing
for the launch of
ENRICHED BY CATASTROPHE:
Social Work and Social Conflict after the Halifax Explosion

with author Michelle Hébert Boyd

Wednesday, May 9, 2007, 6:00 pm
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
1675 Lower Water St., Halifax

"December 6, 1917 dawned clear and full of promise in Halifax. As Canada’s main embarkation point for the trenches of World War I, the old harbour city was alive with activity, enjoying the prosperity that comes with wartime commerce and a healthy injection of military spending. Shaking off decades of economic decline, Haligonians were feeling optimistic about their city’s fortunes, about its future as a leader in social and civic reform, and about its promise as one of eastern North America’s most important coastal cities." (excerpt)

When social workers arrived on the scene after the Halifax explosion it marked the beginning of the transition from a charity model of social welfare to a profession of trained and paid social workers. The newly arrived social workers had to practise their skills in the context of Halifax’s prevailing class structures, where, traditionally, well-off volunteers passed judgment on their poorer neighbours and care was taken not to improve the conditions of people beyond their station in society. This work reflects on the lessons the profession of social work took from its work in rebuilding the lives of Haligonians and the lessons still to be learned from this experience in 2007, as we approach the 90th year of the explosion’s anniversary.

Fernwood Publishing Company Limited gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (bpdip), the Canada Council for the Arts and the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism and Culture for our publishing program.

Fernwood Publishing
Site 2A, Box 5, 32 Oceanvista Lane
Black Point, Nova Scotia, B0J 1B0
t-902.857.1388 f-902.857.1328 info@fernpub.ca

If you are unable to attend the launch, you are welcome to order an autographed book from The Museum Shop at 423-9787.

Fernwood Publishing • critical books for critical thinkers • www.fernwoodpublishing.ca