Dancing on the shore: a celebration of life at Annapolis Basin (NEW EDITION)

Harold Horwood

with a foreword by Farley Mowat
and an introduction by Lesley Choyce
Nonfiction: Nova Scotia, Nature, Autobiography
$19.95
192 pages
6" x 9" paperback
ISBN 978-1-897426-16-6

Winner of the Evelyn Richardson Award for Nonfiction.

Order this book from: Nimbus Publishing (or 1-800-Nimbus9)
or Amazon or Chapters or Pottersfield Press mail order.

"The tides sweep over the clam flats in a great flood twice daily. The migrants sweep through the sky in great flocks twice a year. These vast rhythms, so visible in such a small place, seem very like the heartbeat and the breathing of a living planet..."

Harold Horwood moved his family to the Annapolis Basin for "the beauty of the land, the fruitfulness of the soil, the gentleness of the climate, the variety of plant and animal life, the closeness of great forests and clear waters, the presence of the sea without its storms." He soon realized that they "had come to live in one of the truly magical places on earth."

Dancing on the Shore is a detailed look at nature in Nova Scotia but also a story of one man's intimate relationship to that world. It is deep and broad, weaving science and philosophy with a passionate yearning to preserve life on this planet. Considered by many to be his greatest work, this new edition of the classic book will keep alive Harold's ideas and his spirit and inspire new generations of readers.

Harold writes, "Here, in mid-July, when the air is scented with wild roses, and meadowsweet blooms in the ditches, when the light falls dim and cool through two months' growth of young vines, you could well believe that man and world grew up together, perfectly suited and matched." With a voice of poetic power and intellectual insight, the author takes the reader on a meditative yet mentally stimulating journey that can change the way you look at yourself and the world.

"Great ideas, great visions, great musical themes," the author states, "all have this inexpressible spiritual quality that places them beyond analysis, beyond the reach of the critics, beyond any explanation that we can offer."


"I believe that this book Harold Horwood has written has built a bridge that will endure. I invite you to cross it." - Farley Mowat from the Foreword


Harold Horwood was born in Newfoundland in 1923 and died in Nova Scotia in 2006. He lived an extraordinary life as a union organizer, member of the Newfoundland House of Assembly, newspaper editor, co-founder of The Writers' Union of Canada, novelist, poet and nature writer. He published more than twenty books and was a powerful influence on many Canadian writers.