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The Bee Book

By (author): Ann Rosenberg

Introduction by: Eric Schmaltz

A surreal story of honeyed sweetness, predatory stings, and metamorphosis.
In a coming-of-age story inspired by second-wave feminism, the intelligent and curious Habella confronts her passions and those of the men around her. From her first period, to unsettling sexual encounters, to her dissatisfying life as a mother and wife, The Bee Book follows Habella as she negotiates the complexities of her desires as they conflict with the oppressive norms of patriarchy. In this genre-defying work that brings together fiction, poetry, visual art, games, and more, we follow Habella – deeply inspired by the lives of bees – as she seeks self-liberation.
Originally published in 1981, this new edition features an introduction by Stephen Cain and Eric Schmaltz.

AUTHOR

Eric Schmaltz

Eric Schmaltz is a Toronto-based artist and writer who works with language in a variety of forms and media including print, sound-performance, and video. His work has been published and exhibited internationally in Canada, the United States, and Europe. More at ericschmaltz.com


Reviews

The Bee Bookis a brilliantly intricate dance recreating for the reader distant regions of imagination fanciful stratospheres of invention into which few bees or few writers dare to flyCathy N DavidsonCanadian Literature1985
The Bee Bookis open rollicking a mishmash of letters poems diagrams charts photographs typographical verse purple passages jokes but the book is rich inventiveMarian Engel author ofBear
Poetic passages full of innuendoThe Globe and Mail1982
This book makes its impact through poetry often concrete often suggesting sound through drawings and diagrams mostly of bees through black and white photographs as much as through its sensuous and often erotic proseCanadian Book Review Annual1981
The book is a balanced metaphor of selfactualization the heroine allows herself only one choice beeing or nothingnessCalgary Herald

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Details

Dimensions:

208 Pages
8in * 5in * 0in
10gr

Published:

October 28, 2025

ISBN:

9781778430794

Book Subjects:

FICTION / World Literature / Canada / 20th Century

Featured In:

All Books

Language:

eng

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