A picture of the text of the biography To Leave a Warrior Behind by Jon Tattrie, largely blurred, with this in sharp focus: Lincoln had changed him, and he found himself growing distant from his roots. "My family consisted of bourgeois Negroes and I was just like them until I woke up in 1967. From that point on, damn near everything I did appalled them," he later wrote. (from p.45 of the hardcover edition)
A picture of the text of the biography To Leave a Warrior Behind by Jon Tattrie, largely blurred, with this in sharp focus: On the next page come the rabble photos and identities. Charles "Snake" Saunders stands tall and skinny and dapperly dressed in a warm coat and too-short pants that expose his socks. His right hand rests on his hip and his left hand holds a notebook over a trash can in front of the Old Canteen. The caption reads: "Snake Charlie went through so many changes during his four years that it is difficult to find the real him. Intellectually inclined, he could always be depended upon for deep rabble, out of which sometimes came useful ideas. We will always remember his 'metamorphosis.'" (from p.46 of the hardcover edition)
![A picture of the text of the biography To Leave a Warrior Behind by Jon Tattrie: Charles described the name Imaro as one of the "hidden meanings" he embedded in his work. "The name 'Imaro' was derived from the Swahili word for strong." he said.29 He doesn't specify the Swahili word, and a direct translation of English's strong yields Swahili's naguvu. However, the Swahili word imara means solid, stable, steadfast, sturdy, and strengthened. Imara is used as a first name, typically for girls. Charles likely turned the a to an o to get the male name Imaro. "Swahili is a fairly dominant language in the eastern region, and that's where Imaro is born, raised, and has his initial adventures. So I used Swahili there," Charles explained.30 "I've done some stories set on the west coast of Nyumbani, and for that I've used Hausa as my base language, mainly because that's the only West African language I've been able to find a textbook or teach-yourself book for. There's also Yoruba. I've got a book on that, so I kind of mix Hausa and Yoruba in the west. In the middle, I have a book which has some words of Mali, which is a north-central African nation, and when I start writing about South Nyumbani I'm going to have to get hold of some linguistic sources for Zulu [not pictured: the end of that sentence is: and Xosa.] Below are the footnotes for 29: Elliot interview and for 30: Interview in Polar Borealis, late 1980s, republished in 2020. (from p.62 of the hardcover edition)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wtetx7xtjyatfdgoo6qzfjx7/bafkreialn64w6xvv2m6urbxwstwvhdc2kfrb5oy2k2wlycgiysr4ihrtqy)
A picture of the text of the biography To Leave a Warrior Behind by Jon Tattrie: Charles described the name Imaro as one of the "hidden meanings" he embedded in his work. "The name 'Imaro' was derived from the Swahili word for strong." he said.29 He doesn't specify the Swahili word, and a direct translation of English's strong yields Swahili's naguvu. However, the Swahili word imara means solid, stable, steadfast, sturdy, and strengthened. Imara is used as a first name, typically for girls. Charles likely turned the a to an o to get the male name Imaro. "Swahili is a fairly dominant language in the eastern region, and that's where Imaro is born, raised, and has his initial adventures. So I used Swahili there," Charles explained.30 "I've done some stories set on the west coast of Nyumbani, and for that I've used Hausa as my base language, mainly because that's the only West African language I've been able to find a textbook or teach-yourself book for. There's also Yoruba. I've got a book on that, so I kind of mix Hausa and Yoruba in the west. In the middle, I have a book which has some words of Mali, which is a north-central African nation, and when I start writing about South Nyumbani I'm going to have to get hold of some linguistic sources for Zulu [not pictured: the end of that sentence is: and Xosa.] Below are the footnotes for 29: Elliot interview and for 30: Interview in Polar Borealis, late 1980s, republished in 2020. (from p.62 of the hardcover edition)
![A picture of the text of the biography To Leave a Warrior Behind by Jon Tattrie, largely blurred, with this in sharp focus: In the spring 1979 edition of Borealis, [John] Bell writes that "probably the chief reason that Ottawa has emerged as the fantasy capital of Canada is the presence in that city of Charles Saunders." (from p.67 of the hardcover edition)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wtetx7xtjyatfdgoo6qzfjx7/bafkreigscfjlsfqqjccvtnaojw6kkvstpff34eyzmclrvzvmxidimams5y)
A picture of the text of the biography To Leave a Warrior Behind by Jon Tattrie, largely blurred, with this in sharp focus: In the spring 1979 edition of Borealis, [John] Bell writes that "probably the chief reason that Ottawa has emerged as the fantasy capital of Canada is the presence in that city of Charles Saunders." (from p.67 of the hardcover edition)
I am living for this biography of Saunders right now. So interesting! Highly recommended. And of course we're reading Imaro for @tricon-hfx.bsky.social. And I'm really curious about that quote by Bell that "probably ...1/2
#CharlesSaunders #CharlesRSaunders #SwordAndSoul #SwordAndSorcery #Halifax
