One of the best coffee table books ever published in Thunder Bay.  Full of colour plates and lots of interesting facts, A Picasso in the North Country: The Wild Journey of Canadian Artist Norval Morrisseau,  by local author James Stevens, would make a great Christmas gift.  The book is available at The Anishinable Art Gallery, 1500 James St S or Northern Woman's Book Store at 65 Court Street S or e mail the author, James Stevens at jstevens@tbaytel.net.

The book not only covers Morrisseau's life but describes the recent surge in interest in the paintings as well as the surge of fakes hitting e bay and Kijiji all over the country. Stevens notes that  Morrisseau's "legacy is being tainted" by the forgeries.

Stevens, who has just been nominated for the 2012 Premier's Award for Excellence in the Arts, has always focused his writing on local history.

James Stevens

In Angelique Abandoned, (see cover photo above) Stevens writes of the fate of a Metis couple left on Isle Royale in the winnter of 1845.  The miners who were supposed to return to the island to get the pair never showed up.  Although the husband starved to death, Angelique managed to survive.  Available at Northern Woman's Bookstore.

Wild on the Lake Superior Frontier: A Romance of Settler's Lives 1845 - 1900, deals with the lives of four early families to this area, two who came to Thunder Bay and two who settled in Duluth.  The Thunder Bay pair include John Cousins, the first customs officer and Julia Ann Roy, operator of a Port Arthur bawdy house. Stevens was able to track down many present day family members both here and in Duluth.  Available Northern Woman's Bookstore.

 Stevens, one of Thunder Bay's most distinguished writers, has written or edited fifteen books dealing with the local scene.