The historical record isn’t always straightforward. Take this photo of the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion’s machine gun company.
Continue readingWhy a 30-year Wait for the First Book about the Mac-Paps?
I have no doubt that my Dad, Jim Higgins, was writing about his experiences in the Spanish Civil War in early February 1939, while still on the boat back to Canada .
Major Cecil-Smith, a journalist before volunteering for Spain, was to be editor of a book about the Canadian volunteers who fought in the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion. He asked Dad to make some contributions; they wanted it out as quickly as possible.
Continue readingMessage from Madrid
Last October, I dropped everything, and went to Spain. I had reached a point in editing my father’s memoir, where I felt stuck. I had many questions, and few answers.
I thought I might find some answers in Spain. More than that, I was compelled to see the place in Corbera d’Ebre where my father, Jim Higgins, rescued Manuel Alvarez.
Continue readingJason Webster, Author of Guerra, Says Jim Higgins’ Memoir is a Key Read…
I must have loads of chutzpah*. When I chose my second round of beta readers, I went right to the top. One is a senior librarian at the University of Toronto and three are academics/authors in fields directly relevant to Jim Higgins’ memoir.
Continue readingEditing Jim Higgins’ 1930s Memoir
There will be those who question how I went about editing a memoir written by someone long dead. Did I put words in his mouth? Did I change his voice? How did I deal with the inevitable, questions, puzzles and mistakes.
Continue readingJim Higgins’ 1930s story makes international news in 1978, again in 1980, and now in 2018
It happened, first, in January, 2018. I was at a dinner party in San Miguel de Allende. The host had steered the conversation towards my plans to publish my father’s 1930s memoir.
I was telling the other guests a bit about him, when a fellow Canadian asked, “What was your father’s name?” I said, “Jim Higgins”. He replied, “I’m pretty sure I just heard about him on the news.” I said, “Impossible!”, and promptly forgot about it.