Writing
Welcome to Barry’s world of words and songs!
Traveller: Stories and Songs in the Key of Connection is a smorgasbord of international offerings with a common theme: connection through music. With its interleaving of 10 nonfiction stories and 15 songs, a sprinkle of poems, and a dessert of 8 instrumental pieces, this collection flows loosely from stories of land journeys to sea adventures and from short trips to long voyages while winding gently through times past and present. There are works to touch the spirit and turn the brain, test the heart or protest the way of the world.
Sing and play through the author’s iconic original songs such as “This Old World,” “Song for Robert Dziekanski,” and “Levuka Town.” Prose pieces range from the historical “Ballad of Robert Harkness” to the humorous “The Beatles Followed Me Around,” while the instrumental scores will transport you to exotic India (“Dravida”) and the dew-shrouded Pacific Northwest (“The Lifting of the Mist”).
Whether crossing the Pacific on a freighter (“Slow Boat To China”) or playing guitar for a ground-breaking Canadian theatrical production (“When Hearts Are Open, Ears Can Hear”), Barry Truter is your guide to travelling through life and around the world with music in your heart.
Praise for Traveller
“A wonderful collection of well-told tales in the hands of a master songwriter and musician.”
– Linda Allen, songwriter/performer/educator
“An engaging read. Easygoing, unassuming, curious and wise, the book is every bit like its writer. Truter generously invites us to share the road with him, jobs, gigs and venues. Ultimately, he shares his greatest asset with the reader: himself. Putting this book down is like seeing a friend depart, but, like a good song, we can always meet up again.”
– Ken Klonsky, author of Life Without and Freeing David McCallum: The Last Miracle of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter
“Musicians will love this book. Truter’s playfulness is not only expressed in his songs, but also in his prose, prose that describes an adventurous travelling life. In more sombre moods, Truter’s songs ask us to respond to social injustice and the abuse of the environment. Entirely a delightful read. Makes me want to buy a ukulele!”
– Cathy Sosnowsky, author of Finding Heartstone
“An extra-sensory journey, a multimedia expedition from a welcoming, unobstructed front row seat.”
– Bill Arnott, author of Gone Viking: A Travel Saga and Gone Viking II: Beyond Boundaries