Book description
Poetry or potsherds? That's the surprising dilemma one of Canada's
well-known nature writers confronts in
The Site: A Personal Odyssey, a highly
personalized account of a lifetime's involvement as an avocational
archaeologist. With deft descriptive powers, Robert
Nero leads us gently into this new facet of his amazing
spectrum of interests. Not unexpectedly, there even is poetry in his
approach to studying prehistoric remains!
From childhood through adolescence, to wartime service with the U.
S. Army in the Southwest Pacific, from exploring the vast sand dunes
of Lake Athabasca to excavating a 3,000-year-old site he discovered
west of Winnipeg, Nero allows us to share his enthusiasm and
excitement in outdoor adventures. There is always a wonderful
immediacy in his narrative, the mark of a gifted writer, whether
expressed in prose or poetry.
A well-known scientist and educator with numerous natural history
publications to his credit, Robert W. Nero has attracted
attention in recent years through published collections of his poetry.
Woman By the Shore
(1990),
The Mulch Pile
(1993) and
Spring Again
(1997) firmly established Bob Nero's standing in the field of
poetry. Several creditable poems also appeared in a well-received book
about his travels with a tame Great Gray Owl:
Lady Grayl: Owl With a Mission
(1994). Even a recent account of his archaeological exploits,
The Site: A Personal Odyssey
(2001), contains some appropriate poetry. His most recent
poetry collection is
Growing Old Together
(2005); as with all of the aforementioned books, it was
published by Natural Heritage Books.
Robert Nero and his wife, Ruth, live in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
