By Mark Squibb
When Michael Boyle looked out over his Baltimore School classroom in 1969, he likely would have never guessed that one of his young students — Randy Crane — would one day edit his memoir.
Boyle is a native of Ireland who moved to Newfoundland in 1967 at the age of 23 after accepting a job as principal of St. Pius X All Grade School on Fogo Island. Boyle instead found himself teaching in Gander (you’ll have to read the book to know why) and, later, Ferryland.
A poet and storyteller, Boyle had, over the years, amassed a large volume of stories touching on his early years in Ireland and experiences as a newcomer in rural Newfoundland.
Not so long ago, Boyle decided he wanted to publish those stories. That’s where Randy Crane comes into the story.
“What Mike had was a bunch of stories about his life, and our challenge was to make that into a memoir, and into a book,” said Crane. “Both of us are storytellers, and we’ve been told that there’s a storyteller’s voice coming through. That was planned. We wanted to tell the story, on paper, as if we were standing in front of an audience.”
The two worked together on the project for just over two years, and always managed to find a happy compromise.
“We knew each other well enough that we could be honest with each other,” said Crane. “If I saw something in the writing, I could tell Mike, and he didn’t take it personally.”
Some of the stories were shortened, others were lengthened, and some were cut altogether.
“I had about 70 pages of stuff about my old school in Ireland, which I thought was great stuff, but a reader in Witless Bay might not want to read 70 pages about a school over in Ireland,” said Boyle. “We wanted to make it interesting, and we wanted to make it flow, which is where Randy came in.”
It was also important, said Boyle, that people got a laugh out of his stories.
“The whole thing would be worthless unless people found it funny,” he said.
A labor of love, On New Turf was self-published so the duo would have greater control over publication dates and details, and the official launch was held at the Ferryland Legion in June.
Boyle said he felt humbled seeing the book in print for the first time, and thankful for those who have lent a hand along the way.
He added the memoir is less about himself and more about the time and place in which he lived, and it will especially resonate with those who have left home to work elsewhere.
The cover is a portrait of Boyle painted by famed artist Gerry Squires many years ago. Boyle had invited Squires into his classroom at Baltimore to discuss art with the students. Unbeknownst to Boyle, Squires had been painting a portrait of him while conversing with the students.
As to the title, Boyle’s father was a turf farmer, and Boyle brought with him to the ‘new turf’ a piece of old turf from his homeland.
The duo is working on getting the book into Coles Bookstore, and it can currently be purchased on Amazon and at a number of local stores, such as Elaine’s Book Store, The Tickle Trunk, Irish Loop Café, and The Colony of Avalon Gift Shop.
The duo will hold a number of readings throughout the summer months.
