In Hard Knox, seasoned columnist and consummate everyman Jack Knox offers up his uniquely hilarious views on Canadian life as seen from the western fringes of the country—in particular from the “Island of Misfit Toys” as he aptly calls his Vancouver Island home. This treasure trove of west-coast wit and wisdom touches on everything from “smug anti-Americanism” to extreme weather to flagrant public displays of affection in Canada’s westernmost capital. Whether you’re a born-and-bred Islander, a transplanted Albertan in the throes of culture shock, or a confused tourist, we all have something to learn from the school of Hard Knox.
Author(s):
Ian Ferguson won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour for Village of the Small Houses and is the co-author, with his brother Will Ferguson, of How to Be a Canadian, which was shortlisted for the Leacock and which won the CBA Libris Award for non-fiction. He is a contributor to the Penguin Anthology of Canadian Humour and has been published in the Globe and Mail, National Post, Reader's Digest, Maclean's, and EnRoute, among other publications. For the past ten years, he has worked as a writer and creative director in the film and television industry.
Jack Knox is the author of two bestselling humour books, Hard Knox: Musings from the Edge of Canada and Opportunity Knox: Twenty Years of Award-Losing Humour Writing, both based on his popular column at the Victoria Times Colonist and both long-listed finalists for the Leacock Medal for Humour. His latest book is On the Rocks with Jack Knox: Islanders I Will Never Forget. Knox’s career highlights include being blasted with blowhole spray by Luna the orca whale, interviewing a nude porn star, and getting a phone call from Barack Obama four days before the 2008 presidential election. In his spare time he performs in a rock ’n' roll band with members of his Tour de Rock cycling team.