Product of Newfoundland

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Robert Hiscock lives in Gander, Newfoundland and writes a perfectly styled East Coast music and culture blog that’s peppered with beautiful original photos. The text is direct and confident as Robert blogs with purpose and a good sense of his own importance.

Product of Newfoundland is the first and best place to find out what’s happening in the province. Go here to read about local rock bands (especially Hey Rosetta), folk singers, comedians and other culture makers in and around St Johns.

About Robert, I know from his profile that he was born in 1976, and that would make him 32 years old. He grew up in the tiny community of Happy Adventure, in northeastern Newfoundland, and then earned three university degrees from Memorial University. Now he works as freelance writer, and owns a splendid golden retriever named Jake.

Robert Hiscock

Robert is also a successful local photographer who supplies images to the BBC, EnRoute Magazine, MUNTO.ca, Anglican Church of Canada Website, and various calendars, magazines, and newspapers including in the Newfoundland Herald. Suffice to say, Robert Hiscock’s Flickr Gallery is filled with breathtaking landscapes.

On his homepage, Robert writes this signature text:

I don’t need last names to know who Debbie and Toni-Marie are and I can find my way from Happy Adventure to Misery Point in the fog. My morning comes a half hour earlier and any day without ‘RDF’ is good. I’ve seen a mummer, tasted toutons and the image conjured by the word Dildo might be different for me than you because I’m a product of this place.

Product of Newfoundland

That’s a terrific statement and very compelling. Suddenly I want to read everything this guy writes. Robert makes interaction possible with a Facebook Group and a MySpace Page.

After scrutinizing Product of Newfoundland, I’ve found posts detailing traditional Newfoundland cuisine, folk song lyrics, and local poems. Robert writes about street festivals and art exhibits, radio plays and sporting events. Last May he reviewed a bath supplies shop in Lawn called Down by the Sea Store that makes and sells its own ‘fisherman’s soap’.

Two weeks ago, Robert reviewed Kenneth J Harvey’s novel Blackstrap Hawco which is ‘said to be about a family from Newfoundland.’ Some of Robert’s work carries place names like Milltown, Gaultois, and St. Mary’s. There’s even a Joey Smallwood t shirt for sale in the site store – this writer is proud of everything that makes him a product of Newfoundland.

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3 Comments

  1. Nadine on September 10, 2008 at 3:32 pm

    It is one of my favourite Newfoundland blogs- he does a great job.



  2. Sam Flowers on December 22, 2010 at 10:55 pm

    This blog is definitely really useful since I’m at this time creating an internet flower weblog – though I’m only starting out therefore it’s really really small, nothing like this site. It will backlink to some of the blogposts because they are fascinating. Thanks much. Zoe Hansen



  3. Kiyoko Trapp on July 31, 2011 at 11:40 am

    “that sucks”