A Canadian Child's Year by Fran Newman
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Volume 8, Number 1 January. 1979 The Ghost Calls You Poor. by PBATURES Andrew Suknaski; lkons of the ILLUSTRATIONS Hunt. by There Kishkan: Once Balanehtg the Book% The results of e When I War Drowning. by Al Cover end drawing on pe8e 5 survey rating CanLit reputations Pittman 14 by Kim la Few bigger some editoriel rdleztions on Some of the Cat Poems. by Anie Drawings by Geor8e Unger 7.8.9 Cumde’s CUltural meturity 3 Gold; The Assumption of Private Othw drawings throughout the issue Rttglii, Our English. An essay by Lives. by Roben Allen; Prisoner. by by loan Acosta George Bowering examines how the Linda Pyke: A Burning Patience language is being tortured by the and Dancing in the House of Card% grammetieal berbariisms and by Pier Giorgio Di Cicco 14 onblocked meuphon that abound in The Trial of Adolf Hitler. by Phillipe daily, weekly. and monthly we Rjndl IS joumalism 7 Canadien Poetry I and 2. edited by Bigger Bmthexhood. Wayne Grady Michael Gnemwski and 0. M. R. reviews 1985 by Anthony Burgess. e Bentley; Book Forum: Canada revised and updated version of Emergent. edited by James Cerley lb George Orwell’s not-so-prophetic Making Arrangements. by Roben nightmare IO Herlow 16 A Dream of Riches: The Japanese Canadians 1877-3977. by the Japanese Centennial Reject 17 Go Do Some Great Thing. by CONTRIBUTORS Crawford Kilian I8 Lost Toronto. by William Dendy: Yesterday’s Toronto. lg70-1910. Tometo frecleecer Msrk Abley rpcn, the part edited by Linda Shapim I9 three years al O&ford es a Rhodes Scholar from Seskatchewm. Jeen Acests is a “encouvcr erdst. Andrew .Allentuck 1s a Winnipeg DEPARTMENTS economist and cdlic. George Bawering i* a Vzncower poet eed guardian of linguimic moral- First Impressions. by Sandra Merlin I9 ky. Jlm Christy paused in Tomnto recendy en The Browser. by Morris Wolfe 20 route from the Yukon 10 Florida. Dennis Duffy teaches English a~ the II ofT’s Trinky College. OnlOfflSet. by Pier Giorgio Di Cicco 2 I Roger Hell teaches history at the Universky of 22 On the Racks. by Paul SNewe Weswn Ontario Vaecouvcr erdst Kim La Few Interview with John Melcalf. now has raken ep residence in. horrors. Tomnm. by Michael Smith 23 Ssndra Marttn ir thccwcdiaraf Rupm Br&v Lutas to the Editor 24 w Cnn&z (PMAI. review& in our Dsembcr CanWir No. 39 26 issee. Marshall Matson leaches English al Ihe REVIEWS The editors recommend 26 Univenky of Guelph. Dew McQedden is e Books received 26 HYnilton. Ont.. poa. Qmnk Merttse8e is an Canedfen Short Stories: Third Ontario writer who exprieneed the wanimc Series, edited by Robert Weaver; uwment of hpancsc Canzdianr. Toronto pat 78: Best Canadian Stories. edited A. Q. Merttr maker hs living in advcnisin8. by John Metcalf and Clerk Blaise: Freelance jwxnalisl and cridc Mlcherl Smith is The Best Modem Canadian Short hased in 81. Mary,. Oa. Former book-store Stories. edited by Ivan Owen and owner Peul Slurwe is working an a book about .: ii literary cridcism in Cmada. George Lln811r ir a Morris Wolfe II Tomem artist and Abu animator. poet Seen Double Exposure. by Alden Nowlan 12 ; ’ Vito taker dicwioe Tmm hi, Mew in Topsail. Two-Headed Poems. by Margaret I. L<_ Ntld. Marts Wolfe is a reacher. coIumeisL. Atwood 12 critic. and conawmr ofemhol@er. EDITOR: Douglas Marshall. ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Wayne Grady. SMALL-PRESS EDITOR: Pier Giorgio Di Cicco. COPY EDITOR: Marvin Goody. ART DIRECTOR: Mary Lu Tams. GENERAL MANAGER and ADVERTISING MANAGER: Susan Traer. CIRCULATION MANAGER: Susan Aihoshi. CONSULTANTS: Robert Farrelly and Jack Jensen. 8w* h a&e Ir pebtiihed to rimes a year. with tic assistmcc of the Cm* Cc-ail and du Omtio A* Council. by 8~ Canadian Rcvicw of Bmkr Lad.. 366 ~ettic 8tma 8ast. Suite 438. ~mmte. Oer MSA tN4. Tdrpkcae: (4161 363-Y.%. ~vailablc ID Ihe p&Iii free in subscribie8 bmL slums. schwlr. and libruirr. Indivkluat a~bsaiptiw n*: w.95 a year (8tS overrut. Back i*sues availWe on micnutlm from: MrLaren Micropublishing. p.0. Bm 972. Station p. Temnm. hu. b,aY up). t&xed in ti Cmadim pc,iodica, Indcl. Meakr d the CPPA. M&rid is mlnmissinrd on UC ““de”“c-%i hat bolh vies YC bo”d bY ti e,,,,, c.f “,e I,& PWAC EC,,,,~“. ‘“w e4dilm cannel bc held rq.,nsible for “nrolii,ed material. Scc.xd Class Mae - Rgis!“do” No. 2593. COnm~ll a 1919. Riwed by Hcrita8c t%zrr Co. Lid. t88N COIS-8864. An opinion poll records the fall of F. P. Grove (and others) and reveals a growing split in the community of Canadian letters L.XST SLIMIER Boofir in Cana& a&cd e number of authors. critics. end graduate to greater things. To suggest that surveys of this soa and tudcmics to name what they think arc the most overrated and m6y be velii in Britain or the U.S. but not here is to condemn us to undcrmted works of English Canadian fiction, non-fiction, and a pcrpeteal nursery-school of the creative intclleet. to retom us to poetry. Respondents were also invited to add brief comments if the “not bad for,Canada” theory of criticism and tbe mutual~ they so wished. As our survey material admitted. the idea w111 ego-masturbation the1 it breeds. likhcd from Britein’s Times Litemrv Suppiemem. which produced The stout-maple school is convinced we em made of stcmcr a fvcineting opinion poll along sir&r lines e couple of years ago. sluff. Canada’s literary culhuc has grown deep roots in the 12 \Ve stressed that we were not seeking e statistical overview. We years since the Centetmial pumpcd in new sap; the tree should be had no interest in compiling the soti of top-100 list of Canadian tough enough to weather any intcmetional blasts. We ere pioneers novels attempted at Ihe Univctsity of Calgary conference lest still in this cold, rich, multicultuml comer of the world ,and our * Fcbmay and wc continue to question the meaningfolness of any complicated story is far from done. We have unique talcs to tell . such exercise. Rather our aim wes to present a symposium, e and valuable lessons to teach the rest of mankind. Let’s otTcr them collective esscssmcnt of whuc the ever-changing vnlocs of CanLit boldly, risking the conrcqeenccs. lild adult men and women, stilnd today. rather than retreating yet again into infantile culterel insecurity. ’ In the event we got both less and more then we berg&cd for. Since it ‘wes founded, B&s h Canada has medc only ML~ Less in that tt surprising number of respondents declined. somc- crlticel demand of its contributors: judge Canadian books as tbcy timer vehemently. to parricipale in the survey on the gmonds that would be judged in New York or London (or Singapom. for that _ Canadian literature is still too tender a trillium to survive mater). In other words. see our authors in e world context. Last opinionated inspection. More in that the rcspomc es a whole year we began to provide some of that world context in our own reveals the extent to which the CenLit community now is divided pages with a column called “Of Some Import.” which dcall into tva opposing schools: the first is the aforementioned tcndcr- briefly with noteworthy foreign titles: it wes well-received by both trillium school. which believes in netlonalism. protectionism. kind readers and publishers. Now. es a service to our readers, we intend wads. ahi lavish amounts of fcrlilizer; the sccoad could be calkd to bmedcn the context further by publishing full-scale reviews of the stout-maple school. which believes in intcmationalism. free some of those non-Canadian books that. like it or not. influence wade. honest criticism, and letting the chips Ml where they may. our society end shape our intellectual development. &n&s in Canada sides with the stout-maple school - with This step is also intended as I long-term scrvicc to Canadian certain rcxrvations, es we’ll cxplain later. That’s why, with this irroe. ~c arc modifying ii policy adopled et our inception eight years ago of reviewing only Canadian books. From now on e We have unlcpe tales to tell and valuable limited number of important foreign titles will be reviewed in our lessons to tesch the P@SP of’manklnd. Let’s r.+u pJgcs. offer them boldly, risking the cons* The two schools agree that CanLit has made rcmarkeble . progress since the mid-1960s. They differ fondamentelly on quences, like adult men and women. \?h;thcr we now are matorc enough t&take our proper place in tbc wrld. “I can’t perticipatc in this survey because I don’t believe in writers, eltbougb to be sum not all of them will immediately it for this time and in this place,” one distinguished novelist wote apprcciatc the gesture. It means we’ll be rpplying tougher crltcris es. “Wc. as witers. need solidarity, not gossip and spite.” The in choosing Cenadien titles for review books will incrcasi~gly be tmda-trillium ergumcnt was perhaps best exprcsscd by Douglas t selcctcd on merit - or et least on the expectation of merit. Hill, an E glish pmfeswr at the U of T and one of OUT mgular However. we will continoe to devote mast of our available space contributor. His letter In pert: to Canadian publications and our various dcpartmentel columns will remain Can?dian-only domtdns. We have no intention of I don’t read TL.5 eben ID I don’1 have any idea what tie character abandoning whet we tekc to be our primery mandate.