Lorne Pierce, Ryerson Press, and the Lmakters of Canadian Literature Series
Lorne Pierce, Ryerson Press, and The lMakters of Canadian Literature Series Margery Fee Probably every university library in Canada has, scattered through its Cana- dian Literatuire section, most of the thirteen blue and gold volumes of Ryer- son Press's Makers of Canadian Literature series.' It is just as probable that some of these volumes rarely leave the shelves: who is likely to want a book on Robert Norwood, Arthur Stringer, or Peter McArthur today? Charles G.D. Roberts, Isabella Valancy Crawford, and Stephen Leacock are still widely taught, but the canon has shifted away from William Henry Drum- mond, Thomas Haliburton, William Kirby, and even John Richardson. Louis Fréchette, Frangois-Xavier Garneau, and Antoine G6rin-Lajoie are all impor- tant figures in Quebec history, but none is now claimed as a great poet or novelist. Still, the history of the series is of interest to bibliographers, anti- qluarian book dealers, and literary historians. Lately, critical attention has turned to such matters as the economics of literary production, the history of the audience's 'reception' of particular works, the formation of national canons, and the description of the institutions connected with any special- ized discourse. The history of the Makers of Canadian Literature series touches on all these matters. The series can by no means be described as an unequivocal success: it failed financially, and some of its volumes are uncritical and badly written. Still, other volumes are readable and makte good critical sense. And the mere process of preparing the series generated, uncovered, and preserved a great deal of information about Canada's early literary history that, while it remains to be fully exploited, will undoubtedly be useful to both scholars and critics.
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