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How a Swarm of Libel Suits Are Giving Publishers the Willies New Novels

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Volume 9. Number 9 A NATIONAL REVIEW OF BOOKS November. 1980 How a swarm of New novels from The fight to further libel suits are giving Bowering, Wiebe, Alberta Culture’s publishers the willies Rule, and Wright SUBSCRWIION PIUClf 59.95 A YEAR . : The chief glory of every people arises from irs authors. - Samuel Johnson DO UN lnlervicw with George Bowering. by demd5 about Howard Engel. who likes 10 put a FEATURES Linda M. Lei,ch 30 dash of Hanma, nn hir prose and Foe drawings. English. Our English. by Bob 5.x page 32. Beth Hsrvor 1s an Ollawa sbml- Sue and be Dandy. Libel laws pmrec, Blackbum 31 wry writer. Douglas Hill subsists on md an* hr5, novels m PO* Kinvan. Nfld. Regular peaonr fmm irresponsible writers. Lerten lo Ihe Edimr 32 bul who will pro,ect the wrilerr from cunmbutor Chrislaphrr Humr rbhn new to CnnWir No. 57 33 look il pnft baok m the mouth again. Novclirl proliferating libel suits? A repon by The edimn recommend 34 M.T. Kelly’\ I~ICIL work ol fiction. T,w ,%fow Stephen Overbury 3 Books received 34 Low,,,. I>,,,.. wd, be pubbrhed ~lon by Black Prude and Prejudice. Srephen Ma, Rear. Linda M. Leltch 1s a Guelph. On,.. Scobie’r lament for Alkrta’s lileniy ILLUSTRATIONS lIvelancer who recent,) vxlkd 1” Tomnm. Poe1 community, one squeaky wheel that and critic Albert Moritz is an edimr with hasn’t been gelling much oil revenue Cover drawing by Myfanwy Phillips Dma*nawgbl Presr. Stephen ovubury teaches a in Canada’s richest province 7 Drawing by Roben Rurick 4 ,ouma,irnt course for the Toronto Bwd of Educrnon. 1. M. Owen I) il Tomnur editor. David Annesley: Eyes and the Man. Self.ponni, by David Annerley I4 critic. and gea,cm;ln ubolar. Myfanwy Phillips A litemy tribute by Douglas Self-ponni, by Howard Engel 32 I, an imw. pbaognphcr. and Eunnoisseur of Marshall to a talented artist who died Drawings Ihrough, ,he issue by Howad humani,) - horn puhnurl cult% IO Newfound- tw young I4 Engel land vamen. Robert Rurick 16 a Tomao artist. IIappy Haldn Ways. The emphasis is Rupert Schiedor leacho English al V of T’s on the rugged West in ,his year’s an CONTRIBUTORS Trims) College. glephen gcobir leacher English and giR books. reviewed by Feelancer Bob BIPckbur” i% a regular mmli~ aa the L’nwenn> nl Alberta 3nd lobbies rhe Christopher Hume II bwor ,oS,,,,wwt nx,g~zmc and bin been chow pmrlnclr, govemnun, bawucn lCUI”rcI. Chris A Sleuth is Born. lmmdueing crime ,ng hr uords u ,,h unu~uil, cam rmxc hc bucamc Scot,. the B;l,rac (11 Bnldmon. On,.. is contern- wri,er Howad Engel. a man more wr wachdof lx ahe En&h limpuayc. Belreen Fl.,,ng ,, CanaLan \~rrmn of Co,,, Comn,b” ued ,o working behind the scenes. A wriung awgnmems. Barry Dickic help keep !+irnn Barbara Wade I\ 311 elusive Toronto ,hc Tommo ,,,;mdr lwkmg bcmnllul. For more I,CPb”UeT profile in brief by Barbara Wade. 32 REVIEWS Burning Water, by George Bowwing 9 Contract with the World. by Jane Rule IO P&scope Red, by Richard Rohmer; The Scorpion Sanction, by Gordon Pape snd Tony Aspler II Final Things, by Richard Wright I2 The Mad Trapper, by Rudy Wiebe I2 Setting the World on Fire, by Angus Wilson I3 The Elements, by Tom Msrshnll IS A Planet Mostly Sea, by Tom Wayman; Blue Sunrise. by Ben Almon I6 Poemr, by Anne li6ben 20 DEPARTMENTS First Impressions. by Douglas Hill 27 The Browser. by Michael Smith 29 EDITOR: Douglas Marshall. ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Michael Smith. COPY EDITOR: Doris Cowan. ART DIRECTOR: Mary Lu Tams. GENERAL MANAGER and ADVERTISING MANAGER: Susan Traer. CIRCULATION MANAGER: Susan Aihoshi. CONSULTANTS: Robert Family and Jack Jensen. CONTRIBUTING E,DITORS: Eleanor Wachtel (West Coast): Stephen Scobie (F’mirirs): Wayne Grady: Douglas Hill: Christopher Hume: Sheila Fischman (QuebecI: Phil Milner (East Coast): Tim Heald (Europe). Illd, irr CwwrIo is published 10 times a year. wkh dx as,iuancc d the CimaJ~ Cnuncd and the Onlario Anr Council. by the Canadnn Rcbiew Of Books Lul.. 366 Adekdde S,rsst East. guile 432. Tomro. On,. M5A IN4 Telephone: 1416) 363.5426. Available 10 the pubbc fwe m wbxribme: bwk s,me% who&. and tibnrier. tndividuat subrcripdon me: 59.95 il ywr tStS wcrsw~~. Bock ~rwes avail&k on mcm6tm fmm: McL~ren Micmpul$rhing. P.O. Box 972, Swim F. Toronto. Ont. M4Y ?N9. tndemd in rk Cmadim Pmodicrt Index. Member of the CPPA. Member of Ihe Bulk Dlsmbulmn Audi, Division LMCCAB. Matcri~l is commissioned on the undemanding tha both pmier me bound by the terms ol the rlandard PWAC c0ImcL. The edilorr canno, be held responsible for unsolicivd ma,cria,. Sw.nnd Clar Mail - Rcgirtntion No. 2593 Cun,cn#r .cn 1980. Prnntcd by Heritage PESS CO. Lad. ISSN 0645.2564 For the past 10 years a swelling tide of expensive libel actions has eroded a basic freedom in Canada: the right to print the truth. At the heart of the problem is a legal climate that encourages plaintiffs to believe they can by Stephen Overbury THE oxttxo~‘$ predictions of George Orwell’s 19Sq me creeping Jack McClelland. president of M & S. points to’ alibel action up on Cewadians. Just ask the sraff et McClellsnd & Stewart about egeinst Judy La Mash a$ e tumbtg point for book publishers. In a ccflein nightmarish weekend. Afcnroirs ofrr Bird irr II Gil&d Cqw ( 1968). La Marsh singled out A few weeks before Christrow 1975. scores of workers and $ radio reporler $I being “. .heanily deteJted by most members their r&lives were called into M & s’s offices to peste a special of the Pre$$ Gellery.. :‘. The nponer claimed he had been libel- inccrt dvcr a section of Peter Newman’s latest book 77~ CurroJinn led. and La Mash’s &fence of fair comment wes thrown out E~nrblihmw. The insert war p$$ted over a paxgraph dealing because she could not prove thm other members of the Press \rith the way Paul Desmanis treated minority shareholders in one Gnllery felt the sane way she did. The cost$ to M & S. all told. of hb dub. Dcomemis had obtained en advance copy of the book amounted to $25.000. It w$$ the firor time in McClelland’s recol- from e wviewer and. thmogh lawyer J.J. Robinette. sought at lection than en M & S book had been found to include libellous injunction against its publication. material since he joined the compny in 1946. Since The Cmmhr Esmablirhmerrr was alrredy behind “It ties eo experience weYe not keen on repeating.” rays rchcdule. and M & S staff were hoping Christmas sales would McClelland. **W>re publishers, not litigators. The prevailing mdkc the book financially successful. the threat wes especially mood of lawyers and publishers is that you should try So settle out srtiou~. Ne’ewm;m md lawyer Julian Porter decided that the only thing to do wes cover the offensive lines. Newman tested 20 McClellancl has a clear message for writ- diffuent glues to ensure the insen could not be polled off! @i-s: “AuPhors have” to be Increasingly The incident is e reflection of the growing we of libel threats md the diminishing powers of fair-comment laws in Canada. Libel careful end sensible. We don’t have any law ore being ued to intimidete witea and publishers end interest in publishing something with libel out-of-court rettlemeno me becoming common. In e series of possibilities.” intctviev::r with some of Canada’s leading publishers. editors. witen. nod libel lawyers. it becomes evident that freedom of of e~url because of the tnmendom costs. We’ll do just about information - indeed. freedom to print the tmtb - is becoming anything legal to settle out of court -if we’re wrong. or even if sxce. we?e not.” Lib:1 involves any partial statement that injures a per~on’s McClellnnd rppearr extremely cautious shout libel end has e reputation. In legal terminology, this mean$: “Any printed words. strong. clear message for writers: “Authors have to be incress- petore. canoon or caricature which tend to lower $ person in the inelv careful end sensible. We don’t have env interest in oublish- c~timetion of right-thinking men. or cause him to be shunned and ine ;omethiog with libel possibilities. We d&3 went eni pan in aoidcd. or expose him to hatred. ridicule. or disparage him in his getting close to libel ection. Life is too short for publishing office. trade or calling. constitute e libel.” comdanies, end libel is too costly.” The basic law for libel is the seme throughout Cenade and The La Maah care surprised some publishers. but the Inn applies in the $ame manner for all forms of publishing and elec- Adams cese is sending shock wwe$ throughout the publishing tronic media. How a libel suit is conducted. however. varies from industry. The author end publisher. Gage Publishing of Tommo. province to province. ate being sued by Leslie James Bennett. a former member of The requirement of a plaintiff (the person launching e suit) is Canada’s Security Service. Bennett’s claim is that the fictional apparently easy: the subject most pmve that he or she is being chetacter 3” in S. Porrroir o/e Spy, is bared on himself and that written about in an injurious wey. Thcrr is no need to prove the he is being unjustly accuxd of being e double or e triple egettt. $tetement is not woe. A&M is the fiat Cmmdien novelist ordered by e court to reveal Defending libel actions also seems very streightforweni.
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