Writers in Transition: The Proceedings of the First National Conference of Italian-Canadian Writers

Anne Burke is the editor of the Prairie Journal Press.

This collection represents a sampling from the 23 writers who
participated in a 1986 gathering at the Italian Cultural Centre in
Vancouver. The sixth volume in the Guernica Essay Series, it follows
Arrangiarsi: The Italian Immigration Experience in Canada, which was
generated by the 1984 conference at the Canadian Academic Centre in
Italy. A third conference, “Pluralism and Literature: Italian-Canadian
Writing in a Multicultural World,” is planned for 1990 and another
proposed for 1992. It is thus helpful to view the present collection as
part of an ongoing revisionist process.

The founding members and regional representatives of the Association of
Italian-Canadian Writers are here in force: Mary di Michele, Pier
Giorgio Di Cicco, Antonio D’Alfonso, Caterina Edwards, and Ken
(Castellano) Norris. The eight sections are loosely divided to
accommodate academic contributions and anecdotal expressionism, in
relation to the genres of literary criticism, theatre, and poetry, or to
special interests such as women’s issues. Both history and viable
options for the future are explored in this noble attempt to define the
terms of ethnicity by those most keenly aware of the immigrant
experience. The translation is user-friendly and the text is compact.