Studies in Maritime Literary History, 1760-1930

R.G. Moyles is a professor of English at the University of Alberta.

Without “literary discovery”—basic historical, bibliographical,
and biographical research—literary criticism is without foundation. We
must, therefore, be ever grateful to scholars like Gwendolyn Davies, who
prepare the ground for those who read, teach, and evaluate the early
literature of our nation.

In this collation of essays devoted to a region that might be called
the “birthplace” of Canadian literature, we are engaged by a
scholarship so meticulous and thorough, and written with such
forcefulness, that it surprises (because it so seldom appears today) and
delights. The essays emerge, as Davies states, from “fifteen years of
archival, periodical, and textual research into the wealth of
imaginative material that English-speaking Maritimers read, wrote, and
savoured in the period from 1760 to 1930.” Her aim is to “steer [us]
to [our] sources,” and, though much more of the same needs to be done,
she has set a magnificent example, steering us as she does with such
daring and skill.

Particularly instructive and valuable are “Loyalist Literary Activity
in the Maritimes,” ”Literary Women in Pre-Confederation Nova
Scotia,” “Haliburton’s Literary Apprenticeship,” and “Rural
Change in Maritime Literature Before Confederation.” And especially
enjoyable to read are “The Song Fishermen” and “Frank Parker
Day’s Rockbound.” These essays will, one hopes, be read and studied
by other young scholars, and encourage similar studies both in the
Maritimes and the rest of Canada. For this, one must thank not only
Davies but also her publisher, Acadiensis Press, for producing such an
attractive book.