Salvage

Virginia Gillham is Associate Librarian of the Public Service Library at
the University of Guelph.

This volume is a collection of unconnected literary fragments in both
poetry and prose, from a prominent feminist writer. Marlatt is a poet,
novelist, and editor who has published 15 books over two decades.

Salvage represents an attempt to re-create pieces from Marlatt’s
earlier writing in the light of her awakening to feminism. Some pieces
have been rewritten. Others, although they are virtually unchanged, have
been interwoven with new material.

The book is divided into five sections, each of which brings together a
group of philosophical observations held together by a theme (e.g., the
sea, the city, the family) and always with a feminist thrust.

This is the kind of book one can sample—much like an anthology of
poetry—and as such it makes a thoughtful, absorbing companion.