How Stories Mean

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

This is a mostly wonderful collection of critical essays by Canadian
writers on Canadian fiction writing. Co-editors Struthers and Metcalf
have assembled nearly 50 pieces by 15 established writers. The
contributors include Margaret Atwood, Clark Blaise, George Bowering,
Keath Fraser, Mavis Gallant, Jack Hodgins, Hugh Hood, Norman Levine,
Alice Munro, Leon Rooke, Carol Shields, and Ray Smith. The pieces vary
immensely in length and subject, but the standard of writing is
consistently good.

Essay subjects range from candid discussions of individual works to
sweeping theories of writing in general. Because most of these articles
were previously published, there is a fair amount of cross-pollination
between essays and authors. Often separate and disparate writers seem to
arrive at similar conclusions about style. Sometimes writers of similar
work disagree on a point of style. All of them, however, share a common
link by acknowledging the uniqueness of writing. They are willing to
discuss what works for them but do not attempt to lay down a universal
law.

The odd author out is the co-editor of this volume, John Metcalf.
Although a fine writer, in this book he cannot seem to get down to
discussing the subject of writing. His first essay is dominated by an
attack on Hugh Garner. He ends his last essay with a few whacks at
Morley Callaghan. He writes about the injustices of the Canadian
literary scene. He writes about how he, as an editor, can identify a bad
manuscript before he even reads it. Mostly, however, Metcalf talks about
himself.

The odds are still good in this book—15 contributing authors and only
one along for the ride.