History, Literature, and the Writing of the Canadian Prairies

Bert Almon is a professor of English at the University of Alberta. He is
the author of Calling Texas, Earth Prime, and Mind the Gap.

The term “prairie” is a contested one in Canadian literature, and
this superb anthology explores all the resonances and ambiguities of the
concept. The book questions the assumption that the Canadian prairies
are a timeless realm definable by landscape or some concept of the rural
past. The prairies have a history, which means change, and the
literature of the region has developed in form and understanding. The
double focus in this book on literary and historical insight enables
each endeavour to reflect on the other. The editors include particularly
fine essays on Robert Kroetsch, Margaret Laurence, Gail
Anderson-Dargatz, and Carol Shields. No less interesting are the obscure
women memoirists dealt with in a fine essay by S. Leigh Matthews. The
approach of the contributors is learned but not pedantic. The volume
includes a useful bibliography. This book is a contribution to literary
analysis rather than to historiography, but anyone interested in the
prairies will find it illuminating.