The Annotated Bibliography of Canada's Major Authors, Volume 5

R. Gordon Moyles is professor emeritus of English at the University of
Alberta, co-author of Imperial Dreams and Colonial Realities: British
Views of Canada, 1880–1914, and author of The Salvation Army and the
Public.

This bibliography is volume five in a series of ten intended to provide comprehensive coverage of fifty “major” Canadian writers. In previous volumes the student of Canadian literature was offered excellent primary/secondary bibliographies for such writers as Atwood, Laurence, Richler, Lampman, Pratt, Buckler, Birney, Livesay, Mitchell, and Purdy. In this we are offered the same, in discrete sections, for Morley Callaghan, Mavis Gallant, Hugh Hood, Alice Munro, and Ethel Wilson.

The excellence of this volume — and indeed of the preceding four — resides in its organization, format, and comprehensiveness. For each author the bibliography is divided into two parts, Primary and Secondary: the first is sub-divided into sections on “Books and Manuscripts” and “Contributions to Periodicals”; the second likewise into “Books and Articles” about the author and “Selected Book Reviews.” Each entry is annotated, so that readers are aware of the scope and intention of the books and articles. And adding good measure to an already excellent achievement is the fact that, by choosing to include even such seemingly peripheral material as “Audio-Visual Material” and “Awards and Honours,” the compilers ensure a comprehensiveness seldom attempted in Canadian bibliographies. In fact, such features as the “Radio Contributions” of Morley Callaghan, not available elsewhere, are of inestimable importance.

Without any doubt, The Annotated Bibliography of Canada’s Major Authors, ably edited by Robert Lecker and Jack David, is an invaluable contribution to Canadian studies. Volume five fulfils all the expectations prompted by the previous four and maintains the same impeccable standards. At the mid-point of the project, we can only offer vigorous encouragement as we await the next five.