The Middle of Nowhere: Rediscovering Saskatchewan

Michael Payne is head of the research and publications program, Historic
Sites and Archives Service, Alberta Community Develop- ment, and
co-author of A Narrative History of Fort Dunvegan.

This book consists of 56 brief excerpts, some from previously published
works about Saskatchewan, and others by Saskatchewan residents and
former residents who left the province without completely leaving it
behind. According to the editor, writing about Saskatchewan has been
dominated by three myths: the promised land, the dry land, and the new
Jerusalem. He has organized the excerpts under these three headings, as
well as a fourth—“The River”—which contains writings about the
region prior to railways and large-scale agricultural settlement.

Some may find Gruending’s organizational structure as confusing as it
is enlightening. For example, it is hard to understand how an account of
Colin Thatcher’s arrest and trial for the murder of his ex-wife is
related to the myth of the new Jerusalem. James Gray’s account of the
rise of the Bronfmans’ liquor empire might have been more wittily
placed under the myth of the dry land. In general, good writing rarely
conforms to such obvious topical ordering, and this book contains some
very nice work by Sharon Butala, Wallace Stegner, and Farley Mowat. To
his credit, Gruending includes pieces by journalists and academics who
also have something to say about the “middle of nowhere.”

Overall there is a certain appeal to any book in which John Diefenbaker
rubs shoulders with Maria Campbell and Edward Ahenakew, and in which the
glory years of George Reed, Ron Lancaster, and the Saskatchewan
Rough-riders are discussed alongside of residential schools. Clearly
Saskatchewan is a very interesting place, and home to some excellent
writers.