Main Street: The Anthology of the McMaster Writing Program, Vol. 1

Don Precosky teaches English at the College of New Caledonia and is the
co-editor of Four Realities: Poets of Northern B.C.

This is the first issue of “an annually produced, peer-edited
publication devoted to publishing the best prose and poetry by students
of the McMaster Certificate in Writing Program.” All of the
collaborators are neophytes. If the Contributors’ Notes are any
indication, many aspire to become full-time writers. They all have a
long way to go; frankly, none stand out enough to deserve individual
praise. In general, the pieces presented read like submissions by clever
students who have been assigned to write about a painful memory, a
childhood fantasy, or something that appeals to all the senses. Two
suggestions: don’t give up, and rethink the peer-edited concept.