Readings from the Labyrinth

Thomas M.F. Gerry is an associate professor of English at Laurentian
University and the editor of Arachne.

Readings from the Labyrinth, the sixth volume in NeWest’s The Writer
as Critic series, dissolves the writer–critic distinction. Marlatt’s
critical sense is evident in the theoretical questioning and exploring
that shape her texts, making them passionate, intellectual, intimate,
and fundamental, all at once. She works with other writers’ ideas,
incorporating them and developing their potential.

For those encountering Marlatt’s writing for the first time, this
anthology is a fine place to begin. It reprints many of her best essays,
some of them in revised form. Spanning the years 1982 to 1996, these
chronologically arranged essays provide a valuable overview of
Marlatt’s concerns over time. Particularly profound is her ongoing
interest in women’s self-representation, the intersections of
autobiography and fiction. Alongside the familiar texts, Marlatt has
included contemporary letters and journal excerpts that allow readers to
see further dimensions of her creativity.