Overview
Margaret Laurence, best known for her germinal novels set in the Canadian prairies, is one of the nation's most respected authors. She was also an accomplished essayist, yet today her nonfiction writing is largely unavailable and therefore little known. In Recognition and Revelation Nora Foster Stovel brings together Laurence's short nonfiction works, including many that have not previously been collected and some that have never before been published. These works, including over fifty essays and addresses that span Laurence's writing career from the 1960s to the 1980s, reveal her passionate concern for Canadian literature and for the land and peoples of Canada. Based on extensive archival research, Stovel's introduction contextualizes Laurence's nonfiction writings in her life as a creative artist and political activist and as a woman writing in the twentieth century. The texts range from essays on Laurence's own writings and on other works of Canadian literature to autobiographical essays, several focusing on environmental concerns, to sociopolitical essays and writing advocating for peace and nuclear disarmament. By revealing Laurence as a socially and politically committed artist, this collection of lively and provocative essays illuminates the undercurrents of her creative writing and places her fiction - often informed by her nonfiction writing - in a new light.
Full Product Details
Author: Margaret Laurence ,
Nora Foster Stovel ,
David Laurence ,
Aritha van Herk
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
Imprint: McGill-Queen's University Press
ISBN: 9780228003472
ISBN 10: 0228003474
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 23 September 2020
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
We have long needed such an edition of Laurence's uncollected essays and speeches, to make this important aspect of her oeuvre available to both scholars and the general public. Selecting among all these for a single volume is a daunting project, which Nora Foster Stovel has judiciously accomplished. Carol Beran, Saint Mary's College of California
""In collecting all these essays, Stovel provides a sweeping and comprehensive look at an iconic Canadian writer which hasn't been previously available."" David Staines, University of Ottawa ""We have long needed such an edition of Laurence's uncollected essays and speeches, to make this important aspect of her oeuvre available to both scholars and the general public. Selecting among all these for a single volume is a daunting project, which Nora Foster Stovel has judiciously accomplished."" Carol Beran, Saint Mary's College of California ""Throughout the collection, Laurence's wry sense of humour, moral compass, and eye for the ridiculous and the subtly moving shine through. For anyone who loves her fiction, these writings will complement and deepen their relationship to one of our most important Canadian authors."" Montreal Review of Books
Author Information
Margaret Laurence (1926-1987), the recipient of two Governor General's Literary Awards, was the author of The Stone Angel, A Jest of God, and The Diviners. Nora Foster Stovel is professor emerita, University of Alberta, and the author and editor of several books including Divining Margaret Laurence and Recognition and Revelation: Margaret Laurence’s Short Nonfiction Writings.
