The Writers Trust of Canada - A writers life: the Margaret Laurence lectures

Copyright 2011 by McClelland & Stewart
Emblem edition published 2011

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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

A writers life : the Margaret Laurence lectures / presented by the Writers Trust of Canada.

(Margaret Laurence memorial lecture series)
eISBN: 978-0-7710-8929-9

1. Authors, Canadian 20th century Biography. 2. Authorship Literary collections. I. Writers Trust of Canada II. Series: Margaret Laurence memorial lecture series

PS 8083. W 75 2011 C 810.9 C 2010-907702-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011924219

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Introduction by
THE WRITERS TRUST OF CANADA

THE MARGARET LAURENCE LECTURES

Margaret Laurence referred to fellow Canadian writers as the tribe a group of people collaborating for their shared survival. Writers carry out their work a solitary occupation if there ever was one in isolation. But this countrys literature would not have bloomed over the past half-century if it werent for the type of support offered to one another by Canadian writers and readers. That sense of community, of mutual support, is at the heart of what the lectures in this anthology are all about.

Each year since 1987, the Writers Trust of Canada has commissioned a senior Canadian author of stature to deliver a lecture on the topic A Writers Life. This anthology is a collection of the perceptive commentary and deep wisdom that the Margaret Laurence Lecturers have brought to the podium over the past twenty-five years.

It was Pierre Berton, a co-founder of the Writers Trust, who originally proposed the creation of the Margaret Laurence Lecture series. The purpose then (as it remains now) was to have writers look retrospectively at their own lives, sharing insights into their work, the profession of writing, the growing canon of our literature, and the cultural history of our country. The series is named in honour of novelist Margaret Laurence, a co-founder of the Writers Trust and a key figure in the emergence of Canadian literature whose work remains widely read and studied today.

While the lectures are all roughly the same length (approximately forty-five minutes), the Writers Trust encourages each lecturer to freely interpret the phrase A Writers Life. Past lecturers have spoken on broad social and cultural issues (censorship, compassion, historical memory) while others were more personal, detailing their path as writers and sharing stories of their rejections, roadblocks overcome, and the good fortune that led to their success. Many have also mentioned Margaret Laurence and the role she played in their writing careers.

Delivered each year at the Writers Union of Canadas annual general meeting, the Margaret Laurence Lectures are composed for and delivered to a roomful of writers. They are thus intimate in tone, frank, and often revealing. This anthology brings to readers, for the first time, a privileged glimpse into the conversation writers have amongst themselves.

We often have an ideal notion of where successful writers come from. The story is familiar: young and ambitious, armed with his or her own genius and little formal training, the aspiring author arrives in a metropolis and publishes a book. Fame and fortune ensue. But this collection shows how rare that tidy back-story is. Few writers spring up fully formed; instead they develop in varied, unique ways.

The contributors to this collection are some of the most prominent figures in Canadian cultural history. They helped build a rich and complex national literature. In sharing the stories of their lives, they provide a glimpse into the formation of our countrys national writing community. It is often repeated, but too rarely understood, that a generation or two ago only a handful of books of any literary merit were published each year in Canada. Canadian literature was not yet taught in university courses; it was more often marginalized as an appendage to American or English literature. Now, Canadian literature is on the world stage. The growth of Canadas publishing scene from infancy to flourishing cultural sector is a story that runs through these lectures.

This collection is a collage, a diverse assembly of voices from varied backgrounds and different fields of work. The essays include Mavis Gallant on her writing apprenticeship at a Montreal newspaper; Timothy Findley on cultures devaluation to a form of entertainment; Pierre Berton on his childhood dream of becoming a chemist; Farley Mowat on why writers should speak for those who have no voice; Al Purdy on the misdirection of his youth; and Peter C. Newman on the importance of characters over statistics in non-fiction. As well, the collection includes sparkling pieces by the wry Margaret Atwood, humorous Czech dissident Josef kvoreck, transplanted islander Alistair MacLeod, creative non-fiction maven Edna Staebler, childrens author Janet Lunn, Acadian dramatist Antonine Maillet, and chronicler of the prairies Ruby Wiebe, among others.

Not every lecture delivered is included here in its original form. Tape recorders have been faulty; transcripts have been lost. Roch Carrier and Alistair MacLeod kindly agreed to our request for a re-do, and have new contributions included here. Nor was every lecture hoped for actually delivered. Sadly, illness prevented Robertson Davies and Carol Shields from being able to complete the composition of their lectures.

The Writers Trust would like to thank the Writers Union of Canada and its membership for hosting twenty-five incarnations of the lecture. Additional gratitude goes to McClelland & Stewart for making this anthology happen and to Merilyn Simonds, Jennifer Lambert, and Marian Hebb for crucial guidance along the way.

Founded by Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, Margaret Laurence, and David Young, the Writers Trust of Canada is, in the words of Gibson, a great big friend for writers, delivering financial support to Canadian authors through a portfolio of literary awards and programs. A thirty-four-year-old charitable organization, the Writers Trust relies almost exclusively on donations from the private sector to fund its activities. This support has covered the expenses of the lecture series program over the last twenty-five years and made it possible for each lecturer to receive a five-thousand-dollar honorarium. The Writers Trust is grateful to past and present Writers Trust supporters for ensuring that the programs like the Margaret Laurence Lecture series continue.