Wild Words Essays on Alberta Literature

As the first collection of literary criticism focusing on Alberta writers, Wild Words establishes a basis for identifying Alberta fiction, poetry, drama, and nonfiction as valid subjects of study in their own right. By critically situating and assessing specific Alberta authors according to genre, this volume continues the work begun with Melnyk’s Literary History of Alberta.

About the Editors

Donna Coates is an associate professor in the Department of English at the University of Calgary. She has published numerous articles and book chapters on Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand fiction and drama (especially by women) and recently co-edited a volume on Canadian war drama. George Melnyk is an associate professor of Canadian studies and film studies in the Faculty of Communication and Culture at the University of Calgary. He is a historian of Canadian culture and has published numerous books in the field.

Table of Contents

1. Preface: The Struggle for an Alberta Literature / Donna Coates and George Melnyk
2. INTRODUCTION – Wrestling Impossibilities: Wild Words in Alberta / Aritha van Herk
3. Part I: Poetry
   1. 1. The “Wild Body” of Alberta Poetry / Douglas Barbour
   2. 2. “To Canada”: Michael Gowda’s Unique Contribution to the Literary History of Alberta / Jars Balan
   3. 3. Pastoral Elegy, Memorial, Writing: Robert Kroetsch’s “Stone Hammer” Poem / Christian Riegel
4. Part II: Drama
   1. 4. No Cowpersons on This Range: The Cultural Complexity of Alberta Theatre / Anne Nothof
   2. 5. Playing Alberta with Sharon Pollock / Sherrill Grace
5. Part III: Fiction
   1. 6. “No Woman is Natural”: The (Re)production of Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Suzette Mayr’s Moon Honey / Helen Hoy
   2. 7. Wandering Home in Rudy Wiebe’s Sweeter Than All the World and Of This Earth / Malin Sigvardson
   3. 8. Richard Wagamese – An Ojibway in Alberta / Frances W. Kaye
6. Part IV: Nonfiction
   1. 9. From Grizzly Country to Grizzly Heart: The Grammar of Bear-Human Interactions in the Work of Andy Russell and Charlie Russell / Pamela Banting
   2. 10. The Doomed Genre: Myrna Kostash and the Limits of Non-fiction / Lisa Grekul
7. AFTERWORD – Writing in Alberta: Up, Down, or Sideways? / Fred Stenson
8. Contributor Bios

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.5 CA). It may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, provided that the original author is credited.