Description
For anyone who loves great literature -- or aspires to write it -- this is an essential collection, full of insight, wisdom, humour, and candour from Canada's most important and beloved literary figures.
For the past twenty-five years, the Writers' Trust of Canada's annual lecture series, the Margaret Laurence Memorial Lecture, has invited some of Canada's most prominent authors to discuss the theme of "A Writer's Life" in front of their peers. Hugh MacLennan, Mavis Gallant, Timothy Findley, W.O. Mitchell, Pierre Berton, P.K. Page, Dorothy Livesay, Alistair MacLeod, and Margaret Atwood, among others, have shared the personal challenges they faced in forging their
own paths as writers, at a time when such a career was still unusual in this country. Intimate, frank, and revealing in tone, their lectures -- collected for the first time in celebration of the series' twenty-fifth anniversary -- provide a unique account of a period when a national writing community was just being formed, and give us unprecedented access to the heroes and heroines of Canadian literature as they share their insights into their work, the profession of writing, the growing canon of our literature, and the cultural history of our country.
About the Author
THE WRITERS' TRUST OF CANADA was founded in 1976 by five notable Canadian authors - Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, Margaret Laurence, and David Young - to encourage a flourishing writing community in Canada. Canada's writers receive more financial support from the Writers' Trust than any other non-governmental organization or foundation in the country. In addition to the Margaret Laurence Memorial Lectures, which are presented each year at the Writers' Union of Canada's Annual General Meeting, the Writers' Trust also oversees Canada's largest privately-funded collection of literary awards; a one-of-a-kind grant for creators facing unforeseen financial need; Canada's most significant writers' retreat; and a scholarship program open to emerging writers.