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A MAGAZINE OF CANADIAN WRITING

Our vernacular is laced with television vernacular, a lingo which is only obliquely related to English and which has a connectedness prin­cipally made up of logical irrelevancies and visual cliches. Against this cultural imperialism and this degradation of language) our politicians and our schools have done just about nothing.

LES MUNDWILER

Volume IX, umber 3 Autumn 1988

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c ngratulates Prairie n their Tenth Year

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Table of Contents Interview

Doris Hilli /Maria Campbell ........................................................................ 44

Fiction Cecelia Frey, tone of now .............................. ... ...... ................................ 4

Illu trated by heila Butler ................................ .... ................. ... ................. 5 Armin Wiebe, ' Mou e Lake' ............... ....... ... .......... ... ....... .. .... ... .. ................ 14

IUu trated by teve Gouthro ....... ... ............ .......... .............. .... ..... .......... ... 15 eronica Ro 'Rainbow Bridge" ................. ................... ....... ..................... . 70

Illu trared by hereen Jerrett .................................................................... 7 1

Poetry Phylli Webb, Two Poem ' ......................................................................... 12 Erin Moure 'The Trepanation ' ................................................................... 38 Alan R. Wil on 'From Counting to 100" ................................. ..................... 59 Kenneth McRobbie, 'Two Poem ........................................ .. ....... .. ........... . 67 Jan Horner,' culpture las ............................... .. .................................. ... 68 Margaret ha\ -MacKinnon, "The One That Ble You" .............................. 84

Humour Ellen Peterson , "The anadian Play" .................................................... .. ...... 64

i uaJ Art Feature Michael Oliro, " tealing Their Magic' .......................................................... 27 David Amason, "Michael Olito and the arrative of Art" ............................. 35

Commentary Le Mundwiler "A Re pon e to the Fir r Part of Denni

ooley' 'The ernacular Mu e in Prairie Poetry"' .................................. 86 Di Brandt, 'Que tion I Asked Denni ooley about the

ernacular Mu e" ................................................................................... 94

Review Es ay, Review Paul Hjartar on, ed., A tranger to my Time (Don Preco ky ) ........................ 98 ]. R. Leveille, Montreal Poesie (Guy Gauthier) ............................................. 108 Dorothy Live ay, The elf- ompleting Tree (Brenda Au tin - mith ) ............... 110 E. F. Dyck, ed., Essays on askatchewan Writing (Martin Kuester ) ...... .......... 113 Anne zumigal ki, Dogstones (Fred Wah ) ........ ............... .............................. 116 Dollarpoems Third erie ( ue Mathe on, Robert Quickenden) .................. 119

hort Reviews Rhea Tregebov, o One We Know (Di Brandt ) ............................................ 125 David Arnason, krag( oah Zacharin ) .................. ..... ......... ................... .... 126 Di Brandt, QJ'estions i asked my mother (Maurice Mierau) ............................ 128 Rudy Wiebe & Bob Beal, ed ., War in the West ( ue Mathe on) .. ....... ......... 130 Alexandre Arnprimoz, Hard Confessions ( corr Ell i ) ................................... 132 David arpenter, God's Bedfellows(John Butler) .......................................... 133

Letters ........................... ........................................... .. ............ .. ......... ..... .. ............ 13 5

, 'ores on ontributors .......................................................................... ......... ....... 138

Front over Photo of Maria ampbell by M.L. lemence, courtesy of askatoon tar Phoenix. Back co er photo of Andrew ukna ki by Harvey pak.

3

t t/J F1· 1it Edge Do._rp-ro11(s: • dfftcri nrl Poems br Anne L.umig~1l ki a kat n: Fifth

Heu , 1 "" 151 pp . -- -- · .95 paper.

f'Rrn \\ . H

H 1 1 ·\ L Cr ">H L ''<;fl ECTr n" ·oil ti n of poem bceau e it d ·urnent

a· ·uratel ~ the dev I pment fa \\'rit r O\ er a maj r part of her writin life .

DoqstoJ1cs r ·gi ter the tyli ti pr gre i n of Anne zumigal ki , po ·tr r

through f ur of her t k vcr a fift n-} ar p ri L he p m ar le red

fr m b ok that ar high ly ingul r in their own right (Doctri11c of i!fnn ­

turcs and fo stnr b th hort -li red fl r the G vcrnor en rnl' award) nd

there i the danger f dilution. But the eleeti n i eventful not onl r in high ­

lighting the e earlier book , tbr e f' hieh are ut f print, but in rev ·aling

a rena ·iou poeri pen t and alway pu. hing fl r p re ptual < nd Ii ti

·hange . The p em ' leered from Woman Reading in Bath ( 1974) and A Grune

of Angels ( 19 0) are ll rmall. ba ed on th line a a unit f ompo iri n .

7ttrni al ki exhibit a 'cry natural r pon to the line and er ft th lineal

rhythm and yntax f the e p em ' ith pr ei i n . Th e line fr m ' kep

in the rchard for example:

fa needle reel nc

it uld get br in o your finger

ken

' mg (31)

he u e of the lint: i al\ ay more intere ting when it i u ed to explore ,

yntactic po ibility. In fact it i lin nd killful u e of repetition that be t

upporr her 'r llin , lolling pla ' f ound" (du rj kct ) a in ', nd \ a · th·

hean Jn eye?/ wa n't it the heart" from 'The tcf:n e ~ucncc" ( 18 ).

·r hc'>c cMly picCl.: ar' contcxrualiL.cd within image-building and the narr<

Live they arc given arc p ·rhap their mo t triking feature . The ' arc full of

con rctc things ( rhorn, bir ·hlcavc , du t , kernel , trin , fi ·hhook, and s >

forth).

the "ord is gnc..t elm.Lie I ruc.,h

en'>C ( 31 )

I ht' p.lrt11..ul.1r11.1 t1on i., p.u t of .1 method of l.1~1c nng imag . ., into a ,ugg ·srcd

11 If,11 I\ c h,ll hims at t ht: '>tory hut dot.:'>n 't lc.rn on 11. 11 c. rl1cr re 1c er,

I o\\ 111.:s p11111t\ uut th;it 'sinu.~ the 1m.1gcs .1n.: frc 1u ·1itl .u ·hcl f JI

one 1 , I\\ t\ s .1 \JI<.: of the c i'>tcncl' of rn\ th "

l 1 t

In fact A Game of Angels illustrate Szumigalski's strong grounding in the language of the fairy tale. The poem are a book of dreams. They make engaging u e of a pre ent ten e dream voice. "Fi hhawk " uses thi ranee in a powerful urrealism:

m on tand in waist-high water the alt reddens his skin out of hi face pring wiry hair thickening to a beard his arm have become wide and heavy

( 49 )

Doctrine of ignatures claims about one-third of the pace in thi book, and rightfully o, ince it i an outstanding collection. (I'll take the liberty of repeating m self here from m e say on "Contemporary Sa katchewan Writing' in Ed Dyck Essays on askatche1van Writing. ) "There is a lot of play in the minute llabic rhythm of the language, particularly in the lyric poem . Her pro e poem extend the inten ity to narrative, the minute rh thm he regi ter in a pro e tongue . Rather than extending out to the referential u ing the language to refer to the world out there, these prose poem draw the energy and attention to themsel e . ertainly the writing is 'about omething (motherhood, ' ar, the imagination, and so forth ) but

what make it o engaging i the interplay of narrative detail in the poem. It' not ju t the connection and image-building that tand out in the fir t stanza of Fennec ( 61 ), for example, but the peed and compacmess of the juxtapo ition brought about b a di juncti e max:

my nib and quill arranged before me on a tained deal table I am de igning the alphabet for a new language called in that tongue speech of the foxes becau e the con onant fall on the ear like the ip­ping of reynard in the henrun becau e when a woman enunciate the v wel they ound the human cry of a vixen in heat

There i a hift in poetic tyle in Doctrine of Signatures that extend into Instar. Thi hift, or expanded attention, i largely generated by Szumigal-ki' intere tin the pro e poem. (Again, my earlier comments apply). "Here,

in an exploration of the p ychic arena, he u e a mixture of tylistic approache to narrative. The di tinction between the pro e and the poem ge lo t in the range of voice zumigal ki i able to explore; fir t and third per on, narrator in/narrat r out, normal concern of ranee in fiction, are as important a the play of yntax and image":

the girl thinks about thi for ome time your imagination is your own h tells the man at la t but don't forget that you are bound to let me know all your dream and conjecture the rule is that I can ee e erything but I am not allowed to change it thi eem fair and the man agree

117

( 122)

.\bny ( th r ' 111. -ominue t m.1k L1 -e f th pr cnt ten d · riptiv

t\ I· .1lr ·,d, n ted . Bur no\\, 111 Instnr, th in -Iin<lti n t w:i.r:i the pr

r em feel mor lik..c .1 dir -l .Ht.1 -k ( 11 tin .rnd yntJX. Th re i .rn impa­

ttcn -c dcte · t.1t k in the ii, jun ·tin:- ru h of inuge .111 i t ry in mo t f the

r etn ti-om Instrrr n . Herc' the b ·ginnin f" ap Full f eed, ' :

the proPincinl pa111n11c11t /Jome luven t you , n that

t} ed n an env lope :kli\' r d m -hri tnu r

mhcr to thi. pa -e no t iggcr than J t lsh ·d b x

re< m, c.rndl ·maker' joy n \\' , uddcnly J rub

of nc -:i. -day pill bu, fare lun -hm n y and out out

ba k "he re y u ame from be for the. e •ear began .... ( 1 1)

hat ru h .rnd tumble i charactcri tic fa mall cl · ri n f new p ·m. ,

the fifth ccri n cf the b ok, titled 'D g tone . Phra e hang u pendc :I in

a p tic _'ntax unreli ved by line or nrence break. Th unit of the en­

ten -e, n rmally mu h a part f t rytelling, i br k ' n up . , n cntional

punctuati n i n ' t tally ab ent. The nl ignalled break i the u e f the

pa e. In the e re ent poem zumigal ki expl re phra in a a po t, tud -

ing I cl 1 the ''a r it an ubtl gene rat th m em nt and und f the

p cm. The fir t tanza f T he mpa i n" i typical f the unique ice

thi inten e phra ing offer :

th c mpa i n f ne h c re idence i a pc k

f du ta grain of nd r alt the bubble f pit n

the lip of the d ing h n wh ha I d u to

b lieve that the ' rd i h rt aim t quar it might

be come r go or desire but n thing I nger than that

urthcr, zumigal ki, b re i ting th tyli ti trend

( 14 )

tencc, paragraph ), ha dram tized the langu g f the t r b puttin h r

ear ro the b d ' b hind the lang uage- the oi. c. Thi kind f attention t

omp iti n i rare am ng p ct the e da . he re ult arc impr . i c in

poem like ' i Meth d' \ here the ice of the p cm i

almo l get o lil qu . 1.umig I ki rcall , i tc hnician the potent. Dogstones dcm n trar ,

the cncr rive m th d [ he r \ ritin , and the r. n c fit that might not b ·

appJrcnt \ ithin a in le vol 1mc; th· elc ti m rev I m r · th , n a pJrt . Ea ·h

g · ture in the wntin 7 h. ·reatc i the g r und f r th· nc t riting and he i

a \'alu. blc ~ ocr b · ·au · o thi . h' i · Iv a at th ronr dg · o h -r writin

and per cpuon . .,

11 8

T TRIB T

D1wid Amnso11' mo t re ·em bo k i krng (Turn tone Pr 1 7).

BrmdriA11stin- mithwrite and tea he in Antigoni h N ..

Di Bmndr' · fir t b ok, Q;.1estio11s i asked rny mother (Turn t ne 19 7) wa ·h rtli re :I fi r the ernor eneral' ward for P tr .

John Bt1-tla i an inrelle ruaJ hi t rian pe -ializing in the evenreenrh entury at the ni er iry of Manic ba.

heila Butler i a painter who live and \ ork in Winnipeg. ni er ity f Winnipeg and rhe ni er ity f Manitoba and i

the board of Ace Art, a parallel galkr .

h · ha taught at the current! 1 a m ·mbcr of

cott Ellis i a Winnipeg ' ricer. Hi critici m ha appeared 1n Midconti11rntnl, -Vanguard, and Border rossings.

ecelin Frey' mo t recent b ok 1 a collecti n of roric , The cfcrti Ii Look i the pre cnt bu inc manager of Dnnddio11 in (Thitlcd nPre ,197).M.Fr

algary.

Guy Gat1-thier i a poet and playwright Ii ing in New ork.

teve Gouthro i an arti t v ho al o teache at the niver. ity of Manitoba School of inc Art.

Doris Hillis i l 5) and a ( occau B

the author of a collection of poem , The Prirmatic E.,"Yt: (Thi tlcdown , llcction of interview with a karchcwan writ ·r , Voicrs r. Visio>-JJ

, 1985 ). Voices & Visions II i forthcoming thi r II .

Jan Hornn-'s fir t c lk Lion of poem , Recent Mistnkcs, ' a published this '>pring b Turn tone.:. re\i ed ver ·ion of" culpture ' las" appear in that volume.

lu:rt't'n Jerrett i a filmmaker and illu tr,nc r who also is the president oft he Winniptg him ir up.

lvfnn111 Kttcsto- '' a \llltknt of C.11Md1Jn Ii Lt:r,lt u rt living in ugsburg, F. R. ; .

11t MntluJ011 I'> J Ph l '>tudtnt 111 h1gl1-.h .u Lht niver..,iLy ol M.rni1ob,1 . Thi'> '>llmmtr she prt:'>tntt:<l p.1pc1'> 111 1oro LO .rnd ( aliforrnJ .

FoJ11ab \/rRobbtr\ l.m publi Jt1on'> 111 book form \\Crt lfo!r ( Hddkht.H.I I ottry Buo , 1980 ) and, \\1th h1., \\lie, 110111 tht: I lung..rn.rn .1 tr.111.,l.u1on or Miki {,., l~ lnt'ni\ prmL put:rn l 'nrfn- c:n111111 (Ohio I re-. .. , 1985 ) l It tt:.llht:'> cultur.11 lw.tor , .ll 1hc: rnvc:r.,itv ut" 1.11111ob.1

\/11mu jo, J \ '1nnipe' \\lit ·r \\hoo,L \\Ulk h,1, .1ppt.1rt:d rnu1Llv tn C:rntn ,111d

(Ju 1rt1rlr. I ft \\lite' .1 rnonthl} olumn 011 hook-. fur MulnmtmoJfa!.

11111 Ju11rth\t: 111 . 11J111u.tl \\here -;he: \\orb for\ I I ail Ht1 1110'1 r·l'.e111 book of I c Ill 1 I u r11111 r (An. n s t l < 88 )

I.CJ \/umli •1/ t 1s I •x:l 111d 1111 ''ho rum I lighbr<J\\' Hook.. Ill Wiunlpl •

, 111 ljl 'i :rnd pc1fiJ1111.1n . ., l1.1vc capturt I the i111.1gi11.1tion ol J . ' I I • 11 \ • r~

138

Ellen Peterson is a Winnipeg actor who ha been seen in productions at MTC's

Warehou e Theatre Actor' howcase and with the improv group Theatre X. She was

la t een at t.J:ie Winnipeg Fringe in the Evening Cabaret and the drama refugees. She

hold a B.A. m Theatre from the University of Winnipeg.

Don Precosky teache Engli hat the College of New Caledonia in Prince George, B.C.

Robert Q;tickenden review books for the Winnipeg Free Press and Border Crossings.

Veronica Ross live and write in Thunder Bay. Her books include Fisher Woman

(Potter field Pres , 1984) and Homecoming (Oberon Press, 1987).

Margaret haw-MacKinnon i a Ph.D. tudent in English at the University of

Manitoba. he ha written and illu trated a children's book, Pod the Wood Elf

(Queen ton Hou e, 1978 ).

Fred Wah\ on the 1986 Governor General' Award for Poetry for Waiting for

askatchewan (Turn tone ). Hi mot recent book i Music at the Heart of Thinking

(RD Pre , 1987).

Phyllis Webb won the 1982 Governor General's Award for poetry for The Vision Tree.

Her mo t recent book i Water and Light: Ghazals and Anti-Ghazals (Coach House,

1984).

Armin Wiebe i the author of The alvation of Yasch Siemens (Turnstone, 1984)

which i being made into a movie.

Alan R. Wilson wa born in New Brun wick and attended the universities of New

Brun wick and ictoria, where he studied phy ics, astronomy and creative writing.

He ha worked at the Dominion Astrophy ical Ob ervatory and is currently

employed at the niver ity of Victoria . ounting to 100 reached the finals of the

1985 CB literary competition . election have appeared in The Malahat Review,

The Antigonish Review, and Canadian Literature.

Noah Zacharin is a poet, critic and musician who now lives in Toronto.'i

Errata & Endnotes

A, EDITORIAL DE I I i to implify the title of Joan Clark's story from "Point No

Point Mermaid" to 'Point No Point" re ulted in the appearance of both versions of

the title in our last issue . Prairie Fire apologizes for it confusion.

Long-time book review editor Howard Curle has re igned, citing the pressure of

his many other commitments. Maurice Mierau has accepted to replace Mr. Curle a

book re iews editor. Book review in our last issue were edited by Mr. Curle but were

attributed incorrectly to Mr. Mierau. Prairie Fire regrets this error.

Kri tjana unnar has re igned a poetry editor of Prairie Fire after s~rvin~ in that

capacity for nearly four year . Ms. Gunnar , who recently moved to Regma, cited her

many other commitment a well a forthcoming travel plans among her reasons for

tepping down . Ms. Gunnar ' elections will continue to appear in Prairie Fire for the

rest of this year. A new poetry editor has not yet been appointed.

All be t wi hes, Howard and Kri tjana!

The first issue of Writers News Manitoba (now Prairie Fire) was published in July

of 1978 . This current i sue marks our 10th Anniversary and is dedicated to all the

people who were there at the beginning or who joined us over the years, and

especially to Katharine Birney and Elizabeth Carriere who started it all. Thank you!'i

139