Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- The Canadian Short Story: Status, Criticism, Historical Survey
- 1 Canadian Animal Stories: Charles G. D. Roberts, “Do Seek Their Meat from God” (1892)
- 2 Tory Humanism, Ironic Humor, and Satire: Stephen Leacock, “The Marine Excursion of the Knights of Pythias” (1912)
- 3 The Beginnings of Canadian Modernism: Raymond Knister, “The First Day of Spring” (written 1924/25)
- 4 From Old World Aestheticist Immoralist to Prairie Moral Realist: Frederick Philip Grove, “Snow” (1926/1932)
- 5 Psychological Realism, Immigration, and City Fiction: Morley Callaghan, “Last Spring They Came Over” (1927)
- 6 Modernism, Prairie Fiction, and Gender: Sinclair Ross, “The Lamp at Noon” (1938)
- 7 “An Artful Artlessness”: Ethel Wilson, “We Have to Sit Opposite“ (1945)
- 8 Social Realism and Compassion for the Underdog: Hugh Garner, “One-Two-Three Little Indians” (1950)
- 9 The Perils of Human Relationships: Joyce Marshall, “The Old Woman” (1952)
- 10 The Social Critic at Work: Mordecai Richler, “Benny, the War in Europe, and Myerson's Daughter Bella” (1956)
- Myth and the Postmodernist Turn in Canadian Short Fiction: Sheila Watson, “Antigone” (1959)
- 12 The Modernist Aesthetic: Hugh Hood, “Flying a Red Kite” (1962)
- Doing Well in the International Thing?: Mavis Gallant, “The Ice Wagon Going Down the Street” (1963)
- 14 (Un-)Doing Gender: Alice Munro, “Boys and Girls” (1964)
- 15 Collective Memory and Personal Identity in the Prairie Town of Manawaka: Margaret Laurence, “The Loons” (1966)
- 16 “Out of Place”: Clark Blaise, “A Class of New Canadians” (1970)
- 17 Realism and Parodic Postmodernism: Audrey Thomas, “Aquarius” (1971)
- 18 “The Problem Is to Make the Story”: Rudy Wiebe, “Where Is the Voice Coming from?” (1971)
- 19 The Canadian Writer as Expatriate: Norman Levine, “We All Begin in a Little Magazine” (1972)
- 20 Canadian Artist Stories: John Metcalf, “The Strange Aberration of Mr. Ken Smythe” (1973)
- 21 “A Literature of a Whole World and of a Real World”: Jane Rule, “Lilian” (1977)
- 22 Failure as Liberation: Jack Hodgins, “The Concert Stages of Europe” (1978)
- 23 Figures in a Landscape: William Dempsey Valgardson, “A Matter of Balance” (1982)
- 24 “The Translation of the World into Words” and the Female Tradition: Margaret Atwood, “Significant Moments in the Life of My Mother” (1983)
- 25 “Southern Preacher”: Leon Rooke, “The Woman Who Talked to Horses” (1984)
- 26 Nativeness as Third Space: Thomas King, “Borders” (1991)
- 27 Digressing to Inner Worlds: Carol Shields, “Our Men and Women” (1999)
- 28 A Sentimental Journey: Janice Kulyk Keefer, “Dreams:Storms:Dogs” (1999)
- Further Reading on the Canadian Short Story
- Time Chart: The Short Story in the USA, Canada, and Great Britain
- Notes on the Contributors
- Index
15 - Collective Memory and Personal Identity in the Prairie Town of Manawaka: Margaret Laurence, “The Loons” (1966)
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 April 2017
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- The Canadian Short Story: Status, Criticism, Historical Survey
- 1 Canadian Animal Stories: Charles G. D. Roberts, “Do Seek Their Meat from God” (1892)
- 2 Tory Humanism, Ironic Humor, and Satire: Stephen Leacock, “The Marine Excursion of the Knights of Pythias” (1912)
- 3 The Beginnings of Canadian Modernism: Raymond Knister, “The First Day of Spring” (written 1924/25)
- 4 From Old World Aestheticist Immoralist to Prairie Moral Realist: Frederick Philip Grove, “Snow” (1926/1932)
- 5 Psychological Realism, Immigration, and City Fiction: Morley Callaghan, “Last Spring They Came Over” (1927)
- 6 Modernism, Prairie Fiction, and Gender: Sinclair Ross, “The Lamp at Noon” (1938)
- 7 “An Artful Artlessness”: Ethel Wilson, “We Have to Sit Opposite“ (1945)
- 8 Social Realism and Compassion for the Underdog: Hugh Garner, “One-Two-Three Little Indians” (1950)
- 9 The Perils of Human Relationships: Joyce Marshall, “The Old Woman” (1952)
- 10 The Social Critic at Work: Mordecai Richler, “Benny, the War in Europe, and Myerson's Daughter Bella” (1956)
- Myth and the Postmodernist Turn in Canadian Short Fiction: Sheila Watson, “Antigone” (1959)
- 12 The Modernist Aesthetic: Hugh Hood, “Flying a Red Kite” (1962)
- Doing Well in the International Thing?: Mavis Gallant, “The Ice Wagon Going Down the Street” (1963)
- 14 (Un-)Doing Gender: Alice Munro, “Boys and Girls” (1964)
- 15 Collective Memory and Personal Identity in the Prairie Town of Manawaka: Margaret Laurence, “The Loons” (1966)
- 16 “Out of Place”: Clark Blaise, “A Class of New Canadians” (1970)
- 17 Realism and Parodic Postmodernism: Audrey Thomas, “Aquarius” (1971)
- 18 “The Problem Is to Make the Story”: Rudy Wiebe, “Where Is the Voice Coming from?” (1971)
- 19 The Canadian Writer as Expatriate: Norman Levine, “We All Begin in a Little Magazine” (1972)
- 20 Canadian Artist Stories: John Metcalf, “The Strange Aberration of Mr. Ken Smythe” (1973)
- 21 “A Literature of a Whole World and of a Real World”: Jane Rule, “Lilian” (1977)
- 22 Failure as Liberation: Jack Hodgins, “The Concert Stages of Europe” (1978)
- 23 Figures in a Landscape: William Dempsey Valgardson, “A Matter of Balance” (1982)
- 24 “The Translation of the World into Words” and the Female Tradition: Margaret Atwood, “Significant Moments in the Life of My Mother” (1983)
- 25 “Southern Preacher”: Leon Rooke, “The Woman Who Talked to Horses” (1984)
- 26 Nativeness as Third Space: Thomas King, “Borders” (1991)
- 27 Digressing to Inner Worlds: Carol Shields, “Our Men and Women” (1999)
- 28 A Sentimental Journey: Janice Kulyk Keefer, “Dreams:Storms:Dogs” (1999)
- Further Reading on the Canadian Short Story
- Time Chart: The Short Story in the USA, Canada, and Great Britain
- Notes on the Contributors
- Index
Summary
When Margaret Laurence died on 5 January 1987, taking her own life in the face of terminal cancer, she had become one of Canada's most prolific, highly acclaimed, and beloved authors. She contributed extensively to Canadian literature and cultural memory, and her innovations in narrative style and modes of representation earned her an international reputation in addition. Laurence published five novels (This Side Jordan, 1960; The Stone Angel, 1964; A Jest of God, 1966; The Fire-Dwellers, 1969; The Diviners, 1974), two short-story collections (The Tomorrow-Tamer and Other Stories, 1963; A Bird in the House, 1970), five books of non-fiction (A Tree for Poverty, 1954; The Prophet's Camel Bell, 1963; Long Drums and Cannons, 1968; Heart of a Stranger, 1976; Dance on the Earth, 1989), and four books for children (Jason's Quest, 1970; Six Darn Cows, 1979; The Olden Days Coat, 1979; The Christmas Birthday Story, 1980). Her oeuvre also comprises numerous poems, letters, addresses, reviews, and articles, some of which were collected and published in Heart of a Stranger. Laurence received the Governor General's Award twice (1967 for A Jest of God, 1975 for The Diviners) and in 1971 was made Companion of the Order of Canada, the highest award available to a Canadian citizen. Between 1970 and 1981 Laurence received eleven honorary degrees.
Laurence was born as Jean Margaret Wemyss on 18 July 1926 in Neepawa, Manitoba, where she was raised by her aunt, both of her parents having died before she was nine. The imaginary town of Manawaka, which features prominently in five of Laurence's books as the fictional epitome of any small Canadian prairie town, is closely modeled on her home town. “The Loons” is taken from Laurence's short-story cycle A Bird in the House (1970), which is set in Manawaka and which Laurence described as the only “semi-autobiographical fiction I have ever written” (Laurence in Woodcock 1983, 5).
Before returning to the Canadian prairies and writing about the region's myths and history, Laurence went abroad. From 1950 to 1957 she and her husband lived in Africa, in what are now Somalia and Ghana, and had two children. Upon her return from Africa in 1957, Laurence lived in Vancouver until she and her husband separated in 1962, after which she moved to England for several years. Laurence's detailed observations of religious, social, and narratological aspects of African culture resulted in five books.
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- Information
- The Canadian Short StoryInterpretations, pp. 219 - 232Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2007