Literary Press Group

You Must Work Harder to Write Poetry of Excellence: Crafts Discourse and theCommon Reader in Canadian Poetry Book ReviewsDonato Mancini • BookThugWhile Canadian poetic practices have steadily pluralised since the early 1960s, the poetry review hasremained stubbornly constant. You Must Work Harder to Write Poetry of Excellence is a critical, and at timeshilarious, survey of reviews of innovative Canadian poetry in English since 1961. You Must Work Harder toWrite Poetry of Excellence dares to ask if poetry reviewers can claim to have the authority they imagine theyhave over their chosen subject. As a retort to the retrograde trend that is poetry reviewing in Canada, this isthe first book to detail the production and structure of an “aesthetic conscience” and demonstrate how thisfunctions as the dynamic administrative apparatus of any aesthetic ideology. In short, this book opens forthe first time a new and desperately needed channel in Canadian criticism.Literary Theory & CriticismThe interdisciplinary practice of Donato Mancini focuses mainly on bookworks, poetry, and text-basedvisual art. He is the author of four books of procedural and visual writings: Ligatures (2005) and Æthel(2007), Buffet World (2011), and Fact ‘N’ Value (2011). His collaborative visual works have been exhibitedin Canada, the United States, Scandinavia, and Cuba.Key words: Literary theory & criticism, Poetry reviewing in Canada, Crafts discourse, Common reader,Aesthetic conscienceISBN-13: 9781927040423paperback / 260 pp6 x 9 / $24.00October 2012Africadian Atlantic: Essays on George Elliott ClarkeEdited by Joseph Pivato • Guernica EditionsThis collection features essays on Nova Scotia-born poet, playwright, and literary critic George ElliottClarke. Instrumental in promoting the writing of Canadians of African descent, Clarke’s work has wonmany awards including the Governor General’s Award for Poetry, a National Magazine Gold MedalAward for Poetry, the prestigious Trudeau Fellowship Prize, the Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction,and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Achievement Award. He has had poetry and plays published in Chinese,Romanian, and Italian. Contributors to this collection include Alexander MacLeod, Susan Knutson,H. Nigel Thomas, Maureen Moynagh, Diana Brydon, Wayde Compton, Lydia Wilkinson, KatherineLarson, Amanda Montague, Jennifer Andrews and Katherine McLeod.Editor Joseph Pivato is professor of English and comparative literature at Athabasca University inEdmonton. His books for Guernica include: Contrasts: Comparative Essays on Italian-Canadian Writing(1985), Echo: Essays on Other Literatures (1994), The Anthology of Italian-Canadian Writing (1998), andPier Giorgio Di Cicco: Essays on His Works (2011).Key words: Canadian literary criticism, Regional identity – Atlantic Canada, Acadian,African-Canadian identities, Literary historyISBN-13: 9781550716276paperback / 348 pp5 x 8 / $25.00October 2012Maria Campbell: Essays on her WorksEdited by Jolene Armstrong • Guernica EditionsBorn near Park Valley, Saskatchewan, on Crown land, often referred to by locals as a road allowancecommunity, Maria Campbell is the oldest of eight children. Much of her early years are revealed inHalfbreed, the book which would ultimately ensure that Campbell’s life would take a path as a writer, anartist, a community worker, and social rights advocate. Campbell has received four honorary doctorates,the Order of Canada, is a Trudeau Mentor, and has garnered numerous awards for her contribution toMétis and Aboriginal people’s and women’s rights in Canada, and for her efforts to preserve traditionalknowledge, as well as promote the practice of indigenous knowledge. In addition to writing, Campbell hasproduced plays, film, television, and radio shows, all dedicated to promoting Métis and Aboriginal culture.Contributors to this book include Melissa Lam, Michael Lahey, Helen Hoy, and Dylan A.T. Miner.Jolene Armstrong is an associate professor in English and comparative literature at AthabascaUniversity. Her interests and teaching assignments include Indigenous literatures, Canadian, Americanand Latin American literature, Cultural Studies, and mixed media art, as well as collecting and analysingephemera as a form of narrative of daily life.Key words: Canadian literary criticism, Indigenous identities, Literary historyISBN-13: 9781550716481paperback / 128 pp5 x 8 / $20.00October 2012Literary Press Group / Congress 2013 33