Alice Munro’s Miraculous Art : Critical Essays

Janice Fiamengo & Gerald Lynch

Description

Alice Munro’s Miraculous Art is a collection of sixteen original essays on Nobel laureate Alice Munro’s writings. The volume covers the entirety of Munro’s career, from the first stories she published in the early 1950s as an undergraduate at the University of Western Ontario to her final books. It offers an enlightening range of approaches and interpretive strategies, and provides many new perspectives, reconsidered positions and analyses that will enhance the reading, teaching, and appreciation of Munro’s remarkable—indeed miraculous—work.

Following the editors’ introduction—which surveys Munro’s recurrent themes, explains the design of the book, and summarizes each contribution—Munro biographer Robert Thacker contributes a substantial bio-critical introduction to her career. The book is then divided into three sections, focusing on Munro’s characteristic forms, themes, and most notable literary effects.

Sujets

• Women Authors
• Literary Criticism

Informations

• Publié par: Presses de l'Université d'Ottawa
• Date de parution: 28 février 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9780776624341
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Alice Munro’s Miraculous Art

Alice Munro’s Miraculous Art

Critical Essays

Edited by Janice Fiamengo and Gerald Lynch

Reappraisals: Canadian Wriers Universiy of Oawa Press 2017

he Universiy of Oawa Press graefully acnowledges e suppor exended o is publising lis by eriage Canada roug e Canada Boo Fund and by e Canada Council for e Ars. his boo as been publised wi e elp of a gran from e Federaion for e umaniies and Social Sciences, roug e Awards o Scolarly Publicaions Program, using funds provided by e Social Sciences and umaniies Researc Council of Canada.

Copy ediing: Micael Waldin Proofreading: Robbie McCaw Typeseing: CS Cover illusraion and design: Barosz Walcza

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

 Alice Munro’s miraculous ar : criical essays / edied by Janice Fiamengo and Gerald Lync.

(Reappraisals : Canadian wriers ; 38) Includes bibliograpical references and index. Issued in prin and elecronic formas. ISBN 978-0-7766-2433-4 (sotcover).--ISBN 978-0-7766-2434-1 (PDF).-- ISBN 978-0-7766-2435-8 (EPUB).--ISBN 978-0-7766-2436-5 (Kindle)

 1. Munro, Alice, 1931- --Criicism and inerpreaion. I. Fiamengo, Janice Anne, 1964-, edior II. Lync, Gerald, 1953-, edior III. Tile: Miraculous ar. IV. Series: Reappraisals, Canadian wriers ; 38

PS8576.U57Z52 2017

C813’.54

© Universiy of Oawa Press, 2017 Prined in Canada

C2017-900570-7 C2017-900571-5

for Alice Munro, wi graiude

Acnowledgemens

Table of Contents

Introductory Alice Munro’s Miraculous Ar J F  G L “Tis is No a Sory, Only Life”: Wondering wi Alice Munro R T

I—Forms Living in e Sory: Ficional Realiy in e Sories of Alice Munro C E. M From Munro’sLiveso Sields’s “Scenes”: A Canadian Female Bildungsromana “fi[s] ino e ollow of er and” L K “Te suff ey pu in e old readers”: Remembered and Recied Poery in e Sories of Alice Munro S J Carried Away by Leers: Alice Munro and e Episolary Mode M L

Bridging e Gaps roug Sory Cycle:Te View from Casle Rock T T

II—Themes Te Sor Sories of Alice Laidlaw, 1950–51 D. M. R. B Momenous Sifs and Unimagined Canges in “Jaara” T W

“Firs and Las”: Te Figure of e Infan in “Dear Life” and “My Moer’s Dream” A C

ix

3

1

5

43

63

7

9

9

7

115

137

159

177

Table of Conens

Invasion Narraives: Alice Munro’s “Free Radicals” and Joyce Carol Oaes’s “Were Are You Going, Were ave You Been?” C L. B 191 Religion in Alice Munro’sLives of Girls and Womenand Wo Do You Tink You Are? J K 207

III—Effects “Someing”: Te “Dar Sides” of Alice Munro’s Sory-Telling in Is American Conex D R. J

Desire and Deferral: “Royal Beaings” I D

“Don’ Tae er Word For I”: Auobiograpical Approximaion and Same in Munro’sTe View from Casle Rock L M. M

Once Upon a Time: Temporaliy in e Narraion of Alice Munro E. D. B

L’Envoi On Siing Down o Read “Licen” Once Again M R

Conribuors

viii

221

235

255

271

289

307

Acknowledgements

e are graeful o many people and a number of insiuions for W conribuing generously of eir ime, experise, and funds, and consequenly for elping o mae possible e success iniially of e Alice Munro Symposium in spring 2014 and subsequenly of e presen volume of selec essays.

Sandra MacPerson’s abundan energy and unflappable good spir- is were insrumenal in organizing e large symposium and ensur- ing is unqualified success. As well, rougou e process we ave been encouraged by e suppor of our Deparmen of Englis a e Universiy of Oawa, our colleagues and fellow Canadianiss.

Rober hacer was a wise guide in maers Munro from e incep- ion of is projec o is compleion, and Tracy Ware was as unsining wi elpful advice.

We coninue graeful o e panel of wriers and publising profes- sionals wo presened a e symposium bu do no appear in e boo: Munro’s long-ime American ediors, Ann Close and Daniel Menaer, er equally long-ime Canadian edior, Douglas Gibson, and er agen, Virginia Barber. And we similarly an Canadian wriers Sepen eigon, Rober McGill, Lisa Moore, and Aria Van er for sar- ing eir appreciaions of Munro and ougs on er influence in eir wriing lives.

Universiy of Oawa Press as been e loyal publiser of e Reappraisals: Canadian Wriers series since is incepion, in 1972. We an e curren personnel of UOP, paricularly Dominie homas and Elizabe Scwaiger, as well as e anonymous exernal readers of