Literary Arts

A look at fiction writing in Alberta must begin with W.O. Mitchell. Though born in Saskatchewan, Mitchell chose Alberta as his home. He managed to capture Canada's prairie in a way no one had done before and with it, the imagination of the country. Not only did his book, Who Has Seen the Wind, become a bestseller, it announced that the West and its inhabitants, were a valid part of the geography of literature.

Following Mitchell, a new generation of writers appeared. The key figures of this group are Rudy Wiebe and Robert Kroetsch. In The Literary History of Alberta, scholar George Melnyk sets up a fine comparison between the two contemporaries wherein each bookend opposite sides of the literary spectrum. Kroetsch appears as the comic wanderer and iconoclast, and Wiebe, the epic tragedian. That a single generation of writers could offer such different perspectives on the province only helped prepare Alberta's literary scene, becoming more established and respected each passing year, for those who followed.

One of the subsequent writers was W.P. Kinsella, best known for his novel, Shoeless Joe, which was turned into the film, Field of Dreams. While Kinsella creates first-rate comedy, other Albertan novelists, such as Aritha van Herk and Thomas Wharton, carry on the tradition of regional self-examination.

Alberta's varied literary tradition has often been rewarded. Many of the novelists and short story writers profiled here have received substantial recognition for their work. For example, Greg Hollingshead was awarded the Governor General's Award for his collection of stories, The Roaring Girl.