Heritage Community Foundation PresentsAlberta Online Encyclopedia
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Disciplines Alberta can boast a lengthy list of writers of various forms of literature. From the classic, lyrical prose in W.O. Mitchell's masterpiece of Canadian literature, Who Has Seen the Wind, to Grant MacEwan's decades-long exploration of Alberta's heritage, Alberta in the 21st century has a strong literary foundation on which to stand. Alberta writers are winning awards and publishing bestsellers at home and around the world. From the award winning novels of Peter Oliva and Thomas Wharton, to the voraciously read speculative fiction (SF) novels of Dave Duncan and Pauline Gedge, Alberta's literary disciplines are thriving.
The distinction between poetry and prose is easily shown – poems look and sound different because of the importance they place on word choice and meaning. The difference between general fiction and speculative fiction (SF), or children's fiction is not as pronounced. A SF novel may use prose to tell its story, but its interest in the unknown or fantastical set it apart from other genres of prose. Yet for all the talk of genres and the distinction between types of writing, writers demonstrate a startling ignorance of divisions. The idea of genres is for the reader's convenience and writers are not bound to them. Therefore, on this website you may find the same person listed under the non-fiction category for her biographical writings as well as the prose category for her many novels. Such cross-referencing is the only way to grasp the limitless creativity of Alberta's writers. Alberta is lucky to have a broad spectrum of writers using any genre nameable. From the internationally published SF novels of Candas Jane Dorsey, to the poetry of Doug Barbour, the Albertan literary community does not lack in diversity. |
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For more on Alberta's Arts Heritage, visit Peel’s Prairie Provinces.