Across Canada by Story

May 9, 2016
One book wasn't enough for all the stories Canadian literary editor and publisher Gibson hoarded during his more than 40-year career. In this follow-up to his first memoir, Stories About Storytellers, he takes his readers on a literary tour of Canada, peppering his account of his travels with local literary history and personal anecdotes about some of the leading Canadian journalists and authors with whom he has worked. The book is organized by region; in each section, Gibson recounts exchanges he shared with Canadian writers, favorite excerpts from their work, and literary histories of the area. His anecdotes include meeting a woman who claimed (quite plausibly) to be Hugh MacLennan's love child, and recounting how Robert Kroetsch and Guy Vanderhaege valiantly scared off elk that had cornered a woman on the grounds of the Banff Centre. Gibson writes of encounters with Myrna Kostash, Pauline Gedge, Carol Shields, Terry Fallis, Alistair MacLeod, and many more. He takes an obvious delight in recounting these stories, which are told with his own self-deprecating humor. This is an entertaining excursion for lovers of Canadian literature, who will find it impossible to finish this book without reading lists as long as their arms.