"Collecting Stamps Would Have Been More Fun"

This unique exchange of letters between literary icon Sinclair Ross and several prominent writers, publishers, agents, and editors asks why many Canadian artists, especially those in western provinces, spent a lifetime struggling for recognition and remuneration. Featuring exchanges with Earle Birney, Margaret Laurence, and Margaret Atwood, among others, this collection exposes the conditions of cultural work in Canada for much of the twentieth century. This vivid, often moving, selection of professional and personal letters, plus the only formal interview Ross ever gave, provides a valuable resource for those engaged with the history of publishing in Canada, as well as for those with an interest in Canadian literature.

Jordan Stouck teaches discourse analysis at UBC (Okanagan) and studies the multicultural formations and history of Canadian literature. She lives in Kelowna, BC. David Stouck is Professor Emeritus, Simon Fraser University. He has written extensively on Sinclair Ross. He lives in Vancouver, BC.