Great Stories from the Prairies

As expansive as a prairie sky, as refreshing as a cool breeze on a hot summer day, Great Stories from the Prairies collects the best prairie stories of the last one hundred years.

From Frederick Phillip Groveís classic "Snow" to the contemporary delights of Sandra Birdsell and Carol Shields, prairie writers have existed always in relation to landscape and a strong sense of place. Tracing the development of prairie writing over one hundred years, Great Stories from the Prairies reveals how broad the influence of landscape but also provides refreshing insight into its many nuances. You will find, for instance, traditional cultural icons of wind, dust, and the vast expanse of land and sky. But nestling against them you will discover the rich circuitry of city life, as in the stories of Guy Vanderhaeghe, Carol Shields and Meeka Walsh. Playing off that nuance are the parklands and boreal forests of Kristjana Gunnars and W.D. Valgardsonís great inland sea of Lake Winnipeg. But perhaps Great Stories from the the Prairies is best characterized by Margaret Laurence, who speculates about how prairie dwellers with their "horizon accustomed eyes" see the world differently from other Canadians. This unique collection celebrates that distinct view.

Birk Sproxton writes, edits and teaches from the heart of the prairie greenbelt in Alberta. His writing has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. He previous books include The Hockey Fan Came Riding, Headframe and The Red-Headed Woman with the Black Black Heart, which received the Manitoba Historical Society's award for historical fiction. His editorial hand can be found in Trace: Prairies Writers on Writing and the special Winnipeg in Fiction edition of Prairie Fire magazine.