Heart of a Stranger

by Margaret Laurence, Nora Foster Stovel (Introduction)

Overview

Travel was closely connected to Margaret Laurence’s creativity. Laurence realized that her travels, especially to Africa, provided her with new perspectives on Canada. Heart of a Stranger, originally published in 1976, is a fascinating travelogue chronicling Laurence's geographical journeys to many lands and historic places. She notes "I saw, somewhat to my surprise, that they are all, in one way or another, travel articles. And by travel, I mean both those voyages which are outer and those voyages which are inner." Laurence writes about her travels to Egypt in "Good Morning to the Grandson of Ramesses the Second," to Scotland in "Road from the Isles," and to Greece in "Sayonara, Agamemnon." In "The Very Best Intentions" Laurence sees herself as a "stranger in a strange land" in Ghana. She reflects on the many places she lived in "Put Out One or Two More Flags," "Down East," "The Shack" and "Where the World Began." Professor Nora Foster Stovel’s new introduction "Heart of a Traveller" explores how Laurence’s experiences in other lands influenced and shaped her writing. She contends that "Heart of a Stranger constitutes a concealed autobiography, for, in chronicling her literal life journey, Laurence also reveals her spiritual odyssey."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780888644077
Publisher:	University of Alberta Press
Publication date:	06/03/1999
Series:	Currents in Canadian Literature Series
Edition description:	ANN
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Margaret Laurence, best known for her five Manawaka novels, also published five African texts, as well as children’s books, literary criticism and collections of essays and short stories.

Nora Foster Stovel is Professor of English at the University of Alberta, and author of Divining Margaret Laurence: A Study of Her Complete Writings.

Editorial Reviews

"I read Heart of a Stranger as soon as it was published and, while I was interested in her travel writing, I have to say her comments on each essay meant more to me. They pointed to the authorial voice which Laurence possessed and demonstrated her insight about her own work. Little did I know that the preface she wrote for the collection was not published, until now.It is fitting that this edition connects her travel writing with the rest of her work and, therefore, offers a fresh approach. As Laurence wrote in her Foreword, 'they are a record of the long journey back home.'" Anne Burke, Prairie Journal, July 2003

"[A]n absorbing travelogue of Margaret Laurence's one-woman global journey, a world spanning travel adventure which brought her new perspectives both on faraway lands such as Africa as well as her cherished home of Canada. Containing threads of autobiography and life journey, as well as fascinating views of diverse cultures, Heart of a Stranger is a most memorable and enjoyable read." Library Bookwatch

"Heart of a Stranger (1976) has now been republished with new material, a very helpful annotation, and an introduction by its editor Nora Foster Stovel..The [annotated notes] will assist and enrich the experience of reading and rereading the essays. These notes span twenty-six pages: they provide publishing histories on Laurence's essays, they also record the sources of poem fragments....[Laurence] is with us again in this book thanks to Stovel's scholarship and critical vision. And the message that ran between Laurence and her best friend, Adele Wiseman, is repeated: 'Courage-Forward!' (217). I have one word to add: that's 'Bravo'!" Laura McLaughlan, Canadian Woman Studies, Vol. 23, No. 2

"Nora Foster Stovel's new edition of Margaret Laurence's Heart of a Stranger is an excellent re-issue of Laurence's important collection of travel essays. Through Heart of a Stranger, Laurence's voice reaches across the decades to tell us about herself, her fiction, and the plight of a Western woman traveler in the twentieth century. This new edition of the text is a carefully documented, well-researched, and expanded version of the original." Laura Strong Davis, Margaret Laurence Revew, Vol. 13

"As Stovel notes, we can enjoy these essays as travelogue, as autobiography, or as a key to Laurence's fiction. While some of their commentary has inevitably become dated, they still speak in a fresh voice because Laurence always evokes her fascination with people and a sense of urgency about their needs, even when the needs are as old as the pharaohs. She never belittles her subjects or talks down to her readers, which means that her writing will always appeal to a wide readership." Jon Kertzer, Canadian Ethnic Studies Journal, Vol. 36, No. 2 (2004)

"It is a joy to be able to reread Laurence's essays about those strange lands. This new trade paperback edition continues efforts by editor Nora Foster Stovel and the University of Alberta Press to ensure that Laurence's lesser-known works are back in print and thus accessible to Canadian readers." Wendy Roy, Canadian Literature 183, Winter 2004

"Each essay is prefaced with Laurence's personal comments, which are a delight to read and help to shed light on many of her best-loved novels..Heart of a Stranger is much more than a collection of travelogues. Supplemented by a useful index and extensive annotations, the book is a must-have for students of Margaret Laurence's work in particular and Canadian literature in general." Debbie Feisst, Canadian Book Review Annual, 2004

"Reading Heart of A Stranger, I feel as if I am travelling with her to strange places and different times, reflecting on the meaning, as well as the significance, of the experiences to me as much as to her. I am able to feel this because she creates empathy for the experiences she goes through, the people she interacts with, and the people, as well as the places, she writes about. This she achieves through literary style, for the writer we know is ever present in these literary essays." Muchugu Kiiru, Margaret Laurence Review, Vol 14, Winter 2004/2005.

"The essays in Heart of a Stranger cover a wide variety of topics. Generally considered as Laurence's "travel writing," the essays explore her experiences in Somalia, Nigeria, Greece, Egypt, England, Scotland, and then back to Canada. But they go far beyond travel writing, for they show, as well, how her travels influenced her novels and short stories.Because the topics and treatment vary so widely, different people may enjoy different parts of this book. I especially enjoyed Laurence's own comments at the beginning of each essay, as she looks back and analyses her own writing. The reissue of Heart of a Stranger will be welcomed by many libraries, as well as individuals." (Complete review: http://www.prairiefire.mb.ca/reviews/laurence_m.html) Donna Gamache, Prairie Fire Review of Books

From the Publisher