Lighting Up the Terrain: The Poetry of Margaret Avison

While Margaret Avison is one of Canada's most respected writers, she is also well known for her integrity as an individual. With her conversion to Christianity in 1963, her life and her art became inseparably linked. However, criticism and commentary on her work have lagged behind. This lag is especially noticeable as regards her post-conversion poetry where there has been a reluctance to encounter Avison on her own ground -- the ground of Christian commitment. This collection of essays by Canadian critics, and appreciations and reminiscences by both Canadian and American poets, addresses Avison as both a Christian poet and as an individual who has influenced her contemporaries. The purpose of this volume is to throw some light on the mystery of Margaret Avison and particularly on her achievement as a Christian writer. This intention has evolved into a celebration of the person and the poet.