The Collected Poetry of Malcolm Lowry ed. by Kathleen Scherf (review)

HUMANITIES 203 home and love,' in which home symbolizes hope and renewal in the face of 'the ravages of war.' In Rilla of Ingleside, Epperly posits, Montgomery constructs a female war heroine on the home front (not without humour, since her main character begins the novel as a self-centred teenager) in what Epperly terms as 'an authentic wa! novel, Canada's only contemporary fictionalized woman's account of the First World War.' I found myself wishing for more of this kind of context in Epperly's handling of the earlier 'Anne books, in which fasdnating issues are raised and then left unexplored - issues such as the relationship of Montgomery's construction of nature to a domesticated culture and the reception of romance by women readers of Montgomery's time (and in the present). Nor does she place Montgomery's writing in relation to that of other women writers of popular girls' romance of her period. The framework that Epperly does choose for her analysis, the relationship of Montgomery's writings to romance, can lead to frustration for the reader, partly because of Epperly's concentration on the Montgomery texts in isolation. Epperly elaborates in some detail how Montgomery both recreates and undermines popular romance in her fiction, yet the analysis itself is undermined by a lack of definition of the popular girls' romance or formula romance of Montgomery's time and its relationship to the larger genre of romance. Although romance is distinguished from Romanticism early in the study, that distinction is often lost in the readings. Types of romance, such as medieval (chivalric) and Victorian versions of it, are mentioned, but their significance (formal or socia-cultural) and their relevance to Montgomery's period remain unexplored . Nowhere is romance discussed as a genre. This lack of clear definition and direction is especially true of the first three chapters of the study, where Epperly juxtaposes one description of romance to another in her readings of the Anne stories with little connection and development . Without a solid basis for the evaluation of Montgomery's adaptation or subversion of romance (it is often ilnplied but not sufficiently explained that romance should be undennined), Epperly's study of Montgomery becomes a heterogeneous collection of engaging readings, packed with infonnation and detailed description, but (in the end) relying on a personal affirmation of the artistry and sensitivity of Montgomery's reworkings of romance rather than a more convincing critical appraisal. (LALAGE GRAUER) Kathleen Scherf, editor. The Collected PoetnJ of Malcolm Lowry. Explanatory annotation by Chris Ackerley University of British Columbia Press 1992. xx, 418. $60.00 When Malcolm Lowry died in 1957, a decade after Under the Volcano catapulted him briefly into the literary spotlight, few readers thought of him 204 LEITERS IN CANADA 1992 as more than a one-book author. Under the Volcano was actually Lowry's second published novel, but the first (Ultramarine, 1933) had long been out of print and none of the many projects into which he plunged during his final years had come to fruition. Lowry's reputation still rests principally on Under the Volcano, but the posthumous publication of a significant body of prose, including a story collection, a novella, two novels, and a screenplay, as well as a number of shorter works, has enabled critics to understand Lowry's masterpiece in ways that would not otherwise have been possible. Despite the 1962 appearance of his Selected Poems, however, Lowry is still seen almost entirely as a writer of prose. Ironically, Lowry regarded himself not as a novelist but as a visionary poet whose medium most often happened to be prose. His persona in the unpublished manuscript La Mordida says that he has been a plagiarist, novelist, and drunkard but has always wanted to be a poet, and in her introduction to the Collected Poetry Kathleen Scherf notes that Lowry 'considered himself to be primarilya poet.' Chris Ackerley, in his introduction to the annotations, goes further, asserting that 'a considered reading of [Lowry's] poetry may reveal a talent and an achievement more substantial than hitherto imagined.' There is little doubt that Lowry will continue to be read mainly for his often poetic prose rather than...