Dorothy Kathleen Livesay may be evaluated as one of Canada's foremost modern writers by several criteria. First there is abundance: twenty-two published volumes of verse or prose; three edited books; nearly five hundred poems in periodicals and anthologies; approaching one hundred fifty articles, reviews, and open letters; two dozen short stories and vignettes; approximately eighty journalistic pieces; five plays; five poetry broadsides; four librettos or texts for interpretive dance; and new work, particularly her memoirs, in preparation. Then there is versatility: poetry, fiction, essay, literary criticism, journalism, anthologizing, founding/editing of several periodicals. Third is recognition--two Governor General's awards for poetry (1944, 1947); the Order of Canada (1987); the Governor General's "Persons" Award (1984); the Lorne Pierce Medal of the Royal Society of Canada (1947) for a significant contribution to Canadian literature; the President's Medal from the University of Western Ontario for poetry (1954); honorary degrees from the University of Waterloo (1974), Athabaska (1983), McGill (1985), and...