\s mYevtew KALEIDOSCOPE - University of British Columbia

BOOKS IN REVIEWrecipients of one's portrait. If, however,one is asked to sit because one's face hascharacter, one may well simper selfconsciously.This has been the fate ofseveral contributors. Instructed to setdown something that would allow "individualvoices of this century [to] be heardin the next," they are reduced tosimpering.Presumably, the purpose of this bookis to add to the material available tostudents in women's studies, to expandthe amount of female utterance in print.If quantity alone is desired, it may beunfair to cavil at the triviality of thisaddition to its editors' curricula vitae.However, teachers and researchers oftencomplain that their publications in women'sstudies are undervalued. Unfortunately,women's studies will not gainrecognition as a serious academic subjectas long as anything in the field can findits way into print.RUBY NEMSERAFFECTIONATE LIFECLARA THOMAS and JOHN LENNOX, WilliamArthur Deacon: A Literary Life. Univ. ofToronto Press, $24.95.WHEN WILLIAM ARTHUR DEACON recalledhis 1922 move from Dauphin, Manitoba,where he had practised law, to Toronto,where he became literary editor of SaturdayNight, he did so with a pleased consciousnessthat he had made Canadianliterary history by becoming the nation's"first full-time, professional book reviewer."Professors Thomas and Lennoxnote that from the beginning of this newcareer he thought of his literary life asmaterial for the memoirs in which hewould sum up his distinctive place, andthat by his retirement he had amassedmore than 18,000 pieces of correspondence,clippings, records of literary societies,and manuscripts to serve as both176mnemonic aid and documentation. Failinghealth and the sheer volume of thematerial prevented his realizing this finalproject; now Clara Thomas and JohnLennox have undertaken a more scholarlyand biographical version of what heenvisoned.The Deacon of this "Life" is followedthrough his career as book reviewer andliterary editor at Saturday Night (to1928), as syndicated book review columnist,as literary editor of the Mail andEmpire (1928-1936) and of the newGlobe and Mail where he stayed until hisretirement in 1960. His biographers quoteat length from his reviews and correspondencewith writers. They also supplementthe account of the newspapercareer with a series of chapters titled "ACommunity of Letters" about friendshipswith writers and his encouragement ofthem, a chapter on his work for TheCanadian Authors' Association, andchapters on his essays for Canadian andAmerican literary journals and on hisbooks.The strength of this biography is itscareful and extensive presentation of informationculled from its subject's papers.Deacon emerges from behind all thisdetail as a man of strong enthusiasmsand strong prejudices, both informed bya prophetic and didactic strain whichgained strength as he aged, both madeacceptable to his readers by a lively witwhich unfortunately lost much of itsflexibility as he aged. The enthusiasmswere for the economic, political, andliterary independence of Canada. Nearlyeverything he wrote, every organizationhe supported, aimed at gaining Canadianreaders for Canadian books: he sought,and gave personal and public support to,Canadian writers; he found publishersfor them; he encouraged readers to readand teachers to teach them. The prejudiceswere against imitation of non-Canadian cultural or economic models,