John Davenall Turner, one of western Canada's first and most respected artists, lived in both Edmonton and Calgary, and painted the countryside around him in its various moods for almost all of his eighty years. Turner's reminiscences are written with style, panache, and wit. Includes 31 color reproductions of John Davenall Turner's paintings and many of his humourous drawings.
The Banff School opened its doors in 1933 by offering a summer drama course. Since then, it has grown into a renowned cultural destination, today known as the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. As PearlAnn Reichwein and Karen Wall recount in this engaging history, over its first four decades the school produced and circulated ideals of culture and liberal democratic citizenship that were intrinsic to the development of modern Canada. Uplift traces the role of the school in shaping arts and cultural education, as reflected in its array of artistic, political, economic, and ideological interests. Situated within Banff National Park, the school and its surroundings combined stunning natural scenery and cultural capital in a symbolic national landscape. In an era of unstable cultural policy and funding, Uplift draws welcome attention to the place of fine arts, culture, and the humanities in public education and in Canada’s history.
In this, the companion to the landmark volume The Literary History of Alberta, Volume One: From Writing-on-Stone to World War Two, George Melnyk examines Alberta literature in the second half of the twentieth century. At last, Melnyk argues, Alberta writers have found their voice--and their accomplishments have been remarkable. The contradictory landscape, the stereotypes of the Indian, the Mountie, and the Cowboy, and the language of the Other, speaking from the margins--these elements all left their impressions on the consciousness of early Alberta. But writers in the last few decades have turned this inheritance to their advantage, to create compelling stories about this place and its people. Today, Melnyk discovers, Alberta writers can appreciate not only this achievement, but also its essential source: the symbolic communication of Writing-on-Stone. The Literary History of Alberta, Volume Two extends the study of Alberta's cultural history to the present day. It is a vital text for anyone interested in Alberta's vibrant literary culture.
