Untutored Brilliance

For about 30 years beginning with the publication of The Cariboo Horses in 1965, Al Purdy enjoyed as much public recognition for his poetry as did any Canadian poet of the period. Often he outshone them all. Governor General’s Awards for poetry in 1965 and 1986, high praise from accomplished poets in the generation immediately behind him (including Margaret Atwood, George Bowering and Dennis Lee) and Purdy’s own larger-than-life public persona ensured that journalists would pay attention to his work and write about his career. But when a poet establishes himself as a colourful public figure, notoriety can take its toll. In Purdy’s case, the price was a partial obscuring of his hard-won achievements as a singularly eloquent, graceful and imaginative literary artist. The media tended to pigeonhole him as a rough-hewn rural patriot and a beer-swilling rowdyman. And that was the public’s loss. As this book of letters amply shows, Purdy was a far more complex and learned...