This work is the result of the fifth Symposium in the University of Ottawa Symposia series which focused on the life and work of Isabella Valancy Crawford (1850-1887). Acclaimed scholars of Canadian Literature joined to speak on Crawford's life, read and listen to her poetry, and critically examine some of her major works. Contributors include Dorothy Livesay, Penny Petrone, Margo Dunn, John Ower, Orest Rudzik, Elizabeth Waterston, Fred Cogswell, Kenneth Hughes, S. R. MacGillivray, Catherine Ross, Louis Dudek, Anne Paolucci, and Clara Thomas.

From the Canadian Short Story Library, twelve stories from Desmond Pacey, a major figure in Canadian Literature and criticism. The twelve stories are typical of Pacey's story-telling technique and what emerges from them is a distinctive, even powerful optimism, charity, tolerance and deep understanding of human nature. The sombre side of life is honestly portrayed and juxtaposed against the importance of love as a unifying force. These stories, presented in a simple straightforward manner, reveal man as he is: fragile, vulnerable, capable of crude, selfish and irrational behaviour, subject to defeat and despair; but also, heroic, enlightened, capable of strength, wisdom, hope and joy.