David Adams Richards of the Miramichi: A Biographical Introduction to His Work

Widely considered to be one of Canada's most important authors, David Adams Richards has been honoured with a Giller Prize and two Governor General's Literary Awards. Despite this, there has been a dearth of critical appraisal of his life and works. In David Adams Richards of the Miramichi, Tony Tremblay sheds light not only on Richards' art and achievements, but also on Canadian literary criticism in general. Tremblay maps out the early influences on Richards' thinking and writing by drawing on interviews, archival records, and cultural studies of New Brunswick. He argues that the author is a more sophisticated craftsman than his critical reception has assumed and makes the case for a more nuanced analysis of his works. Equal parts literary biography, literary criticism, and cultural study of New Brunswick, David Adams Richards of the Miramichi provides a rare glimpse into the struggles and triumphs of a New Brunswick artist in a national and provincial milieu.

About the Author :
Tony Tremblay is a professor and Canada Research Chair in the Department of English at St. Thomas University.

Review :
'Sometimes, when the sun flashes on the river at a certain angle, it enables us to see what we have often viewed before but never truly seen. This is a book of such enlightened illumination. Tony Tremblay has done a splendid job in honouring David Adams Richards ... This is a book that all lovers of great literature should possess.' - Alistair MacLeod, Emeritus Professor of English, University of Windsor, and author of No Great Mischief 'David Adams Richards has long deserved a full-length critical response to his remarkable collection of fiction that reveals the complex local currents and universal songlines of lived experience along the Miramichi. Tony Tremblay's astute assessments of Richards and his work join communal and personal histories with incisive readings of major novels. The result underlines the depth and generosity of this great artist's creative vision and the ultimately redemptive journeys of his often troubled but always courageous characters.' - J.A. Wainwright, McCulloch Emeritus Professor in English, Dalhousie University ‘David Adams Richards of Miramichi is an exhaustive work of scholarship… For anybody interested in Richard’s work or in Maritime literature, this is an indispensable book. Its examination of the impact of Richard’s life and his Miramichi background on his work provides an invaluable foundation for critical examination of Richard’s fiction.’ - Herb Wyile (The Dalhousie Review Autumn 2010)