In this lively collection of essays--some appearing in print for the first time, others reprinted for a new generation of readers--Waddington has created a unique portrait of the Canadian literary world that is part memoir, part reflection. Whether describing a Jewish literary salon in Montreal in the 1930's or, in the book's title essay, remembering the fledging literary life of Toronto in the 1940's, Waddington brings to life moments in the history of Canadian letters. With a keen eye for detail, and a passion for social justice, she recalls her childhood on the prairies and her growing sense of herself as a writer, a woman, and a Jew in patriarchal wasp culture. The subjects that interest her range widely, from women writers to Yiddish writing to the Canadian literary tradition, and such diverse writers as Stephen Leacock, Moshe Nadir, John Sutherland, Anais Nin, Simone de Beauvoir, V.S. Naipul. Apartment 7 also includes two out-of-print essays from Waddington's esteemed study of the poet A.M.Klein. This collection will be essential reading not only for all admirers of Miriam Waddington's humane poetry but for anyone interested in the literary history of Canada.

Miriam Waddington was a trailblazer. She was the first Jewish Canadian woman to publish poetry written in English and participated in the rise and flowering of modernist Canadian poetry. Her work was groundbreaking for its conversational tone, stylistic play and its focus on female lived experience.

Miriam Waddington's profile page