A Winnipeg Free Press Top Read of 2021

The thirteenth installment of Canada's annual volume of essays showcases diverse nonfiction writing from across the country.

“The exceptional essay,” writes editor Bruce Whiteman, “derives from a passionate feeling, love and anger being perhaps its upper and lower limits, coexisting with a desire for truth, and it aims for the radiance of what is.” In the 2021 edition of Best Canadian Essays, Whiteman’s selections seek truth in all the places it may be found, from walks in brambled woods and ancient cities to memories of childhoods that shape a life; to analyses of artifacts both legislative and cultural that advance equality long overdue; to reports from the field that articulate the poetry of the present, the invisibility of the poor, the social contours and consuming mental contagions of the ongoing pandemic. Drawn from leading magazines and journals published in 2020, the fifteen essays gathered here brilliantly illuminate what is.

Featuring work by:

Neil Besner
Catherine Bush
Yvonne Blomer
Jenna Butler
Elizabeth Dauphinee
Eva-Lynn Jagoe
Mark Kingwell
Frances Koziar
Hilary Morgan V. Leathem
Stephanie Nolen
Kevin Patterson
Soraya Roberts
Ian Waddell
Sheila Watt-Cloutier
Joyce Wayne
Rob Winger

Bruce Whiteman is a Canadian poet and writer living in Los Angeles. He is the author of many books of poetry, including Visible Stars: New and Selected Poems (1995), Tristia, and XXIV Love Poems (2002). He regularly writes reviews for Canadian and American journals, and his scholarly books include Lasting Impressions: A Short History of English Publishing in Quebec (1994) and J.E.H. Macdonald (1995).

Bruce Whiteman's profile page

Praise for Best Canadian Essays

“A superb collection of national thinkers, crackling with insight on the issues of the age.”—Chatelaine

“The individual contributions in Best Canadian Essays transcend simple reportage and reach the level of art. Each one has something distinctive and informative to say. Take heed.”—Quill & Quire