Voyageur Classics is a series of new versions of Canadian classics, with added material and special introductions. In this bundle we find two classic works of the art of the Canadian essay. Charles G.D. Roberts was a distinguished writer of his time who published more than forty volumes of poetry, romance fiction, and nature writing – making him one of the most popular writers of his time. He pioneered the animal story in which he went beyond surface elements of nature and endowed his animal "characters" with qualities of feeling and intelligence that brought them closer to their human cousins. Roberts’ career as a writer transcended his Canadian roots and he was internationally known and popular in America and England.

Arthur James Marshall Smith – prize-winning poet, essayist, influential anthologist, and critic – died in 1980. His last book, The Classic Shade: Selected Poems, on which Selected Writings is based, stands as his final intention in the world of literature. To this long out of print book the editor has added original material by Smith in which he defined and advanced modernism in Canadian writing.

Includes

• Selected Writings, A.J.M. Smith
• The Kindred of the Wild

A.J.M. Smith was a professor at Michigan State University until 1972. Upon his retirement, the university created an award in his name, which is given away annually to honour a noteworthy book by a Canadian poet.

A.J.M. Smith's profile page

Michael Gnarowski co-edited The Making of Modern Poetry in Canada, compiled The Concise Bibliography of E nglish Canadian Literature, and edited the Critical Views on Canadian Writers Series for McGraw-Hill Ryerson. He has written for Encyclopedia Americana, The Canadian Encyclopedia, The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Biography, and The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Poetry. Gnarowski is professor emeritus at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Michael Gnarowski's profile page

Charles G.D Roberts (1860-1943) was a poet and prose writer. After a childhood in New Brunswick, he became a heralded poet who later turned to fiction, writing an extensive series of animal stories and pioneering a genre that remains popular today. His works include Eyes of the Wilderness, The Vagrant of Time, and Earth's Enigmas. Roberts spent the last years of his life in Toronto, where he died.

Charles G.D. Roberts' profile page

James Polk has written on the Canadian animal story as a unique genre in articles, reviews, and a book, Wilderness Writers. He served as cultural policy adviser in the Ontario government and is the author of a novel, short stories, and a play. He is the recipient of the Janice E. Handford Award from the Ontario Book Publishers for his contribution to literary publishing. He lives in Toronto.

James Polk's profile page