I was quite impressed with this issue of Prairie Fire, with its Icelandic Writing theme. The theme section of the journal was well done, featuring local Icelandic and Manitoba writers. It turns out that Manitoba is quite the haven for people of Icelandic descent. I wasn’t as into the Icelandic section, but that was a matter of personal preference, and not because the writing was bad. There’s a wide variety of poetry, fiction and essay in here, which is quite nice. In the normal section, there’s an interview with Miriam Toews, the winners of the personal journalism contest, which was pretty interesting, and assorted stories and poems. This is quite a large lit-journal, and the quality of writing is excellent, which makes up for the price. (AK)
lit-journal, autumn 2000, $12, 423-100 Arthur St. Winnipeg, MB, R3B 1H3, www.prairiefire.mb.ca