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SECTION THE II Book review The well tempered critic BY ALLAN GOULD It is not often that wo think of a fine novelist as a major critic as well Usually he or she is known primarily as one or the With the publication of Rob ertson Davics The WellTem pered Critic One Mans View of Theatre and Letter In Canada McClelland and Ste wart page we are forced to add another name to that brief list began as a journalist and critic on The Peter borough Examiner wrote a number flawed but occasio nally in teres ling plays and then went on to gain some Tame For Leaven of Malice A Mixture of Frailties and other novels As the Master of Maisey College at the University of Toronto he is known and admired In academic circles across Canada but It has only been during the last few years with the publication of his trilogy Fifth Busi ness The Manllcore and World of Wonders that he gained International recogn It- Yet alt this lime he has been steadily continually cons lat ently turning out essays on theatre literature the arts These essays have appeared in Is there a value In anthologi zing reviews and writings of a man like Robertson In a flense his articles spanning four decades in a wildly expanding Canadian theatre and literary scene are automatic historical Inter est Who else except per Imps the late Nathan Cohen wrote over such a long period and Ub K W I My U7 vim IS SPINNING A YARN Smith stated tree conducted a number or Acton and Georgetown children toward becoming skilled era rumen of Cads eyes an ancient North American Indian artform related handweaving The 11 were participating In a session of the Kids Craft Club on lawns of Acton branch or the Hilton Hills public library Saturday IIeraldphoto Keeping operating costs low down on the old farmstead these days and youll find one problem uppermost in more than per cent or so their minds rising of assets hut they are interest rates Some for- worried too Interest individuals have on that level of debt debts that still eat up 5 ti per Health surveys findings are released A report on the findings of a special federal government survey con cerning the health of Canadians indicates that lower income groups have a significantly higher pro portion of health problems The report called Canada Health Survey has been released by Health and Welfare Minister Monique Begin and Jean- Jacques Minister responsible for Statistics Canada Some of the highlights of the report show that Canadians are sick an average of 15 days per year females and the elderly contribute dispro portionately to this aver age Heart disease mcntaP disorders bronchitis and emphysema are more common among lower tab Health and Welfare Canada income groups People with higher incomes are more likely to consult a health profess ional on a routine basis Twelve per cent of Canadians surfer from long term disability Simy per cent or auto mobile drivers and pass engers wear seat belts all or most of the time in provinces with legislation only 16 per cent wear seatbclts where there is no legislation Threequarters of the population consult a doctor at once a year half visit a dentist Half the population uses some medication medicine pills or oint ments including birth con trol pills and vitamins in any given twoday Sonte social Canada cent of cash income For farmers with heavier debt loads todays interest rates can spell real trouble The danger point is reached about the per cent mark that is when debt charges consume per cent of revenue The individual who reaches that point may not be able to service his debt for very long If you as a farmer see yourself moving into the danger zone you should take a hard look at your overall situation to see what can be done to im prove your interest-to- income ratio Here are some ideas 1 Undertake no capital spending unless the sav ings- or extra earnings are going lo be more than enough in the first year to pay the finance costs Get rid of any assets you dont need in your current operations Do you have acres sitting idle a couple of miles up the road Two tractors when one would do Dump them fast If you have a larger herd than you need sell off the surplus and lighten your debt load Dont operate a side line business that depends for success on upward trends in the market because you have surplus capacity Youd be wrong for instance to try aug menting dairy earnings by raising steers in hopes that beef prices will im prove Its always better to lose a little than lose a lot Keep careful on your operations with a monthbymonth cash flow budget If trouble arises you can spot it quickly and head it off at the pass 5 Dont make any decision that anticipates lower interest rates in the next 12 months A down turn just doesnt seem to be in the cards Consider incorporat ing That way you can take advantage of a once-in-a- lifetime Small Business Development Loan Be cause lenders dont have to pay tax on these loans they are attractively cheap Right now the going rate is 11 to per cent and banks just love this kind of business Finally speaking of its a good idea to keep in close touch with all your creditors especially if you anticipate problems of any kind Farmers gener ally see their bankers once a year but every days is a better bet in these diffi cult times More than anything else lender dislike uncertainty Doaald la with Ward MaHctte Chartered In wrote so cogently and well was certainly in there fighting the good fight for Canadian theatre and ion culture earlier than else As early as in The Examiner he was prodding radio to establish In Montreal Toron to Winnipeg and Vancouver four companies of radio act ors each a good director and a good technician We cannot help but be charmed at optimism and false hope When we note how applauds Irelands Tyrone Guthrie and recommends him is a for Canadian theatre two years before he came our country in 1953 to help launch the Stratford Fest ival we can admire his pre- PIl STRATFORD But there ore Just as many disappointments In judgement and Insight Was the Stratford Festival an artistic bombshell explo ded just at the time when Canadian theatre was most ready far a break with the dead past and a leap into the future as Davits wrote In Saturday Night In along with ecstatic reviews of early productions there 1 would agree more with Cohen who felt that Stratford devoured what was a rather promising theatrical scene In the late 1940s and early 1630s In and about Toronto Like a black hole of culture It sucked in every performer and designed within hundreds of miles who could not resist the excitement of big theatre with International pretensions Indeed almost all of reviews of Stratford product ions are limited by the unbridled affection for Tyrone Guthrie with whom he wrote a number of books on the Festi val mm CULTURE In the longer second section of this anthology of articles Davics writes on Canadian poetry navels and our culture in general Here he is often more on target and more valuable today It is good to read literate intelligent reviews of such major works fiction as Barometer Rising The Tin Flute The Sacrifice The Stone Angel and the early poetry of Irving which he Justif iably admires For some reason Canada has never been strong in the world of criticism The United States could be proud of George Jean Nathan Stark Young Eric and Rob ert to name Just a few In reviewing theatre but we have only Nathan Cohen And In the realm of belles where is the Canadian Edmund Wilson Leslie Fied ler Alfred Kazln And so have the criticism of Robertson Davles so loving ly edited and gathered by Judith Grant who put out a companion volume two years ago The Enthusiasms of Robertson Davles Rarely passionate but often witty pleasantly thoughtful but Infrequently challenging these reviews and essays are handy to have about for students of Canadian literal- and theatre but hardly must reading for Allan Gould teaches at the University of Toronto and writes and performs on CTV and and radio BEAUTIFY YOUR HOME FROM 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