This memoir presents an exciting view of the early days of modern Canadian literature. Earle Birney writes of meeting and corresponding with Bliss Carmen, Raymond Souster, A.J.M. Smith, P.K. Page, Malcolm Lowry, Pierre Berton, George Woodcock, and James Reaney among others–a pantheon of Canadian writers. This unique memoir spans four decades and links together book reviews, magazine articles, editorials, and radio broadcasts with Birney’s reminiscences of his childhood, education, and early teaching and writing career.