A tree for poverty

• Published in: The American review of Canadian studies 1994, Vol.24 (1), p.129
• Main Author: Laurence, Margaret
• Format: Review
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anthologies
• ISSN: 0272-2011; 1943-9954

As Donez Xiques points out in her helpful introduction to A Tree for Poverty, Laurence herself made this connection, claiming that her seven years in what are now Somalia and Ghana were a profound influence on both her sense of self and her vision of her own country. Unlike many of the British colonists, who were "indifferent to the richness of Somali culture," writes Xiques, Margaret Laurence, "fresh from the Canadian prairie," was more open - minded (15). Consequently, her youthful undertaking of a translation of Somali poetry and prose, the first in English, transformed her point of view. As Laurence put it, she came to realize that it "'was not a matter of intelligence but of viewing the whole of life through different eyes'" (Prophet's Camel Bell, quoted by Xiques, 15). Moreover, the in - sights she gained in this translation process were transferable: they eventually enabled her to depict Canada's changing relation to its own colonial past with a special sensitivity to the subjectivity of marginalized and dispossessed groups. This doubled - sided approach to life is evident in another feature of Somali prose that at first seems paradoxical: the coexistence of "'moral' or 'pious'" tales that reflect a genuine religious faith with stories that laud "quick - witted thievery" (42). However, the contrast becomes more comprehensible when one considers the realities of lives in which the power of a ruler has been enormous. It is the product of a "deep and far - reaching realism" (43), which accepts life as it is, despite its harshness and cruelty. Moreover, the basic tenets of Muslim religion are particularly suited to these exigencies, Laurence points out. The idea of "submission to God" (45), inherent in the word "Islam," may seem socially unprogressive to Protestant Christians, but given the life of the nomad, it becomes "understandableand almost inevitable" (45). According to Christie, after Riel and his Metis followers established a Provisional Government at Fort Garry, Piper Gunn roused the Sutherland settlers to regain the fort before the army arrived from Down East, an account that glorifies their role and differs both with Jules's story and with the one in the "textbook," which claim that the Metis lost to the army. However, all three stories differ in their renderings of Riel: in Christie's version he was "'short'" (41) and fiery; in Jules's, he was "'very tall'" (41) and insightful, and according to the textbook, he was crazy. As Warwick points o