Rites of Passage: From Somaliland to Canada-A Study of Margaret Laurence

Abstract

Canadian writer Margaret Laurence’s works include the anthology, A Tree for Poverty (1954), which consists of her English translation of Somali oral poetry and prose tales. Through her Somali sojourn, Laurence gained both depth of literary experience and breadth of understanding of forms and techniques, paving the way for the flowering of her artistic craftsmanship in her Canadian fiction. The paper demonstrates how her experiences in Somaliland and exploration of Somali oral folk literature together contribute to make Laurence a great Canadian writer. It also enables a fuller understanding and appreciation of the themes and techniques in her Canadian fiction.