Alice Munro - Writing Her Lives

anti-Munro editorial entitled “A Genius of Sour Grapes.” He was expressing the indignation felt by many in Wingham over a newspaper piece syndicated across Canada by Wayne Grady called “Story Tellers to the World.” It seemed to attribute Grady’s sneering and condescending descriptions of Winghamand Lower Town to Munro herself. Given what had happened in public since her return, and given their reading of her fiction, many in the community were prepared to believe the characterizations as Munro’s. Looking back on these years in a 1982 profile in
Books in Canada
, Joyce Wayne entitled her piece “Huron County Blues.” Referring to Munro’s recent relations with Huron County generally and Wingham particularly, Wayne offers an apt summary, calling them “both the heartbreak and strength of her writer’s life.” 27
Canada’s
Who Do You Think You Are?
, America’s
The Beggar Maid
    When she wrote Munro in December 1977 enclosing the
New Yorker’s
first-reading contract, Barber called it “a rare and lovely item” and chortled a bit, continuing, “Can’t wait to sound the news all over town, and drive book editors even more to distraction since they haven’t been able to get me to send them your manuscript.” Having had real success in selling Munro’s stories throughout 1977, Barber’s attentions gradually shifted to Munro’s next book. During that year, too, Barber sorted through her author’s existing book contracts, both so that she understood them herself and also in order to investigate new paperback possibilities. She needed to understand Canadian publishing better, its shape and detail, and to establish contacts there. Concurrent with those first stories Barber had met with John Savage and Robin Brass from McGraw-Hill Ryerson and, in May 1977, she made a trip to Canada, coming back “with a much clearer sense of houses and editors” than she had had before. She wrote this to Bella Pomer, one of Gibson’s colleagues at Macmillan, who had given her “helpful information … about who’s who and what’s what in Canadian publishing.” Barber knew that there was an editor at Macmillan whom Munro liked, though she did not then know his name, and she also knew that the house had promised her that it would publish Robert Laidlaw’s novel. During that summer, too, Barber heard from John Pearce, senior editor at Clarke, Irwin in Toronto, who called her “to ask about Alice Munro’s publishing future and to express [his] considerable enthusiasm for herwork.” He came to see her in November (she thought he might be the Canadian editor Munro liked), and Robin Brass also wrote saying that McGraw-Hill Ryerson was “as keen as ever.” 28
    While Canadian houses were showing great eagerness about Munro, her next book was taking shape. By early October 1977 Barber wrote Munro formulating a sort of plan:
    Let’s think of a title for the short story collection. And don’t you think the book should have two sections – the first section 5 Flo and Rose stories (“Royal Beatings” Privilege, Half a G., Wild Swans and Spelling) and then, Accident, Beggar Maid, Mischief, Providence and Simon’s Luck? Mr. Black too? How would you like the stories ordered. Give this a little time, and then you may put this out of your mind for a while, if that pleases you. If Simon’s Luck is now three stories, you have more than enough for a collection, and could remove some. Or we could enlist the aid of an editor.
    Barber was, as usual, on top of things; she had taken a considered look at both the body of Munro’s work and her more recent stories. As good as her word, Barber was nudging Munro to the next step and was doing so in a supportive and direct way: indeed, her suggestion of a two-part structure for
Who Do You Think You Are?
was the direction Munro initially followed.
    For his part, Douglas Gibson at Macmillan had not slackened in his pursuit of Munro. After apparently considering her father’s manuscript for some time, he told her in April 1977 that Macmillan had decided to publish it. He was not sure just when they would bring it out, since that was dependent on his own busy schedule and he wanted to edit it himself. “I know how much the publication of this book means to you, and as you and I agree, you ought not to spend time revising it, but should be working on your short stories.” Arrangements regarding
The McGregors
remained in limbo until January 1978, when Munro wrote to Gibson asking