James Reaney has the distinction of being one of Canada's most talented writers and versatile men of letters. Having early in his career established a reputation as a gifted lyric poet, he has in late...
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Critical Essay by Alvin Lee
Mr. Reaney's comedies demand of their audience, at least temporarily, a capacity to believe that the weapons of human consciousness—religion, art, thought, a...
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Critical Essay by Michael Tait
As a playwright Reaney has tended to be a fine lyric poet. In certain respects the qualities of his verse enhance the plays. Genres, however, are not interchangeable an...
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Critical Essay by Margaret Atwood
Judging from a sampling of recent critical commentary on his collected Poems, Reaney's reputation is in [a slump] …; which is a shame. Any poet who has...
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Critical Essay by Louis Dudek
The plays of James Reaney … have a background of religious and philosophical concern behind them. The survey of philosophy in Reaney's "September Ec...
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Critical Essay by Stephen Martineau
It was reassuring to find that the text [of Sticks & Stones] does not lose the original spirit of live theatre. The secret behind this is the way the direction...
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Critical Essay by David Jackel
[In] spite of the positive qualities one may find in this long overdue selection of Reaney's verse [Selected Shorter Poems], in spite of the evidence of growth, ...
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James Reaney
Critical Essay by Alvin Lee
