On January 5, 1987, Margaret Laurence, one of Canada’s most beloved writers, died at her home in Lakefield, Ontario, Canada. 

“I was an extremely fortunate child. As someone who has always been interested in reading and in writing (which I began to do in about Grade 2 or 3), I always had someone there who encouraged me.”
Margaret Laurence in a 1983 letter.

The author of Canadian classics The Stone Angel (1964), A Jest of God (1966), The Fire-dwellers (1969) and The Diviners (1974), she also found time to inspire a new generation of writers through mentorships and a writers-in-residence program at the University of Toronto in 1974. She was also the recipient of numerous honours and awards throughout her career: Governor-General’s Award for A Jest Of God (1967), Companion of the Order of Canada (1972) and 14 honourary degrees from various Canadian universities. 

Through her writing, and lectures, Margaret continued to advocate for “peace, social justice, the equality of women, environmental protection” until the end of her life. (r.f. Biography – Margaret Laurence Home)

Margaret Laurence, 1926-1987
From the Canadian Authors series
Issued by Canada Post in 1996
Designer: Alain Leduc

Her treatment by the narrow minded that screamed for her books to be censored will always be a blot on Canada’s literary tradition. Laurence found herself caught in the middle of a battle by a small, vocal and unrelenting group who wanted her books pulled first from high school curriculum. The Diviners was a staple in senior English classes since the mid to late 60s, but in 1976, objections raised by two men from Laurence’s hometown, dragged her into the battle.  Her publisher, Jack McClelland of McClelland & Stewart later described a conversation he had with Laurence about the fight. 

 She replied that there had been “several very nasty letters in the Globe [and Mail], saying, in effect, that The Diviners is ‘loaded with vulgar language’ and ‘disgusting’ sex scenes. It would be awfully nice if someone could write a few letters simply in support of the merits of the novel itself.” She went on to say: “All phone calls have been supportive, so far. I got one anonymous nasty letter from someone in Peterborough, grouping me with Jacqueline Susann and Xaviera Hollander … it’s a bit odd to have this happening in my own Village. I’d feel worse if it were Neepawa, Man. tho.”   (Laurence was born in Neepawa, Manitoba)
The Censorship of Margaret Laurence’s The Diviners, 1976-1985 | Digital Collections @ Mac

Jim Telford, a board of education trustee and member of the Pentecostal community, and Rev. Sam Buick deemed Laurence’s books obscene, specifically targeting The Diviners, claiming it “reeked of sordidness”. The fight to keep her novel on the curriculum was taken to the board level and in a vote of 10-6, the district school opted to keep it of the reading list. But the fight was far from over. Rev. Buick was determined to censor Laurence’s books, ensuring high school students were never exposed to ideas he personally didn’t approve. He launched another campaign, this time garnering 4,000 names on a petition demanding a renewed debate over keeping The Diviners in schools. He also mobilised candidates to run for school boards, in an attempt to hijack the process. Fortunately, all three of Buick’s candidates went down in flames when the election rolled around. 

Not satisfied with fighting the battle in Laurence’s backyard, Buick enlisted the aid of Rev. Ken Campbell of Milton and his ultra religious, evangelical organisation Renaissance Canada. This is an organisation that  continues to push for religion to  “reclaim the sphere of education”.  It’s no small wonder that Margaret Laurence found herself on the receiving end of so much hatred. This was the same group, who invited well known religious extremist Anita Bryant to speak in Toronto and later invited to Peterborough. Their aim was to have “porn stamped out of schools”, although it wasn’t in the schools to start with. Does this sound familiar? Everything old is new again. 

Laurence voiced her worries in a letter to McClelland in a 1977 exchange: 

… Guess who is coming to Peterborough on April 28? Anita Bryant, with the Rev. Ken Campbell from Milton, Ont. It is believed that part of their revival meeting will have to do with “porn in the schools”…here we go again! When I think of a possible repeat of The Diviners controversy a year or so ago, I could throw up. This time, however, they’ll be touring the country, and it has come to my attention that a good few books apart from mine will come under fire, and already are doing so. In N.S. a group of fanatics at are trying to get Buckler’s The Mountain and The Valley banned! Ye gods, what next?  It’s very depressing. So, on this cheery note, I’ll end.
Letter to Jack McClelland, February 23, 1976

McClelland, ever the pragmatist answered with an epic smackdown of Bryant and her ilk:

Dear Margaret

That’s some letter! I am glad they ban your book in Peterborough. I am writing to The Examiner today suggesting that they are  banned your book in Peterborough. I am writing to The Examiner today suggesting that they are on the right track: that all your books should be banned forthwith: that all your awards should be withdrawn because you are corrupting our children.

The fact is, my dear Margaret, that I was paying you a great compliment. A modest collection like HUNTING TIGERS UNDER GLASS!  Do you know how many copies of that modest book sold in the original editions? At a guess 1,823. We could publish ROAD TO THE ISLES (ugh! it is a horrid title) in a simple, unassuming little edition which will sell 3-4,000 copies. No problem. However, because you are Margaret Laurence, if we dress the book up a little physically (the price will neem outrageous today whether we do or whether we don’t) the fact is I believe we can sell at least 10,000 and perhaps many more if we make it look like a book and not like a modest collection of essays. What it is, in fact, is a collection of really outstanding writing. It is very interesting and it will appeal. If we dress the book and make it look like what it is, it will appeal to a market far beyond the academic or the in-group.

And what is wrong with trying to dress a book up a little bit? Alfred Knopf did this for years and I don’t remember anybody complaining about it. All I want to do is make it look like something that somebody wants to own.   
Letter to Margaret Laurence, March 10, 1976

The following year, groups organised and sponsored by the Renaissance succeeded in having three books, including The Diviners, pulled from the Huron district school curricula. Suddenly censorship was more than just a small group screaming into the void. The well organised and rabidly vocal fundamentalist groups sparked a response from the press, The Writers’ Union of Canada, the Canadian Library Association, The Canadian Booksellers Association, and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation to lobby against censorship. The Freedom of Expression Committee was formed which pushed to eventually have the Freedom to Read Week established in 1984. This was the first concerted effort to combat Rev. Campbell’s growing influence.   

The fight to remove Margaret Laurence’s books from schools dragged on for nearly a decade, with a second major attempt made, in Peterborough, in 1985. Laurence was better prepared this time and fought back. This was her home town, and she had had enough. 

This time Laurence did not remain in the background – she vigorously defended her book. Possibly she and McClelland exchanged thoughts on this latest incident but their correspondence is not extant in archival records at McMaster University Library. McClelland, however, did reflect in his incomplete memoir which is housed in his papers at McMaster : “I am reminded of the agony and disquiet that this deeply caring, deeply moral and dedicated woman suffered as a result of concerted attacks by mindless, self-appointed censors in Lakefield and Peterborough County, who attempted to have her works removed from school and library shelves. It was an outrage. It was an experience that hurt her deeply but one which she fought eloquently with grace and conviction.”
The Censorship of Margaret Laurence’s The Diviners, 1976-1985 | Digital Collections @ Mac

The fight took a terrible toll on Laurence. She was, as McClelland described her, “a deeply caring, deeply moral and dedicated” writer who never recovered from the vitriol coming from the “religious” protesters.  The book had been read by thousands of Canadian students, and none of us were in the slightest damaged by reading it, unless you consider being inspired to read and write a sin. Her works touched a generation, especially girls, who were introduced to strong women who lived and enjoyed their lives. And no, despite the claims from one Peterborough city councillor, that reading books like The Diviners will lead to an increase in teen pregnancy, not one pregnancy resulted from reading the novel. 

The likes of Rev. Campbell, who would find another 15 minutes of fame picketing the Morgentaler clinic in Toronto, and making vulnerable women’s lives a living hell, kept pushing censorship to the point where Diviners is rarely taught in school now.

Within a year of the 1985 censorship bid, Laurence was dead from cancer. The continued war with censorship helped wear her out. She was devastated by the hatred and deliberate misleading descriptions of her books as porn and immoral.  

Writer Timothy Findley observed: “no other writer in Canadian history suffered more at the hands of these professional naysayers, book-banners and censors than Laurence.” She had a strong Christian faith and was deeply wounded by the suggestion that she and her novels lacked a strong moral core. She was never able to finish her novel of a small town teacher’s battle with fundamentalist Christians. Instead her epithet, perhaps fittingly so, is her last novel, The Diviners.
The Censorship of Margaret Laurence’s The Diviners, 1976-1985 | Digital Collections @ Mac

NOTES:

When the censorship row was going in the 70s and later her death, I was devastated. I followed the fights, and tried to understand what the problem was with her books. By 1978, I had read all her novels and was inspired to seek out other Canadian authors. My choice in reading was directly attributable to the power of Laurence’s prose. She was direct, eloquent, but never flowery in her descriptions. She elevated plain language into wonderous stories. When she died, I was gutted and wondered if any of those challenging her books had bothered reading  them. Or did they skip over paragraphs, like naughty school kids bent over the school dictionary, looking for the naughty bits. It’s not a matter of they didn’t want their children to read a certain book, which is fair. They wanted to steal the opportunity from all of us. Not their choice.  

I leaned heavily on McMaster University’s excellent digital archives, and especially Sheila Turcon’s well written article The Censorship of Margaret Laurence’s The Diviners, 1976-1985.  You can find the entire article, plus digitised documents here The Censorship of Margaret Laurence’s The Diviners, 1976-1985 | Digital Collections @ Mac. 
With deepest thanks to McMaster and the Canadian government for making such a treasure trove of documents freely available to the public. 

You can support the fight against censorship here Welcome to Freedom to Read – Freedom to Read.  This year the week will take place from February 23 – March 1, 2025. 

Do Margaret proud and read a challenged book today. 

You can find a list here Challenged Works Archive – Freedom to Read.