Sarah Binks - Theatre Edition

For anyone stumbling upon this book by accident, I feel it's my duty to point out that Sarah Binks is a fictional character. This mock biography is satire, and pretty good satire at that--for example, Binks' untimely death occurs when she bites a horse thermometer in half and succumbs to mercury poisoning. The horse thermometer was awarded to her as a prize for one of her spectacularly bad poems. The entire book is a parody of rural life in Canada.

Paul Hiebert is best known as a writer of light humour. As such, his suitability as a biographer of a brilliant poet could be questioned. Readers may be reassured that the treatment given Ms. Binks' life and works is serious indeed, as it should be. Possibly the best feature of this biography is that the poems of the 'Sweet Songstress of Saskatchewan' are set in the context of each crucial phase of her career: her upbringing, adolescence, young womanhood, and maturity. This context is critical for a deeper understanding of her work. For example, the knowledge that 'Dog's Heaven' was written shortly after the tragic death of her canine companion adds a rich poigniance that could not be gained from the reading of this brilliant poem in a mere anthology. This biography is a piece of 'Canadiana' (hateful term!) to the extent that Ralph Ellison's 'Invisible Man' is merely a statement of mid-twentieth century Black culture. Sarah Binks, like Ellison, speaks for all humanity. Hiebert's biography brings her to life as a vibrant and feeling woman.