ON STAGE WITH MAARA HAAS. Haas, Maara. Winnipeg. Lilith Publications, c1986. 175pp, paper, $12.95, ISBN 0-920681-02-6. Distributed by Lilith Publications, 32 Lipton St., Winnipeg, Man., R3G 2G5. CIP Grades 11 and up Reviewed by donalee Moulton-Barrett Volume 15 Number 2 1987 March Poet, essayist, dramatist, and storyteller Maara Haas has put together a collection of prose/poetry that bounces readers through different forms and structures as smoothly as it rages, albeit humorously, on issues close to the heart, Haas's heart. Those issues include the treatment of all women, past and present, but especially ethnic women. "The bramblepath to liberation," writes Haas in her introduction, "is a complex maze snarled up in heritage, like being Greek, Ukrainian or any other bacterial culture so defined in Canadian society." Certainty one of Haas's strengths as a writer is her sense of humour and her ability to discuss weighty and often controversial topics withom losing this sense of humour or failing to convey it to the reader. Ironically, Haas's sense of humour does not dull the impact of what she has to say, rather it sharpens the impact by making her point so much more memorable. When Haas forgets this, as she does occasionally, the prose/poetry becomes leaden and readers are reminded of college classrooms and lecturing professors. How much of On Stage with Maara Haas is autobiographical only the writer knows for sure, but certainly the stories in particular have the ring of reality, which, combined with Haas's funny-bone, make for most powerful pieces of prose and poetry. They are compassionate and insightful, entertaining and provocative. donalee Moulton-Barrett, Halifax, N.S.