Margaret Laurence was from Neepawa, Manitoba in Canada. In her famous essay “Where the World Began,” she describes her hometown for what it was, a small prairie town, yet one full of “incredible happenings.” She explains that when she was eighteen, she could not wait to get away from that town, but then notes that the town ended up becoming the source of her writing and that it stays with her to this day no matter how far away from it she goes. “It was many things, but it was never dull,” she states. She then explains that the same could be said for her nation, Canada. “Why on earth did generations of Canadians pretend to believe this country was dull?” she asks.

Despite her insistence that Canada is not dull, she notes that this does not mean it is a perfect place. She explains that there are things to “deplore” about the nation, just like there were things she hated about her hometown. For instance, she hates Canada’s problem of industrial waste in lakes and rivers. But she goes on to explain that she rages about such things because of her deep affection for her nation, the same way she did certain aspects of her hometown. She also ends by drawing a parallel between the “marvels” of nature in her hometown and the beauty of Canada's land. She explains that despite its complexities and problems, Canada’s land draws her in more than any other land in the world.