The fonds consists of correspondence dealing with Charles L'Ami's literary work, career development and political views, literary manuscripts, short stories, dramas and poems, articles, radio scripts, letters to editors, and various resource materials such as reviews, scrapbooks and news clippings.
The Charles Ernest L'Ami collection consists of the following: correspondence dealing mainly with his literary work, career development, and personal opinions and political views; literary manuscripts to his published and unpublished novels, short stories, dramas, and poems; articles; radio scripts; letters to editors; and various resource materials such as reviews, scrapbooks, news clippings, etc.
The collection is fairly complete and representative of L'Ami the writer. Several strictly personal letters were withdrawn from the collection while being processed and returned to the surviving son, Charles A. L'Ami. Nothing was returned or destroyed that reflected L'Ami's philosophy, interpretations, or literary endeavors.
As a local writer of only modest fame, L'Ami never established a national reputation. He was, at heart, a journalist and freelance writer, an interesting blend of the old world and the Canadian prairie with pronounced conservative and traditional leanings and viewpoints. His one major success, The Green Madonna, is not well-known today and little remembered. It may well be that the collection of unpublished works and translations possess future promise for students of Canadian literature.
L'Ami, C. E. (Charles Ernest)