WORDS ON WAVES: SELECTED RADIO PLAYS OF EARLE BIRNEY. Birney, Earle. Kingston (Ont.), Quarry Press and CBC Enterprises, c1985. 279pp, cloth, $22.55, ISBN 0-88794-197-4. Distributed by CBC Enterprises. CIP Grades 9 and up Reviewed by Pat Bolger Volume 13 Number 6 1985 November Between 1945 and 1957 Earle Birney wrote fourteen plays for CBC Radio, eight of which are reprinted here, with author's preface and a critical introduction by Howard Fink of the Centre of Broadcasting Studies at Concordia University. "The Third 'Shepherd's Play'" was rejected by CBC for "alleged blasphemy," according to Birney. Most readers could clear it on that charge but still find something amiss with it. The appeal of mystery plays lies in their artless expression of a deeply-felt faith, and that is totally absent in Birney's contemporary version. Birney is, however, entirely successful with other adaptations, especially "Beowulf," "Gawain and the Green Knight," and "The Duel" (from Joseph Conrad's novella). The two originals, "Court-Martial" (with Mavor Moore), and "Damnation of Vancouver," seem by contrast somewhat talky and contrived. High school libraries will find Words on Waves a very useful addition; students doing myths and legends will like "Beowulf" and "Gawain"; those studying Birney as a poet will find the plays and his preface an interesting source of information; and teachers of English will find the plays ideal for classroom presentation. Public libraries will find the collection popular with patrons who remember the ijood old days when CBC Radio dramas sustained a level of quality rarely encountered among today's television offerings. Pat Bolger, Renfrew C.I., Renfrew, Ont.