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Introduction: Writing a History of Literature in Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 September 2012

Reingard M. Nischik
Affiliation:
University of Constance
Reingard M. Nischik
Affiliation:
University of Constance, Germany
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Summary

“Canadian” has been broadly used for whatever is native, or has been naturalized, or has a distinct bearing on the native — that is, on people, events, and writings which had their focus in our “environment,” as Northrop Frye has put it…. That which is distinctly Canadian-French in language, thought, culture, and literary production has been left, in accord with their own wishes, to the French scholars of Québec. The time will come, one may hope, when it will be possible to have a French series of books paralleling our English ones — and translations in each of the languages — to facilitate a much-needed comparative study.

Carl F. Klinck, introduction, volume 3 of Literary History of Canada (2nd ed., 1976)

Even if we assume smooth relations on the political level … another generation will probably pass before we see a healthy and mutual interchange between the two literatures. At the present time, Englishand French-Canadian writing are best discussed separately.

William Keith, introduction, Canadian Literature in English (1985)

The Project in Brief

LITERATURE IN CANADA, particularly the booming cultural production from the 1960s onwards, has arrived at the center stage of world literature. Books by English-Canadian authors today make regular appearances on international bestseller lists, both through established writers such as Margaret Atwood (1939–) and Michael Ondaatje (1943–) and through new talents such as Yann Martel (1963–) and Madeleine Thien (1974–).

Type
Chapter
Information
History of Literature in Canada
English-Canadian and French-Canadian
, pp. 1 - 24
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Print publication year: 2008

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