Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Writing a History of Literature in Canada
- I Beginnings
- II The Literature of New France, 1604–1760
- III The Literature of British Canada, 1763–1867
- IV From the Dominion to the Territorial Completion of the Nation, 1867–1918
- V The Modern Period, 1918–1967
- VI Literature from 1967 to the Present
- 21 Sociopolitical and Cultural Developments from 1967 to the Present
- 22 English-Canadian Literary Theory and Literary Criticism
- 23 The English-Canadian Novel from Modernism to Postmodernism
- 24 The English-Canadian Short Story since 1967: Between (Post)Modernism and (Neo)Realism
- 25 English-Canadian Poetry from 1967 to the Present
- 26 Contemporary English-Canadian Drama and Theater
- 27 Canons of Diversity in Contemporary English-Canadian Literature
- 28 Literature of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis
- 29 The Quebec Novel
- 30 The French-Canadian Short Prose Narrative
- 31 French-Canadian Poetry from 1967 to the Present
- 32 Orality and the French-Canadian Chanson
- 33 Drama and Theater from the Révolution tranquille to the Present
- 34 Transculturalism and écritures migrantes
- 35 The Institutionalization of Literature in Quebec
- Further Reading
- Notes on the Contributors
- Index
23 - The English-Canadian Novel from Modernism to Postmodernism
from VI - Literature from 1967 to the Present
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 September 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Writing a History of Literature in Canada
- I Beginnings
- II The Literature of New France, 1604–1760
- III The Literature of British Canada, 1763–1867
- IV From the Dominion to the Territorial Completion of the Nation, 1867–1918
- V The Modern Period, 1918–1967
- VI Literature from 1967 to the Present
- 21 Sociopolitical and Cultural Developments from 1967 to the Present
- 22 English-Canadian Literary Theory and Literary Criticism
- 23 The English-Canadian Novel from Modernism to Postmodernism
- 24 The English-Canadian Short Story since 1967: Between (Post)Modernism and (Neo)Realism
- 25 English-Canadian Poetry from 1967 to the Present
- 26 Contemporary English-Canadian Drama and Theater
- 27 Canons of Diversity in Contemporary English-Canadian Literature
- 28 Literature of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis
- 29 The Quebec Novel
- 30 The French-Canadian Short Prose Narrative
- 31 French-Canadian Poetry from 1967 to the Present
- 32 Orality and the French-Canadian Chanson
- 33 Drama and Theater from the Révolution tranquille to the Present
- 34 Transculturalism and écritures migrantes
- 35 The Institutionalization of Literature in Quebec
- Further Reading
- Notes on the Contributors
- Index
Summary
IN THE LAST QUARTER OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY English-Canadian literature has firmly established itself on the international stage — above all in the novel and short-story genre. The production and reception of a national Canadian literature gained significant impetus during the 1960s and 1970s. The process of maturity for Canadian literature was greatly influenced by the cultural atmosphere surrounding the centenary of the Canadian Confederation in 1967, but the process itself had begun much earlier, as is indicated by the active support for Canadian literature by the Canada Council for the Arts from the late 1950s onwards. However, it was only after the celebrations of 1967 that Canadian literature came to be regarded as an expression of national identity. As a result, there was soon talk of a Canadian Literary Renaissance, although in fact it was really more a matter of birth than of rebirth. Commenting on this phenomenon, Walter Pache noted in 1997: “When the centenary of Canadian Confederation came around in 1967, this event was celebrated with a World Exposition in Montreal and the introduction of a new flag: ‘two red bands rampant and a red maple leaf rampant on white, looking like a trademark for margarine of the cheaper variety, or an owl-kill in snow,’ as it is described in Atwood's novel Cat's Eye (1988). Growing national pride and an acerbically ironic internationalism appeared to be the two poles between which Canada's national consciousness alternated.”
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- Chapter
- Information
- History of Literature in CanadaEnglish-Canadian and French-Canadian, pp. 310 - 329Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2008