CanLit Gudies: Indigenous Literatures in Canada
March 29, 2016
The final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015) issued 94 “Calls To Action.” These included a call for educators to increase “curriculum on residential schools, Treaties, and Aboriginal peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada.” and to educate “teachers on how to integrate Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods into classrooms.”
We invite educators to turn to the Indigenous Literatures in Canada Guide, in the CanLit Guides Series, for detailed notes on writing by Indigenous authors, poets, and playwrights in a frame of literary and cultural contexts.
This guide uses Canadian Literature’s online archives to encourage students to consider the complicated relationship between colonialism, literature, history, culture, and language.
Indigenous Literatures in Canada includes case studies of The Rez Sisters by Tomson Highway, Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King, Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson, the poetry of E. Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake), and a discussion of visual poetry and Indigenous-Settler issues through the work of Shane Rhodes and Jordan Abel.
Deadline Extension: Call for Papers on Indigenous Literature and the Arts of Community
March 24, 2016
Our Call for Papers for a special issue on Indigenous Literature and the Arts of Community has been extended. The new deadline is 30 June 2016. For more information or details about the special issue, visit our Calls for Papers page.
This special issue of Canadian Literature was inspired by the inaugural gathering of the Indigenous Literary Studies Association (ILSA), entitled “The Arts of Community,” which was held at Six Nations of the Grand River in October 2015. Seeking to catalyze and continue the conversations developed at that event, Guest Editors Sam McKegney, Sarah Henzi, and Adar Charlton invite submissions by scholars, knowledge-keepers, artists, and community members that explore new ways of thinking about Indigenous literary arts and community engagement. We welcome academic papers, as well as creative critical pieces in alternative formats, for potential inclusion in a print issue of the journal and/or an affiliated online resource hub at CanLit.ca.
Send your articles through Canadian Literature’s online submissions system (OJS) today.
Many thanks to everybody who has already submitted a paper for our consideration.
Questions about the special issue may be directed to can.lit(at)ubc.ca.
George Elliott Clarke, Poet Laureate of Canada 2016-2017
January 6, 2016
George Elliott Clarke has been appointed the new Poet Laureate of Canada, succeeding Michel Pleau. Clarke is a long-time contributor to Canadian Literature, submitting a large pool of poetry, book reviews, and articles over the last two decades. His works largely explore the experience of Black Canadians in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, engaging with themes of racism, segregation, discrimination, hatred, identity, and belonging. His poetic lyricism and devotion to promoting African-Canadian literature has earned him critical recognition from a number of academies and awards, and we are proud to congratulate him on this prestigious honour.
A full bibliography and his biography can be found on the original announcement. See below for a list of works by and about George Elliott Clarke published in Canadian Literature. All content can be accessed through the download links on the full issue page.
Poetry by George Elliott Clarke
- “Anatomy of La IIIe République: By Alexandre Dumas, fils*” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Recursive Time. issue of Canadian Literature 222 (Autumn 2014): 30-33.
- “À Cristoforo Colombo (II)“ by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Recursive Time. issue of Canadian Literature 222 (Autumn 2014): 12.
- “A Letter from Henry Tucker, August 28, 1789” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Canadian Literature 216 (Spring 2013): 138-41.
- “Fortuna” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Canadian Literature 206 (Autumn 2010): 109.
- “Halifax” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in The Literature of Atlantic Canada. Spec. issue of Canadian Literature 189 (Summer 2006): 84-84.
- “Annapolis Valley Sanskrit” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in The Literature of Atlantic Canada. Spec. issue of Canadian Literature 189 (Summer 2006): 14-14.
- “Towards a Geography of Three Mile Plains, N.S.” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Black Writing in Canada. Spec. issue of Canadian Literature 182 (Autumn 2004): 51-52.
- “Ulcerous Canon” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Mostly Drama. Spec. issue of Canadian Literature 168 (Spring 2001): 12-12.
- “II. iii” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Mostly Drama. Spec. issue of Canadian Literature 168 (Spring 2001): 13-13.
- “Reading Trudeau’s Cheminements de la politiquein May 1979″ by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Canadian Literature 157 (Summer 1998): 35-35.
- “Absurdio” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Canadian Literature 157 (Summer 1998): 13-13.
- “Antiphony” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Canadian Literature 157 (Summer 1998): 12-12.
Articles by George Elliott Clarke
- “Anna Minerva Henderson” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in The Literature of Atlantic Canada. Spec. issue of Canadian Literature 189 (Summer 2006): 32-48.
Book Reviews by George Elliott Clarke
- “Collecting His Wits” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Prison Writing. issue of Canadian Literature 208 (Spring 2011): 153-155.
- Collected Works of George Grant: Volume 4, 1970-1988 by Henry Roper and Arthur Davis
- “Granting audience” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Canadian Literature 191 (Winter 2006): 138-139.
- Collected Works of George Grant by Henry Roper and Arthur Davis
- “The Gospel of Grant” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Canadian Literature 184 (Spring 2005): 119-120.
- Collected Works of George Grant by Arthur Davis
- “The Bajan Connection” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Black Writing in Canada. Spec. issue of Canadian Literature 182 (Autumn 2004): 127-128.
- Dry Bone Memories by Cecil Foster
- “In Living Colour” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Canadian Literature 180 (Spring 2004): 117-119.
- African Diaspora and Autobiographics by Chinosole
- Black and Asian Plays by Cheryl Robson
- “What Is the Answer?” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Literature & War. Spec. issue of Canadian Literature 179 (Winter 2003): 126-128.
- The Question by Austin Clarke
- “Re: (St.) George Grant” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Archives and History. Spec. issue of Canadian Literature 178 (Autumn 2003): 120-121.
- Collected Works of George Grant by Peter C. Emberley and Arthur Davis
- George Grant and the Theology of the Cross by Harris Athanasiadis
- “No Respect” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Travel. Spec. issue of Canadian Literature 174 (Autumn 2002): 187-189.
- Rude by Rinaldo Walcott
- “Vitriolic Quixote” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Nature / Culture. Spec. issue of Canadian Literature 170-171 (Autumn/Winter 2001): 198-199.
- The George Grant Reader by Sheila Grant and William Christian
- English-Speaking Justice by George Grant
- “Another Great Thing” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Canadian Literature 165 (Summer 2000): 139-140.
- Any Known Blood by Lawrence Hill
- “Viewing African Canada” by George Elliott Clarke originally appeared in Canadian Literature 160 (Spring 1999): 185-186.
- The Blacks in Canada by Robin W. Winks
Book Reviews of George Elliott Clarke’s Works
- “Body Rights” by Hilda Thomas originally appeared in Letters & Other Connections. Spec. issue of Canadian Literature 134 (Autumn 1992): 113-115. of Fire on the Water: An Anthology of Black Nova Scotia Writingby Hilda Thomas and George Elliott Clarke
- “Between I and I” by Katherine McLeod originally appeared in Indigenous Focus. issue of Canadian Literature215 (Winter 2012): 157-58. Rev. of I & I by George Elliott Clarke
- “Words About Things” by Alison Calder originally appeared in Gendering the Archive. issue of Canadian Literature217 (Summer 2013): 142-43. Rev. of Red by George Elliott Clarke
- “La beauté est nue” by Kevin McNeilly originally appeared in Canadian Literature212 (Spring 2012): 138-139. of Illuminated Verses by George Elliott Clarke
- “Odysseys” by Taiwo Adetunji Osinubi originally appeared in Black Writing in Canada. Spec. issue of Canadian Literature182 (Autumn 2004): 102-103. of Odysseys Homes: Mapping African-Canadian Literature by George Elliott Clarke
- “Savouring Jazz” by Katherine McLeod originally appeared in Women & the Politics of Memory. Spec. issue of Canadian Literature186 (Autumn 2005): 123-124. of Québécité by George Elliott Clarke
- “Contemporary Sensibilities” by Eric Trethewey originally appeared in Literature & War. Spec. issue of Canadian Literature179 (Winter 2003): 144-147. of Blue by George Elliott Clarke
- “Paths within the Onion” by Uzoma Esonwanne originally appeared in Canadian Literature165 (Summer 2000): 130-133. of Eyeing the North Star by George Elliott Clarke
- “Eclectic Visas” by Neil Querengesser originally appeared in Community Values. Spec. issue of Canadian Literature148 (Spring 1996): 171-173. of Lush Dreams, Blue Exile. Fugitive Poems by George Elliott Clarke
- “Critical Dis/Orientations” by Alessandra Capperdoni originally appeared in Gendering the Archive. issue of Canadian Literature217 (Summer 2013): 140-42. Rev. of Directions Home: Approaches to African-Canadian Literature by George Elliott Clarke
Call for Papers: Indigenous Literature and the Arts of Community
December 9, 2015
Guest editors Sam McKegney, Sarah Henzi, and Adar Charlton are welcoming submissions for a special issue of Canadian Literature: Indigenous Literature and the Arts of Community.
This special issue of Canadian Literature was inspired by the inaugural gathering of the Indigenous Literary Studies Association (ILSA), entitled “The Arts of Community,” which was held at Six Nations of the Grand River in October 2015. Seeking to catalyze and continue the conversations developed at that event, Canadian Literature invites submissions that explore new ways of thinking about Indigenous literary arts and community engagement.
We invite submissions by scholars, knowledge-keepers, artists, and community members that consider questions pertaining to community and Indigenous literature. We welcome academic papers, as well as creative critical pieces in alternative formats, for potential inclusion in a print issue of the journal and/or an affiliated online resource hub at CanLit.ca. We are particularly interested in work that pursues strategies for moving beyond academic lip-service regarding “community consultation,” which too often replicates colonial power structures, and instead discusses methods of building relationships among scholars, artists, educational institutions, and Indigenous communities and nations based on reciprocity and respect. We therefore solicit submissions that engage with Indigenous literary arts to consider how research can become more accountable to the interests, concerns, and intellectual pursuits of Indigenous communities. Imagining literary creativity expansively, we welcome work that engages with literature, film, theatre, storytelling, song, hip hop, and other forms of narrative expression.
Submissions should be uploaded to Canadian Literature‘s online submissions system by the deadline of March 15, 2016. Questions about the special issue may be directed to can.lit(at)ubc.ca.
For more information or details about the special issue, visit our Calls for Papers page.
New Issue: Queer Frontiers #224 (Spring 2015)
November 26, 2015
Canadian Literature’s Issue 224 (Spring 2015), Queer Frontiers, is now available for order. Guest editors Jorge Calderón and Domenic Beneventi introduce this special issue:
En 1967, Michel Foucault a présenté une communication intitulée « Espaces autres » au Cercle d’études architecturales. Dans cette communication, Foucault développe le concept d’hétérotopies. Ce concept répond aux problèmes d’emplacements et de relations qu’il identifie dans la culture contemporaine. Les réponses qu’il apporte à ces questions de position et de prise de position des individus dans certains endroits précis par rapport à d’autres possibilités offertes par l’espace concret et social qui leur est accessible mettent en évidence l’existence de lieux qui sont hors de tous les lieux.
—Jorge Calderón and Domenic Beneventi, “Frontières queers : Hétérotopies, lieux/non-lieux et espaces frontaliers“
Queer Frontiers also features articles by Libe García Zarranz, Nicole Côté, Shannon Maguire, Kevin Shaw, and Tina Northrup, as well as new Canadian poetry and book reviews.
The new issue can be ordered through our online store. Happy readings!
Welcome to the New Canadian Literature Website
November 23, 2015
Welcome to the new Canadian Literature website! We now better illustrate the multitude of things we do at the journal while continuing to provide such fabulous features as our deep archives of articles, reviews, and poetry.
We’re confident that your experience of content and resources will be enhanced by this more intuitive site. You can now track with us, for example, as we stay on top of news and events in Canadian literary culture in the News and Actualités sections. Note that we always welcome suggestions for news and announcements from the wide CanLit community.
Highlights of our web overhaul include: a new French section (with reviews, articles, and blog posts); improved searchability; a Submissions tab that will take you right to our OJS submission system; an updated shopping cart for subscriptions (annual or single issues) and more accessible modes of advertising (online or in print); a revamped resource section (a treasure trove of old and new material related to the study of Canadian writing and culture, including interviews, poems, special features, and CanLit Guides); a clear set of instructions on how to support the journal and our student interns; a centrally located Twitter feed, as well as Twitter, RSS, and Facebook links; and PDFs of back issues displayed one beautiful cover at a time, sorted by decade.
We have retained some of our favourite features from the original site as well. Most importantly, we will continue to regularly publish current book reviews online before they appear in the print issue. We have maintained popular sections like the Montreal walking tour in honour of Mordecai Richler and the entire open access educational resource, CanLit Guides. The renovation of some past projects (CanLit Poets, CanLit Scholars, and CanLit Publishers), however, is still under way. These will be forthcoming on the website in the new year.
I want to thank everyone from the CanLit office and UBC Arts ISIT who worked indefatigably to create this new site. Donna Chin and Christy Fong deserve special mention. Without Donna’s multitasking skills and Christy’s eagle eyes, we would have a site full of broken links and square boxes. I am truly grateful to work with such a creative and dedicated team.
Enjoy the new Canadian Literature website.
Laura Moss
Editor, Canadian Literature
Appel à communications: Résistance et résilience dans l’écriture littéraire francophone migrante au Canada
November 18, 2015
20 au 22 décembre 2015, Université Bar Ilan, Ramat Gan, Israël
Lélia Young (Université York), Simone Grossman (Université Bar-Ilan) et Danielle Schaub (Collège universitaire Oranim) organisent dans le cadre du C-RICEFM (http://c-ricefm.laps.yorku.ca/) un colloque touchant aux problématiques posées par les actes de résistance et de résilience dans la littérature francophone migrante au Canada, problématiques liée à des thèmes qui occupent aujourd’hui une place importante au sein de la diversité francophone. La résistance par l’acte créateur est un moteur fondamental de l’affirmation identitaire qui permet de dire non à l’adversité en maintenant l’espoir de nourrir de nouvelles aspirations, de nouvelles formes et d’entrevoir le futur de manière cohérente. La résilience est une phase qui peut suivre séquentiellement de près ou de loin l’acte de résistance pour donner vie autrement aux nouvelles aspirations et formes envisagées. La résilience est donc le moteur qui élabore les stratégies de survie et de transformation qui permettent de surmonter les divers obstacles et de finalement vivre différemment, « Autrement pareille » pour reprendre le titre bien suggestif d’un des livres de Marguerite Andersen. Les concepts de résistance et de résilience nous renvoient aussi à l’étude faite par Walter G. Green. Ce dernier écrit que la résilience fait en sorte que tout échec soit résorbé de manière contrôlée, ce qui permet le rétablissement presque normal du discours social et de ses fonctions (www.pitt.edu/~super7/32011-33001/32411.pp).
Le colloque s’articulera autour des 3 axes suivants :
Les liens existant « entre le soi et les groupes sociaux ou les catégories d’appartenance » (Kaufmann, J-C, 2004)
L’édification d’une littérature migrante en situation minoritaire de bilinguisme diglossique
Résistance et résilience : Tournants de l’histoire migratoire, impacts spatiaux-temporels et enjeux de la littérature francophone de la diaspora canadienne (à titre d’exemples, mentionnons les noms de Didier Leclair, Aristote Kavungu, Angèle Bassolé-Ouédraogo, Hédi Bouraoui, Régine Robin, Naim Kattan, Lélia Young, Marguerite Andersen, Gérard Étienne, Dany Laferrière, etc.)
Les propositions de communications devront nous parvenir avant le 15 juin 31 mai 2015 sous la forme d’un titre et d’un résumé anonyme d’une page (250 mots suivis d’une bibliographie sommaire), accompagnés, en pièce jointe (document à part) des coordonnées (nom, institution, courriel, adresse postale, numéro de téléphone). Les propositions sont à envoyer, sous forme électronique à l’adresse suivante bellai_@rogers.com avec copie conforme électronique aux organisatrices du colloque : Lélia Young (Université York), lyoung@yorku.ca; Simone Grossman (Université Bar-Ilan), simonegrossman00@gmail.com; Danielle Schaub (Collège universitaire Oranim), dschaub@research.haifa.ac.il.
Jack Kerouac, écrivain canadien-français ?
November 18, 2015
Et c’est reparti pour un tour. La publication annoncée par les Éditions du Boréal de deux textes inédits de Jack Kerouac écrits en français devrait relancer le débat entourant les racines québécoises et françaises de l’écrivain emblématique de la Beat Generation. Jean-François Chassay, dans L’Ambiguïté américaine. Le roman québécois face aux États-Unis (1995), a déjà donné un aperçu d’un débat dont il situe plus ou moins l’origine à la fameuse entrevue en français accordée par Kerouac à l’émission Le sel de la semaine en 1967. Quelques années après cette entrevue, au cours de laquelle on voyait Fernand Seguin inviter Kerouac à parler de son enfance et de ses ancêtres bretons, on a vu quelques écrivains comme Victor-Lévy Beaulieu aller jusqu’à suggérer que l’auteur de On the Road devait peut-être, après tout, être considéré comme un écrivain canadien-français, voire québécois.
Né dans la communauté franco-américaine de Lowell, au Massachussets, Jack Kerouac a passé les toutes premières années de sa vie dans la langue transmise par ses parents, Gabrielle-Ange Lévesque et Leo Kerouac. Celui que son père surnommait Ti-Jean est pourtant devenu une icône de la contreculture américaine grâce à une œuvre dont on ne connaissait jusqu’ici que le versant publié en anglais. Une entente conclue avec les héritiers de l’écrivain permettra de mettre au jour des manuscrits inédits rédigés en français qui sont autant de témoignages des rapports que n’a cessé d’entretenir Kerouac avec sa langue maternelle.
Le recueil publié par Boréal aura pour titre La vie est d’hommage et comprendra divers textes dont, Sur le chemin, une version préliminaire de On the Road, et La nuit est ma femme, le long début d’un roman resté inachevé. Les lecteurs les plus familiers de Kerouac reconnaitront également quelques passages de Maggie Cassidy et de Satori in Paris, œuvres qu’il a d’abord choisi de travailler en français. Jean-Christophe Cloutier, professeur adjoint de littérature anglaise à l’Université de Pennsylvanie assurera la présentation de cet ouvrage, dont la parution est prévue au printemps 2016.
Ces textes donneront-ils lieu à de nouvelles velléités d’appropriation de l’œuvre de Jack Kerouac par la critique canadienne et québécoise, telles qu’on a pu en voir se manifester régulièrement ces trente ou quarante dernières années ? Une chose est sûre, la reconnaissance de la place occupée par la langue française dans le processus d’écriture de Jack Kerouac permettra de dépasser un débat qui jusque-là se limitait souvent à invoquer la question des origines et de l’identité nationale.
Appel à contributions: La critique canado-asiatique au-delà du prisme national
November 1, 2015
Éditeurs invités: Chris Lee, Christine Kim
Le paradigme nationaliste a longtemps dominé le champ de la critique canado-asiatique. Devant des faits historiques tels que la taxe d’entrée imposée aux immigrants chinois, les camps d’internements de Canadiens d’origine japonaise, l’incident du Komagata Maru, et face aux débats actuels suscités par le multiculturalisme et les mouvements migratoires internationaux, la critique canado-asiatique a souvent eu tendance à mettre l’accent sur le rôle de l’État-nation dans la marginalisation des populations d’origines étrangères. Cette approche a sans contredit été déterminante pour la constitution d’un discours pédagogique anti-raciste, et a été nourrie par ses liens étroits avec les communautés culturelles, le militantisme et les mouvements sociaux. Pourtant, le point de vue nationaliste de la critique canado-asiatique a également eu pour effet de réinscrire la citoyenneté et l’appartenance nationale parmi les principes fondamentaux de l’aspiration politique, renouant du même coup avec les anciens réflexes d’assimilation du multiculturalisme.
Ce numéro spécial se veut une invitation à repenser la critique canado-asiatique au-delà de l’imaginaire national(iste). En raison de l’attention qu’elle a longtemps accordée aux phénomènes de racialisation et de marginalisation à l’intérieur de l’État-nation, la critique canado-asiatique se trouve dans une position privilégiée pour questionner — plutôt que conforter — les épistémologies nationales. Historiquement, les communautés formées par les Canadiens d’origine asiatique sont issues des migrations produites dans la foulée des empires américains et britanniques; leurs aspirations nationalistes se sont ainsi manifestées à la fois avec et contre ces allégeances. Plus récemment, les Canadiens d’origine asiatique ont été diversement représentés dans l’imaginaire national, tantôt comme réfugiés ou migrants sans papiers, tantôt comme étudiant internationaux ou grands investisseurs. En inscrivant la critique canado-asiatique à l’intérieur d’une problématique transnationale, nous souhaitons faire contrepoids à la tendance consistant à se focaliser uniquement sur leCanada et à chercher à définir asiatique dans l’expression « canado-asiatique ». Ce numéro spécial est une invitation à interroger le terme asiatique à la fois en tant que catégorie, identité, représentation, objet d’une identification affective ou de son rejet.
Nous sollicitons des articles susceptibles de jeter un regard critique sur les traditions ayant contribué à l’essor de la critique canado-asiatique et plaidant pour un repositionnement de cette dernière à la lumière des travaux actuels dans le champ des études sur le Pacifique, de la critique des systèmes mondiaux, des études comparatives des impérialismes, des études culturelles inter-asiatiques, de l’indigénéité mondiale, du global south ou de tout autre paradigme. Nous sommes particulièrement intéressés par les articles remettant en question l’apparente uniformité de la critique canado-asiatique, ainsi que des objets qui lui ont traditionnellement été associés, à travers des approches comparatistes, plurilingues et transnationales susceptibles d’ébranler plutôt que renforcer les épistémologies nationales.
Canadian Literature ne publie que des articles originaux et inédits. Les articles — d’environ 6500 mots (notes et références bibliographiques comprises) — doivent respecter le style de citation MLA.
Prière de soumettre votre texte via le site de Canadian Literature avant le 1er janvier 2016.
Pour toute question concernant ce numéro spécial, veuillez contacter can.lit@ubc.ca.
New Issue: Agency & Affect #223 (Winter 2014)
August 27, 2015
Canadian Literature’s Issue 223 (Winter 2014), Agency & Affect, is now available for order. Editor Margery Fee opens the issue with reflections on her teaching experiences and the necessity of studying literary pedagogy:
. . . It is . . . troubling that we don’t explain our primary critical strategies to our students. In Literary Learning: Teaching the English Major, Linkon argues that we are good at demonstrating our ability to work through interpretations in lectures and to guide class discussions about texts. Where we fall down, in her view, is explaining to students as we go through this process just how we arrived at our interpretation, which is usually presented to them as a finished, polished performance. This typical pedagogy fails to convey our method, what she calls strategic knowledge and what Laura Wilder calls “rhetorical process knowledge,” vital information if students are going to be able to succeed at tackling the interpretation of unfamiliar texts by themselves.
—Margery Fee, “Spies in the House of Literary Criticism”
Agency & Affect also features articles by Ranbir K. Banwait, Paul Huebener, Lisa Marchi, Veronica Austen, Andrea Beverley, and Kerry Lappin-Fortin, as well as new Canadian poetry and book reviews.
The new issue can be ordered through our online store. Happy readings!