The Idea of Art
Abstract: 1AM ALWAYS ASTONISHED at the way chance events influence our lives, sometimes in order to turn us in altogether new ...
The Invisible Labour of Informal Care: Parentified, Gendered, and Racialized Caregiving in David Chariandy’s Soucouyant
Abstract: The majority of scholarship on David Chariandy’s novel Soucouyant focuses on how Adele’s dementia represents the preservation of “cultural memory” and the perniciousness of “historical trauma.” However, by metaphorizing Adele’s mental condition, critics risk treating her dementia as mostly figurative, thus eliding a more detailed discussion of the literal ramifications of her diagnosis. To move beyond these readings, my paper approaches Adele’s disorder as a literal medical condition and explores how her caregiving needs affect her and those around her. Soucouyant subverts traditional caregiving narratives by depicting the typically invisible labour of informal caregiving undertaken by the families and friends of those who are ill or disabled. Because Adele’s family is unable to access proper public healthcare resources, the burden of care falls upon these characters: the protagonist and his brother, who become “parentified children;” Meera and Mrs. Christopher, who assume but also destabilize the archetypal role of the “mammy;” and Adele herself. The novel asks us to question why it is we place the burden of care on those who are not equipped to handle such pressures instead of putting the onus on the government and the public healthcare system to take care of its most vulnerable members.
The Klondike Muse
Abstract: ?HE KLONDIKE TRAIL OF 1898, symbol of the last great gold rush in history, cap?turHedI the imagination of a continent. ...
The Last European
Abstract: “I am the last American living the tragedy of Europe.” EZRA POUND, 1960 IWAS A FRESHMAN at the University of ...
The Latitudes of Romance: Representations of Chinese Canada in Bowering’s To All Appearances a Lady and Lee’s Disappearing Moon Café
Abstract: Chinese immigrants in Canada, and their naturalized descendants, have struggled to assert themselves in a country of trans- planted Europeans ...
The Laurie Ricou Files: The Afterlife of Habitat Studies
Abstract: In "The Laurie Ricou Files," three of Ricou's former students reflect on species or texts we regard as part of his natural habitat, in relation to his role as reader, literary critic, and teacher. Through a reading of salal, rain, and salmon, we explore the resonances of Ricou's habitat studies approach to our ongoing engagement with literature and place.
The Limitations of Media
Abstract: MARSHALL MCLUHAN HAS BEEN TELLING US for years now that the medium is the message. Modern Canadian poets and novelists ...
The Limits of Innocence: James Reaney’s Theatre
Abstract: IN I94I, a small quarterly publication of poetry, Contempor- ary Verse, appeared in British Columbia. The editor was Alan Crawley. ...
The Lion in Winters: Irving Layton at York
Abstract: IT IS FREQUENTLY POINTED out with some degree of disparagement that a large number of Canadian poets are also university ...
The Literary History of Canada
Abstract: 1. Its Modest Successes Donald Stephens Our literature is not yet one of the world’s great literatures, and may never ...