Calls for Papers

Letters for Robert Kroetsch: A Special Issue on His Work and Influence

I wanted to become a postman

to deliver real words

to real people.

There was no one to receive

My application.

Seed Catalogue, section 5

Robert Kroetsch (1927-2011) had a resounding impact—wild and crazy and thoroughly Canadian prairie—as Armin Wiebe describes it. As co-founder of boundary 2 in the early 1970s he was influential in disseminating postmodern theory in North America and internationally. A prolific and funny theorist and critic, he became a major influence in Canada as he taught Creative Writing at the University of Manitoba at the same time as his own work was taught across the country. He combines a clear connection to his roots in Heisler, Alberta, with a life-affirming and intellectually challenging take on writing. Author of 9 novels, 14 volumes of poetry, and 7 books of non-fiction, Mr Canadian Postmodern has given us many lovely and treacherous words. We invite you to continue the play with word and place that he introduced to Canadian literature by submitting an essay on his work to Canadian Literature.

All submissions to Canadian Literature must be original, unpublished work. Essays should follow current MLA bibliographic format (MLA Handbook, 7th ed). Maximum word length for articles is 6500 words, which includes notes and works cited.

Submissions should be uploaded to Canadian Literature’s online submission system at http://canlitsubmit.ca by the deadline of February 1st, 2013.

Questions in advance of the deadline may be addressed to: can.lit@ubc.ca.


Beyond Borders to Bioregions: Teaching and Reading Ecocritically

Announcing a special issue of Canadian Literature.

Guest edited by Anne L. Kaufman and Robert Thacker.

We seek essays, reviews, and other responses for a special issue of Canadian Literature honouring the teaching, scholarship, and example of Laurie Ricou.

Since the publication of his path-breaking study of Canadian prairie fiction, Vertical Man/Horizontal World (1973), Laurie Ricou has been a unique and important presence in Canadian literature. Following the trajectory of place he has lived himself, his most recent books, Salal: Listening for the Northwest Understory (2007), The Arbutus/Madrone Files (2002), and A Field Guide to A Guide to Dungeness Spit (1997) are border-crossing works of literary eco-criticism as well as models for knowing a place, living responsibly in it, and attending to its demands—physical, psychic, and aesthetic. There, Ricou champions the Pacific Northwest bioregion, its people, its literature, its flora and fauna. He has been no less conscientious about these details in the classroom, as his students can attest. This understated scholar and his subversive approaches to facilitating intellectual growth have not yet received their critical due. This collection of essays, sparked by a panel at the Western Literature Association meeting in Missoula in October 2011—a place of deep personal and professional commitment for Ricou himself—seeks to remedy this deficit.

All submissions to Canadian Literature must be original, unpublished work. Essays should follow current MLA bibliographic format (MLA Handbook, 7th ed). Maximum word length for articles is 6500 words, which includes notes and works cited.

Submissions should be uploaded to Canadian Literature’s online submission system at http://canlitsubmit.ca by the deadline of June 1st, 2012.

Questions in advance of the deadline may be addressed to:

Anne L. Kaufman (anne.l.kaufman@gmail.com) and Robert Thacker (rthacker@stlawu.edu)