Canadians across the country have poems in their pockets, from a pretty little haiku to historical epics to the latest pop earworm. Every year new poets give us wonderful and engaging works. But we can’t forget the strong Canadian poetic tradition captured by, among others, Bliss Carman’s romantic odes to landscape, Stephen Leacock’s biting satire, [...]
This year, Canadian literature belongs to the country’s female readers and writers for a few key reasons.
Canada has no classic Christmas story! But that doesn’t stop Susanne Marshall from searching high and low for a Canadian tale worthy of the season.
Canadian literature has long had a thematic interest in the uncanny, the strange, the frightening, the unknown. From the magical and sometimes terrifying inhabitants of First Nations myths and legends, to the paranoiac claustrophobia imbuing early literature, identified by Northrop Frye as the “garrison mentality,” to the continued dread within contemporary literature of the myriad [...]
Leonard Cohen was recently awarded the Glenn Gould Prize, aka. “the Nobel Prize of the Arts.” Now, let us count the ways in which he is equal to the prize!
The sinking of the Titanic has resonated now for 100 years in the consciousness of Canadians. The grief, wonder, and curiosity the disaster continues to inspire has been the impetus for countless literary works. While the majority of these are factual or biographical, significant imaginative works of poetry and prose have been produced, works that [...]
Literature editor Susanne Marshall “longs for serious engagement with literature in the public sphere” and explores the effectiveness of populist literary awards like Canada Reads and CBC’s Bookie Awards.
“Over the Hills in the Rain, My Dear” is a poem that encapsulates the long endurance and ridiculous wonder of longtime love. What better poem for Valentine’s Day?
The tumblr blog CanLit is Sexy has paired famous Canadian authors with naughty reconfigurations of some of their best-known titles into pickup lines, to hilarious effect. Laugh, blush, and enjoy!
A: Apparently to Germany. Today it was announced that the German-based publishing conglomerate Bertelsmann AG, which owns Random House, took full control of McClelland and Stewart, venerable independent Canadian publishing house and champion of Canadian literature through its flowering in the 20th century under the leadership of Jack McClelland, when it published such stars in [...]
Les vacances de Noël sont le moment idéal nous donnant une autre raison, si besoin est, de s’installer avec un livre dans un coin bien au chaud par une belle soirée d’hiver. Peut-être à la chaleur du poêle à bois ronronnant, les lumières de l’arbre scintillant dans un coin, et une bonne tasse chaude à la [...]
At this time of year, it’s easy to get caught up in reader anxiety: why haven’t I picked up Book X yet? Friend Y has already read book Z and I haven’t! Zounds, I still haven’t read all the shortlisted books from last year’s Prize A! Some of this stress makes sense, as after all, [...]
In time for Canadian Library Month, Susanne Marshall reminds us of the unique sensation of listening to – not reading – stories.
Understanding the depth of our literary history and the breadth of style, scope and subject of our fiction, poetry, and drama brings us together as a cultural unit.
For various reasons, “Canadian” fiction seems often to evoke a specific kind of narrative: probably historical; probably set in a beautiful part of remote, rural Canada where the weather is particularly bad; probably dense and focused upon psychological disturbance. Unsettling. Vaguely depressing. If you ask my students, many of them will simply roll their eyes [...]
