History of Literature in Canada: English-Canadian and French-Canadian

Reingard M. Nischik

Camden House, 2008 - History - 605 pages

The development of literature in Canada with an eye to its multicultural, multiethnic, multilingual nature.

From modest colonial beginnings, literature in Canada has arrived at the center stage of world literature. Works by English-Canadian writers -- both established writers such as Margaret Atwood and new talents such as Yann Martel -- make regular appearances on international bestseller lists. French-Canadian literature has also found its own voice in the North American and francophone worlds. "CanLit" has likewise developed into a staple of academic interest, pursued in Canadian Studies programs in Canada and around the world. This volume draws on the expertise of scholars from Canada, Germany, Austria, and France, tracing Canadian literature from the indigenous oral tradition to thedevelopment of English-Canadian and French-Canadian literature since colonial times. Conceiving of Canada as a single but multifaceted culture, it accounts for specific characteristics of English- and French-Canadian literatures, such as the vital role of the short story in English Canada or that of the chanson in French Canada. Yet special attention is also paid to Aboriginal literature and to the pronounced transcultural, ethnically diverse character ofmuch contemporary Canadian literature, thus moving clearly beyond the traditions of the two founding nations.

Contributors: Reingard M. Nischik, Eva Gruber, Iain M. Higgins, Guy Laflèche, Dorothee Scholl, Gwendolyn Davies, Tracy Ware, Fritz Peter Kirsch, Julia Breitbach, Lorraine York, Marta Dvorak, Jerry Wasserman, Ursula Mathis-Moser, Doris G. Eibl, Rolf Lohse, Sherrill Grace, Caroline Rosenthal, Martin Kuester, Nicholas Bradley, Anne Nothof, Georgiana Banita, Gilles Dupuis, and Andrea Oberhuber.

Reingard M. Nischik is Professor of American Literature at the University of Constance, Germany.

Contents

• Aboriginal Oral Traditions: 27
• The Whites Arrive White Writing before Canada 10001600: 38
• Historical Background: 47
• Colonial Literature in New France: 58
• Historical Overview: 69
• FrenchCanadian Colonial Literature under the Union Jack: 88
• the Nation 18671918: 113
• FrenchCanadian Literature from National Solidarity: 127
• Politics and Literature between Nationalism: 149
• EnglishCanadian Poetry 19201960: 159
• The EnglishCanadian Novel and the Displacement: 174
• The Modernist EnglishCanadian Short Story: 194
• Early EnglishCanadian Theater and Drama 19181967: 207
• French Canada from the First World War to 1967: 222
• FrenchCanadian Poetry up to the 1960s: 228
• The FrenchCanadian Novel between Tradition: 242
• The FrenchCanadian Short Story: 264
• FrenchCanadian Drama from the 1930s to: 270
• Sociopolitical and Cultural Developments from: 285
• EnglishCanadian Literary Theory and Literary Criticism: 291
• The EnglishCanadian Novel from Modernism: 310
• The EnglishCanadian Short Story since 1967: 330
• EnglishCanadian Poetry from 1967 to the Present: 352
• Contemporary EnglishCanadian Drama and Theater: 373
• Canons of Diversity in Contemporary: 387
• Literature of the First Nations Inuit and Métis: 413
• The Quebec Novel: 429
• The FrenchCanadian Short Prose Narrative: 450
• Orality and the FrenchCanadian Chanson: 470
• Transculturalism and écritures migrantes: 497
• Further Reading: 519
• Notes on the Contributors: 545

About the author

Reingard M. Nischik is Professor and chair of American literature at the University of Constance, Germany.

Bibliographic information

• Title: History of Literature in Canada: English-Canadian and French-Canadian; Volume 13 of European studies in American literature and culture
• Editor: Reingard M. Nischik
• Publisher: Camden House, 2008
• ISBN: 1571133593, 9781571133595
• Length: 605 pages
• Subjects: History / Canada / General; History / Social History; Literary Collections / Canadian; Literary Criticism / Canadian; Literary Criticism / Reference; Social Science / Ethnic Studies / Canadian Studies