Canadian Writing in English

Canadian fiction in English had its origins in the second half of the 19
th
century. The History of Emily Montague
(1769) by English-born Frances Brooke is considered the first Canadian, as well as the first North !erican,
no"el. #ritten as a series of letters, it is based on $roo%e&s e'(eriences li"ing in a garrison (!ilitary (ost) in
)u*bec in the 176+s. ,he no"el (ro"ides a (ortrait of 1-th-century Canada while establishing a fe!ale literary
"oice early in English Canadian writing. .nfluenced by English (oet le'ander /o(e and 0rench (hiloso(her
1oltaire, $roo%e used the artificial con"entions of the ro!ance in her no"el to tal% of !atters both fashionable
and (olitical.
Drummond, William Henry (1-23-19+7), Canadian (oet, whose "erse transcribed the !i'ture of 0rench and
English s(o%en by 0rench inhabitants of rural Canada. $orn in county 4eitri!, .reland, 5ru!!ond i!!igrated
to Canada with his fa!ily in 1-63. 6e was educated at 7c8ill 9ni"ersity. 4ater he (racticed !edicine in
)u*bec /ro"ince, taught, and su(erintended his fa!ily:s sil"er !ines in ;ntario. 6is (oetry, the !ost (o(ular of
which is collected in The Habitant (1-97), Johnny Courteau (19+1), The Voyageur (19+2), and The Great Fight
(19+-), describes the li"es of the habitants (0rench-Canadian far!ers) and records their tales and legends in
"erse.
Service, Robert W(illiam) (1-73-192-), Canadian (oet, born in /reston, England, and educated at the
9ni"ersity of 8lasgow. 6e i!!igrated to Canada in 1-93. <er"ice is %nown (ri!arily for his (oe!s describing
the ele!ental and ad"enturous life of gold (ros(ectors and others in the subarctic regions of northwestern North
!erica, where he wor%ed for a nu!ber of years as a ban% e!(loyee. (,he cabin in which he li"ed fro! 19+9
to 191= is (reser"ed as a !useu! in 5awson, >u%on ,erritory.) ,he wor%s of the $ritish writer ?udyard
@i(ling influenced his (oe!s. ,wo of <er"ice:s best-%nown (oe!s, A,he <hooting of 5an 7c8rewB and A,he
Cre!ation of <a! 7c8ee,B a((eared in the "olu!e of (oetry Songs of a Sourdough (19+7). <er"ice also wrote
Ballads of a Cheechako (19+9), hymes of a olling Stone (191=), hymes of a ed Cross Man (1916), and
Ballads of a Bohemian (19=+)C the no"els The oughneck (19=D) and The House of Fear (19=7)C and the
autobiogra(hies !loughman of the Moon (1932) and Har"er of Hea#en (193-). 6e !o"ed to Euro(e in 191=
and s(ent !ost of the rest of his life on the 0rench ?i"iera.
Scott, Duncan Campbell (1-6=-1937), Canadian (oet and writer, born in ;ttawa, ;ntario. 6e was educated at
<tanstead College and ser"ed fro! 1-79 until 19D= in Canada:s de(art!ent of .ndian ffairs, of which he
beca!e director. <cott:s wor% reflects his %nowledge of indigenous life and his tra"els in the Canadian
wilderness and e!(hasiEes the heroic conflict of hu!anity and nature. 6is collections of (oetry include The
Magic House (1-9D), $abor and the %ngel (1-9-), $undy&s $ane (1916), Beauty of $ife (19=1), The Green
Cloister (19D2), and The Circle of %ffection (1937). 6is short stories are collected in 'n the Village of Viger
(1-96) and The (itching of Els"ie (19=D).
Carman, (William) Bliss (1-61-19=9), Canadian (oet, born in 0redericton, New $runswic%, and educated at
the uni"ersities of New $runswic% and Edinburgh and at 6ar"ard 9ni"ersity. fter 1-9+ he did editorial wor%
in New >or% City and $oston. Car!an was a lyric (oetC his (oe!s were in (raise of Foy, lo"e, and nature. 6is
first boo% of (oetry was $o) Tide on Grand !r* (1-9D) and his last was (ild Garden (19=9). 6is !ost fa!ous
(oe!s were (ublished in Vagabondia (D "olu!es, 1-93-19+1). .n 19=- he recei"ed the 4orne /ierce 8old
7edal of the ?oyal <ociety of Canada.
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ontgomery, !(ucy) (aud) (1-73-193=), Canadian writer, best %nown for her nostalgic no"els for children
set on /rince Edward .sland. $orn in Clifton (now New 4ondon), /rince Edward .sland, 7ontgo!ery was
raised by her grand(arents in the nearby town of Ca"endish after her !other died and her father !o"ed to
/rince lbert, <as%atchewan. <he was educated at 5alhousie 9ni"ersity in 6alifa', No"a <cotia, and /rince of
#ales College in Charlottetown, /rince Edward .sland. fter wor%ing as a teacher for three years and as a
news(a(erwo!an on the 6alifa' +aily Echo for a year, 7ontgo!ery, who had been writing since childhood,
began (ublishing stories and (oe!s in news(a(ers and children:s !agaEines. 6er first no"el, %nne of Green
Gables (19+-), was an instant success in Canada and the 9nited <tates and is now considered a classic of
children:s literature. nne, the heroine, is a s(irited, inde(endent or(han with an acti"e i!agination and a
(enchant for !isha( who wins the hearts of the elderly brother and sister who ado(t her.
7ontgo!ery chronicled her heroine nne:s career, !arriage, and fa!ily in fi"e additional no"els, including
%nne of %#onlea (19+9) and %nne of the 'sland (1912). <he also wrote two related boo%sG ainbo) Valley
(1919) and illa of 'ngleside (19=1), about one of nne:s daughters. 7ontgo!ery wrote other children:s no"els,
including a (o(ular series about another young or(han, E!ily $yrd <tarr, which includes the boo%s Emily of
,e) Moon (19=D) and Emily&s -uest (19=7). 7ontgo!ery was awarded the ;rder of the $ritish E!(ire in
19D2. %nne of Green Gables has been !ade into se"eral !otion (ictures, as well as a (o(ular tele"ision series.
,he (ersonal narrati"es of Susanna oodie were written fro! the (ers(ecti"e of a settler. <he and her husband
e!igrated fro! England to 9((er Canada (now ;ntario) in 1-D=. 7oodie was a !e!ber of an acti"e literary
fa!ilyC her brother, <a!uel <tric%land, and sister, Catharine /arr ,raill, were also writers and i!!igrated to
;ntario. 7oodie recorded her e'(eriences in a series of s%etches (ublished as oughing 't in the Bush (1-2=).
,hese s%etches include anecdotal descri(tions of fire, (lanting, death, cli!ate, neighbors, and local custo!s.
,hey record the conflict between 7oodie&s ro!anticiEed e'(ectations of country life and the actuality of the
rigors of the wilderness. oughing 't in the Bush closes by warning !iddle-class English !en and wo!en not to
e!igrate. 7oodie and her fa!ily e"entually settled in the s!all but growing town of $elle"ille, and in her 1-71
re"ision of the boo% not only does she ac%nowledges the changes that had ta%en (lace in the society around her,
but she also re"eals a growth in her own inde(endence and co!!it!ent to Canada. Catharine "arr #raill
established her re(utation as a children&s author and a naturalist. 6er !e!oir, The Back)oods of Canada
(1-D6), ta%es the for! of letters to fa!ily and friends bac% in England describing her e'(eriences as a (ioneer.
6er writings also (ro"ide (ractical ad"ice and creati"e solutions to !any of the difficulties that (ros(ecti"e
settlers were li%ely to encounter.
;ne reason was the success of writers such as Stephen !eacock in hu!orously debun%ing the con"entions used
by $arr and llen. .n ,onsense ,o#els (1911), for e'a!(le, 4eacoc% (arodied 19th-century literary for!s such
as !elodra!a, dialect anecdote, and ro!ance-ad"enture. .n %rcadian %d#entures )ith the 'dle ich (1913) he
(unctured the (retenses to so(histication of the urban rich by showing those (retenses to be nothing !ore than
ego, faddishness, and greed. nother reason that the trend failed to ta%e hold was an o"erall cultural i!(ulse to
identify Canada !ore in wilderness than in urban ter!s, a tendency that continued through !uch of the century.
.n his !ost coherent and enduring wor%, Sunshine Sketches of a $ittle To)n (191=), 4eacoc% (ortrayed the
foibles of s!all-town life, s(ecifically the desire of s!all-town inhabitants to rese!ble their urban counter(arts,
who! they !ista%enly too% to be !ore so(histicated.
Sara $eannette Duncan was a s(irited news(a(er re(orter and e'tensi"e tra"eler whose writings furthered the
cause of fe!inis! in Canadian literature. 7any of her wor%s centered on an intelligent, inde(endent fe!ale
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(rotagonist. % Social +e"arture (1-9+) is a fictionaliEed "ersion of a tri( 5uncan too% around the world with a
friend. % Canadian Girl in $ondon (1-91), Those +elightful %mericans (19+=), and Cousin Cinderella (19+-)
wittily (ortray the li"es of three young wo!en, contrasting the different !anners and !ores of Canada, the
9nited <tates, and England. The Sim"le %d#entures of a Memsahib (1-9D), for e'a!(le, incisi"ely deals with
the ironies of race and class in $ritish .ndia.
#ar fiction include Charles %ale Harrison&s Generals +ie in Bed (19D+), which attac%s war itself and the
hierarchy of authority that sacrifices ordinary li"es in the na!e of order, and Earle Birney&s Tur#ey (1939),
which satiriEes the Canadian intelligence ser"ice. 7any (o(ular writers of the 19=+s and 19D+s (ro"ided esca(e
for their readers through ro!ances set in the (ast. $ut e"en (eriod ro!ances often co!!ented, although
so!eti!es indirectly, on the disru(tion and disorder that followed the wars. !ong these wor%s are the rural
and historical narrati"es of Frederick &iven, such as Mine 'nheritance (193+), and the (ro-$ritish E!(ire saga
of the fictional #hiteoa%s fa!ily of ;ntario, beginning with Jalna (19=7), by a'o de la Roche. $ut other
wor%s e'(lored sterner realities, as for e'a!(le Douglas Durkin&s wor% The Mag"ie (19=D). 5ur%in criticiEed
Canada&s urban, econo!ic, and socio(olitical structures in de(icting a war "eteran&s struggles to rebuild his life
after #orld #ar .. artha (stenso&s (ild Geese (19=2) re"eals the constricted li"es of wo!en in a s!all rural
co!!unity. )rene Baird:s (aste Heritage (19D9) (ortrays conflicts between indi"iduals and industry during the
8reat 5e(ression of the 19D+s. ,he autobiogra(hical Confessions of an 'mmigrant&s +aughter (19D9), by
!aura *oodman Salverson, renders in realistic detail the efforts of a co!!unity of .celandic settlers in
Canada to !aintain its identity.
grou( of (oets and (ainters rose to challenge Canadian wilderness !ythologies and the con"entions of
landsca(e art. ,he (ainters included E!ily Carr, whose writings in .lee (yck (1931) record her disco"ery of
#est Coast indigenous artC and ,o! ,ho!son and the 8rou( of <e"en, young artists, !ainly fro! ,oronto, who
ad"ocated a (ainting style that was distinctly Canadian in s(irit. ,hese (ainters influenced (oets of the (eriod,
(articularly +, , -lein, F, R, Scott, and +, $, , Smith. ,hese (oets, along with (oet 4eo @ennedy, were
%nown as the 7ontr*al or 7c8ill 8rou( (after 7c8ill 9ni"ersity in 7ontr*al). ,hey (ublished in the McGill
Fortnightly e#ie), which <cott and <!ith edited between 19=2 and 19=7, and other acade!ic literary re"iews.
,he 7ontr*al 8rou( introduced !odernis! into Canadian (oetry, incor(orating techniHues ada(ted fro!
conte!(orary Euro(ean and !erican writers. ,hey e!(hasiEed frag!entation, alienation, and urban
so(histication. <!ith:s I,he 4onely 4andI (19D6) !elds the i!agis! (reliance on (recise i!ages) of !erican
(oet EEra /ound with a de(iction of northern ;ntario landsca(e, while <cott:s incisi"e lyrics, such as in his
19=7 (oe! A,he Canadian uthors 7eet,B !ercilessly satiriEe out!oded literary con"ention. <!ith, who
i!!igrated to 7ichigan, nonetheless beca!e one of Canada&s !ost influential anthologists. -lein&s no"el The
Second Scroll (1921) is an eloHuent (arable about the wanderings of !odern Jewry following the 6olocaust of
#orld #ar ... <cott, a refor!-!inded lawyer and (olitical theorist who cha!(ioned ci"il rights, honed the
(oetic use of the ordinary s(ea%ing "oice in wor%s such as The Eye of the ,eedle (1927).
/oe!s by the 7ontr*al 8rou( were collected in the 19D6 anthology ,e) !ro#inces, along with (oe!s by
Newfoundland writer E(d.in). $, "ratt. /ratt, who was !ore than =+ years older than the 7ontr*al (oets,
belonged intellectually and chronologically to an earlier generation. 6owe"er, along with <!ith he beca!e the
chief influence in Canadian (oetry fro! the 19D+s until the 192+s. /ratt:s re(utation was based on his stirring
narrati"e "erse, his e'tra"agant co!ic rhy!es, the intensity of short (oe!s such as A0ro! <tone to <teelB
(19D=), and his national !yth!a%ing in To)ards the $ast S"ike (192=). ,his ro!antic narrati"e, which
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describes the construction of the Canadian transcontinental railroad, ada(ts e(ic con"entions such as the hero,
the catalogue (list of ite!s), the e'tended !eta(hor, and the idea of nation-building.
ac!ennan, Hugh (19+7-199+), Canadian no"elist, essayist, and (rofessor of English at 7c8ill 9ni"ersity.
6is first no"el, Barometer ising (1931), concerns an actual ha((ening, the e'(losion of a !unitions shi( that
al!ost destroyed 6alifa', No"a <cotia, in 1917. 4ater wor%s include T)o Solitudes (1932), about nglo-0rench
relations in CanadaC The (atch That Ends the ,ight (1929), a (sychological studyC and Voices in Time (19-+).
!ong 7ac4ennans:s collections of essays are Cross Country, (1939), Thirty and Three (1923), and Se#en
i#ers of Canada (1961).
+dele Wiseman, one of Canada:s (re!ier !odern no"elists. <he was born in #inni(eg in 19=-, and it was
there that she set her best-%nown no"el, The Sacrifice (1926), which won the 8o"ernor-8eneral:s ward. <he
was also highly res(ected as a teacher, (laywright, and essayist. 6er other boo%s include the no"el Crack"ot
(1973) and the (lay Testimonial +inner (197-).
unro, +lice (19D1- ), Canadian writer, %nown for stories focusing on the e!otional li"es of the inhabitants of
rural Canada. 6er tales, often set in southwestern ;ntario, where she s(ent her childhood, are characteristically
written fro! the (oint of "iew of a young or adolescent girl and address the!es of (articular interest to wo!en.
.n 1977 7unro beca!e the first Canadian to win the Canada-ustralia 4iterary /riEe (1977). $orn lice nne
4aidlaw in #ingha!, ;ntario, 7unro was educated at the 9ni"ersity of #estern ;ntario. <he began to write
stories at the age of 12, and her first story, A,he 5i!ensions of a <hadow,B was (ublished in a student
(ublication in 192+. .n 192= she !o"ed to 1ancou"er, $ritish Colu!bia, where she continued to write. 6er first
collection of short stories, +ance of the Ha""y Shades (196-), was an instant success, winning Canada&s highest
literary honor, the 8o"ernor 8eneral:s 4iterary ward. 7unro won the award again in 197- for the collection
(ho +o /ou Think /ou %re0 (197-C (ublished as The Beggar Maid in the 9nited <tates, 1979) and in 19-6 for
the collection The !rogress of $o#e (19-6).
7unro:s second boo%, the no"el $i#es of Girls and (omen, was (ublished in 1971. <he returned to ;ntario
shortly afterward, and after the (ublication of the collection Something '&#e Been Meaning to Tell /ou (1973)
was na!ed writer-in-residence at the 9ni"ersity of #estern ;ntario. 7unro:s other short-story collections
include The Moons of Ju"iter (19-=), Friend of My /outh (199+), 1"en Secrets (1993), and The $o#e of a Good
(oman (199-). ,he stories in The $o#e of a Good (oman continue in 7unro&s signature "ein of obser"ing
wo!en&s li"es and !oti"ations, but !any of the tales del"e dee(er into social and (olitical subFectsKsuch as
generational conflicts, abortion, and adulteryKthan do 7unro&s (re"ious wor%s.
+t.ood, argaret (19D9- ), Canadian (oet, no"elist, and critic, whose wor%s often feature wo!en e'a!ining
their relationshi(s and society. 7argaret Eleanor twood was born in ;ttawa, ;ntario. <he recei"ed a
bachelor&s degree fro! the 9ni"ersity of ,oronto in 1961 and a !aster&s degree fro! ?adcliffe College in 196=.
twood&s first boo% of (oetry, 5ouble /erse(hone, was (ublished in 1961. <he continued writing while
teaching English literature at "arious uni"ersities in Canada fro! 1963 to 197= and while acting as writer-in-
residence at the 9ni"ersity of ,oronto in 197= and 197D.
twood&s first no"el, The Edible (oman (1969), won international acclai!. ;ther no"els followedG Surfacing
(197=), $ady 1racle (1976), and $ife Before Man (1979). ;bFecting to the classification of so!e of her wor%s
as fe!inist, twood (ointed out that she began dealing with the!es such as growing u( fe!ale in the 192+s and
se'-role definitions before they were (o(ulariEed by the wo!en&s liberation !o"e!ent of the 197+s. 6er no"el
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The Handmaid&s Tale (19-2C !otion (icture, 199+) won a 8o"ernor 8eneral&s 4iterary ward, Canada&s highest
literary honor, and was followed by Cat2s Eye (19--), The obber Bride (199D), and %lias Grace (1996). .n
=+++ twood won the (restigious $oo%er /riEe for her no"el The Blind %ssassin (=+++), a saga of fa!ily
tragedy. ,he annual award is gi"en to the best full-length no"el written in the $ritish Co!!onwealth.
twood&s boo%s of (oetry also won critical fa"or. The Circle Game (1966) won a 8o"ernor 8eneral&s 4iterary
ward in 1966, and !o)er !olitics (1971) and /ou %re Ha""y (1973) were also (raised. twood&s critical
wor%s include Sur#i#al3 % Thematic Guide to Canadian $iterature (197=), Second (ords3 Selected Critical
!rose (19-=), and Strange Things3 The Male#olent ,orth in Canadian $iterature (1992). .n addition, she edited
The ,e) 14ford Book of Canadian Verse in English (19-=) and The 14ford Book of Canadian Short Stories in
English (19-6). 6er other wor%s include (ilderness Ti"s (1991), a collection of short storiesC Good Bones and
Sim"le Murders (1993), a collection of (rose s%etches, u(dated fairy tales, and (arodiesC and Morning in the
Burned House (1992), a collection of (oetry. ,he body of twood&s wor% was awarded the #elsh rts Council&s
.nternational #riter&s /riEe in 19-=.
(ndaat/e, ichael (193D- ), Canadian writer and fil!!a%er whose no"el The English !atient (199=) was
cowinner of the 199= $oo%er /riEe, the 9nited @ingdo!&s !ost (restigious literary award. ;ndaatFe was the
first Canadian to recei"e the (riEe. ;ndaatFe was born in Colo!bo, <ri 4an%a, the fourth child of a (ri"ileged
fa!ily of 5utch, ,a!il, and <inhalese origin. 6e li"ed with his father in <ri 4an%a until 1923 when, at the age
of 11, he !o"ed to England to li"e with his !other. #hile in England he attended 5ulwich College. .n 196= he
e!igrated to Canada, where he studied at $isho(&s 9ni"ersity, 4enno'"ille, )u*bec, concentrating in English
literature and history. .t was during this ti!e that he began to write (oetry. 6e transferred to the 9ni"ersity of
,oronto in the last year of his studies and recei"ed his $.. degree in 1962. 6e recei"ed his 7.. degree fro!
)ueen&s 9ni"ersity, ;ntario, in 1967. lthough his (oe!s had (re"iously been included in anthologies,
;ndaatFe (ublished his first boo% of (oetry, The +airy Monsters, in 1967. ,wo !ore collections of (oetry
followedG The Man )ith Se#en Toes (1969) and at Jelly (197D). ll three collections were acclai!ed for their
surrealistic use of grueso!e i!ages and une'(ected Fu'ta(ositions. 4ater "olu!es of (oetry include There2s a
Trick (ith a .nife '2m $earning to +o (1979) and The Cinnamon !eeler (199+).
;ndaatFe&s no"els co!bine (oetry, (rose, and "isual re(resentation, as well as fact and fiction, as e'e!(lified in
The Collected (orks of Billy the .id (197+). 6is boo% Coming Through Slaughter (1979) e'a!ines the life of
New ;rleans FaEE !usician $uddy $olden. unning in the Family (19-=) is a se!iautobiogra(hical e'(loration
of (ersonal and (ublic !yth, based on a tri( by ;ndaatFe to the country of his birth. .n the Skin of a $ion (19-7),
one of his best-recei"ed wor%s, is set in ,oronto during the 19=+s and 19D+s. ;ndaatFe&s ne't boo% was the
(oetry collection Hand)riting (1999). ,he no"el %nil2s Ghost (=+++) focuses on a hu!an rights wor%er and is
set in <ri 4an%a in the !id-19-+s, when a ci"il war was Fust beginning. 6is other no"els are +i#isadero and The
Cat2s Table (=+11). 6e has edited three anthologiesG the (oetry collection The Broken %rk (1971), the short-story
collection !ersonal Fictions (1977), and The $ong !oem %nthology (1979).
*eorge Ryga was best %nown for his 1967 (lay The Ecstasy of ita Joe, a frightening de(iction of a young
.ndian girl who cannot li"e by the ways of her (eo(le but cannot ada(t to urban e'istence. 6is Sunrise on Sara
(197D) too recei"ed critical acclai!. ,he theater of conscience which he re(resented has been ecli(sed by the
(olitical neoconser"atis! of the 19-+s.
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5uring the later 19-+s and the 199+s, Canadian dra!a in English confronted rigid "alue syste!s, challenged
racial and gender stereoty(es, and e'(eri!ented with dra!atic for!. +nn0arie acDonald:s Goodnight
+esdemona (Good Morning Juliet) (199+) rewrote <ha%es(eare, gi"ing "oice to wo!en:s e!(ower!ent. Brad
Fraser&s 5nidentified Human emains and the True ,ature of $o#e (19-9) and !oor Su"erman (1996) tore
a(art se'ual (reconce(tions and !isconce(tions with their confrontational language and forceful characters.
Sharon "ollock:s Blood elations (19-+) uses the story of 4iEEie $orden, who was accused of !urdering her
father and ste(!other, in an e'a!ination of fa!ily relationshi(s, social structure, and the difficult inter!ingling
of the two. $udith #hompson&s (lays, including ' %m /ours (19-7) and $ion in the Streets (199+), challenged
acce(ted social "alues, (articularly as they affect the li"es of young wo!en see%ing inde(endence, and dealt
increasingly with failures of co!!unication. $oan ac!eod&s Toronto6 Mississi""i (19-7) studies "arious
for!s of "icti!iEation, as%ing its audience to rethin% the nature of hu!an co!(assion by dissecting fa!ily
relationshi(s that for! around a !entally handica((ed 1--year-old, while Sally Clark&s Moo (19--) offers an
incisi"e and co!ic (ortrayal of a wo!an who refuses to be "icti!iEed. Cree writer #omson High.ay1s (lays
The e7 Sisters (19-6) and +ry $i"s 1ughta Mo#e to .a"uskasing (19-9) e'(lore the social, linguistic, and
se'ual conflicts facing indigenous (eo(les. .n the s(irit of a Cree tric%ster character na!ed Nanabush, who
a((ears in both (lays, 6ighway i!bued his wor% with a li"ely so(histication and !ulti(le issues and concerns.
,he (resence of !ore nati"e, blac%, 6is(anic, and 7*tis authors in the 199+s drew increased attention to issues
of ethnicity in Canadian dra!a. 5ra!atists who e'(lored the boundaries and li!its of ethnic identities include
5rew 6ayden ,aylor, 7oniHue 7oFica, 8uiller!o 1erdecchia, 5Fanet <ears, 7aria Ca!(bell, and 4inda
8riffiths.
Davies, Robertson (191D-1992), Canadian no"elist, essayist, and (laywright, best %nown for three trilogies
about Canadian life that are distinguished by their fir! !oral sense, narrati"e strength, and elegant use of !yth,
reality, and illusion. 5a"ies uses a "ariety of a((roachesKincluding co!edy, satire, !yth, co!ing-of-age
fiction, allegory, and historical ro!anceKto de(ict Canadian subFects. 6is fiction is concerned (ri!arily with
the sur"i"al of the hu!an s(irit in his characters, who Huest for their own (lace in the world while trying not to
hurt others.
5a"ies:s three noted trilogies are the Salterton Trilogy (Tem"est8Tost, 1921C $ea#en of Malice, 1923C and %
Mi4ture of Frailties, 192-), which is slow-(aced in the style of the 1ictorian no"elC the +e"tford Trilogy (Fifth
Business, 197+C The Manticore, 197=C and (orld of (onders, 1976), which is hea"ily influenced by 5a"ies:s
Jungian "iews of (sychologyC and the Cornish Trilogy (The ebel %ngels, 19-1C (hat&s Bred in the Bone, 19-2C
and The $yre of 1r"heus, 19--), which draws on Jungian the!es and is hea"ily allegorical. 5a"ies also wrote
four "olu!es of the collected diaries and essays of A<a!uel 7archban%s,B a fictional Canadian (ro"incial
who! 5a"ies called his Acran%y alter ego.B s a (laywright, 5a"ies achie"ed his greatest success with
historical dra!as e!(loying 1-th- and 19th-century settings, including %t My Heart&s Core (192=), % Jig for the
Gy"sy (1923), Hunting Stuart (1922), and General Confession (1926). 6is final wor%, the no"el The Cunning
Man, was (ublished in 1993.
Sheila Watson and ordecai Richler, both of who! e'tended the traditional use of language in Canadian
fiction. #atson re"a!(ed Canadian (rose for! in The +ouble Hook (1929), a (arable about fear, death, and the
!a%ing of !eaning, by using cadence (the rhyth! of writing) and i!age rather than (lot for co!!unicating
ideas. ?ichler had (ublished two no"els before 1929, but he !ade his re(utation that year with a ro!(ing,
bawdy no"el, The %""renticeshi" of +uddy .ra#it7. ,he initiation story of a boy fro! a Jewish district in
7ontr*al, it shows the title character (ushing his way to success, alienating both 8entiles and his own fa!ily
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along the way. ,he no"el&s "igorous colloHuial language and co!ic set (ieces further !odified Canadian (rose
style. ?ichler honed this co!ic, colloHuial (rose in St9 5rbain2s Horseman (197=), Joshua Then and ,o)
(19-+), and in what !ay be his !ost sustained and !ost sy!(athetic satire of !odern !ores, Barney2s Version
(1997).
!aurence, ($ean) argaret (19=6-19-7), Canadian writer, born in 7anitoba. 6er chief concern, the
de"elo(!ent of wo!en:s characters as they struggle for self-realiEation in a !ale-do!inated world, is e'(lored
in such no"els as This Side Jordan (196+)C The Stone %ngel (1963)C % Jest of God (1966)Kwhich for!ed the
basis of the fil! ?achel, achel (196-)C The Fire +)ellers (1969)C and Heart of a Stranger (1977).
<ubseHuently, she turned to the writing of stories for children. 4aurence:s s(ecial interest in frica, where she
li"ed for a ti!e after her !arriage, is re"ealed in % Tree for !o#erty (1923), a collection of <o!ali (oe!s and
tales, and $ong +rums and Cannons (196-), a critical study of Nigerian literature.
4aurence&s wor% is for the !ost (art lodged in 7anitoba, in an in"ented s!all town the author calls 7anawa%a.
,he 7anawa%a cycle, a series of fi"e boo%s, is concerned with the intertwined li"es of four generations of
(rairie wo!en. .n The Stone %ngel (1963) and The +i#iners (1973), which o(en and close the series, 4aurence
de!onstrates her ability to orchestrate the different regional dialects of Canada and to construct a social
!ythology out of a relati"ely new Canadian society.
,he !ulticulturalis! of late-=+th-century Canada is e"ident in the contributions by writers of !any different
bac%grounds. $oy -oga.a&s 1basan (19-1) and its seHuel 'tsuka (199+) e'a!ine the history of Ja(anese
Canadians and the (ersistent difficulties arising fro! their forced intern!ent by the go"ern!ent during #orld
#ar ... ustin Clar%e:s se"eral no"els, including Sur#i#ors of the Crossing (1963) and The 1rigin of (a#es
(1997), address his origins in the Caribbean island of $arbados and the (roble!s of race in ,oronto. Bharati
ukher/ee, in (ife (1972) and Jasmine (199+), draws on her $engali heritage to e'(lore the (roble!s of
ada(tation for an .ndian wo!an in North !erica. 6er husband, Clark Blaise, wrote % ,orth %merican
Education (197D) and se"eral other stories that draw on his 9nited <tates u(bringing and Canadian (arentage.
$laise and 7u%herFee also e'(eri!ented with autobiogra(hical for! in +ays and ,ights in Calcutta (1979), a
dual narrati"e about a year s(ent in .ndia. .n this boo%, $laise tells of his disco"eries as an outsider, while
7u%herFee records her return as an insider.
Rudy Wiebe&s writing e'(lores cultural boundaries and differences. 6e sought the sources of 7ennonite faith
in The Blue Mountains of China (197+), and the sources of (assion and the (ower to (ersuade in stories such as
The Tem"tations of Big Bear (197D) and The Scorched8(ood !eo"le (1977). ,he latter two are about leaders of
indigenous (eo(le and of 7*tis, and about the difficulties faced by an artist trying to cross fro! the !ode of
(erce(tion of one culture to that of another.
Dionne Brand&s Sans Souci and 1ther Stories (19--) e'a!ines the racis! and "iolence faced by Caribbean
i!!igrants in ,oronto. .n Tales from Firo7sha Baag (19-7), a collection of short stories, Rohinton istry
broadly satiriEes the culture shoc% e'(erienced by the .ndian /arsi (Loroastrian) co!!unity in ,oronto and
$o!bay. 0iroEsha $aag is a $o!bay a(art!ent co!(le'C the intertwined stories tell of se"eral young !en who
grew u( within the constraints of both the a(art!ent co!(le' and the /arsi co!!unity that do!inated it. .n the
last story, I<wi!!ing 4essons,I one of the !en i!!igrates to Canada, and in the new culture he !ust learn to
Aswi!B all o"er again in an unfa!iliar society. 7istry&s no"els, including Such a $ong Journey (1991) and %
Fine Balance (1992), retain his hu!or, but they also loo% !ore dee(ly at the history and social conditions of the
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/arsis. .n the latter no"el es(ecially, 7istry dra!atiEes the as(irations and defeats that (unctuate the
stratification of .ndian society in the 197+s, and he analyEes the for!s of (ower that (er(etuate social
ineHualities.
.!(ortant late-=+th-century wor%s by indigenous writers include Beatrice Culleton&s 'n Search of %"ril
aintree (19-D) and Jeannette r!strong&s Slash (19-2), both of which e'(lore in harrowing detail the social
obstacles and racist stig!as facing indigenous (eo(les in Canada. No"els, stories, and essays by $asil Johnston,
4ee 7aracle, lootoo% .(ellie, .an ?oss, and 4enore @eeshig-,obias (resent strong (ers(ecti"es on indigenous
co!!unities, language and identity, and cultural autono!y. ,ho!as @ing&s no"els Medicine i#er (199+) and
Green Grass6 unning (ater (199D), as well as his collection of stories 1ne Good Story6 That 1ne (199D), are
cagily infor!ed by the tric%ster character of nati"e fol%lore, Coyote. ,hey co!bine dead(an hu!or with
(ro"ocati"e co!!entary on the racial and social !isidentifications inherent in North !erican stereoty(es of
nati"e (eo(les. @ing dissects the !entality behind these dated stereoty(es, encouraging a wry celebration of the
contradictions that sha(e a (erson&s sense of self and (lace. 7any of his stories Huestion the artificiality of
national and cultural borders.
,wo other i!(ortant late-=+th-century writers, $ack Hodgins and #imothy Findley, e'(eri!ented with
narrati"e for!. 6odgins was influenced in his early wor%s by !erican writer #illia! 0aul%ner and the
i!aginati"e fabrications and !agic realis! of <outh !erican literature. .n later no"els he !o"ed to analyEe
the forces that sha(ed the century and that threaten to stifle the artist:s "oice. .n boo%s such as S"it +elaney2s
'sland (1976) and The 'n#ention of the (orld (197-), he transfor!ed his nati"e 1ancou"er .sland into a
!ythical world (o(ulated by irre(ressible characters, would-be storytellers, and giants of the i!agination. ,he
later wor% Broken Ground (199-) alludes to the sa!e co!!unities, but de!onstratesKthrough !ulti(le "oices
and (oints of "iewKhow re(ressed stories of war and res(onsibility for "iolence return to disru(t the li"es of
e"ery (ostwar generation in the =+th century.
0indley&s no"el The (ars (1977) ta%es the reader through the dislocating e'(erience of #orld #ar .,
sy!bolically recording not a new future but the death of (ossibility. 0indley&s Famous $ast (ords (19-1) is
ostensibly about a docu!ent written on a wall by Hugh Sel)yn MauberleyKa character in"ented by !erican
(oet EEra /oundKand disco"ered by a young soldier at the end of #orld #ar ... ,he boo% tells of the intrigues
and Huest for (ower that led to the war in the first (lace and that !ade fascists of both (olitical rulers and
ordinary (eo(le. 0indley&s later fiction e'tended his inclination for re"isiting classic tales. ,ot (anted on the
Voyage (19-3) "iews the biblical story of Noah&s ar% fro! the i!agined (ers(ecti"e of Noah&s su((osedly
shrewish wife, while Headhunter (199=) relocates to ,oronto the story of Heart of +arkness (19+=) by $ritish
writer Jose(h Conrad. 0indley&s short fictionKincluding +inner %long the %ma7on (19-3) and Stones (19--)K
focuses on the!es such as the (ower of !e!ory, the decay of the fa!ily, and the loss of sanity.
Carol Shields, a Canadian !erican writer based in #inni(eg, 7anitoba, won the Canadian 8o"ernor
8eneral&s 4iterary ward, the !erican National $oo% Critics Circle ward, and the !erican /ulitEer /riEe
for fiction for her no"el The Stone +iaries (199D). ,he story (ieces together a wo!an&s life fro! historical
frag!ents and conFectural fictions. <hields&s wor%s, including Ha""enstance (19-+), The e"ublic of $o#e
(199=), and $arry2s !arty (1997), e'a!ine the barriers and detours ste!!ing fro! the fictions that hu!an
beings habitually tell about the!sel"es.
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!ong the !ost (o(ular and widely read of younger Canadian writers are Douglas Coupland and William
*ibson, both of who! li"e in 1ancou"er. Cou(land&s Generation : (1991) ga"e a na!e and a "oice to young,
disaffected urbanites who feel their li"es are thwarted by history. .ts story e'(lores li"es e!(tied of !eaning in
a !edia-saturated consu!er culture. !erican-born 8ibson co!bined science fiction, hard-boiled detecti"e
writing, and (o( culture in a style that beca!e %nown as cyber(un%. 6is no"els and stories, including
,euromancer (19-3), Count ;ero (19-6), and Johnny Mnemonic (1992), Monalisa 1#erdri#e describe a world
in which unli%ely (rotagonists struggle against craEed technocrats and insidious co!(uter networ%s, articulating
dee(-rooted an'ieties o"er autono!y and (ower. #hen #illia! 8ibson (ublished his first no"el, ,euromancer,
in 19-3, he was a little-%nown writer of science-fiction stories. ,euromancer introduced the conce(ts of
cybers(ace and "irtual reality, and launched a genre within the world of science-fiction writing that ca!e to be
%nown as cyber(un%. 8ibson followed its success with se"eral !ore (o(ular no"els.
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