A Contemporary Exploration of Canadian Political Poetry in English

POETS ON THE HILL POETS ON THE HILL: A CONTEMPORARY EXPLORATION OF CANADIAN POLITICAL POETRY IN ENGLISH By NICOLAS DESROCHES, HONOURS B.A. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts McMaster University © Copyright by Nicolas DesRoches, September 2013 McMaster University MASTER OF ARTS (2013) Hamilton, Ontario (English) TITLE: Poets on the Hill: A Contemporary Exploration of Canadian Political Poetry in English AUTHOR: Nicolas DesRoches, Honours B.A. (York University) SUPERVISOR: Professor Jeffery Donaldson NUMBER OF PAGES: vii, 124 ii Abstract In this thesis, I investigate Canadian poetry that is explicitly about the political (politicians, political parties, or political policies) written in English. As no research of this type has occurred previously, I begin by defining political poetry and its aims in Canada and then progress through an examination of three collections of poetry and one poem: The Blasted Pine ; Howl Too, Eh?; and Rogue Stimulus . This allows for a comprehensive look at how political poetry has evolved in Canada from a pointed and critical genre that aims to mock and argue to a more subtle, playful genre that utilizes parody and wit. It also demonstrates the evolution and complication of voice in political poetry, given that each poem contains not only the voice of the poet and the speaker, but also the public and the political. I argue that political poetry in Canada is not poetry as dissent, protest, or witness, but rather poetry as inquiry/commission (in the political sense). This definition relies on the fact that Canadian political poetry seeks to ascribe accountability for political actions and decisions and utilizes the poet as spokesperson, speaking for the public to the political (and the public in turn). Canadian political poetry hence arises out of a demand from the public, much like political inquiries do, and through the satirical use of politically correct language and explicit political references calls for action from the political sphere and the public. I further argue that poetry as inquiry also comments on the public itself (including the author/speaker as a member of that public) and that because political poetry is transideological and can operate from any position in relation to the political hegemony, it allows for a critical discussion of all political positions in a relatively bipartisan manner, much like the authorship of political commissions and inquiries. iii Acknowledgements I would first off like to thank Dr. Jeffery Donaldson for his patience, understanding, and ability to inspire me to keep working even when I thought things seemed to be getting unmanageable. I would also like to thank Dr. Lorraine York for her valuable insight and flexibility in meeting and discussing my work. A big thank you goes to Heather Sloan for her editing skills and for motivating me to keep going and keep pushing the envelope, to Davide Almeida for always keeping me accountable even at 8:00am, and to Caitlinn Skye Walker for her faith in me and my work. I would also like to thank my mom, Hélène DesRoches, who has always told me to pursue my interests, even if no one else shares them. Special thanks to Michael Helm and Priscila Uppal at York University for starting me down this path and encouraging me to look where others had not, even if CR Avery's "Trudeau" didn't make the final cut. As well, I would like to acknowledge the contributions of Stephen Brockwell, Stuart Ross, Ken Norris, Gary Geddes, and Endre Farkas in the completion of this thesis - their insight and commentary was invaluable in contextualizing the poems and works referenced herein and I greatly appreciated being able to communicate with each of them about political poetry. iv Table of Contents Chapter 1 -- Wellington Wall and the Queen's Gate: Introduction and Terms .................... 1 Drafting the British North America Act -- Terminology ................................................. 7 The London Conference -- Collections Under Consideration ........................................ 11 Chapter 2 -- The Centennial Flame: The Blasted Pine ...................................................... 16 Chapter 3 -- Centre Block: Howl Too, Eh? ........................................................................ 53 Chapter 4 -- The Peace Tower: Rogue Stimulu s ................................................................ 61 Chapter 5 -- Parliament Hill: Conclusion .......................................................................... 86 Works Cited ....................................................................................................................... 90 Appendix 1 -- Poems ......................................................................................................... 94 Appendix 2 -- Correspondence ........................................................................................ 114 v List of All Abbreviations and Acronyms AOC -- Anatomy of Criticism (see Works Cited) HTE -- Howl Too, Eh? (see Works Cited) NDP -- New Democratic Party RS -- Rogue Stimulus (see Works Cited) TBP -- The Blasted Pine , as republished in 1967 (unless otherwise indicated -- see Works Cited) TBG -- The Bush Garden (see Works Cited) TEI -- The Educated Imagination (see Works Cited) vi Declaration of Academic Achievement The work contained herein has been written based on research done by myself, Nicolas DesRoches, and hence all opinions are solely my own. Any and all errors are also my own, unless otherwise indicated. This research has been completed under the guidance of Dr. Jeffery Donaldson, Dr. Lorraine York, and Dr. Grace Kehler. The poems found in Appendix 1 are copyright of each respective author and are replicated here for reference purposes. The correspondence found in Appendix 2 occurred between myself, Nicolas DesRoches, and poets as noted with their permission and the permission of the McMaster Ethics Board. vii MA Thesis -- N. DesRoches; McMaster University -- English Chapter 1 -- Wellington Wall and the Queen's Gate: Introduction and Terms It is often said that Canada is a 'mixed salad' country, a nation filled with diverse groups of people who come from all nations and walks of life. It is no surprise then that Canadian poets seem to write, for the most part, with an eye to politics occurring in other countries. Whereas writing and publishing in Canada is hardly a political act or one involving great dissent, writers are often persecuted in other countries for their work, especially if it is critical of the powers that be. To this extent, Canadian poets writing about international issues are enabling a voice that may otherwise be silenced: an international poetic of politics rather than one that is specific to Canada. This act is crucial to the worldwide body of poetics and to political activism and agency, and by no means should it be marginalized or undervalued -- in the contemporary age of the global village and multiculturalism, giving voice to those who have none is just as important as having a voice. However, my focus will be on contemporary Canadian poems about the political in Canada. While there is no active suppression by the government or powers that be, no public harming of poets or writers who dissent from official government position on the issues 'at home', there is a culture of apathy that resonates from both the general public and the government which effectively acts to silence political poetics in Canada. As Margaret Atwood says in "Notes Towards a Poem That Can Never be Written," in Canada you can write about what you want because no one is paying attention to what our poets are saying anyway (ll. 58-60). On top of international political pressures that Canadian writers seek to address, there is the omnipresence of the United States, and 1 MA Thesis -- N. DesRoches; McMaster University -- English often "[the Canadian poet] must write out of an acute consciousness of a political history that make[s them] both the guardian and celebrant of our difference from the United States and its remarkable homogenizing apparatus" (Geddes 4). Canadian poets then (at least those who choose to engage with the political) often have at least five competing sources of conflict or subject: Canada, the provincial/regional/local, the United States, regions of conflict and suppression, and their familial nation of heritage. There is no prescriptive judgement in choosing any of these sources over the other, and indeed some of the most challenging Canadian poetry deals with issues that resonate within Canada's borders but do not originate there (Dionne Brand's Inventory for example). Even Gary Geddes himself, who recognized the effect the United States has on Canadian poets, wrote a critical poem about the shooting at Kent State 1. This is not to say that only Canadian poets are 'afflicted' with this call to write beyond our borders -- one would be hard-pressed to find poets who only wrote about their own country of residence. That said, Canada seems to be uniquely situated in that many of its poets do not write about the political events that happen within Canada. Compilations of explicitly political poems are rare, and outside of very localized writing (most notably in Québec), most poets do not overtly speak to the political, or if they do, it is not a frequent practice. It would be incorrect to say that the political is ignored altogether -- some of Canada's most renowned poets such as Margaret Atwood and Al Purdy

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