DOCSLIB.ORG

Reviews Amerikastudien / American Studies 62.2 Maria Loeschnigg

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Reviews Amerikastudien / American Studies 62.2 Maria Loeschnigg Reviews ★ Amerikastudien / American Studies 62.2 Maria Loeschnigg, The Contemporary Ca- Loeschnigg, in the introduction, cogently nadian Short Story in English: Continuity and embeds her book in the context of previous Change. CAT 7 (Trier: WVT, 2014), 381 pp. scholarship and pinpoints the major charac- teristics and structure of her own contribu- In spite of pessimistic forecasts regard- tion. The approaches to important recent ing the future development of the Canadian examples of the genre in Canada in the fol- short story by the Literary History of Canada lowing seven chapters, as Loeschnigg herself in 1965,1 the genre has fourished in the inter- muses, might indeed seem eclectic at frst vening decades since the book’s publication sight, ranging as they do from chapters deal- and has enjoyed ever-increasing recognition. ing with a single author only (ch. 2), stories In 2013, the Nobel Prize in Literature was be- grouped by their authors’ gender (ch. 3), sto- stowed upon a Canadian writer working solely ries colored by their regional setting (ch. 4) within the genre,2 thus also singling it out in as well as by globalization (ch. 5), stories by the crowning of Alice Munro as the “master authors belonging to one ethnic group (ch. 6), of the contemporary short story.”3 And yet, genre experiments and transgressions (ch. 7), despite the publication of more than twenty and, fnally, the hybrid genre of the short story books on Munro’s short fction in recent de- cycle (ch. 8). Seemingly a mixed bag, this par- cades, the genre in Canada as such has hardly ticular cross-section is nonetheless persuasive, received comparable critical attention. Per- focusing on essential aspects of the genre in haps the abundant source material offered by Canada today: its leading writer Alice Munro its vibrant development since the “Canadian (who retired in the summer of 2013, just be- Renaissance” in the 1960s may explain the fore she received the Nobel Prize); the pre- relative dearth of scholarly works comprehen- dominance—both with regard to quantity and sively engaging with Canadian short fction.4 to quality—of female writers of the genre in In the introduction to her contribution, Maria Canada; the importance of region and “new Loeschnigg stresses that the primary focus of regionalism” in the literature of the second- some previous studies on the subject consisted largest country on earth; the globalizing as- of literary output up to the 1980s. Her own pects of literature in a country of immigration work endeavors to fll the gap that has opened where the term “multiculturalism” was frst in the interim, surveying the Canadian short coined in the 1960s and where this concept story from the mid-1980s through the frst de- is even included in the country’s constitution cade of the twenty-frst century. The result is as pertaining to basic rights (see Section 27 of indeed a very welcome addition to short story the Charter of Rights and Freedoms); the rel- criticism. ative prominence of Indigenous literature in Canada as well as of the special genre format of the short story cycle; and, fnally, the for- 1 Carl F. Klinck, ed., Literary History of mal innovations of the genre, as for instance in Canada: Canadian Literature in English (To- the hands of another master of the short story ronto: University of Toronto Press, 1965). and, arguably, its most variable practitioner in 2 Reingard M. Nischik, “The Noble Canada, Margaret Atwood. Genre: Alice Munro Brings the Nobel Prize Although competently drawing on theo- in Literature to Canada.” Chapter 4 of Rein- retical concepts and addressing diachronic gard M. Nischik, The English Short Story in developments, Loeschnigg’s focus is not on Canada: From the Dawn of Modernism to the the theoretical aspects of the Canadian short 2013 Nobel Prize (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, story, nor does she aim at giving a literary-his- 2017), 71-84. torical account of the genre. Rather, she ap- 3 See the citation of the Nobel Prize Com- proaches her treatment of the contemporary mittee. short story in Canada by offering a “cross- 4 Yet see Michelle Gadpaille, The Cana- section of recent developments along narra- dian Short Story (Toronto: Oxford University tological and thematic lines” (2), synthesizing Press, 1988); Reingard M. Nischik, ed., The analyses of more general formal, narratologi- Canadian Short Story: Interpretations (Roch- cal, and thematic developments of the genre ester, NY: Camden House, 2007); and Rein- with close readings of selected contemporary gard M. Nischik, The English Short Story in practitioners in Canada, both well-known and Canada: From the Dawn of Modernism to the lesser known. Outstanding writers of Munro’s Nobel Prize (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2017). and Atwood’s standing or excellent and well- Amerikastudien / American Studies 62. Jg., ISSN 0340-2827 © 2017 Universitätsverlag WINTER GmbH, Heidelberg Amerikastudien / American Studies 62.2 ★ Reviews known writers like Carol Shields and Thomas of the short story approach perfection, with King are thus addressed in various subhead- her “rhetoric of secrecy” (7) and “rhetoric of ings, while another asset of this book is the procrastination” (39), her “counter-realistic attention it pays to less well-known but also deep-mapping” (21), her increasingly “dar- notable contemporary contributors to the ing” (28) and penetrating look beneath the genre. The choice to include new and non- surface reality, her deferral of meaning, and, canonical writers (Judy Fong Bates, Dede consequently, her refusal to believe in and ca- Crane, Michael Crummey, Debbie Howlett, ter to a single, simple solution, or, in fact, any Rachna Mara, Connie Barnes Rose, Shyam solution at all. Selvadurai, Nalini Warriar, Terry Watada, Recent research in literary and cultural and Michael Winter) runs the risk that they studies has taken up the quantitative and qual- may not (all) stand the test of time; yet such itative increase in output from writers with hy- an inclusion is necessary if the aim is to give brid or bicultural identities, who write of the a fairly representative view of the state of the reality of many sizeable ethnic groups within genre in present-day Canadian literature. present-day North American society. From an Even the expert reader of Loeschnigg’s book exemplary treatment of the Chinese Canadi- will not only appreciate her treatment of es- an short story in chapter fve in the framework tablished short story writers, but will most of globalizing tendencies to chapter six, which certainly also make various new discoveries focuses on “The Native Canadian Short Story in this well-written, well-structured, and well- in English,” the ethnic variety emblematic argued account of contemporary Canadian of the contemporary Canadian short story is short fction. thus an important point of departure. As its Only a few chapters of this voluminous and title indicates, the sixth chapter alone (like dense book can be considered in some detail practically all of the others) covers a consid- within the scope of this review. The acquisi- erable territory, tracing the trajectory of the tion of this affordable book by libraries and output of Indigenous short fction. The chap- anybody interested in contemporary Canadi- ter lucidly engages with essential aspects of an short fction would be worthwhile even just Indigenous literature, such as its more recent for the contextualizations of the introductory move from traditionally oral storytelling to chapter and particularly for the second chap- written English texts, assumptions of “mono- ter (“Alice Munro: A View of her Stories Pub- cultural exclusivity” of Native storytelling lished since the 1990s”). In light of the pro- (158) and the accompanying question of the liferation of books and articles written about “appropriation of voice” (159), the striking Munro both well before and ever since she diversity even within First Nations short fc- received the Nobel Prize, it is undoubtedly an tion in English (160), and Thomas King’s frst accomplishment to add a new, knowledgeable, categorization of such plurality into “tribal, and illuminating chapter on Munro’s more re- fusional, polemic, and associational” stories cent writings. This chapter thereby illustrates by Indigenous writers (160-62), later also how apt it is to focus strictly on more recent demonstrating that King in his own highly works, beginning in the mid-1980s (or, here, varied short fction oeuvre reaches beyond his 1990s). In this case, the concentration on Mun- own categorization, useful as it is. The follow- ro’s late/r writing unearths—in accordance ing subchapter on the development of Thomas with the book’s subtitle—continuing and like- King’s “shades of humour” (162) between his wise new trends in her short fction. For who two short story collections must have been would otherwise have immediately thought of written without the awareness (due to over- Munro as a writer of murder mysteries (30), lapping production) of the frst comprehensive which indeed crop up only in her later works, survey of King’s short fction, published two from Open Secrets (1994) onwards?5 More im- years prior to Loeschnigg’s book.6 In focus- portantly, Loeschnigg’s very readable analysis ing on humor “from lighter to darker nuanc- elaborately demonstrates how in the format of es” (164) in King’s short stories, Loeschnigg what may indeed be called (unusual) “murder mysteries” Munro’s genre-innovative narra- 6 Reingard M. Nischik, “‘Wide-Angle tive technique and her extraordinary poetics Shots’:
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Cambridge Companion to Canadian Literature Edited by Eva-Marie Kröller Frontmatter More Information
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-15962-4 — The Cambridge Companion to Canadian Literature Edited by Eva-Marie Kröller Frontmatter More Information The Cambridge Companion to Canadian Literature This fully revised second edition of The Cambridge Companion to Canadian Literature offers a comprehensive introduction to major writers, genres, and topics. For this edition several chapters have been completely re-written to relect major developments in Canadian literature since 2004. Surveys of ic- tion, drama, and poetry are complemented by chapters on Aboriginal writ- ing, autobiography, literary criticism, writing by women, and the emergence of urban writing. Areas of research that have expanded since the irst edition include environmental concerns and questions of sexuality which are freshly explored across several different chapters. A substantial chapter on franco- phone writing is included. Authors such as Margaret Atwood, noted for her experiments in multiple literary genres, are given full consideration, as is the work of authors who have achieved major recognition, such as Alice Munro, recipient of the Nobel Prize for literature. Eva-Marie Kröller edited the Cambridge Companion to Canadian Literature (irst edn., 2004) and, with Coral Ann Howells, the Cambridge History of Canadian Literature (2009). She has published widely on travel writing and cultural semiotics, and won a Killam Research Prize as well as the Distin- guished Editor Award of the Council of Editors of Learned Journals for her work as editor of the journal Canadian
    [Show full text]
  • ENGL 3940-01 Struthers F21.Pdf
    Preliminary Web Course Description *Please note: This is a preliminary web course description only. The department reserves the right to change without notice any information in this description. The final, binding course outline will be distributed in the first class of the semester. School of English and Theatre Studies Course Code: Course Title: Date of Offering: 3940*01 Seminar: Form, Genre & Literary Value Fall 2021 Topic for Sec. 01: Autobiography, Ficticity, Allegory Course Instructor: Course Format: Dr. J.R. (Tim) Struthers Asynchronous (For details, see end of this document) Brief Course Synopsis: Please Note: As needed, this Fall’s offering of ENGL*3940*01 (and ENGL*3940*02) may count as a .5 credit in “Canadian literature” if such a .5 credit is required in terms of specific “Distribution Requirements” for English Programs. The topic I have chosen for this course – “Autobiography, Ficticity, Allegory” -- and my personal desire to encourage a creative and a critical and a personal approach to reading and writing offer an opportunity to develop our understanding of traditionally distinct, now often merging art forms and theoretical approaches, of their values to ourselves and to others. As an important facet of this objective, members of this class should consider themselves not simply invited but strongly encouraged to reflect on and to explore the potential that the three different elements of “Autobiography; Ficticity; Allegory” contain for enhancing our thinking and writing in ways that give more scope to the individual imagination. Special attention will be given to ways in which these three elements combine in Indigenous writer (and Guelph resident) Thomas King’s book The Truth about Stories: A Native Narrative.
    [Show full text]
  • THESIS FINAL-With Ack-Nov 23
    UNCOMFORTABLE MIRRORS: RELIGION AND MIMETIC VIOLENCE IN CONTEMPORARY CANADIAN NATIVE LITERATURE by Ken Derry A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of the Centre for the Study of Religion University of Toronto © Copyright by Ken Derry, 2009 ABSTRACT “Uncomfortable Mirrors: Religion and Mimetic Violence in Contemporary Canadian Native Literature” Ph.D. Thesis, 2009 Ken Derry Centre for the Study of Religion University of Toronto This study considers religion and mimetic violence in the work of four contemporary Canadian Native writers: Maria Campbell, Beatrice Culleton, Thomas King, and Basil Johnston. The mimetic violence examined is both social (the colonial attempt to remake the colonized into a reflection of the dominant culture) and personal (inter-Native conflict in which participants mirror one another in their struggle for a mutually covetted object). In order to investigate the former, I rely on the work of Homi K. Bhabha on colonial mimicry and hybridity; to examine the latter, I employ René Girard’s model of mimetic desire and violence. The principal academic contexts to this work are the study of Native literature and the academic study of religion, including the sub-field of Religion and Literature. After reviewing the relevant literature in these fields, and examining mimetic violence in key texts by the Native authors listed, I make several concluding points. First, I argue that a causal link between colonial violence and inter-Native mimetic violence is evident in the category of Native literature labelled by Thomas King as “polemical.” This includes Campbell’s Halfbreed, Culleton’s In Search of April Raintree, and King’s own Green Grass, Running Water.
    [Show full text]
  • Journal of the Short Story in English, 47 | Autumn 2006 “Written Orality in Thomas King's Short Fiction” 2
    Journal of the Short Story in English Les Cahiers de la nouvelle 47 | Autumn 2006 Special issue: Orality “Written orality in Thomas King's short fiction” Teresa Gibert Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/jsse/792 ISSN: 1969-6108 Publisher Presses universitaires de Rennes Printed version Date of publication: 1 December 2006 ISSN: 0294-04442 Electronic reference Teresa Gibert, « “Written orality in Thomas King's short fiction” », Journal of the Short Story in English [Online], 47 | Autumn 2006, Online since 31 March 2016, connection on 03 December 2020. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/jsse/792 This text was automatically generated on 3 December 2020. © All rights reserved “Written orality in Thomas King's short fiction” 1 “Written orality in Thomas King's short fiction” Teresa Gibert 1 In his pioneering and extremely influential study Orality and Literacy (1982), Walter J. Ong drew attention to the radical changes which are experienced by predominantly oral cultures when they develop writing and have access to print. He emphasized how the shift from “primary orality” to “secondary orality” not only implies that cultures are compelled to elaborate new rhetorical styles in order to communicate knowledge by employing a different medium; the shift also involves a major transformation of thought itself. According to Ong, orally based thought and expression are additive rather than subordinative; aggregative rather than analytic; redundant, conservative, close to the human lifeworld, agonistically toned, empathetic and participatory rather than objectively distanced; homeostatic and situational rather than abstract (36-57). 2 When trying to throw further light on the dichotomy between oral and literate cultures, anthropologists have often used a series of contrastive terms by which each of the two cultures has been associated to the following binary oppositions: subjectivity vs.
    [Show full text]
  • THOMAS KING © Copyright 2001 by Harpercollinspublishersltd CONTENTS
    One Good Story, That One THOMAS KING © Copyright 2001 by HarperCollinsPublishersLtd CONTENTS All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or Bibliography reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior writ- ten permission except in the case of brief quotations About the Author embodied in reviews. An Interview with Thomas King For information address HarperCollinsPublishersLtd, Suite 2900, Hazelton Lanes, 55 Avenue Road, Toronto, One Good Story, That One ON, Canada, M5R 3L2. Questions for Discussion This author guide has been written by Samarra Hyde. Excerpts taken from the University of Minnesota Alumni Association Magazine 1993, and Quill & Quire, September 1993. perennialcanada AUTHOR GUIDES ·THOMAS KING Contents ·2 BIBLIOGRAPHY “There isn’t much to do in Lethbridge. It’s a small town, and I was divorced and up there alone with my first son, and I Green Grass, Running Water started writing again.” King took his writing more seriously 0-00-648513-8; $18.95 tpb, September 1999 when he met Helen Hoy. “I had nothing else to impress her HarperPerennial paperback edition with, so I thought maybe I could impress her with my writ- ing.” It worked. Thomas King and Helen Hoy have been One Good Story, That One together ever since. 0-00-648525-1; $16.95 tpb, December 1999 HarperPerennial paperback edition In 1989, Thomas King received a one-month writer’s resi- dency at the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming. During that Truth & Bright Water month he both completed his first novel, Medicine River, 0-00-648196-5; $19.95 tpb, September 2000 and wrote a 300-page draft of Green Grass, Running Water.
    [Show full text]
  • Cahiers-Papers 53-1
    The Giller Prize (1994–2004) and Scotiabank Giller Prize (2005–2014): A Bibliography Andrew David Irvine* For the price of a meal in this town you can buy all the books. Eat at home and buy the books. Jack Rabinovitch1 Founded in 1994 by Jack Rabinovitch, the Giller Prize was established to honour Rabinovitch’s late wife, the journalist Doris Giller, who had died from cancer a year earlier.2 Since its inception, the prize has served to recognize excellence in Canadian English-language fiction, including both novels and short stories. Initially the award was endowed to provide an annual cash prize of $25,000.3 In 2005, the Giller Prize partnered with Scotiabank to create the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Under the new arrangement, the annual purse doubled in size to $50,000, with $40,000 going to the winner and $2,500 going to each of four additional finalists.4 Beginning in 2008, $50,000 was given to the winner and $5,000 * Andrew Irvine holds the position of Professor and Head of Economics, Philosophy and Political Science at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. Errata may be sent to the author at [email protected]. 1 Quoted in Deborah Dundas, “Giller Prize shortlist ‘so good,’ it expands to six,” 6 October 2014, accessed 17 September 2015, www.thestar.com/entertainment/ books/2014/10/06/giller_prize_2014_shortlist_announced.html. 2 “The Giller Prize Story: An Oral History: Part One,” 8 October 2013, accessed 11 November 2014, www.quillandquire.com/awards/2013/10/08/the-giller- prize-story-an-oral-history-part-one; cf.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Full Issue
    191CanLitWinter2006-4 1/23/07 1:04 PM Page 1 Canadian Literature/ Littératurecanadienne A Quarterly of Criticism and Review Number , Winter Published by The University of British Columbia, Vancouver Editor: Laurie Ricou Associate Editors: Laura Moss (Reviews), Glenn Deer (Reviews), Kevin McNeilly (Poetry), Réjean Beaudoin (Francophone Writing), Judy Brown (Reviews) Past Editors: George Woodcock (1959–1977), W.H. New, Editor emeritus (1977–1995), Eva-Marie Kröller (1995–2003) Editorial Board Heinz Antor Universität Köln Janice Fiamengo University of Ottawa Carole Gerson Simon Fraser University Coral Ann Howells University of Reading Smaro Kamboureli University of Guelph Jon Kertzer University of Calgary Ric Knowles University of Guelph Neil ten Kortenaar University of Toronto Louise Ladouceur University of Alberta Patricia Merivale University of British Columbia Judit Molnár University of Debrecen Leslie Monkman Queen’s University Maureen Moynagh St. Francis Xavier University Élizabeth Nardout-Lafarge Université de Montréal Ian Rae Universität Bonn Roxanne Rimstead Université de Sherbrooke Patricia Smart Carleton University David Staines University of Ottawa Penny van Toorn University of Sydney David Williams University of Manitoba Mark Williams University of Canterbury Editorial Laura Moss Playing the Monster Blind? The Practical Limitations of Updating the Canadian Canon Articles Caitlin J. Charman There’s Got to Be Some Wrenching and Slashing: Horror and Retrospection in Alice Munro’s “Fits” Sue Sorensen Don’t Hanker to Be No Prophet: Guy Vanderhaeghe and the Bible Andre Furlani Jan Zwicky: Lyric Philosophy Lyric Daniela Janes Brainworkers: The Middle-Class Labour Reformer and the Late-Victorian Canadian Industrial Novel 191CanLitWinter2006-4 1/23/07 1:04 PM Page 2 Articles, continued Gillian Roberts Sameness and Difference: Border Crossings in The Stone Diaries and Larry’s Party Poems James Pollock Jack Davis Susan McCaslin Jim F.
    [Show full text]
  • MARGARET ATWOOD: WRITING and SUBJECTIVITY Also by Colin Nicholson
    MARGARET ATWOOD: WRITING AND SUBJECTIVITY Also by Colin Nicholson POEM, PURPOSE, PLACE: Shaping Identity in Contemporary Scottish Verse ALEXANDER POPE: Essays for the Tercentenary (editor) CRITICAL APPROACHES TO THE FICTION OF MARGARET LAURENCE (editor) IAN CRICHTON SMITH: New Critical Essays (editor) Margaret Atwood photo credit: Graeme Gibson Margaret Atwood: Writing and Subjectivity New Critical Essays Edited by Colin Nicholson Senior Lecturer in English University of Edinburgh M St. Martin's Press Editorial material and selection © Colin Nicholson 1994 Text © The Macmillan Press Ltd 1994 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published in Great Britain 1994 by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-0-333-61181-4 ISBN 978-1-349-23282-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-23282-6 First published in the United States of America 1994 by Scholarly and Reference Division, ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 ISBN 978-0-312-10644-7 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Margaret Atwood : writing and subjectivity I edited by Colin Nicholson.
    [Show full text]
  • Fall 2013 / Winter 2014 Titles
    INFLUENTIAL THINKERS INNOVATIVE IDEAS GRANTA PAYBACK THE WAYFINDERS RACE AGAINST TIME BECOMING HUMAN Margaret Atwood Wade Davis Stephen Lewis Jean Vanier Trade paperback / $18.95 Trade paperback / $19.95 Trade paperback / $19.95 Trade paperback / $19.95 ANANSIANANSIANANSI 978-0-88784-810-0 978-0-88784-842-1 978-0-88784-753-0 978-0-88784-809-4 PORTOBELLO e-book / $16.95 e-book / $16.95 e-book / $16.95 e-book / $16.95 978-0-88784-872-8 978-0-88784-969-5 978-0-88784-875-9 978-0-88784-845-2 A SHORT HISTORY THE TRUTH ABOUT THE UNIVERSE THE EDUCATED OF PROGRESS STORIES WITHIN IMAGINATION FALL 2013 / Ronald Wright Thomas King Neil Turok Northrop Frye Trade paperback / $19.95 Trade paperback / $19.95 Trade paperback / $19.95 Trade paperback / $14.95 978-0-88784-706-6 978-0-88784-696-0 978-1-77089-015-2 978-0-88784-598-7 e-book / $16.95 e-book / $16.95 e-book / $16.95 e-book / $14.95 WINTER 2014 978-0-88784-843-8 978-0-88784-895-7 978-1-77089-225-5 978-0-88784-881-0 ANANSI PUBLISHES VERY GOOD BOOKS WWW.HOUSEOFANANSI.COM Anansi_F13_cover.indd 1-2 13-05-15 11:51 AM HOUSE OF ANANSI FALL 2013 / WINTER 2014 TITLES SCOTT GRIFFIN Chair NONFICTION ... 1 SARAH MACLACHLAN President & Publisher FICTION ... 17 ALLAN IBARRA VP Finance ASTORIA (SHORT FICTION) ... 23 MATT WILLIAMS VP Publishing Operations ARACHNIDE (FRENCH TRANSLATION) ... 29 JANIE YOON Senior Editor, Nonfiction ANANSI INTERNATIONAL ... 35 JANICE ZAWERBNY Senior Editor, Canadian Fiction SPIDERLINE ..
    [Show full text]
  • Identity, Gender, and Belonging In
    UNIVERSITY OF DUBLIN, TRINITY COLLEGE Explorations of “an alien past”: Identity, Gender, and Belonging in the Short Fiction of Mavis Gallant, Alice Munro, and Margaret Atwood A Thesis submitted to the School of English at the University of Dublin, Trinity College, in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Kate Smyth 2019 Declaration I declare that this thesis has not been submitted as an exercise for a degree at this or any other university and it is entirely my own work. I agree to deposit this thesis in the University’s open access institutional repository or allow the library to do so on my behalf, subject to Irish Copyright Legislation and Trinity College Library conditions of use and acknowledgement. ______________________________ Kate Smyth i Table of Contents Summary .......................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... iv List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................................... v Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Part I: Mavis Gallant Chapter 1: “At Home” and “Abroad”: Exile in Mavis Gallant’s Canadian and Paris Stories ................ 28 Chapter 2: “Subversive Possibilities”:
    [Show full text]
  • Peter Gzowski Interviews Thomas King on Green Grass, Running Water
    Peter Gzowski Interviews Thomas King o n Green Grass, Running Water* ρ G Over the past couple of years Thomas King has popped up on Morningside fr o m time to time, usually along with a couple of other people, to talk about what's new in fiction by Native authors. This morning he's here to talk about a book of his own. The book is Gr e e n Grass, Running Water. I 've already raved about it today. Thomas King is in our Calgary studio. M o r n in g. τ κ Morning. ρ G Now, yo u wouldn't have heard my opening remarks because it's still too—we haven't crossed into Alberta yet, but boy, I felt like I was talking cover blurb stuff. I love this book. τ κ Oh, wonderful! ρ G Well, who doesn't? I've never seen such reviews, either! τ κ Well, they've been okay so far. I tend to be pragmatic about those things and just sort of hold my breath, bu t so far the reviews have been good. ρ G I have to confess it took me a little while to slide into it, you know, I was warmed up and I said, "Oh no, t h is is another on e—it'll be too compli cated for me—too abstruse and too magical"—and then all of a sudden I sort of glided in and I found myself laughing and having a wonderful time. τ κ Good, we l l , that's partly what the book is supposed to do, I suppose, is to ..
    [Show full text]
  • The Oral in the Written: a Literature Between Two Cultures
    THE ORAL IN THE WRITTEN: A LITERATURE BETWEEN TWO CULTURES Renate Eigenbrod Department of English Lakehead University Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada, P7B 5E1 Abstract / Resume The author reviews differences between orality and literacy, noting that the latter is an extension of the former. She suggests that much contemporary Aboriginal literature includes characteristics of oral narratives. Such devic- es as the use of the first person and the emphasis upon oneness indicate writing in the "oral" form. L'auteur réexamine les différences entre l'oralité et le degré d'alphabétisa- tion, et remarque que celui-ci est une extention de celle-là. Elle suggère qu'une bonne partie de la littérature autochtone contemporaine comprend des traits distinctifs des récits oraux. Des techniques telles que l'emploi de la première personne et l'accent mis sur l'unité indiquent que l'écrit relève de l'oralité. 90 Renate Eigenbrod What I can remember, I will say What I do not remember, I will not say. I cannot read and write I can only remember. Before the whiteman came, we were bush people. When they came, where we live they said "this my land." And we have no more. We can't read and write. We only can remember it. Since not too long ago That my people started to go to school (Ridington, 1990:288). These words, spoken in a trial in 1987 by a Dunne-za/Cree Elder of northern Canada named John Davis, make some important comments on orality and literacy. They imply that those who know how to write are in control and use their power to appropriate land that is not theirs.
    [Show full text]