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THE STORY SO FAR: English Canadian Fiction in the Twenty-First Century Gary Draper

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THE STORY SO FAR: English Canadian Fiction in the Twenty-First Century Gary Draper THE STORY SO FAR: English Canadian fiction in the twenty-first century Gary Draper October 7: ENDURANCE Some of the best Canadian fiction of the twenty-first century has been produced by writers who made their names in the twentieth. ~Richard Wright. Clara Callan (2001) ~Alice Munro. Too Much Happiness (2009) ~Michael Ondaatje. Cat’s Table (2011) October 14: OTHER TIMES Historical fiction has many pleasures, from telling new things about past times to applying old templates to current issues. ~Guy Vanderhaghe. The Last Crossing (2002) ~Joseph Boyden. Three-Day Road (2006) ~Margaret Sweatman. The Players (2009) October 21: OTHER PLACES Unsurprisingly, in this nation of immigrants, much of the best writing in Canada is set far from our native shores. ~Lewis deSoto. A Blade of Grass (2004) ~Helen Humphreys. Coventry (2008) ~Alison Pick. Far To Go (2010) October 28: REGION Ours is a land—and a culture—of great diversity; much of our best writing has a strongly regional flavour. We’ll look at three from Newfoundland. ~Jessica Grant. Come Thou Tortoise (2009) ~Michael Crummey. Galore (2011) ~Lisa Moore. Caught (2013) November 4: VOICE One of the joys of reading fiction is the opportunity to hear a variety of voices, and hear voice put to a variety of uses. ~Yann Martel. The Life of Pi (2001) ~Lori Lansens. The Girls (2006) ~Anita Rau Badami. Can You Hear the Nightbird Call? (2007) November 11: FORM When we say the word “fiction,” we often mean “novel,” but the short story form has its own special pleasures. ~John Gould. Kilter (2003) ~Tamas Dobozy. Last Notes (2006) ~Carrie Snyder. The Juliet Stories (2012) THE STORY SO FAR: English Canadian fiction in the twenty-first century Gary Draper October 7: ENDURANCE Some of the best Canadian fiction of the twenty-first century has been produced by writers who made their names in the twentieth. Richard Wright (b. 1937). Clara Callan (2001) Other works by Richard Wright: The Weekend Man (1970) In the Middle of a Life (1973) Farthings Fortunes (1976) The Teacher’s Daughter (1982) The Age of Longing (1995) Alice Munro (b. 1931). Too Much Happiness (2009) Other works by Alice Munro: Dance of the Happy Shades (1968) Lives of Girls and Women (1971) Who Do You Think You Are? (1978) Friend of My Youth (1990) Runaway (2004) Michael Ondaatje (b. 1943). Cat’s Table (2011) Other works by Michael Ondaatje: The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (1973)—poetry Coming through Slaughter (1976) In the Skin of a Lion (1987) The English Patient (1992) Anil’s Ghost (2000) Recent books by some other “enduring” Canadian fiction writers: Margaret Atwood. MaddAddam (2013). Sandra Birdsell. Waiting for Joe (2010) Bill Gaston. The World (2012) David Gilmour. Extraordinary (2013) Katherine Govier. The Ghost Bush (2010) Elizabeth Hay. Alone in the Classroom (2011) Jack Hodgins. The Master of Happy Endings (2010) David Adams Richards. Crimes against My Brother (2014) Fred Stenson. The Great Karoo (2008) Jane Urquhart. Sanctuary Line (2010) THE STORY SO FAR: English Canadian fiction in the twenty-first century Gary Draper October 14: OTHER TIMES Historical fiction has many pleasures, from telling new things about past times to applying old templates to current issues. Guy Vanderhaghe (b. 1951). The Last Crossing (2002) Other works by Guy Vanderhaghe: Man Descending (1982) My Present Age (1984) Homesick (1989) The Englishman’s Boy (1996) A Good Man (2011) Joseph Boyden (b. 1966). Three-Day Road (2006) Other works by Joseph Boyden: Born with a Tooth (2001) From Mushkegowuk to New Orleans: A Mixed Blood Highway (2008)—nonfiction Through Black Spruce (2008) Extraordinary Canadians: Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont (2010)—nonfiction The Orenda (2013) Margaret Sweatman (b. 1953). The Players (2009) Other works by Margaret Sweatman: Fox (1991) Sam and Angie (1996) When Alice Lay Down with Peter (2001) Mr. Jones (2014) Some other recent Canadian works of historical fiction: Wayne Johnston. Baltimore’s Mansion (2000) Fred Stenson. The Trade (2000) Jane Urquhart. The Stone Carvers (2001) Douglas Glover. Elle (2003) Robert Hilles. A Gradual Ruin (2004) Michael Winter. The Big Why (2004) Lawrence Hill. The Book of Negroes (2007) Marie Jakober. The Halifax Connection (2007) Cathy Marie Buchanan. The Day the Falls Stood Still (2009) Suzanne Desrochers. Bride of New France (2012) THE STORY SO FAR: English Canadian fiction in the twenty-first century Gary Draper October 21: OTHER PLACES Unsurprisingly, in this nation of immigrants, much of the best writing in Canada is set far from our native shores. Lewis deSoto. A Blade of Grass (2004) Other works by Lewis deSoto: Emily Carr (2008)—nonfiction The Restoration Artist (2013) To see samples of Lewis deSoto’s work as a visual artist, go to: http://www.lewisdesoto.com/paintings/ Helen Humphreys (b. 1961). Coventry (2008) Other works by Helen Humphreys: Leaving Earth (1998) The Lost Garden (2002) The Frozen Thames (2007) The Reinvention of Love (2011) Nocturne: On the Life and Death of My Brother (2013)—nonfiction Alison Pick (b. 1975). Far To Go (2010) Other works by Allison Pick: Question & Answer (2002)—poetry The Sweet Edge (2005) The Dream World (2008)—poetry Between Gods (2008)—nonfiction Some other recent Canadian works set outside Canada: Shyam Selvadurai. Funny Boy (1994) Austin Clarke. The Polished Hoe (2002) M. G. Vassanji. The In-Between World of Vikram Laal (2004) Camilla Gibb. Sweetness in the Belly (2005) Rawi Hage. De Niro’s Game (2006) Esi Edugyan. Half-Blood Blues (2011) Madeleine Thien. Dogs at the Perimeter (2011) Will Ferguson. 419: A Novel (2012) Kim Thuy. Ru (2012) Ruth Ozeki. A Tale for the Time Being (2013) Shani Mootoo. Moving Forward Sideways Like a Crab (2014) THE STORY SO FAR: English Canadian fiction in the twenty-first century Gary Draper October 28: REGION Ours is a land—and a culture—of great diversity; much of our best writing has a strongly regional flavour. We’ll look at three from Newfoundland. Jessica Grant (b. 1972). Come Thou Tortoise (2009) Other work by Jessica Grant: Making Light of Tragedy (2004) Michael Crummey (b. 1965). Galore (2011) Other works by Michael Crummey: Hard Light (1998)—poetry and stories River Thieves (2001) Flesh and Blood (2003) The Wreckage (2005) Sweetland (2014) Lisa Moore (b. 1964). Caught (2013) Other works by Lisa Moore: Degrees of Nakedness (1995) Open (2002) February (2010) Some other recent fiction by Newfoundland writers: Wayne Johnston. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (1999) Michael Winter. This All Happened (2001) Kenneth J. Harvey. Inside (2007) Beverley Stone. No Beautiful Shore (2008) Donna Morrissey. Kit’s Law (2009) Kevin Major. New Under the Sun (2010) Kathleen Winter. Annabel (2010) Nicole Lundrigan. Glass Boys (2011) Russell Wangersky. Whirl Away (2012) THE STORY SO FAR: English Canadian fiction in the twenty-first century Gary Draper November 4: VOICE One of the joys of reading fiction is the opportunity to hear a variety of voices, and hear voice put to a variety of uses. Yann Martel (b. 1963). The Life of Pi (2001) Other works by Yann Martel: The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios (1993) Self (1996) We Ate the Children Last (2004) Beatrice and Virgil (2010) 101 Letters to a Prime Minister: The Complete Letters to Stephen Harper (2012) —nonfiction Lori Lansens (b. 1962). The Girls (2006) Other works by Lori Lansens: Rush Home Road (2002) The Wife’s Tale (2010) Anita Rau Badami (b. 1961). Can You Hear the Nightbird Call? (2007) Other works by Anita Rau Badami: Tamarind Mem (1997) The Hero’s Walk (2001) Tell It to the Trees (2011) Some other recent books that feature interesting voices: Nalo Hopkinson. Brown Girl in the Ring (1998) Eden Robinson. Monkey Beach (2000) Wayson Choy. All That Matters (2004) Miriam Toews. A Complicated Kindness (2004) William Gibson. Pattern Recognition (2005) Alayna Munce. When I Was Young and in My Prime (2005) Marina Endicott. Good to a Fault (2008) Emma Donaghue. Room (2010) Patrick deWitt. The Sisters Brothers (2011) Lynn Coady. The Antagonist (2011) C. S. Richardson. The Emperor of Paris (2012) THE STORY SO FAR: English Canadian fiction in the twenty-first century Gary Draper November 11: FORM When we say the word “fiction,” we often mean “novel,” but the short story form has its own special pleasures. John Gould (b. 1959). Kilter (2003) Other works by John Gould: The Kingdom of Heaven: 88 Palm-of-the-Hand Stories (1996) Seven Good Reasons Not to Be Good (2010) Tamas Dobozy (1969). Last Notes (2006) Other works by Tamas Dobozy: When X Equals Marylou (2002) Siege 13: Stories (2012) Carrie Snyder. The Juliet Stories (2012) Other works by Carrie Snyder: Hair Hat (2004) Girl Runner (2015) See also her blog, Obscure Canlit Mama at http://carriesnyder.com Some other recent short story collections by Canadian authors: Sandra Sabatini. The One with the News (2000) Stephen Heighton. Flight Paths of the Emperor (2001) Alistair Macleod. Island: The Collected Stories (2001) Gloria Sawai. A Song for Nettie Johnson (2002) Annabel Lyon. Oxygen (2003) Mike Barnes. Contrary Angel (2004) Tamas Dobozy. Last Notes and Other Stories (2006) Rebecca Rosenbloom. Once (2008) Alexander Macleod. Light Lifting (2010) David Bezmozgis. Natasha and Other Stories (2011) Elisabeth de Mariaffi. How to Get Along with Women (2012) Lynn Coady. Hellgoing (2013) Colette Maitland. Keeping the Peace (2013) .
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