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Canadian Literature (journal)
Encyclopedia
Canadian Literature is a quarterly of criticism and review published out of the University of British Columbia
.
Canadian Literature was founded in 1959 by George Woodcock
, who produced 73 issues before retiring in 1977. After Woodcock's retirement, the University of British Columbia invited William H. New, formerly an advisory editor, to act as editor. New headed the journal until 1995, producing 72 issues. Between 1995 and 2003, Eva-Marie Kröller took up the role of editor. In addition to producing 34 issues, Kröller expanded Canadian Literature by introducing a peer review process and recruiting distinguished Canadian and international scholars to make up an editorial board. In 2003, Laurie Ricou, who has been either an associate or acting editor since 1983, became the journal's editor. Ricou's term ended in 2007 and saw Margery Fee taking the helm as editor.
Canadian Literature aims to foster a wider academic interest in the Canadian literary field
, and publishes a wide range of material from Canadian and international scholars, writers, and poets. Each issue contains a variety of articles and an extensive book reviews section. As well, each issue includes selections of unpublished original poetry from Canadian contributors.
To give its pages depth and breadth, Canadian Literature alternates general and special issues. The general issues deal with a range of periods and topics, while the special issues focus on more specific topics, including travel
, ethnicity, women's writing, and multiculturalism
. Canadian Literature is not aligned with any single theoretical approach; rather, it is interested in exploring articles on all subjects relating to writers and writing in Canada. Each issue contains both English and French content from a wide range of contributors and has been described as "critically eclectic".
Canadian Literature, a quarterly publication, has an average page length of 208 pages. The print circulation is approximately over a thousand while the readership is worldwide as it is distributed in Canada, US, and twenty-five other countries. Institutions make up 85% of the subscription base, which is largely made up of university and college libraries. In 2007, Canadian Literatures subscriber base was 45% Canadian, 36% American and 19% international. Canadian Literature is also available on-line through EBSCO
and ProQuest Subscription Services. Electronic versions of book reviews from the current issue and back issues are available on the Canadian Literature website.
and George Woodcock at the University of British Columbia. The first issue of the journal appeared in summer 1959 to skeptical reception because of a general belief that Canada had no national literature; some critics predicted that the journal would run out of material after only a few issues. Initially, editor George Woodcock intended that Canadian Literature would be fully bilingual in French and English, but due to the lack of French submissions, after 10 years of publication French-language material never rose above 10% of an issue's content. At the time of its foundation, Canadian Literature was the first and only quarterly entirely devoted to the discussion and criticism of Canadian writing and literature. Although the position of editor eventually went to George Woodcock, the university's first choice would have been folk bibliographer and UBC's only specialist in Canadian literature, Reginald Watters, but instead offered the position to Woodcock after Watters decided to accept a fellowship in Australia. Under Woodcock's editorship, he strived to keep the journal from being purely academic, instead adopting a tone "serious but not academic, popular but not journalistic, contextual more than textual" (Fetherling). Woodcock later attributed Canadian Literatures success to having arrived "at the right moment in the development of a Canadian literary tradition, and created its own ground swell of critical activity."
Woodcock resigned from editorship in 1977, having edited 73 issues of the journal. He appointed his first choice, W. H. New, to succeed him. New had served as an assistant editor since 1965. New chose to give priority to First Nations, Asian Canadian, Caribbean Canadian and other minority literatures, which previously had been under-represented in Canadian literary criticism. New retired from the position of Editor in 1955, having edited 72 issues.
New was succeeded by Eva-Marie Kröller as editor. She raised the journal's reputation world wide by establishing an international editorial board and refining the peer-review process for article submissions, which had been started by New. The goal of formalizing the peer-review process was to allow the journal to keep appealing to both general and scholarly audiences. During Kröller's editorship, Canadian Literature fortified its commitment to Canadian francophone writers by appointing its first Associate Editor specifically for francophone writing, Michel Rocheleau. Under Associate Editor Réjean Beaudoin's guidance, Canadian Literature has published several special issues featuring a majority of French content, such as "Littérature Francophone hors-Québec / Francophone Writing Outside Quebec."
In 1995, the journal underwent major design changes: it moved from plain beige covers to coloured, changed to a narrower trim, and added more pages to each issue in order to accommodate an expanded focus on themes such as postcolonialism, poetics, cultural history, and multiculturalism. The journal also decided to keep publishing original poems by Canadian writers as a part of its tradition as "an in-between" literary periodical.
, Steven Galloway
and Aritha Van Herk
, along with presentations by Canadian and international academics and graduate students. At the conference, 35 specialists on Canadian literature from 21 universities across Canada presented five-minute lectures on the future of Canadian literature, writing, and publishing.
On October 1, the conference was followed by the launches of Sherrill Grace's book On the Art of Being Canadian, published by UBC Press
and From A Speaking Place: Writings from the First Fifty Years of Canadian Literature, edited by W. H. New
, and published by Ronsdale Press. A silent auction was held with all proceeds going to the Canadian Literature 50th Anniversary Tuition Award, which benefits undergraduate students interning at Canadian Literature. The auction included pieces donated by Margaret Atwood
, Leonard Cohen
, Dennis Lee
, Thomas King, Patrick Lane
, Joni Mitchell
, Fred Wah
and other Canadian artists and writers.
. The three most recent editors—New, Kröller, and Ricou—are also recipients of the Killam Teaching Awards. In 2006, Eva-Marie Kröller and Laurie Ricou joined W.H. New, who was elected in 1986, as Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada. In 2007, the Governor General named New an Officer of the Order of Canada
. In 2009, Canadian Literature won a Canadian Online Publishing Award for Best Cross Platform for their poetry archive CanLit Poets. The publication of Canadian Literature is assisted by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
the UBC Faculty of Arts, and acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Magazine Fund
towards web enhancement.
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
.
Canadian Literature was founded in 1959 by George Woodcock
George Woodcock
George Woodcock was a Canadian writer of political biography and history, an anarchist thinker, an essayist and literary critic. He was also a poet, and published several volumes of travel writing. He founded in 1959 the journal Canadian Literature, the first academic journal specifically...
, who produced 73 issues before retiring in 1977. After Woodcock's retirement, the University of British Columbia invited William H. New, formerly an advisory editor, to act as editor. New headed the journal until 1995, producing 72 issues. Between 1995 and 2003, Eva-Marie Kröller took up the role of editor. In addition to producing 34 issues, Kröller expanded Canadian Literature by introducing a peer review process and recruiting distinguished Canadian and international scholars to make up an editorial board. In 2003, Laurie Ricou, who has been either an associate or acting editor since 1983, became the journal's editor. Ricou's term ended in 2007 and saw Margery Fee taking the helm as editor.
Canadian Literature aims to foster a wider academic interest in the Canadian literary field
Canadian literature
Canadian literature is literature originating from Canada. Collectively it is often called CanLit. Some criticism of Canadian literature has focused on nationalistic and regional themes, although this is only a small portion of Canadian Literary criticism...
, and publishes a wide range of material from Canadian and international scholars, writers, and poets. Each issue contains a variety of articles and an extensive book reviews section. As well, each issue includes selections of unpublished original poetry from Canadian contributors.
To give its pages depth and breadth, Canadian Literature alternates general and special issues. The general issues deal with a range of periods and topics, while the special issues focus on more specific topics, including travel
Travel
Travel is the movement of people or objects between relatively distant geographical locations. 'Travel' can also include relatively short stays between successive movements.-Etymology:...
, ethnicity, women's writing, and multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
. Canadian Literature is not aligned with any single theoretical approach; rather, it is interested in exploring articles on all subjects relating to writers and writing in Canada. Each issue contains both English and French content from a wide range of contributors and has been described as "critically eclectic".
Canadian Literature, a quarterly publication, has an average page length of 208 pages. The print circulation is approximately over a thousand while the readership is worldwide as it is distributed in Canada, US, and twenty-five other countries. Institutions make up 85% of the subscription base, which is largely made up of university and college libraries. In 2007, Canadian Literatures subscriber base was 45% Canadian, 36% American and 19% international. Canadian Literature is also available on-line through EBSCO
EBSCO Publishing
EBSCO Publishing, headquartered in Ipswich, Massachusetts, is an aggregator of premium full-text content. EBSCO Publishing's core business is providing online databases via EBSCOhost to libraries worldwide. EBSCOhost is used by libraries, schools, academic institutions, medical institutions, and...
and ProQuest Subscription Services. Electronic versions of book reviews from the current issue and back issues are available on the Canadian Literature website.
Establishment and History of
Canadian Literature Canadian Literature was established in the autumn of 1958 by Roy DaniellsRoy Daniells
Roy Daniells, was a Canadian poetry professor. He helped build the University of British Columbia's creative writing department and fostered the careers of several major Canadian writers.-Education and career:...
and George Woodcock at the University of British Columbia. The first issue of the journal appeared in summer 1959 to skeptical reception because of a general belief that Canada had no national literature; some critics predicted that the journal would run out of material after only a few issues. Initially, editor George Woodcock intended that Canadian Literature would be fully bilingual in French and English, but due to the lack of French submissions, after 10 years of publication French-language material never rose above 10% of an issue's content. At the time of its foundation, Canadian Literature was the first and only quarterly entirely devoted to the discussion and criticism of Canadian writing and literature. Although the position of editor eventually went to George Woodcock, the university's first choice would have been folk bibliographer and UBC's only specialist in Canadian literature, Reginald Watters, but instead offered the position to Woodcock after Watters decided to accept a fellowship in Australia. Under Woodcock's editorship, he strived to keep the journal from being purely academic, instead adopting a tone "serious but not academic, popular but not journalistic, contextual more than textual" (Fetherling). Woodcock later attributed Canadian Literatures success to having arrived "at the right moment in the development of a Canadian literary tradition, and created its own ground swell of critical activity."
Woodcock resigned from editorship in 1977, having edited 73 issues of the journal. He appointed his first choice, W. H. New, to succeed him. New had served as an assistant editor since 1965. New chose to give priority to First Nations, Asian Canadian, Caribbean Canadian and other minority literatures, which previously had been under-represented in Canadian literary criticism. New retired from the position of Editor in 1955, having edited 72 issues.
New was succeeded by Eva-Marie Kröller as editor. She raised the journal's reputation world wide by establishing an international editorial board and refining the peer-review process for article submissions, which had been started by New. The goal of formalizing the peer-review process was to allow the journal to keep appealing to both general and scholarly audiences. During Kröller's editorship, Canadian Literature fortified its commitment to Canadian francophone writers by appointing its first Associate Editor specifically for francophone writing, Michel Rocheleau. Under Associate Editor Réjean Beaudoin's guidance, Canadian Literature has published several special issues featuring a majority of French content, such as "Littérature Francophone hors-Québec / Francophone Writing Outside Quebec."
In 1995, the journal underwent major design changes: it moved from plain beige covers to coloured, changed to a narrower trim, and added more pages to each issue in order to accommodate an expanded focus on themes such as postcolonialism, poetics, cultural history, and multiculturalism. The journal also decided to keep publishing original poems by Canadian writers as a part of its tradition as "an in-between" literary periodical.
Fiftieth Anniversary
Canadian Literature celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009 by holding a four-day Gala from September 30 to October 3, 2009. It included a two-day conference entitled "The Future of Canadian literature / Canadian Literature" featuring talks by Canadian writers and scholars Thomas King, Roch CarrierRoch Carrier
Roch Carrier, OC is a Canadian novelist and author of "contes" . He is among the best known Quebec writers in English Canada....
, Steven Galloway
Steven Galloway
Steven Galloway is a Canadian novelist.Galloway was born in Vancouver, and raised in Kamloops, British Columbia. He attended the University College of the Cariboo and the University of British Columbia. Galloway teaches for the UBC creative writing program...
and Aritha Van Herk
Aritha Van Herk
Aritha van Herk is a Canadian writer, critic, editor, and university professor.She was born in Wetaskiwin, Alberta . Her parents and elder siblings immigrated to Canada from the Netherlands before she was born. She grew up in a bilingual home, speaking English and Dutch. In 1974, she married...
, along with presentations by Canadian and international academics and graduate students. At the conference, 35 specialists on Canadian literature from 21 universities across Canada presented five-minute lectures on the future of Canadian literature, writing, and publishing.
On October 1, the conference was followed by the launches of Sherrill Grace's book On the Art of Being Canadian, published by UBC Press
University of British Columbia Press
The University of British Columbia Press is a university press that is part of the University of British Columbia. It was established in 1971.-External links:*...
and From A Speaking Place: Writings from the First Fifty Years of Canadian Literature, edited by W. H. New
W. H. New
William Herbert New, OC, FRSC is a Canadian poet and literary critic. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, he was educated at the University of British Columbia and the University of Leeds. He taught English literature at the former from 1965 to 2003...
, and published by Ronsdale Press. A silent auction was held with all proceeds going to the Canadian Literature 50th Anniversary Tuition Award, which benefits undergraduate students interning at Canadian Literature. The auction included pieces donated by Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...
, Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
, Dennis Lee
Dennis Lee (author)
Dennis Beynon Lee, OC, MA is a Canadian poet, teacher, editor, and critic born in Toronto, Ontario. He is also a children's writer, well known for his book of children's rhymes, Alligator Pie.-Life:...
, Thomas King, Patrick Lane
Patrick Lane
Patrick Lane is an award-winning Canadian poet. He has written in several other genres, including essays, short stories, and is the author of the novel Red Dog, Red Dog.-Biography:...
, Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
, Fred Wah
Fred Wah
Frederick James Wah is a Canadian poet, novelist, and scholar.Wah was born in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, but grew up in the interior of British Columbia. His Canadian-born father was raised in China, the son of a Chinese father and a Scots-Irish mother. Fred Wah's mother was a Swedish-born...
and other Canadian artists and writers.
Awards
In 1988, Canadian Literature became the only journal to win the Gabrielle Roy Prize for best English book-length studies in Canadian and Québec literary criticism. More recently, the US-based Council of Editors of Learned Journals (CELJ) presented Eva-Marie Kröller with a Distinguished Editor award in 2004 in recognition of her work with Canadian Literature. Kröller's award is not the only recognition to come to the journal in recent years. In 2004, William H. New was awarded the Governor General's International Award for Canadian StudiesGovernor General's International Award for Canadian Studies
The Governor General's International Award for Canadian Studies is an award established in 1995 by the International Council for Canadian Studies...
. The three most recent editors—New, Kröller, and Ricou—are also recipients of the Killam Teaching Awards. In 2006, Eva-Marie Kröller and Laurie Ricou joined W.H. New, who was elected in 1986, as Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada. In 2007, the Governor General named New an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
. In 2009, Canadian Literature won a Canadian Online Publishing Award for Best Cross Platform for their poetry archive CanLit Poets. The publication of Canadian Literature is assisted by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada is an arm of the Canadian federal funding agency. SSHRC supports a wide range of research and scholarship in the social sciences and humanities. The current president of the Council is Chad Gaffield.- History :SSHRC was formally...
the UBC Faculty of Arts, and acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Magazine Fund
Department of Canadian Heritage
The Department of Canadian Heritage, or simply Canadian Heritage |department]] of the Government of Canada with responsibility for policies and programs regarding the arts, culture, media, communications networks, official languages , status of women, sports , and multiculturalism...
towards web enhancement.