![]() ![]() French Canada, on the other hand, already has claims to a distinct literary culture. He argues that because English Canada adopted its language from the United Kingdom, and its culture from the United States, that it’s unable to establish an English literary language that is distinctly Canadian. ![]() In When Words Deny the World: The Reshaping of Canadian Writing, published in 2002, author Stephen Henighan discusses the difficulty Canadian authors face trying to write from a Canadian viewpoint. “The word ‘Canadian’ adds some complication,” she said. ![]() Whether a given writer was born in Canada and how long a writer has lived in Canada are common factors determining how “Canadian” a literary work is.īut with all these factors and stipulations in effect, why is it still so difficult to categorize Canadian literature?Įnglish professor Sylvia Söderlind said this question assumes many things. Canadian novels, short stories and poetry are often categorized by their content, setting and their respective author’s ethnicity. It’s often debated whether it’s possible to define a Canadian literary identity. The winning result read: “As Canadian as possible, under the circumstances.” Ironically, this acknowledgement of a lacking national identity is something, if not the only thing, that defines Canadian-ness. In the 1970s, CBC Radio held a competition for listeners to complete the phrase “As Canadian as…”. ![]()
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