Listening to voices from elsewhere : CanLit going global

Title: Listening to voices from elsewhere : CanLit going global
Source document: The Central European journal of Canadian studies. 2011, vol. 7, iss. [1], pp. 25-31
Extent
25-31
  • ISSN
    1213-7715 (print)
    2336-4556 (online)
Type: Article
Language
License: Not specified license
Rights access
embargoed access
 

Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.

Abstract(s)
This paper traces a trend in contemporary Canadian literature: many Canadian authors (especially those of non-British and non-French origin) are producing work that, by transcending the boundaries of the nation-state and the traditional categories of Canadianness, becomes more global in character. This results from the fact that contemporary Canadian experience is often the experience of a country other than Canada. Whereas the earlier generation of "transcultural writers" (a term Carolyn Redl uses to refer to writers that are rooted neither in Canada nor in the country of origin), like the mainstream writers, set their fiction almost exclusively in Canada and searched for Canadian identity and an answer to Frye's question, "Where is here?", more and more younger writers, especially those writing since the passage of the Multiculturalism Act in 1988, are asking, "Where is there?" Sometimes they examine the old worlds through the prism of the security of the new world, and sometimes they write about countries to which they have no cultural attachment. Although some nationalist critics warn that this trend poses a threat to the very existence of Canadian literature (or at least to the traditional concept thereof), my paper argues that the work of these authors neither stands in opposition to the Canadian literary tradition nor poses a threat to it. It co-exists with it, complements it, and enriches it with new perspectives, aesthetic techniques and contributes to knowledge of other cultures.
Cet article examine une tendance dans la littérature canadienne contemporaine : beaucoup d'auteurs canadiens (surtout ceux qui ne sont ni d'origine britannique ni d'origine française) produisent des œuvres qui sont, en débordant les frontières de la nation-état et les catégories traditionnelles de l'identité canadienne, plutôt globales dans leur caractère. Cela résulte du fait que l'expérience canadienne contemporaine est, dans la plupart des cas, l'expérience d'un pays autre que le Canada. Alors que la génération précédente des "écrivains transculturels" (terme que Carolyn Redl emploie pour faire références aux écrivains qui ne sont attachés ni au Canada ni à leur pays d'origine), comme les auteurs du courant prédominant, plaçaient leur fiction presque uniquement au Canada et recherchaient l'identité canadienne et la réponse à la question de Frye "Où est ici?", de plus en plus de jeunes auteurs, particulièrement ceux qui écrivent depuis l'adoption de la Loi sur le maintien et la valorisation du multiculturalisme au Canada en 1988, posent la question "Où est là-bas?". Parfois, ils examinent les vieux mondes à travers le prisme de la sécurité du nouveau monde, parfois ils écrivent sur des pays avec lesquels ils n'ont aucun rapport culturel. Bien que certains critiques nationalistes avertissent que cette tendance représente une menace à l'existence même de la littérature canadienne (ou au moins à son concept traditionnel), mon article affirme que les œuvres de ces écrivains ne sont pas en opposition avec la tradition littéraire canadienne et ne la menacent pas non plus. Elles coexistent avec elle, la complètent et l'enrichissent de nouvelles perspectives, de techniques esthétiques. De cette façon, contribuent à la connaissance d'autres cultures.
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