Posts from — December 2008

This is one of the courses I’ll be teaching this spring. It’s new for me, as are a few of the books on the syllabus. Should be fun!
English 180: Women’s Writing from Canada
From the beginnings of Canada’s literary history, women writers have played a key role in the development of that nation’s rich and distinct literary voice. Especially over the last 50 years, it is safe to say that women writers are at the heart of the Canadian literary canon. Writers such as Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, Gabrielle Roy, and Margaret Laurence are some of the greatest (and best known) Canada has ever produced. At the same time, writers such as Nicole Brossard, Daphne Marlatt, and Sheila Watson have been on the front lines of innovative writing in Canada. In this course, we’ll look at women writers from across Canada who have paved new ground for the literatures of Canada both in terms of stylistic innovation and Canada’s international literary reputation. Although we’ll be focusing primarily on fiction, we will be reading poetry and some non-fiction throughout the course as well.

Montgomery, LM. Anne of Green Gables (Norton Critical Edition only). 9780393926958
Gabrielle Roy, Street of Riches and The Road Past Altamont
Laurence, Margaret. The Stone Angel.
Watson, Sheila. The Double Hook.
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale
Munro, Alice. Carried Away: Selected Stories.
Brossard, Nicole. Mauve Desert.
Brand, Dionne. What We All Long For.

Robinson, Eden. Monkey Beach.

A good article online here from Intelligent Life about the recent rise of Canada as a musical force to be reckoned with. One only needs to start listening to CBC Radio 3 to discover just how much amazing music is coming out of Canada these days.   

Speaking of discoveries, my favourite new Canadian band is called Rural Alberta Advantage. They put out a terrific album this year called Hometowns. Pick it up. You will not be disappointed. You can find an interview with them here on emusic.com, where you can download their album if you’re a subscriber.

In case you didn’t see this last night…

Part two: