Most of us, when asked to name a few famous novelists, poets, or writers of any sort, would probably at least come up with a good handful off of the top of our heads. Rowling? Check. Hemingway? Check. Tolkien? Of course. Shakespeare? How could we forget? Orwell? Yessir. Dickinson, Huxley, Hugo, Elliott, Whitman, Lewis, Salinger, Steinbeck, Verne, Tolstoy, etcetera, etcetera. Those are just a few I could randomly come up with; the list could go on. Notice something about those names? None of them were Canadian. When I came to the realization that I had little to no idea how significant Canada’s contribution to the world of literature is, I did some quick research. Some writers I looked up actually wrote very famous novels in the last 50 or so years, but I had no idea that they were Canadian. So maybe I’m just a bit ignorant.
Since this is Canada’s 150th year since confederation, I figured it would be suitable to have a brief article on some of Canada’s most prominent writers of the last 150 years. Spoiler alert, no, I’m not going to have 150 writers in total. This isn’t Buzzfeed after all.
In the span of time between 1867 and the turn of the 20th century, Canada was very much overshadowed in the English literature world by America and the United Kingdom, and even non-English speaking countries like France and Russia.
English novelist H.G. Wells published his famous work The Time Machine in 1895, I guess you could say it’s very much a timeless classic these days. You know what isn’t as timeless? The British Barbarians by Canadian writer Grant Allen. Coincidentally, the plot of The British Barbarians also deals heavily with the concept of time travel. Coincidentally, this novel was also published in 1895. However, this book has been essentially forgotten since publication. Grant Allen was also a strong supporter of Darwin’s theory of evolution, so that’s something to keep in mind when reading his works. Also a supporter of feminism, Grant Allen wrote a novel entitled The Woman Who Did, about a middle-class woman who, by deciding not to marry and making a life for herself, defied the traditions and conventions of then-19th century Britain. It caused a good deal of controversy upon publication, and was made into a few silent films in the following decades.
Many know of Anne of Green Gables, written by Lucy Maud Montgomery. The series was published in 1908, and put Prince Edward Island on the map. For her significant contributions, Montgomery received the Order of the British Empire. Montgomery’s works, particularly Anne of Green Gables, are famous worldwide. Montgomery would probably be one of the first writers to come to mind for more well-versed readers of Canadian literature, and will definitely be one I’ll recall more often in the future.
Many may have also heard of the Hardy Boys series about teenage brother detectives who solve mysteries of various sorts. The series is famously attributed to creator Edward Stratemeyer, but the majority of the early volumes were, in fact, written by a ghostwriter, Canadian novelist Leslie McFarlane. McFarlane later spent the rest of his career freelance writing and making various short films, documentaries, and television spots, some of which were Academy Award nominated.
Le chandail de hockey, or The Hockey Sweater, was a short story written by Roch Carrier. It tells the tale of a good old boy from Quebec (apparently Carrier himself) who just wanted a Montreal Canadiens jersey, but instead, received a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey. The rest of the story essentially describes how embarrassed he is to have to wear a Leafs jersey in public, and all of his friends making fun of him. In my opinion, this is the most realistic and relevant part of the story to modern hockey. But all trash-talking aside, The Hockey Sweater is actually a very famous short story that condenses the history and social implications of the French-English divide in Canada, combined with our national passion for the sport of hockey. Many of us may now recall having actually read this as part of our education in primary school. Roch Carrier is one of the most famous Quebecois writers in English Canada.
Margaret Atwood is one of those writers that have done so much that it’s kind of difficult to really pick one or two “most significant” achievements. Atwood has essentially done it all in terms of literature. Famous for not just novels, but poetry, essays, and political activisms, Atwood has received countless accolades for her works. Atwood actually wrote a book on Canadian literature, Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature, which discusses in detail what Canadian identity is, and how literature helps to define it. This is the go-to author if one is in a very “Canada 150” mood for finding a new book to read.
In recent years, Life of Pi has garnered much international attention and success. The novel tells the tale of Pi Patel, shipwrecked, and stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat with a just a tiger named Richard Parker for company. Life of Pi was written by Yann Martel, a Canadian born in Spain, raised all around the world, spending most of his time in Canada. Interestingly, Martel’s first language is French, but he preferred to write Life of Pi, and most of his other works, in English.
The subject of slavery may not be as prominently discussed in Canada compared to, say, the United States. The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill revolves around the life and journey of a slave, who was brought over from Niger, West Africa to labour in the fields of South Carolina, and eventually brought back home across the ocean, this time as a free person again. The novel was largely famous in Canada, and interestingly, was published under a different title in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand as Someone Knows My Name. Lawrence Hill recently received the Order of Canada for his work. Prior to writing The Book of Negroes, Hill travelled to West Africa for social activism volunteer work, and continues to do so to this day.
Did you know that a Canadian writer has won a Nobel Prize in Literature? Alice Munro knows, because she won it, in 2013. Munro has set the bar for modern short story writing, often praised for her unique non-linear time structure in storytelling. So, I guess one could say Munro is the Quentin Tarantino of short story writers. Many of Alice Munro’s works are set in the same area, Huron County in Ontario, which happens to actually be quite close to Waterloo, and is worth the day-trip or weekend visit.
I hope this brief outline of a few prominent Canadian writers of the last 150 years has helped in some way in sparking interest for reading into a few underrated hidden gems. It’s not perfect, and I’m sure I have left off a great deal of more significant authors. Here’s to another 150 years of great Canadian literature!
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