photo of stacks (lower floor)

Canadian Literature & Poetry
in English

Fiction

Anthologies

Read, Listen, Tell: Indigenous Stories from Turtle Island McCall, Sophie, et al., editors A range of Indigenous stories from across Turtle Island (North America): short fiction, narratives, illustrated stories, and personal essays. This collection explores core concepts in Indigenous literary expression, such as the relations between land, language, and community.
Ten Canadian Writers in Context Carrière, Marie, et. al, editors A survey of some of the most diverse and powerful voices in contemporary Canadian literature from Newfoundland to British Columbia. Each piece is accompanied by a concise critical essay addressing the author’s writerly preoccupations and practices.
Canadian Literature in English: Texts and Contexts Sugars, Cynthia, and Laura Moss, editors The anthology includes important fiction and nonfiction by both canonical and non-canonical Canadian authors, published since the sixteenth century to 1920: Jan van der Straet, Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea), Oliver Goldsmith, Emily Murphy, and others.
The Search for English-Canadian Literature Ballstadt, Carl An anthology of literary and poetic interpretations and criticisms from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries reflecting the major issues in the search for a distinctive literature in Canada during this time period. The volumes includes articles by prominent poets, authors, and critics: Duncan Campbell Scott, Sara Jeannette Duncan, J.D. Logan, Pelham Edgar, Thomas D’Arcy McGee, G. Mercer Adam, J.D. Robins, Raymond Knister, Goldwin Smith, and many others.
Women’s Writing in Canada Demers, Patricia, editor A comprehensive anthology containing excerpts from fiction, filmmaking, poetry, song-writing, drama, and non-fiction, memoirs, autobiographies, comic books, and cookbooks. The works in the anthology were selected to illustrate disruptive feminist practices that transformed cultural life in Canada and the tensions of colonial society.
Black Writers Matter French, Whitney, editor An anthology of African-Canadian writing, it offers a cross-section of established writers and newcomers to the literary world who tackle contemporary and pressing issues with prose. All contributions are written from the first-person perspectve and include writings by Simone Makeba Dalton, Cason Sharpe, Rowan McCandless, Phillip Dwight Morgan, Fatuma Adar, Whitney French, Christina Brobby, and others.
Literary Titans Revisited: the Earle Toppings Interviews with CanLit Poets and Writers of the Sixties Urbancic, Anne, editor In 1969 and 1970, Toppings recorded sixteen prominent Canadian writers and poets, including Margaret Laurence, Sinclair Ross, Hugh Garner, and Al Purdy, captured in in the interviews and accompanying readings, giving insight into their prose and poetry. This book porvides transcripts of the spoken interviews, complemented by brief biographies and bibliographies.

Encyclopedias, Dictionaries & Handbooks

Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada New, W.H., editor Discusses literature in English and French, and also in such other languages as Yiddish, Spanish, Haida and Cree; authors and their work; related literary and social issues; professional institutions that play a role in the lives of Canadian writers; and the major historical and cultural events that have shaped Canada. Although the volume was published in 2002, it is highly recommended.
The Oxford Handbook of Canadian Literature Sugars, Cynthia, editor A comprehensive, authoritative guide to many different genres, topics, and aspects of Canadian literary history, including the influence of literature on the Canadian national identity, authorship, postcolonialism, short story, drama, poetry, Indigenous literatures, women’s writing, children’s literature, gay and lesbian literature, creative work from the Confederation period, regional fiction, and minority writers.
The Cambridge Companion to Canadian Literature Kröller, Eva-Marie A comprehensive introduction to major writers, genres and topics in Canadian literature: fiction, drama, and poetry, Aboriginal writing, autobiography, literary criticism, writing by women, urban writing, nature-writing, exploration and travel-writing, and short fiction.
The Concise Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature Toye, William, editor An abridged, streamlined version of the 1998 work, Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature, containing entries for individual writers, genres, and themes of Canadian literature. Includes a list of Governor General Literary Award winners.
The Cambridge History of Canadian Literature Howells, Coral Ann and Eva-Marie Kröller, editors A complete English-language history of Canadian writing in English and French from its beginnings, with an emphasis on literary, poetic, and dramatic works published since the 1960s. Analyzes the emergence of multicultural and Indigenous writing, popular literature, nature-writing, life-writing, and the interaction of anglophone and francophone cultures throughout Canadian history.
Reference Sources for Canadian Literary Studies Jones, Joseph An extensive bibliography to Canadian literature in English. Here you will find annotated references to dictionaries, handbooks, bibliographies, anthologies, special collections and archival guides, information about literary periodicals, dissertations and theses, works in translation, databases, web sites, children’s literature, and small literary press publications.
Z 1375 .J65 2005 Reference
The Oxford Illustrated Literary Guide to Canada Moritz, A.F., and Theresa Moritz Includes places associated with specific writers and depicted in Canadian poems and novels. A regional arrangement with individual chapters for each province and the territories.
PR 9187 .M67 Reference

reviewed & updated 20 May 2021 | compiled by Agatha Barc, MI