The Search for English-Canadian Literature : An Anthology of Critical Articles From the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries

The search for a distinctive Canadian literature is not new. It began in the 1820s, and even then involved many of the same issues that concern critics today. Much of this early material is now inaccessible to most Canadians. Carl Ballstadt has selected for this volume a number of the most importance statements from a century of growth. The pieces come from essays, prefaces, and editorials published between 1823 and 1926 in a variety of works including the major literary periodicals of the time. Among the authors are Thomas D’Arcy McGee, Sara Jeannette Duncan, Daniel Wilson, Goldwin Smith, G. Mercer Adam, Pelham Edgar, J.D. Robins, J.D. Logan, and Charles Mair. The major themes they treated, with frequent diversity of views, are the kind of writing best suited to a new country; the economic and spiritual barriers to the creation of literature; the feasibility of creating a ‘national’ literature; the need for serious criticism; the relationship between European traditions and the developing Canadian imagination; Canada’s ‘northern’ character; the advantages of two cultural streams; and the significance of Canadian achievements in poetry. This book provides essential background to anyone concerned with the path Canadian literature followed to modern times. Preface 5 Contents 7 Introduction 11 Part 1. The Early Realism 53 Introduction to The Canadian Magazine and Literary Repository 53 Essay on the Advantages That Might be Derived from the Establishment of a Literary Association in Montreal 55 Our Literature Present and Prospective 59 Canadian Poetry 65 Part 2. Cultural Economics and Canadian Philistinism 71 Protection for Canadian Literature 71 Literature, Nationality, and the Tariff 74 Saunterings 80 American Influence on Canadian Thought 86 Part 3. The Quality of Literary Criticism 95 Criticism 95 Native Literature and the Scoffing Spirit 96 Literary Criticism: Its Scope and Effect 101 On Criticism 104 On Realism and Romance 109 Literature in Canada: Part Two 111 The Purpose of a National Magazine 126 Part 4. The Debate on a ‘National’ Literature 133 Our Chances for a Literature 133 What is the Matter with Canadian Literature? 135 Mr. Goldwin Smith and Canadian Literature 138 The Mental Outfit of the New Dominion 141 Education and National Sentiment 148 Should Our Literature Be Canadian? 157 A Fresh View of Canadian Literature 160 National Literature 164 Part 5. Europe and the Canadian Imagination 171 The Academy and the Grove in Canada 171 Backgrounds of Future Canadian Poetry 186 Apollo and Tomkins 192 Poetic Art in Canada 195 Part 6. The Northern Nation 201 The New Canada 201 On Northern Culture 204 Literature 206 Part 7. The Advantage of Two Cultures 213 Letters in Canada 213 Nationalism and the Literary Spirit 218 A Plea for Literature 220 Part 8. The Character and Achievement of Canadian Poetry 229 Canadian Poetry: A Criticism 229 Canadian Poetry; A Word in Vindication 233 A Decade of Canadian Poetry 237 The Genius of Canadian Poetry 240 The Poetry of Common Things 245 Some Canadian Writers of Today 249 A New Conception 253 The Status of Overseas Literature 255 Canadian Letter 259