Description
Book SynopsisThis long-awaited, landmark volume chronicles Alberta writing: the writers, their works, and their vigorous and changing landscape. A must for anyone interested in the cultural history of western Canada.
Trade Review"Both volumes sit on my desk and sometimes get daily reference. I can say or give no better endorsement to this second volume than to say it made me want to read the books discussed." Gordon Morash, Edmonton Journal
"poses a radical challenge to the literary status quo.. The Literary History of Alberta offers tantalizing glimpses into previously unfamiliar prairie literary terrain and provides an initial step in the incorporation of early Native oral, incised, and painted 'texts' into that terrain. Of equal importance, The Literary History of Alberta challenges the hegemony within Canada of the combined literatures of just two other provinces -Ontario and Quebec- which still today often masquerade under the pseudonym of 'The Canadian Literary Tradition.' George Melnyk's book marks a significant contribution to the study and appreciation of the literature of the North American Plains." Pamela Banting, Great Plains Quarterly (U of Nebraska)
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Toward a Literary History of Alberta; Writing-on-Stone: The Aboriginal Tradition; Exploration Literature: 1754-1869; Territorial Literature: 1870-1904; Provincial Literature: 1905-1929; Depression and War: 1930-1945; Francophone and Other Literatures: 1820-1945; Early Literary Institutions; Conclusion: Establishing a Canon; Index.
