On June 29, 2013, The Globe & Mail published a three-page article entitled “The Great Canadian Literary Vacation.” The word “vacation” seemed somewhat inappropriate, then and now, but the spirit of the journalistic “jeu d’esprit” was both commendable and evocative.

Noting that “Canada is a nation of readers” who buy or borrow books by the cartload, Jared Bland — then the editor of Globe Books — added, “We are not just a country of readers, but a country made by what it reads.” We are then a country that values reading and pays close attention to fresh perspectives on our valued identity.

What would Bland say today — that is, 13 years later? The Globe Books section has all but disappeared and book-reviewing in the Globe and elsewhere in Canada is no longer a priority. One might even ask today where in the Canadian journalistic world can one find a reliable place to find reviews of newly published Canadian novels? I am sure that the readership Bland confidently identified in 2013 continues to thrive. However, other than online sources, it is difficult in 2026 for Canadian readers to take note of and interpret how Canadian writing is evolving. Hence, it is unlikely that the absence of new Canadian work is the problem — it is the means of recognition and informed assessment that is available to us. I write as a confirmed newspaper reader.

Let’s return to Bland’s survey of writers by writers in 2013. Perhaps the best represented province in the article was Alberta: Todd Babiak chose Robert Kroetsch’s “The Studhorse Man” and Esi Edugyan chose Thomas King’s “Green Grass, Running Water.” Others chose prizewinning poets (Anne Compton, Alden Nowlan, John Samson, Tim Lilburn) and still others chose non-fiction authors. Among the novels recommended were Ernest Buckler’s “The Mountain and the Valley” (Donna Morrisesy’s Nova Scotia choice); Richard Wagamese’s “Indian Horse” (Joseph Boyden’s Ontario choice); Jacques Poulin’s “Volkswagen Blues” (Louis Hamelin’s Quebec choice). Though Margaret Atwood, Louise Penny, David Adams Richards and Michael Crummey offered recommendations, none of their books were listed. Under the heading “Readers’ Picks,” Terry Fallis’s “Best Laid Plans,” Kathleen Winter’s “Annabel,” Michael Crummey’s “Galore,” and Alistair MacLeod’s “The Last Salt Gift of Blood” were noted.

All in all, the list of books in 2013 was impressive. It stands up well today, but were we to make a list for 2026, what would we include? And would we be willing to regard our literature as fodder for a holiday or regional vacation?

Increasingly over the years, Trent became a favourite place for writers to visit and give readings. It made room in its budget at Lady Eaton College, and literary enthusiasts sought supportive funding from the Canada Council and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council, as well as from the university.

My own list, drawn over 37 years of teaching Canadian Literature at Trent University, is much longer and highly impressive. It includes several generations of writers as well as writers from every region across our vast country. Indeed, my sense of Canadian Literature is rife with luminous names, many of whom wrote several books or novels — think about Susanna Moodie, Catharine Parr Trailll, Isabella Valancy Crawford, Sara Jeanette Duncan, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Ethel Wilson, Sheila Watson, Morley Callaghan, Hugh McLennan, Sinclair Ross, Norman Levine, Robertson Davies, Jack Hodgins, Matt Cohen, Timothy Findley, Paul Quarrington, Charlie Foran, Yann Martel, Atwood herself, Alice Munro, Jane Urquhart, Marion Engel, Aritha Van Herk, Elizabeth Hay, Janette Turner Hospital, Katherine Govier, Harry Bruce, Arthur Hailey, Eric Wright, Howard Engel, Wayne Johnston, and Michael Winter? My teaching days at Trent University were enriched by this great bounty of talent. Indeed, my colleagues and I watched attentively as this richness unfolded. In many way, their work was all of a piece — these writers focused generally on an individual’s relations to the land and the social arrangements that evolved within the country.

I retired in 2008 and much, it seems, has changed over the past 15 years. Most of our old guard of writers of fiction — Davies, Laurence, Levine, Munro, MacLeod, and Findley — have passed on. A few of that earlier time, Margaret Atwood, Jane Urquhart, Anne Michaels, Michael Crummey, and Wayne Johnston continue to produce novels. 

At the same time fresh voices are beginning to redefine the scene, breaking new ground and asking different questions of Canadian readers. Richard Stursberg has offered one explanation for the change: “Identity politics (have) replaced the politics of national identity.” Stursberg sees it a “profound shift” in the entire cultural outlook of Canada, be it in literary writing, filmmaking, or television programming. He identifies a new emphasis on matters of DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) and a diminishing of interest in male voices. The rise of previously marginalized voices coincided with a decline in those of white males. Stursberg’s lament is more complicated than these quotes indicate but they point to an evolving outlook.

I want to conclude by returning to those happy years when Canadian Literature came of age — it was during our lifetime. Trent University was the place to be during the brief reign and glorious aftermath of Tom Symons’s creation of a university on the banks of Otonabee River, an institution devoted in part to taking Canada seriously as a country and a culture.

Beginning to percolate

When I arrived on campus in 1972, things were beginning to percolate. In setting up a course on Canadian Literature, my colleagues and I had to include a lot of poetry to fill out the syllabus. There simply weren’t enough creditable novels. Within a few years, however, we were offering distinct courses in Canadian fiction, Canadian poetry, and Canadian drama. Our students were as enthusiastic as the faculty were.

Increasingly over the years, Trent became a favourite place for writers to visit and give readings. We made room in our budget at Lady Eaton College, and we sought supportive funding from the Canada Council and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council, as well as from the university. And we entertained them well.

Lady Eaton College, where I had my office, was keen to introduce Canadian books and our writers to our students. With Dale Standen as principal, we brought an impressive roster of writers to campus in the ‘70s, ’80s, and ‘90s. On occasion we were able to host them for a week. That list included W.O. Mitchell, Robert Kroetsch, Norman Levine, Adele Wiseman (who was a special Manitoba friend of our own Margaret Laurence who herself always attended these dinners and readings), Timothy Findley, and poets like Bruce Whitemen, Dale Zieroth, and Tom Wayman.

We had many enjoyable literary evenings with Timothy Findley and his partner Bill Whitehead. It was always a pleasure to hear Tiff perform; he had a practised dramatic ability that made his readings from “The Wars” and “Famous Last Words” come powerfully alive for our students. With his comedic twinkle, W.O. Mitchell always brought tears and laughter to our college events while Norman Levine made our students acutely aware of how difficult it was to make a living as a writer in Canada in the 1950s and 1960s.

His early novel “Canada Made Me” continues to carry weight in the literary annals of Canada. In fact, that title might well stand for the work of many of our most successful writers. As products of a cold and often unsupportive country, they have managed to make their voices heard and recognized. While Norman Levine lacked receptive audiences in his younger days, he came back to Canada to discover a much warmer and attentive response.

Those were halcyon days for Canada’s literary life. I thoroughly enjoyed them and hoped they would never end. And even if the subject matter and interests of our writers is undergoing change, it is my hope that we will continue to be a nations of readers and we will persist in our vigilant concern for our country, its literature and its future.    

© Peterborough Examiner