in Canadian Literature
items marked are licensed
for use by members of the University of Toronto community; use by
others may be restricted. Items marked
are for use in Victoria University Libraries only.
|Encyclopedias & Bibliographies
General |Early Canadiana | 20th Century | Regional | Short Stories| Poetry |
First Nations & Ethnic Minority Writers| Women Writers & Feminist Criticism
|Encyclopedias & Bibliographies: General
F 1006 .C26 1988 Ref.; Historica edition available online
Canadian Encyclopedia. 4 vols. 1988
The first edition of The Canadian Encyclopedia was published by Mel Hurtig in 1985 under the editorship of James H. Marsh. The Reference collection's printed, 4 volume set is the 2nd edition, published in 1988. Subsequent editions have been published electronically with annual updates. (See VUL's CD-ROMs, and the UTL Web's Electronic Resources.) A useful source for background information; the short articles are often illustrated, and are followed by brief bibliographies.
F1021.2 .V35 2009 Stacks
Vance, Johnathan F. A History of Canadian Culture.
PN 6081 .C565 2000
Robert John Colombo's Famous Lasting Words: Great Canadian Quotations.
PR9180.2 .C66 2001
The Concise Oxford Companion to Canadian
The 3rd edition of the Oxford Companion to Canadian literature,
this is an abridged, streamlined version of the 1997 work (Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature.) William
Toye, long time editorial director at Oxford University Press Canada, puts his own stamp on the entries for individual writers, genres,
and themes of Canadian literature. Includes a list of Governor General
Literary Award winners.
PR9184.3 .C34 2004 Ref
Cambridge Companion to Canadian Literature.
PR 9187 .C55 Ref.
Canadian Literary Landmarks.
A guide to Canadian places, churches and institutions with literary associations. The entry under Toronto, ONTARIO runs for 36 pages, the first part looks at places, the second at people. (There are entries for Victoria University and Northrop Frye, Edgar Pelham, E. J. Pratt.) Excellent illustrations. c1984
PR 9187 .M67 Ref.
The Oxford Illustrated Literary Guide to Canada.
The coverage includes buildings, and towns associated with specific writers as well as places depicted in Canadian poems and novels. A regional arrangement with individual chapters for each province and the territories.1987
PR 9187 .G37 1999 Ref.
Toronto: a Literary Guide.
Literary landmarks are given according to individual neigbourhoods and streets --who lived where, when, and the work(s) associated with each location. The guide has footnotes, photographs, a bibliography, an index and a short essay on "Early Literary Visitors" to Toronto. Assembled by Greg Gatenby longtime organizer of Toronto's International Festival of Authors.
The Annotated Bibliography of Canada's Major Authors.
(ABCMA). 8 Vols.
Each volume discusses a number of different authors (for example,
vol. 1 has Margaret Atwood, Margaret Laurence, Hugh McLennan, Mordecai
Richler, and Gabrielle Roy); gives an introduction to the author,
lists the works and any translations, gives criticisms, lists contributions
by the author to periodicals, books and anthologies, lists the short
stories and published other works such as articles, theses, and
dissertations. Any awards and honours gained by the author are listed,
as well as selected book reviews, and where they may be found. 1979
Z1375 .J65 2005 Ref.
Reference Sources for Canadian Literary Studies.
Joseph Jones, a librarian at UBC, has spent ten years assembling
this extensive bibliography to English Canadian Literature. 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, small literary press
1377 .F4F44 Ref.
Canadian Fiction: An Annotated Bibliography.
Begins with secondary sources, annotates works which are useful
in the study of fiction and fiction writers. Includes collections
of critical articles concerning several authors, literary histories,
bibliographies, etc. Second part alphabetically lists Canadian authors
and their works; also lists where other information can be found
and gives details of any multi-media materials available.1976
1377 .F4T5 Ref.
Canadian Novelists, 1920-1945.
Biographical and bibliographical information concerning authors
either Canadian born or established residents who have published
fiction since 1920. Note that there is nothing after 1945; use in
conjunction with other bibliographies. Appendix at the end classifies
authors according to the genre into which their works fit. 1946
Z 1377 .F8 B35 2004 Ref.
Bibliographie de la critique de la littérature québécoise au Canada anglais (1939-1989)
A bibliography of criticism of french language authors by English Canadian critics that have appeared in journals,monographs, anthologies, book chapters, and reference works published between 1939 - 1989 in English Canada. The range of authors covered by the bibliography extends from early 19th century to contemporary writers, and includes authors from outside of Quebec including Maillet and Riel. Useful for students studying Quebec literature who wish to access criticism in English.
|Encyclopedias & Bibliographies: Early Canadiana
Z 1365 .T7 Ref
A Bibliography of Canadian Imprints, 1751 – 1800.
Marie Tremaine's bibliography of books, handbills, pamphlets and other printed materials published in the provinces of Canada.
Z 1365 T7 1999
Early Canadian Printing: a Supplement to Marie Tremaine’s
a bibliography of Canadian Imprints, 1751 – 1800.
Canadiana Online (ECO).
This is a digital library with digital images of works in English
and French published from the time of the first European settlers
up to the early 20th Century. The collection includes colonial,
provincial and federal government publications, Jesuit relations
texts, and an English Canadian Literature collection with over 800
works of drama, poetry and fiction, biography and exploration written
1375 .M68 Ref.
American Literature, English Literature and World Literature
in English, v. 6 is called English Canadian Literature to 1900:
A Guide to Information Sources. 1976
Provides a list of all the important primary and secondary sources
of this period including: general reference guides; literary histories
and criticisms; anthologies; major and minor authors; literature
of exploration, travel and description, and selected nineteenth-century
|Encyclopedias & Bibliographies: 20th Century
Z 1365 .G73 1999
Great Canadian Books of the Century.
Vancouver Public Library takes on NY Public Library
.L43 1997 Ref.
English-Canadian Literary Anthologies: an Enumerative
A complete record of anthologies published between 1937 and 1997
containing Canadian hymns, poetry, prose, drama, fiction, children's
literature and young adult literature. The main entries are listed
alphabetically by author. There are also a titles list and a chronological
list for the anthologies.
.C64B52 1989 Ref.
Bibliography of Studies in Comparative Canadian Literature.
(Cahiers de la littérature canadienne comparée
, no. 1) 1989
A bibliography produced by the Départment
des Lettres et communications, Université
de Sherbrooke, of critical works published between 1930 and 1987
that forge a national literature comprised of comparisons between
the English Canadian and French Canadian literatures.
Z 1377 .FH69
American Literature, English Literature and World Literatures
in English, v. 38 is called Modern English Canadian Prose: A Guide
to Information Sources.1983
Includes 20th century Canadian writers; Part 1: general reference
sources available, biographical references, indexes to journals,
anthologies, collections, and theses. Part 2: lists books and articles
on Canadian literary history, criticism, and theory. Part 3: an
individual author guide divided into two major parts, primary material
(arranged chronologically), and secondary material (i.e. criticisms
of the authors' work arranged alphabetically). Has book reviews.
.V5 1988 Ref
Guide to Canadian Manuscript Collections in Victoria University
Up-to-date guides to Victoria University Library’s Special
|Encyclopedias & Bibliographies: Regional
1365 .P4 2003 Ref
Peel’s Bibliography of the Canadian Prairies to
Revised and enlarged on the previous, 1973 edition
|Encyclopedias & Bibliographies: Short Stories
1377 .F4W44 1988 Ref.
A Comprehensive Bibliography of English-Canadian Short
Main section of the work (Part 2) is a Canadian author index, listing
short stories published in both large and small circulation magazines,
anthologies, and story collections. Part 1 lists the cited publications
and Part 3 is a title index.
|Encyclopedias & Bibliographies: Poetry
PR 9190.5 .P52 1985 Ref.
Canadian Poetry: Index to Criticisms, 1970 - 1979.
A bilingual bibliography of critical works on English language and
French language poets, published in the 1970s. The poets are listed
alphabetically with entries for general works on the poet followed
by analyses for specific collections of poems, and occasionally,
criticism for specific poems. 1985
Z 1377 .P7579
American Literature, English Literature and World Literature in
Volume 15 is called Modern English-Canadian Poetry: a Guide to Information
A bibliography that traces the effects of "modernism"
on English Canadian poetry of the twentieth century. The early chapters
list reference sources including bibliographies, theses, manuscript
collections, Canadian poetry journals, critical studies and major
anthologies of poems. The next chapters group poets chronologically
by flourishing dates, and provide references to publications by
individual poets and criticisms of their work.
Canadian Poetry online
A comprehensive website based at U of T Library, with information about contemporary and 19th century Canadian poets. Includes links to poetry archives, biographical information, bibliographies, information about poetry courses,
Canadian Poetry Archive
Library and Archives Canada's digital collection of poems in by 19th and early 20th century poets. It is a bilingual site with French and English Canadian poems derived from public domain poetry anthologies. Searchable by name, key words, title and date.
|Encyclopedias & Bibliographies: First Nations and Ethnic Minority Writers
Z 1376 .E87M57
Ethnic and Native Canadian Literature: A Bibliography.
In three sections: Pt I is reference materials; Pt II is nationality/language
groupings; Pt III has minorities, the immigrant and the native in
Canadian Literature. Pt III is most useful for studies in Canadian
fiction with citations for review articles and research papers.
Z 1377 .B62E44 Ref.
Literary Writings by Blacks in Canada: a Preliminary
The profiles in this pamphlet were compiled between 1979-86 so it
does not reflect the current situation. Gives a brief biography
of each author followed by a list of publications.
F73 2000 Ref
A Black Canadian Bibliography.
A bibliography of works by and about the diverse peoples of African
heritage living in Canada. It includes references to creative literary
|Encyclopedias & Bibliographies: Women Writers and Feminist Criticism
Z 1376 .W65G46
Contemporary Canadian and United States Women of Letters:
an Annotated Bibliography. 1993
Provides a bibliography for sixteen contemporary writers from Canada
and the United States. Although works of poetry and fiction are
listed, the annotations are restricted to the critical and theoretical
works of the writers. Canadian writers profiled in the volume include:
Louky Bersianik, Nicole Brossard, Aritha Van Herk, Janice Kulyk
Keefer, Jay Macpherson, Daphne Marlatt and Jane Rule, Z
1376 .W65 G47 1994 Ref
Canada’s Early Women Writers: Texts in English to
Bibliography of Feminist Criticism: Bibliographie de
la critique féministe. 1987
Includes books, articles, sections of books, theses, dissertations,
interviews and reviews on feminist literary theory, general studies
of feminist writers, individual writers, images of women in men's
writing, images of men, journalism, and feminist presses.
General |Early Canadiana | 20th Century | Regional | First Nations
Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vols 1 - 12;
The Dictionary of Canadian Biography provides authoritative
biographical information about significant figures of Canada's past
who died between the years 1000 and 1930, or whose last known date
of activity falls within these years.There are detailed articles
on Canada's major historical figures, and short articles on minor
personages who have hitherto found no place in reference works or
9184.6 .P76 Ref (and Stacks Large) .
Profiles in Canadian Literature. 1980-
An on-going series since 1980, these volumes contain studies of
a broad range of authors from a variety of regions and periods.
Each author is presented in four sections: a brief essay about the
writer's work; a chronology of the works; comments by the writer,
and comments by other critics. A bibliography of primary works and
criticisms suggests further study.
.E28 1993 Ref.
ECW's Biographical Guide to Canadian Novelists.
Includes such notables as Susanna Moodie, James De Mille, Stephen
Leacock, Margaret Laurence, Alice Munro and Audrey Thomas. Brief
biographies include titles of works published and awards earned.
Arrangement by date of birth, the coverage begins in 1724, and ends
with Matt Cohen, (b.1942.)
.T93 2003 2 vols. (Stacks Oversize)
Twayne Companion to Contemporary World Literature : from the
editors of World Literature Today. Pamela A. Genova,
Twayne's Authors Series
Critical introductions to the lives and works of writers,
to the history and influence of literary movements, or the development
of literary genres. Primarily devoted to critical interpretation
and discussion of authors' works, these studies take account of
major literary trends and important contributions to scholarship
and criticism, and provide new critical insights and original points
of view. Only the major Canadian authors are included. There is
an essay on Canadian children's literature.
|Biographical: Early Canadiana
.C37 1990 Ref.
Canadian Writers, 1890-1920. DLB Vol. 92, 1990
Concerns itself with the effects of a post-Confederation nationalism
on literary endeavor in Canada. (Available online in Literary
PR 9180.2 .C38 1990 Ref.
Canadian Writers Before 1890. DLB Vol. 99, 1990
French and English writers who flourished between the seventeenth
century and the 1980s are covered in the bio-critical resource.
Writers came from all walks of life including explorers, missionaries,
civil servants, travel writers, lawyers and journalists. (Available
online in Literary Resources Center.)
Canada's Early Women Writers
A database from Simon Fraser University
Library that .."presents biographical and publication information
for more than 470 women who lived in Canada or wrote about Canada,
and authored an English-language book or pamphlet of fiction or
poetry that was published before 1940."
|Biographical: 20th Century
.F4 T5 Ref.
Canadian Novelists, 1920-1945. 1946
Biographical and bibliographical information concerning authors
either Canadian born or established residents who have published
fiction since 1920. Note that there is nothing after 1945; use in
conjunction with other bibliographies. Appendix at the end classifies
authors according to the genre into which their works fit.
PR 9080.5 .W67
2004 2 vols. Ref
World Writers in English
Edited by Jay Parini. An idiosyncratic selection of writers from
Commonwealth countries. Canada is represented by Margaret Atwood,
Alice Munro and Michael Ondaatje. Biographical information, bibliography
of primary and secondary sources and descriptions of individual
9186.2 .C34 1988 Ref.
Canadian Writers 1920-59. Dictionary of Literary Biography,
Vol. 68, 1988
Alphabetically arranged essays have description of life and work,
career chronology and a bio- critical narrative for each author.
Reproduces samples of text, manuscript, title pages and dust jackets.
Often includes photographs of authors and handwriting samples. (Available
online in Literature Resource Center .)
9186.2 .C342 1989 Ref.
Canadian Writers 1920-59. Second Series. Dictionary of Literary
Biography, Vol. 88, 1989 This volume covers the English
language and French language writers of Canada who established their
careers between 1920 and 1959. Illustrations include photographs
of manuscripts and book jackets, as well as portraits of the writers.
References are provided for further reading, and locations of archival
papers are noted. (Available online in Literature Resource Center .)
9186.2 .C365 1986 Ref.
Canadian Writers Since 1960. Dictionary of Literary Biography,
Vol. 53, 1986
Biographies of major writers placed in the perspective of literary
history; includes some minor figures. Has drawings, paintings, and
photographs of authors; title pages and dust jackets of their works
reproduced in facsimile. Alphabetical arrangement of works and books,
multi media productions and periodical publications. An extensive
biography about the author follows, with an analysis of style and
themes used. Interviews are listed and a select bibliography concludes
the entry. Edited by W.H. New. (Available online in Literature Resource Center )
9186.2 .C366 1987 Ref.
Canadian Writers Since1960. Second Series, Dictionary of Literary
Biography, Vol. 60, 1987
This work extends DLB Vol. 53 by providing additional biographies,
critical overviews and bibliographies to English language and French
language Canadian writers whose careers were effectively established
during the decades of the 1970s and 1980s. Edited by W.H. New. (Available
online in Literature Resource Center .)
9189.6 .W46 Ref.
Who's Who in Canadian Literature. 1985-1986 -
A biennial biographical dictionary that provides short annotations
for current Canadian authors. The entries include a short biography
followed by a list of the author's publications. Data was compiled
from questionnaires sent to writers.
.W74 1993 Ref
Who’s Who in the Writers’ Union of Canada:
a directory of members.
1374 .C65 Ref.
Contemporary Canadian Authors: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide to
Current Canadian Writers in Fiction. Vol. 1, c1996-
Gives personal information, a career summary, comprehensive list
of titles of works, adaptations, works in progress and critical
sources for additional information of life and works.
9189.6 .D4 1985
Writers of Newfoundland and Labrador: twentieth century.
|Biographical: First Nations
508 .I5 N38 1994 Ref
Native North American Literature: biographical and critical information
on native writers and orators from the United States and Canada from
historical times to the present.
General | Regional Literature | Short Stories | First Nations & Canadian North | Ethnic Minority Writing | Women Writers | Science Fiction and Fantasy | Poetry
|Critical Works: General
PQ3901 ,B58 2007 (Stacks)
Histoire de la Littérature Québécoise.
PR 9184.3 .B3
A History of English-Canadian Literature
to the Confederation. 1920
Provides an historical background to the beginnings of Canadian
literature and the emergence of a Canadian nationality. 1920
Butterfly on Rock: a Study of Themes and Images in Canadian
Douglas G. Jones' work seeks archetypal, nationalist themes
across Canadian literature, in the tradition of Northrop Frye. c1970
.K4 2006 (2 volumes)
Canadian literature in English.
.L5 1976 Ref.
Literary History of Canada: Canadian Literature in English.
A comprehensive reference work on the English literary history of
Canada in 4 volumes: Vol. 1: Voyages to 1920, Vol. 2: 1920-1960,
Vol. 3: 1960-73, Vol. 4: 1974-84. Has chapters on "New Fiction (1880-1920)",
"Kinds of Fiction", "Writers of Fiction", "Fiction (1920-1960)".
Includes a bibliography 1976
.N48 1989 Ref.
History of Canadian Literature (Macmillan History of Literature
A comprehensive survey beginning with the myths of the New World,
describing the background against which to read the emerging English
and French language literatures of Canada and progressing through
to the present day writers. Takes into account historical events
such as Confederation, the Canada First Movement, and two World
Wars, as well as the main critical movements of each period. 1989
.N482 1997 (Stacks)
New Contexts of Canadian Criticism.
Following Eli Mandel's important collection of essays "Contexts
of Canadian Criticism" (1971), this work examines the major themes
of Canadian literary criticism in the 1990s. The contributors are
a mix of well-known writers, poets and academics whose reprinted
articles are assembled here from a wide variety of sources.
.P3 1961 Ref.
Creative Writing in Canada. 1961
Deals with Canadian poetry and fiction from the Colonial period
through to 1950. Chapters 4, 5, 7 deal with modern Canadian fiction,
and Chapter 8 discusses, in particular, the literature of the 1950s.
Stephen Leacock and Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town are
analyzed in depth in Chapter 4; Robertson Davies, Mordecai Richler
and Brian Moore in Chapter 8. There is a bibliography at the end
of the volume of books and articles about Canadian literature. 1961
.T56 1972 Ref.
Our Nature, Our Voices: A Guidebook to English Canadian
In three parts, with a chronological arrangement. Part 3 covers
the period 1918-70 and the major writers of that time. Discusses
and criticizes works, gives biographies.1972
Survey: A Short History of Canadian Literature. c1973
Explores the topics that caught the consciousness of Canadian writers
at certain periods of time. Explains how particular writers shaped
these topics into literary works. Has bibliographies for further
The Canadian Imagination: Dimensions of a Literary Culture.
Edited by Margaret Atwood, and others, the chapters discuss French-Canadian
literature, surveys of Canadian fiction, poetry and drama, as well
as individual authors such as Atwood, Laurence, Leacock, Pratt and
The Bush Garden. 1971
The collection of essays by Northrop Frye may be read as a record
of poetic production in English Canada during one of its crucial
periods. Frye's "Conclusion to A Literary History of Canada"
discusses the imaginative legacy bequeathed to present and future
Canadian writers by the earlier novelists and poets. 1971
.F795 1997 (Stacks)
Mythologizing Canada. Essays on the Canadian Literary
Branko Gorjup has assembled eleven essays and addresses written
by Northrop Frye between 1943 and 1989 that address the topic of
the Canadian literary imagination. The essays are intended to illustrate
Frye's insights into Canadian literature and reflect how his views
changed over the course of his life.c1997
The Search for English-Canadian Literature.
This anthology of critical articles from the nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries reflects the major issues in the critical search
for a distinctive literature in Canada during this time period.
.S64 1990 (Stacks)
Three academics (Sam Solecki, John Metcalf and W.J. Keith) discuss
some highly controversial issues in criticism of the Canadian tradition
.C85 1998 (Stacks)
Cultural Identities in Canadian Literature = Identités
culturelles dans la littérature canadienne.
A bilingual collection of essays on the themes of cultural identities
and immigrant writing in Canada. The emphasis is upon diversity
as essays range in subject matter from Margaret Atwood, Margaret
Laurence, and Marie-Claire Blais to Danny Laferrière, Ukranian-Canadian
plays, "Franglo-théâtre," contemporary Acadian and
Africadian poetry and the Ontario Protestant novel.
Survival: a Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature.
Margaret Atwood's major contribution to Canadian literary criticism,
intended as a handbook for secondary school teachers, was according
to the Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature (1997) …
"the most influential work of Canadian criticism in the 1970s."
It examines the themes of literary alienation from the environment,
and the notion of a national obsession with Canadian "self-victimization."
.P685 1998 (Stacks)
The Power to Bend Spoons: interviews with Canadian novelists.
The collection of interviews edited and assembled by Beverly Daurio
covers a broad range novelists from all regions of Canada. The interviews
originally appeared in Paragraph: The Canadian Fiction Review
between 1993 and 1998. Primarily English language novelists are
included, there are some interesting pairings of interviewers such
as Michael Ondaatje and Cary Fagan, some of the writers have since
died: Mordechai Richler, Carole Corbeil and Timothy Findley.
9189.6 .S37 1995 (Stacks)
Beyond the Provinces: Literary Canada at Century's End. 1995
The published edition of David Staines's F.E.L. Priestly
Lectures in the History of Ideas at University College, University
of Toronto, 1994. The chapters trace Canada's literary "coming of
age" as it moves away from a colonialist mentality to a distinctive,
The World of Canadian Writing: Critiques and Recollections.
A collection of essays written by George Woodcock in the 1970s,
on contemporary Canadian fiction, poetry and criticism.
.M29 1988 (Stacks)
Between Europe and America: The Canadian Tradition in
Illustrates the difficulties early Canadian writers encountered
in trying to adapt the European literary tradition to a New World
social environment. Traces how they eventually created identifiably
North American characters and settings.
9192.2 .B57 1995 (Stacks)
Novels and the Nation: Essays in Canadian Literature.
Frank Birbalsingh. Essays that discuss the evolution of Canadian
identity and nationhood as reflected, predominantly, in the English
fiction of this country. Explores the writings of the first British
expatriates; the colonial, empire-conscious writers of the 19th
century; the strong, nationalistic literary consciousness of the
mid-twentieth century and, finally, the contemporary writers of
a multicultural country continually transforming itself.
PR 9192.2 .C35 (Stacks)
The Canadian Novel: a Critical Anthology. 4 vols., 1978-
Encourages comparison both of the novels discussed and of critical
approaches to them. Offers several essays by different critics on
a single work or author. Volume one, The Canadian Novel Here and
Now, discusses the six most significant authors in Canadian literature
at present: Margaret Atwood, Robertson Davies, Margaret Laurence,
Alice Munro, Mordecai Richler and Rudy Wiebe. Vol. 2 discusses early
writers such as Haliburton, Richardson and Moodie; Vol. 3 deals
with Ross, Grove, McLennan, etc., and Vol. 4 with Findley, Gallant,
Ondaatje, etc. Editor John Moss. 1978-
9192.2 .C351 (Stacks)
Canadian Novelists and the Novel. 1981
A selection of views by major English Canadian novelists of the
last one hundred and fifty years concerning the theory and practice
of their art.1981
9192.2 .C36 (Stacks)
Canadian Writers and Their Works: Fiction Series. 12 vols.&
Cumulated Index, 1983-1996
A collection of critical essays covering the development of Canadian
fiction and poetry over the last two centuries. Twelve volumes are
devoted to fiction and ten to poetry; each volume contains an introduction
by George Woodcock and five discrete essays on specific writers.
Each critical essay includes a brief biography, a discussion of
the influences on his/her work, a review of published criticism,
a long analysis of the author's work, and a selected bibliography
of primary and secondary material.1983-1996
9192.2 .J6 (Stacks)
Canadian Fiction. (Twayne's World Author Series) 1981
An historical survey of some length and depth that proves Canadian
fiction is not quite all unrelieved gloom.
9192.5 .F6 1984 (Stacks)
A Tale of Two Countries: Contemporary Fiction in Canada
and the United States.
A comparative study of Canadian and American fiction written in
English in the contemporary period. Canadian writers included are
Robert Kroetsch, Margaret Atwood and Robertson Davies.
9192.5 .I58 1989 (Stacks)
Multiple Voices: Recent Canadian Fiction. 1989
A collection of papers given at the Proceedings of the IV International
Symposium of the Brussels Centre for Canadian Studies, 29th November-December
1, 1989. Writers discussed include Neil Bisoondath, Michael Ondaatje,
Carol Shields, Rudy Wiebe, Alice Munro, Margaret Laurence, Robert
Kroetsch, Timothy Findley and Mavis Gallant.
9192.5 .K44 1991 (Stacks)
An Independent Stance: Essays on English-Canadian Criticism
and Fiction. 1991
W. J. Keith in Pt 1 discusses literary-critical matters pertaining
to Canadian fiction in particular. In Pt 2 he discusses specific
authors and their works
9192.5 .K45 1989 (Stacks)
A Sense of Style: Studies in the Art of Fiction in English-speaking
W. J. Keith discusses specific Canadian novelists and their works.
Concentrates on what effects are achieved through a writer's style
and focuses on the imaginative challenge involved in the experience
of reading these novels.
9192.6 .G7 N6 (Stacks)
The Haunted Wilderness: The Gothic and Grotesque in Canadian
A detailed analysis of a limited number of works, some from the
19th century, some from the 20th century. Focus is on varieties
of gothic and grotesque fiction rather than specific authors. Demonstrates
that gothicism, in varying degrees, has always been a continuing
feature of Canadian fiction.1976
.H5W94 2002 (Stacks)
Speculative Fictions : contemporary Canadian novelists
and the writing of history. Herb Wyile.
.I55 S23 2003 (Stacks)
Making Babies: infants in Canadian fiction
.M38 W54 2003 (Stacks)
Imagined Nations: reflections on media in Canadian
David Williams. Although the focus of the work is on contemporary
novels, Williams examines the role of media and communications play
in shaping the “mental landscapes of nations.”
9192.6 .S32K73 1997 (Stacks)
Scatology and Civility in the English-Canadian Novel.
Investigates the several forms of the "civilized self"
as portrayed in a broad selection of English-Canadian novels by
major and minor Canadian authors.
.S36 L83 2003 (Stacks)
The Serpent's Part: narrating the self in Canadian literature.
David Lucking looks at “the manner in which selfhood
is constituted through language, through the forging of names and
the weaving of narratives”. The chapters look at Susanna Moodie,
Howard O’Hagan, Jack Hodgins, GoergeBowering, Robertson Davies,
Margaret Atwood and Timothy Findley.
9194 .C3W46 1995 (Stacks)
Who Speaks for Canada?:Words that Shape a Country.
A collection of texts by notable Canadians and visitors to Canada
from 1664 through 1995. The documents, arranged chronologically,
are a mixture of social and political tracts as well as personal
reflections on Canadian identity. Brief biographies are provided
for each writer. Illustrated with period paintings, sketches, cartoons
.N4 No. 02 (Stacks)
Masks of Fiction: Canadian Critics on Canadian Prose.
A series of essays edited by the critic and poet A.J.M. Smith, contemporary
of F.R. Scott, E. M. Klein and Leon Edel. 1961
|Critical Works: Regional Literature
PR 9198.2 .A4 M44 1998 (Stacks)
The Literary History of Alberta. 1998-
Vol.1 From Writing-on-Stone to World War II explores the provincial identity as something distinct from region, nation, empire or world.
PR 9192.6 .P7H3 (Stacks)
Unnamed Country: The Struggle for a Canadian Prairie Fiction. 1977
This book begins before the first prairie novel and traces the growth of prairie fiction over the last century noting the influence of culture on man's reaction to the landscape.
|Critical Works: Short Stories
PR9192.52 H68 1993 (Stacks)
How Stories Mean.
Canadian short story writers provide short articles on how they write short stories and cope with literary theory.
PR9192.52 .K78 2003 (Stacks)
The Voice is the Story: conversations with Canadian writers of short fiction.
Laurie Kruk is interested in the “voice” in the short story, she follows this theme in her interviews with ten writers who in many cases write longer fiction as well. Following the conversations, there are short notes on each author and the interviews are indexed. Carol Shields, “Inhabiting the World”; Timothy Findley, “I Want Edge”, Alistair MacLeod, “The World is Full of Exiles.”
|Critical Works: First Nations and Canadian North
PR 9185.5 .A7E34 1997 (Stacks)
Echoing Silence: Essays on Arctic Narrative.
In this 1995 symposium on Arctic narrative, storytellers, politicians and academics assembled at the University of Ottawa to celebrate the Arctic's folk customs, its landscape and its literary traditions. The essays, edited by John Moss, present northern legends, accounts of the Franklin Expeditions, the oral narrative traditions and the interaction between the southern and northern Canadian cultures.
PR 9185.5 .N67H84 2002 (Stacks)
Northern Experience and the Myths of Canadian Culture.
Renée Hulan. An investigation of the “North” as an element of Canada’s national identity and the development of this theme in Canadian culture and Canadian literature.
PR9185.6 .I53 G76 2004 (Stacks)
Listening to Old Woman Speak : Natives and alterNatives in Canadian literature.
Laura Groening examines a historically rooted pattern of Euro-Canadian writers writing from within a literary model that polarize differences between European Canadians and their communities and first nation individuals and their communities.
|Critical Works: Ethnic Minority Writing
PR194.5 .M56 M35 1996 (Stacks)
Making a Difference: Canadian Multicultural Literature.
This anthology offers a wide range of writing styles in fiction and poetry, with a focus on Native and immigrant experiences, ethnic ancestry, and the complex spectrum of cultural differences.
PR 9185.2 .C85 1998 (Stacks)
Cultural Identities in Canadian Literature = Identités culturelles dans la littérature canadienne. c1998
A bilingual collection of essays on the themes of cultural identities and immigrant writing in Canada. The emphasis is upon diversity as essays range in subject matter from Margaret Atwood, Margaret Laurence, and Marie-Claire Blais to Danny Laferrière, Ukranian-Canadian plays, "Franglo-théâtre," contemporary Acadian and Africadian poetry and the Ontario Protestant novel.
PR9188.2 .B57 C56 2002 (Stacks)
Odysseys Home: mapping African-Canadian literature.
George Elliott Clarke
PR 9192.6 .M97V35 1998 (Stacks)
New World Myth: Postmodernism and Postcolonialism in Canadian Fiction. 1998
Examines Rudy Wiebe's The Scorched-Wood People, Bowering's Burning Water and Kogawa's Obasan among others.
|Critical Works: Women Writers
PR 9188 .C36 1993 (Stacks)
Canadian Women Writing Fiction. 1993
A collection of critical essays about contemporary Canadian women writers including, Alice Munro, Mavis Gallant, Anne Hébert, Margaret Atwood, Marie Claire Blais, Carol Shields and Joy Kogawa.
PR9188 .C37 2002 (Stacks)
Writing in the feminine in French and English Canada: a question of ethics. Marie Carrière
PR9188 .G95 1987 (Stacks)
Gynocritics : feminist approaches to Canadian and Quebec women’s writing / Gynocritiques : démarches féministes à l’écriture. Edited by Barbara Godard.
PR9188 .H35 2003 (Stacks)
Literary Culture and Female Authorship in Canada 1760-2000.
Faye Hammill. Series: Cross/Cultures: readings in the post-colonial literatures in English.
Six women writers from six different periods and how they portray Canadian women authors: Frances Brooke; Susanna Moodie; Sara Jeannette Duncan; L.M. Montgomery; Margaret Atwood and Carol Shields.
PR9188 .H67 2003 (Stacks)
Contemporary Canadian women's fiction: refiguring identities.
Coral Ann Howell charts the changes in the Canadian literary landscape since the early 1990s in the work of Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, Carol Shields, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Kerri Sakamoto, Shani Mootoo, Gail Anderson-Dargazt, and Eden Robinson.
PR9188 .S68 1993 (Stacks)
Sounding Differences: Conversations with seventeen women writers from across Canada.
Each interview contains a short bio-critical essay, a photograph of the writer, and a sample of their writing. A mixture of essayists, novelists, and poets. Some of the interviews were previously published in literary journals.
PR9188 .T48 1994 (Stacks)
All My Sisters: essays on the work of Canadian women writers.
Clara Thomas has been an important contributor to Canadian literary feminism. This volume of essays deals to a large part with Margaret Laurence but also includes major 19 th century and 20 th century women writers.
PR9192.6 .I75 S54 2003 (Stacks)
The Island Motif in the Fiction of L.M. Montgomery, Margaret Laurence, Margaret Atwood, and other Canadian Women Novelists .
Theodore F. Sheckels. Islands and idylls as recurring images in Canadian women novelists’ work.
PR 9192.5 .N37 1991 (Stacks)
Narrative Strategies in Canadian Literature: Feminism and Postcolonialism. 1991
The essays focus on the interrelation of realism, modernism and postmodernism as a set of tensions within the literary traditions of the English language.
|Transgenderal, & Queer Culture Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Canadian Literature
PR9185.5 .H6 D52 1999 (Stacks)
Here is Queer: Nationalisms, Sexualities and the Literataures of Canada.
|Critical Works: Science Fiction & Fantasy
|PR9192.6 .S34 W67 2004
Worlds of Wonder: readings in Canadian science fiction and fantasy literature.
Edited by Jean-François Leroux and Camille R. La Bossière.
|Critical Works: Poetry
PR9190.2 .M37 (Stacks)
Harsh and Lovely Land : the major Canadian poets and the making of a Canadian tradition.
Tom Marshall is a poet as well as a critic. He examines the major Canadian poets in four chronological blocks: the Victorian poets “The pioneers,” the modernists”, “the inheritors” and the “poet-novelists”. These include Roberts, Carman, Lampman, Campbell Scott, Pratt, Klein, Birney, Layton , LePan, Cohen,Ondaatje, MacEwen, Atwood and Helwig.
PR9190.5 .W43 2002 (Stacks)
Where the Words Come From: Canadian poets in conversation.
As a response to Earle Birney’s death, Tim Bowling arranged for a group of poets to interview other poets across Canada . The pairings consisted of lesser known poets interviewing well known poets. The interviews included in-person conversations, interviews by post and interviews by e-mail.
|Literary Article Databases
Canadian Literary Centre
The Canadian Literary Centre is a collection of reference books
and journals with a focus on Canadian fiction and poetry. This database
contains full text content from individual monographs, biographies,
essays and literary fiction. Especially useful for work on lesser
known or recently published writers. Many of the works published
by ECW press are included.
Early Canadiana Online (ECO)
Provides access to digitized images of Canada's early printed heritage
from the early European settlers to 1900. There is a English Canadian
Literature Collection in ECO with over 800 drama, fiction, biography
and exploration narratives available in digital images.
A database of English and American poetry, drama and prose.
It includes texts, secondary criticism,bibliographies, links to
internet sites and video clips of poets reading. It includes the
Victoria University Library Electronic Resource (available
only in library)
MagillOnLiterature Plus, produced by Salem Press, is a vast reference
resource to world literature. Here you will find profiles, plot
summaries, biographical and critical essays to major Canadian writers.
The database includes the complete contents of 31 sets of reference
books, including Masterplots and Masterplots II titles; the Cyclopedia
of World Authors; the Cyclopedia of Literary Characters; and 10
years of Magill's Literary Annuals and Magill Book Reviews.
|Periodical Indexes: Canadian
Canadian Periodical Index
Many full text articles are available. (For earlier coverage check the printed edition)
(CBCA) Complete. =
Canadian Business and Current Affairs Fulltext
Many full text articles are available. The database is derived
from Canadian newspapers and periodicals.
Z 1375 .C37 1992, 1997 Ref. (2 vols)
Canadian Literary Periodicals Index.
Z 1375 .C375 Ref.
Canadian Literature Index: A Guide to Periodicals and Newspapers.
Indexes Canadian primary materials (poems, short stories, novels,
plays & literary essays) and secondary materials (critical articles,
book reviews, interviews and bibliographies) in the field of Canadian
literature. Discontinued after 1988.
|Periodical Indexes: English Language Literature
Z 2011 .M69 Ref.
Annual Bibliography of English Language Literature. (ABELL)
Includes Canadian writers.
PE 25 .A16 Ref.
Abstracts of English Studies. 1958-
Use the section "World Literature in English and Related Languages
- Canada ", check also the subject index.
MLA International Bibliography of Books and Articles on
the Modern Languages and Literatures.;
In the printed version see the section on Canadian Literature in
Vol. 1 of the classified listings and Author Index.
|Periodical Indexes General with Canadian Content
Book Review Digest Plus
The database provides descriptive summaries of books as well
as excerpts of book reviews. Book review citations and full text
reviews are drawn from other Wilson indexes including: Applied
Science & Technology Index, Art Index, Biological & Agricultural
Index, Education Index, General Science Index, Humanities Index,
Index to Legal Periodicals & Books, Library Literature &
Information Science, Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature,
Social Sciences Index, and Business Periodicals Index.
Book Review Digest Retrospective. online 1905 - 1982
Book Review Index Online
International business and newspaper index. Useful particularly
for newspaper articles including interviews, and book reviews.
3 H8 Ref
Humanities Index, 1974 - 1990
Humanities Abstracts, 1994-
Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective, 1907-1984. 1907-1984
Periodicals Archive Online ( formerly Periodicals Contents Index) 18th century -
This database searches the table of contents for a wide range
of journals in the humanities and social sciences with chronological
coverage of over 200 years. Scholarly publications make up the majority
of indexed journals but other popular journals such as Canadian
forum, The Canadian Magazine. represented as well as PCI covers
not only journals published by academic presses but also those journals
published as popular reading which now provide valuable research
materials for scholars.
Readers Guide Abstracts, 1983-
Iindexes and abstracts articles from more than 240 of the most popular
general-interest magazines published in the United States and Canada.
It is a comprehensive index to popular literature, covering all
subjects and general news areas, such as current events, business,
fashion, politics, crafts, food, education, sports, history, and
Readers Guide Retrospective, 1890 - 1982;
Guide Retrospective is a database containing comprehensive indexing
of the most popular general-interest periodicals published in the
United States and reflects the history of 20th century America.
coverage for this database includes the years 1890 through 1982.
The Retrospective Index includes links to more than 3 million articles.
|Key Journals (those in print are located in our periodical stacks in alphabetical order by periodiacal title)
Holdings: No. 21 (1984) -
Books in Canada. Holdings: Vol. 1(1971)- available online through Canadian Literary Centre
Canadian Forum. Holdings: Vol. 1 (Oct. 1920) -
v. 79 no. 890 (2000)
Holdings: No. 1 (1959/60) – 24 (1964/65), no. 29(1966/67)
– available online through Canadian Literary Centre
Essays on Canadian Writing.
Holdings:No.1(1974)- available online
through Canadian Literary Centre
Journal of Canadian Fiction. Holdings: (1972) - ; available
through Canadian Literary Centre
Review of Canada . Holdings: Vol.1 (Dec. 1991) +
Vol. 1 (Oct. 1967) +
Holdings: Vol. 1 (July 1893-)
1996 - permanent link:
Quill & Quire.
Holdings: current year; available online
through Canadian Literary Centre
University of Toronto Quarterly.
Holdings: 1 - 21, 23 - ;
See the annual "Letters in Canada " issue, with reviews
of the year's notable literary and critical publications for English
and French-Canadian literature. Separate essays examine fiction,
poetry, drama and translations.
|Special Collections in Victoria University Library
the following finding aids to Special Collections held at Pratt
Library related to Canadian literature:
web sites for Canadian Literature: Voice
of the Shuttle (Canadian Literature Resources)
A repository for information about Canadian writers, novelists,
poets, playwrights, essayists, etc. intended for the study of
Canadian literature. Includes bio-bibliographies of Canadian writers
such as Sinclair Ross, Michael Ondaatje, Margaret Atwood.
Pick up a copy of the Victoria University Library's Guide
to Essay Writing, available free at the E.J. Pratt Library,
or find it online.
It lists many types of style manuals on how to cite bibliographies
and footnotes, correct grammar and punctuation, how to write
an essay, how to do research, how to cite a resource from the
Internet and much more. The Guide also lists a number of electronic sources for style guides
|Literary Handbooks & Dictionaries
PE 1408 .R593 1995 Stacks
Writing About Literature. 8th ed.
Introduces a number of analytical approaches important in the study of literature, along with guidance for writing informative and well-focused themes based on these approaches. Chapters are designed to enable students to write good themes and assimilate great works of literature into the imagination.
PN 41 .H6 2003 Ref.
A Handbook to Literature. 9 th ed. (earlier eds. in Stacks)
Commonly known as "Holman" and a classic in its field, the handbook lists and explains literary terms, and includes types of literary criticism, genres and movements. Appendices include Nobel prizes for literature; Pulitzer prizes for poetry, fiction and drama. An outline of English and American literary history from earliest times to the present precedes the appendices.
PN44.5 .K46 2005 Reference
Handbook of Literary Terms: Literature, Language, Theory.
PN44.5 .K46 2006 Reference
The Longman Dictionary of Literary Terms: Vocabulary for the Informed Reader.
PN 81 .B35 2004 Ref.
A Short Guide to Writing about Literature. 2nd Canadian edition
In 3 parts; Pt 1 emphasizes the importance, in the writing process, of asking oneself questions in order to generate ideas. Pt 2 introduces the elements of fiction, poetry, drama and film. Pt 3 covers Style and Format, Research Papers, and Essay Examinations in a short and direct approach to clear writing.
PN147 .G53 2003 Reference , Stacks
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. (6th edition)
Z 6514 .C97J64 2005 Ref. (2nd edition) (1994 ed. Stacks);
Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism.
Contains entries on a broad spectrum of topics in literary theory and criticism. Select 'Index of Topics' for a general listing of all areas covered in the guide.
Literary Handbooks | top
by Irene Dutton, and Alison Girling
Updated October 2010.