Canadian literature, reflecting the country's dual origin and official bilingualism, can be divided into two major divisions: English and French. The earliest English Canadian literature includes travel and exploration narratives by visitors such as Samuel Hearne, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, and Captain John Franklin. The first novel set in Canada was Frances Brooke's "The History of Emily Montague" (1769).
The 19th century saw regionalism and patriotic themes in literature, with writers like Thomas McCulloch and Oliver Goldsmith celebrating pioneer life. Immigrants' experiences were depicted by Susanna Moodie and Catherine Parr Traill. The Confederation poets like Charles G.D. Roberts and Archibald Lampman began to explore native verse and nature.
The early 20th century brought modernism and realism, with poets like E.J. Pratt and novelists like Sinclair Ross and Hugh MacLennan exploring social and personal conflicts. Post-1960s literature, influenced by postmodernism, includes works by Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, and Michael Ondaatje, focusing on themes of identity, history, and the human condition.
In recent decades, Canadian literature has embraced diverse voices, including those of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit writers, who explore themes of cultural negotiation, racial prejudice, and shattered kinship groups. Immigrant experiences are also a significant theme, with authors like Nino Ricci and Dionne Brand delving into issues of home, belonging, and cultural assimilation.
👉👉 Canadian Literature: Major Writers and Their Works
Pre-1900:
1. Samuel Hearne - A Journey from Prince of Wales’s Fort in Hudson’s Bay to the Northern Ocean (1795)
2. Sir Alexander Mackenzie - Voyages from Montreal…Through the Continent of North America, to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans (1801)
3. Simon Fraser - The Letters and Journals of Simon Fraser, 1806–1808 (1960)
4. Captain John Franklin - Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea (1823)
5. Frances Brooke - History of Emily Montague (1769)
6. Thomas McCulloch - Letters of Mephibosheth Stepsure (1821–22)
7. Thomas Chandler Haliburton - The Clockmaker (1835–36)
8. Oliver Goldsmith - The Rising Village (1825)
9. Susanna Strickland Moodie - Roughing It in the Bush (1852)
10. Catherine Parr Strickland Traill - Backwoods of Canada (1836)
11. Archibald Lampman - Poems reflecting the landscape
12. Charles G.D. Roberts - Poems and animal stories
13. Bliss Carman - Various poetry collections
14. Duncan Campbell Scott - Poems depicting Canada’s northern wilderness
15. Isabella Valancy Crawford - Old Spookses’ Pass, Malcolm’s Katie, and Other Poems (1884)
16. Julia Catherine Beckwith Hart - St. Ursula’s Convent; or, The Nun of Canada (1824)
17. William Kirby - The Golden Dog (1877)
18. Rosanna Leprohon - Antoinette de Mirecourt; or, Secret Marrying and Secret Sorrowing (1864)
19. John Richardson - Wacousta; or, The Prophecy (1832)
20. James De Mille - A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder (1888)
1900-1960:
1. W.H. Drummond - The Habitant and Other French-Canadian Poems (1897)
2. E. Pauline Johnson - Legends of Vancouver (1911), Flint and Feather (1912)
3. Robert Service - Songs of a Sourdough (1907)
4. John McCrae - “In Flanders Fields” (1915)
5. E.J. Pratt - The Titanic (1935), Brébeuf and His Brethren (1940), Towards the Last Spike (1952)
6. Earle Birney - “David” (1942)
7. A.J.M. Smith, F.R. Scott, A.M. Klein - New Provinces (1936)
8. Dorothy Livesay - Day and Night (1944), Signpost (1932)
9. Irving Layton, Louis Dudek, Raymond Souster - Various works through Contact magazine and Contact Press
10. P.K. Page - As Ten as Twenty (1946), Evening Dance of the Grey Flies (1981), Hologram: A Book of Glosas (1994)
11. Lucy Maud Montgomery - Anne of Green Gables (1908) and sequels
12. Sara Jeannette Duncan - The Imperialist (1904)
13. Ralph Connor - The Man from Glengarry (1901)
14. Stephen Leacock - Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (1912)
15. Mazo de la Roche - Jalna series (1927–60)
16. Martha Ostenso - Wild Geese (1925)
17. Frederick Philip Grove - Settlers of the Marsh (1925), Fruits of the Earth (1933)
18. Emily Carr - Klee Wyck (1941)
19. Sinclair Ross - As for Me and My House (1941)
20. W.O. Mitchell - Who Has Seen the Wind (1947)
21. Ernest Buckler - The Mountain and the Valley (1952)
22. Hugh MacLennan - Two Solitudes (1945), The Watch That Ends the Night (1959)
23. Sheila Watson - The Double Hook (1959)
24. Ethel Wilson - Swamp Angel (1954)
25. Elizabeth Smart - By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept (1945)
1960 and Beyond:
1. Robertson Davies - Deptford trilogy (Fifth Business, 1970; The Manticore, 1972; World of Wonders, 1975), Cornish trilogy (The Rebel Angels, 1981; What’s Bred in the Bone, 1985; The Lyre of Orpheus, 1988), Murther & Walking Spirits (1991)
2. Alice Munro - Lives of Girls and Women (1971), short stories in collections like Dance of the Happy Shades (1968) and The View from Castle Rock (2006)
3. Margaret Laurence - Manawaka novels (The Stone Angel, 1964; A Jest of God, 1966; The Diviners, 1974)
4. Leonard Cohen - Beautiful Losers (1966)
5. Mavis Gallant - The Selected Stories of Mavis Gallant (1996), Across the Bridge (1993)
6. Margaret Atwood - The Edible Woman (1969), Lady Oracle (1976), The Robber Bride (1993), Bodily Harm (1981), The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), Oryx and Crake (2003), Alias Grace (1996), The Blind Assassin (2000)
7. Mordecai Richler - The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1959), St. Urbain’s Horseman (1971), Joshua Then and Now (1980), Solomon Gursky Was Here (1989), Barney’s Version (1997)
8. Robert Kroetsch - The Words of My Roaring (1966), The Studhorse Man (1969), Gone Indian (1973)
9. Rudy Wiebe - The Temptations of Big Bear (1973), The Scorched-Wood People (1977), A Discovery of Strangers (1994)
10. Timothy Findley - The Wars (1977), Famous Last Words (1981), Not Wanted on the Voyage (1984)
11. George Bowering - Burning Water (1980)
12. Michael Ondaatje - Coming Through Slaughter (1976), In the Skin of a Lion (1987), The English Patient (1992), Anil’s Ghost (2000)
13. Carol Shields - The Stone Diaries (1993), Unless (2002)
14. Audrey Thomas - Real Mothers (1981), Intertidal Life (1984), Graven Images (1993), Isobel Gunn (1999)
15. Jack Hodgins - The Invention of the World (1977), The Macken Charm (1995)
16. Jane Urquhart - The Whirlpool (1986), Away (1993), A Map of Glass (2005)
17. Anne Michaels - Fugitive Pieces (1996)
18. Daphne Marlatt - Ana Historic (1988), Taken (1996)
19. Douglas Glover - Elle (2003)
20. Douglas Coupland - Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture (1991)
21. David Adams Richards - Lives of Short Duration (1981), Nights Below Station Street (1988), Mercy Among the Children (2000)
22. Guy Vanderhaeghe - The Englishman’s Boy (1996)
23. Richard B. Wright - Clara Callan (2001)
24. Ann-Marie MacDonald - Fall on Your Knees (1996)
25. Alistair MacLeod - No Great Mischief (1999)
26. Wayne Johnston - The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (1998)
27. Michael Crummey - River Thieves (2001)
28. Lisa Moore - Alligator (2005)
First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Writers:
1. Jeannette Armstrong - Slash (1985, rev. ed. 1988), Whispering in Shadows (2000)
2. Beatrice Culleton - In Search of April Raintree (1983)
3. Tomson Highway - Kiss of the Fur Queen (1998)
4. Thomas King - Medicine River (1990), Green Grass, Running Water (1993)
5. Eden Robinson - Monkey Beach (1999), Blood Sports (2006)
6. Maria Campbell - Half-Breed (1973)
7. Lee Maracle - Bobbi Lee, Indian Rebel (1975, rev. ed. 1990)
8. Michael Ondaatje - Running in the Family (1982)
9. John Glassco - Memoirs of Montparnasse (1970)
10. Aritha van Herk - Places Far from Ellesmere (1990)
11. Wayson Choy - Paper Shadows: A Chinatown Childhood (1999)
12. Dionne Brand - A Map to the Door of No Return (2001)
13. Rudy Wiebe and Yvonne Johnson - Stolen Life: The Journey of a Cree Woman (1998)
Immigrant Experience:
1. Nino Ricci - Lives of the Saints (1990), In a Glass House (1993), Where She Has Gone (1997)
This list provides a broad overview of major Canadian writers and their works across different periods.
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