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

267 Pages·1976·8.74 MB·English

by  Carl Ballstadt

Literature of Canada
Poetry and Prose in Reprint
Douglas Lochhead, General Editor
The Search for English-Canadian Literature
An Anthology of Critical Articles
from the Nineteenth and
Early Twentieth Centuries
Edited and Introduced by Carl Ballstadt
UNIVERSITYOF TORONTO PRESS
TORONTO AND BUFFALO
©University of Toronto Press 1975
Toronto and Buffalo
Printed in Canada
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
The Search for English-Canadian literature.
(Literature of Canada: 16)
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Canadian literature — History and criticism — Addresses, essays,
lectures. I. Ballstadt, Carl, 1931-
PR9184.6.S4 810'.9'971 75-15779
ISBN 0-8020-2177-8
ISBN 0-8020-6263-6 pbk.
This book has been published with the assistance of grants from the
Ontario Arts Council and the McLean Foundation.
The editor gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council and
McMaster University in the conduct of research for this volume.
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Preface
Yes, there is a Canadian literature. It does exist. Part of the
evidence to support these statements is presented in the form of
reprints of the poetry and prose of the authors included in this
series. Much of this literature has been long out of print. If the
country's culture and traditions are to be sampled and measured,
both in terms of past and present-day conditions, then the major
works of both our well-known and our lesser-known writers
should be available for all to buy and read. The Literature of
Canada series aims to meet this need. It shares with its companion
series, The Social History of Canada, the purpose of making the
documents of the country's heritage accessible to an increasingly
large national and international public, a public which is anxious
to acquaint itself with Canadian literature — the writing itself —
and also to become intimate with the times in which it grew.
DL
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Contents
Introduction
PARTI THE EARLY REALISM
David Chisholme: Introduction to the Canadian Magazine
and Literary Repository (1823) 3
David Chisholme: Essay on the Advantages that
Might be Derived from the Establishment of a Literary Association
in Montreal (1826) 5
W.P.C.: Our Literature Present and Prospective (1848) 9
Daniel Wilson : Canadian Poetry (1858) 15
PART 2 CULTURAL ECONOMICS AND CANADIAN PHILISTINISM
Thomas D'Arcy McGee: Protection for
Canadian Literature (1858) 21
G. Mercer Adam: Literature, Nationality,
and the Tariff (1889) 24
Sara Jeannette Duncan: Saunterings (1886) 30
Sara Jeannette Duncan: American Influence on
Canadian Thought (1887) 36
PART 3 THE QUALITY OF LITERARY CRITICISM
Barry Dane (John E. Logan): Criticism (1884) 45
G. Mercer Adam: Native Literature and
the Scoffing Spirit (1888) 46
I. Cyrus Doull: Literary Criticism:
Its Scope and Effect (1898) 51
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Sara Jeannette Duncan: On Criticism (1886) 54
Sara Jeannette Duncan: Saunterings (1887) 59
Robert Barr: Literature in Canada: Part Two (1899) 61
J. Gordon Mow at: The Purpose of a
National Magazine (1901) 76
PART 4 THE DEBATE ON A 'NATIONAL' LITERATURE
L. O'Loane: Our Chances for a Literature (1890) 83
Goldwin Smith: 'What is the Matter with
Canadian Literature?'(1894) 85
Anonymous: Mr Goldwin Smith and
Canadian Literature (1894) 88
Thomas D'Arcy McGee: The Mental Outfit of
the New Dominion (1867) 91
K. Seymour MacLean: Education and
National Sentiment (1881) 98
John A. Cooper: Should Our Literature
be Canadian? (1897) 107
Pelham Edgar: A Fresh View of
Canadian Literature (1912) 110
Barry Dane (John E. Logan): National Literature (1884) 114
PART 5 EUROPE AND THE CANADIAN IMAGINATION
I. Allen Jack: The Academy and
the Grove in Canada (1878) 121
J.D. Robins: Backgrounds of
Future Canadian Poetry (1915) 136
Ethelbert F.H. Cross: Apollo and Tomkins (1898) 142
Basil Tempest: Poetic Art in Canada (1891) 145
vin
PART 6 THE NORTHERN NATION
Charles Mair: The New Canada (1875) 151
R.G. Haliburton: On Northern Culture (1869) 154
W.A. Fraser: Literature (1899) 156
PART 7 THE ADVANTAGE OF TWO CULTURES
George Stewart, Jr: Letters in Canada (1887) 163
G. Mercer Adam: Nationalism and
the Literary Spirit (1888) 168
Samuel E. Dawson: A Plea for Literature (1908) 170
PART 8 THE CHARACTER AND ACHIEVEMENT OF CANADIAN POETRY
Gordon Waldron: Canadian Poetry: A Criticism (1896) 179
A.B. De Mille: Canadian Poetry: A Word
in Vindication (1897) 183
Duncan Campbell Scott: A Decade of
Canadian Poetry (1901) 187
J.D. Logan: The Genius of Canadian Poetry (1911) 190
J.C. Sutherland: The Poetry of Common Things (1889) 195
W. Blackburn Harte: Some Canadian Writers
of Today (1890) 199
Archibald Lampman: A New Conception (1893) 203
Lionel Stevenson: The Status of
Overseas Literature (1926) 205
Raymond Knister: Canadian Letter (1928?) 209
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