This semester I’m studying Canadian literature… Which I was warned was dry and dull. I’m pleasantly surprised to say that I’m finding it complex and really different. At the moment we are studying excerpts from the early explorers diaries and relatives stories.
It makes me realise how much we take for granted that the world we live in is easy to get around. These men set out to explore the continent and many times just never returned home. One unfortunate party was believed to have resorted to cannibalisim to survive… I’m not entirely sure if that was verified… But in 2014 we can hop on a plane and go virtually wherever we want. Tragic accidents still happen but they are the exception.. Not the norm.
We know the earth is round not flat, that if we get a cold we very likely won’t die and that there is not much left to be explored on Earth so we can feel far more certain about the world we live in. And it’s thanks to early explorers that did all the work for us. Now I’m not saying humans are out of the woods yet… But isn’t awesome that we can appreciate just how far we’ve come as a civilisation?
theaspiringcaffeinatedlibrarian 
Hi Renee–I’m curious to know what books you are reading in your Canadian Lit class. I have taken a couple of Canadian lit courses over the years and one of my favourite authors is Canadian (Margaret Atwood) so I’m curious!
Also–thanks for liking my post on Social Media and Grieving. http://www.thinkdreamdo.wordpress.com
Cheers!
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Hi Judy,
Thanks so much for viewing my blog!
The set list for my subject, Intro to Canadian Literature is, ‘The Cats Table‘ By Michael Ondaatje, ‘Tales From Firozsha Baag’ by Rohinton Mistry, ‘A Complicated Kindness’ by Miriam Toews and and some ereadings by Theresa Gowanlock, Fred Wah, Pauline Johnson, Emily Carr and Catherine Hunter.
No Margaret Atwood I’m sorry! Could it have anything to with book size? The lecturers don’t like to prescribe us long reads. How did you find it differed to other lit subjects?
Your post was very well written and thought provoking 🙂
Happy reading! xx
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Looks like you’ve got quite a wide variety, and many are tried and true Canadian writers. My favourite out of those books is Miriam Toews’ A Complicated Kindness. I am looking forward to reading her new novel, All My Puny Sorrows. I hung out with Miriam Toews a number of years ago, although she is quite a bit older than I am.
I am surprised that they don’t have you reading any Atwood, since she is one of Canada’s best (and most prolific) writers, both in prose and poetry. I’m also surprised they don’t have you reading any Alice Munro, since she just won the Nobel Prize in 2013. She writes short stories, so there shouldn’t be a problem with length!
My Canadian Lit class was split into two sections Pre-1967 and Post-1967. I had a not that great prof who assigned really really dull reads. Canada has lots of interesting authors, especially (in my opinion) post-1967.
I am looking forward to hearing more about your class and your take on the writing, particularly Miriam Toews’ novel.
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