Beyond the Provinces: Literary Canada at Century's End

by David Staines

"Beyond the Provinces" takes stock of Canada's literary scene at the end of the twentieth century, revealing the astonishing developments that have occurred in the country's literary culture in the past decades and affirming the maturity of literary Canada. In the opening chapter David Staines examines the colonial mentality that pervaded turn-of-the-century literature, was later challenged, and has all but disappeared at century's end. In the second chapter he explores the unique Canadian presence in American fiction in order to examine the way in which Canada found its literary independence from the United States. And in the final chapter he proposes that Canadian literary selfhood has been complemented by a still tentative but distinctive critical voice.

Paperback

Published May 30, 1995

About the author

David Staines is a Canadian literary critic, university professor, writer, and editor. Staines studied at the University of Toronto, where he obtained a BA in 1967, and at Harvard University, where he obtained an MA in 1968 and a PhD in 1973.

He currently serves as a Professor of English at the University of Ottawa. He has written or edited more than 15 books on medieval culture and literature, and on Canadian culture and literature. He is now engaged in the arduous task of reading and writing on “The History and Development of Canadian Fiction.” Staines is a member of the Board of Trustees of the RBC Taylor Prize.

In 2011, he was awarded the Order of Ontario for helping to establish the Giller Prize, Canada's highest award for fiction, and the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction. In 2011, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada "for his contributions as a champion of Canadian literature and mentor to young writers."

Reviews

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a good background source if you're planning to read Canadian literature on a more in depth level. It adequately highlights different opinions and aspects of identity linked with literature and literary criticism in Canada.
Another plus is that it's reasonably short - no 'boring' chronicles of history - and can be read in the span of maybe two hours if you're a fast reader, so you can start on whatever Canadian book you're planning to read soon after. :)