Dear Bill


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The Governor General’s Literary Awards of Canada


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The definitive bibliography of Canada’s Governor General’s Literary Awards Alice Munro, Michael Ondaatje, Margaret Atwood, Antonine Maillet, Carol Shields, Marie-Claire Blais, Gilles Vigneault... For over three quarters of a century, the Governor General’s Literary Awards have been instrumental in recognizing many of Canada’s best authors, illustrators and translators. The result is impressive: between 1936 and 2017, 705 titles have been recognized with this prestigious award. With careful attention to detail, Andrew Irvine presents the history and evolution of the Awards and extols their importance for the careers of authors, illustrators and translators, as well as for the development of Canada’s national literature. The heart of the book contains the first comprehensive bibliography of the awards, including the first list of winning books organized according to their historically correct award categories; information about five books wrongly omitted from previous lists of winning titles; detailed information about award ceremonies, film adaptations and jury members; and other key information. This is a seminal work that belongs on the shelf of every scholar and every lover of Canadian literature. This book is published in English. - Une bibliographie incontournable des Prix littéraires du Gouverneur général du Canada Alice Munro, Margaret Atwood, Antonine Maillet, Carol Shields, Marie-Claire Blais, Michael Ondaatje, Gilles Vigneault... Les écrivains canadiens sont depuis longtemps encensés sur la scène nationale comme à l’échelle mondiale, et les Prix du Gouverneur général jouent un rôle clé dans la reconnaissance de certains de nos meilleurs auteurs, illustrateurs et traducteurs. La liste est impressionnante : ce prestigieux prix a récompensé 705 oeuvres entre 1936 et 2017. Avec un souci minutieux au détail, Andrew Irvine présente l’histoire et l’évolution des Prix et vante leurs vertus indispensables à la carrière des écrivains et des traducteurs ainsi que dans l’élaboration d’une littérature nationale au Canada. Cette bibliographie est la toute première recension complète des Prix littéraires du Gouverneur général et donne des renseignements détaillés au sujet des cérémonies, des adaptations cinématographiques, des membres des jurys ainsi que d’autres informations clés. Le livre présente aussi une copie exhaustive et exacte de données bibliographiques tirées d’archives, une première dans le monde de l’édition. En somme, une référence incontournable. Ce livre est publié en anglais.




The Four Jameses


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Between Languages and Cultures


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Gabrielle Roy is one of the best-known figures of Québec literature, yet she spent much of the first thirty years of her life studying, working, and living in English. For Roy, as a member of Manitoba's francophone minority, bilingualism was a necessary strategy for survival and success. How did this bilingual and bicultural background help shape her work as a writer in French? The implications of her linguistic and cultural identity are explored in chapters looking at education, language, translation, and the representation of Canada's other minorities, from the immigrants in Western Canada to the Inuit of Ungava. What emerges is a new reading of Roy's work. Drawing on archival material, postcolonial theory, and translation studies, Between Languages and Cultures explores the traces and effects of Roy's intimate knowledge of English language and culture, challenging and augmenting the established view that her work is distinctly French-Canadian or Québécois.




Canada's Storytellers | Les grands écrivains du Canada


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For over three-quarters of a century, the Governor General’s Literary Awards have been awarded annually in a variety of evolving categories. Fifteen Governors General have served as their patron. The impressive list continues to grow apace: between 1936 and 2018, the awards recognized 719 books in English and French and have been presented to 580 authors, illustrators, and translators. This beautifully illustrated bilingual compendium presents the biographies of all 580 award laureates, many accompanied by stunning archival portraits. This is the final instalment in Andrew Irvine’s remarkable and comprehensive research into what has become a touchstone of Canada’s literary culture. Together with Canada’s Best and The Governor General’s Literary Awards of Canada: A Bibliography, this work provides readers with a definitive overview of this literary prize. By itself, Canada’s Storytellers is an invaluable reading companion for anyone wanting to be introduced to many of our most influential authors, illustrators, and translators working in both French and English over the past decades. It belongs on the shelf of every enthusiast of Canadian literature. Bilingual edition.




William Arthur Deacon


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E.J. Pratt


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The English Library of the University of Toronto presents information on Canadian poet Edwin John Pratt (1882-?). The library offers biographical information on Pratt, the full text of several of Pratt's poems, and a bibliography of his works.




The Persons Case


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On 18 October 1929, John Sankey, England's reform-minded Lord Chancellor, ruled in the Persons case that women were eligible for appointment to Canada's Senate. Initiated by Edmonton judge Emily Murphy and four other activist women, the Persons case challenged the exclusion of women from Canada's upper house and the idea that the meaning of the constitution could not change with time. The Persons Case considers the case in its political and social context and examines the lives of the key players: Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, and the other members of the "famous five," the politicians who opposed the appointment of women, the lawyers who argued the case, and the judges who decided it. Robert J. Sharpe and Patricia I. McMahon examine the Persons case as a pivotal moment in the struggle for women's rights and as one of the most important constitutional decisions in Canadian history. Lord Sankey's decision overruled the Supreme Court of Canada's judgment that the courts could not depart from the original intent of the framers of Canada's constitution in 1867. Describing the constitution as a "living tree," the decision led to a reassessment of the nature of the constitution itself. After the Persons case, it could no longer be viewed as fixed and unalterable, but had to be treated as a document that, in the words of Sankey, was in "a continuous process of evolution." The Persons Case is a comprehensive study of this important event, examining the case itself, the ruling of the Privy Council, and the profound affect that it had on women's rights and the constitutional history of Canada.




Anatomy of a Seance


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MacKenzie King did it, so did Susanna Moody. In fact, many Canadians consulted the spirits as part of a religious experience, to seek guidance for themselves and others, and to attempt to learn what lies beyond the grave. Some came to the seance room to hear ancient wisdom while others came to understand the nature of psychic phenomena. Like the mechanisms that produced the flashing lights, cool breezes, and whirling trumpets that materialized in the presence of the medium, their beliefs and experiences have been mostly hidden, until now. In this first full-length study of Canadian spirit communication, Stan McMullin has drawn upon seance notes, letters, diaries, and special collections to create a fascinating picture of how educated people were drawn to spiritualism and psychic research. Anatomy of a Seance shows that for many Canadians attempting to sort out their religious beliefs and find an acceptable marriage between religion and science the seance room provided an alternative to formal religious dogma. Despite the opposition of mainline churches, spiritualism offered the possibility of a "scientific" religion that could prove the existence of heaven.




"Architecture, Design and Craft in Toronto 1900-1940 "


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Toronto - the largest and one of the most multicultural cities in Canada - boasts an equally interesting and diverse architectural heritage. Architecture, Design and Craft in Toronto 1900-1940 tells a story of the significant changes in domestic life in the first 40 years of the twentieth century. Adopting a multidisciplinary approach to studies of residential spaces, the author examines how questions of modernity and modern living influenced not only architectural designs but also interior furnishings, modes of transportation and ways to spend leisure time. The book discusses several case studies, some of which are known both locally and internationally (for example Casa Loma), while others such as Guild of All Arts or Sherwood have been virtually unstudied by historians of visual culture. The overall goal of the book is to put Toronto on the map of scholars of urban design and architecture and to uncover previously unknown histories of design, craft and domesticity in Toronto. This study will be of interest not only to the academic community (namely architects, designers, craftspeople and scholars of these disciplines, along with social historians), but also the general public interested in local history and/or visual culture.