Canadian literature

Inside the sell off of Canada’s literary heritage

A new book by Elaine Dewar illuminates the curious sale of iconic Canadian publisher McClelland & Stewart — and what it means for Can Lit

Book review: Urquhart’s latest literary triumph

Jane Urquhart’s eighth novel is a gorgeously written, virtuosic weaving of time, place and characters connected in profound ways

6 memorable final passages from Canadian literature

Spoiler alert! This is how some great works of Canadian Literature end.

How to be a better Canadian: Read Canadian literature

Maclean’s presents an instalment in our patriotic video series designed to hone your skills, add to your already encyclopedic knowledge of this great country and generally make you a super-Canadian. In this edition: The books that best capture the eternal themes that make CanLit Canadian, by Maclean’s senior writer Brian Bethune.

Farley Mowat took us far away, but deep within, too

Why Mowat’s Tundra collection is more precious than ever

Margaret Atwood in 1974: ‘Margaret Laurence was no bulldozer’

Thirty years after the distinguished Canadian author died, Laurence’s last book reminds us of ‘the need to give shape to our own legends, to rediscover what is really ours’

The apprenticeship of Mordecai Richler

In 1961, Mordecai Richler wrote this narrative chronicling his journey as a scriptwriter from Paris ‘fleabags’ to his London flat

Lionel Shapiro in 1955: ‘What is distinctively Canadian literature?’

‘Only in Canada is Canadian writing derided, decried and indeed dismissed as nonexistent,’ said Shapiro, one of the most versatile and widely recognized writers Canada had ever produced