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CanLit
DCHP-2 (Nov 2012)
n. — Education, abbreviation
Canadian literature.
Type: 1. Origin — The abbreviation CanLit for Canadian literature, for the related field of academic study and teaching, and for the journal Canadian Literature (founded 1959, see reference), appears to have arisen in the 1960s (see the 2005 quotation). By the mid-1970s the field was established internationally, both in the US and Europe (see, e.g. the 1976 quotation), around the same time when the abbreviation became entrenched (see, e.g., the 1977 quotation). As Chart 1 shows, the term is overwhelmingly attested in Canada. Although the abbreviations AmLit or BritLit do occur, they are, unlike CanLit, rare.
See also Gage-5, s.v. "CanLit", which is marked "Cdn. Informal", ITP Nelson, s.v. "CanLit", which is marked "Informal".
See also Gage-5, s.v. "CanLit", which is marked "Cdn. Informal", ITP Nelson, s.v. "CanLit", which is marked "Informal".
Quotations
1969
All of a sudden, we've got CanLit coming out of our ears. No fewer than four separate series of studies of Canadian authors are making their debuts this year. CanLit, as a growth industry, is up there with electronics and beer.
1976
CanLit -- with its peace, excitement and wildness -- makes a Harvard breakthrough
Harvard is the latest American University to offer a course in Canadian literature. The course, called Twentieth Century Canadian Literature, was launched this semester by the Department of English and American Literature and Language. [...] Harvard has offered occasional courses in Canadian government and politics from time to time, and the infrequent special event, such as Claude Bissell's year there as a visiting professor. But although the university has named an endowed chair in Canadian studies, named after that illustrious alumnus, William Lyon Mackenzie King, the chair has never been permanently filled. So the new Can Lit course is a significant breakthrough.
Harvard is the latest American University to offer a course in Canadian literature. The course, called Twentieth Century Canadian Literature, was launched this semester by the Department of English and American Literature and Language. [...] Harvard has offered occasional courses in Canadian government and politics from time to time, and the infrequent special event, such as Claude Bissell's year there as a visiting professor. But although the university has named an endowed chair in Canadian studies, named after that illustrious alumnus, William Lyon Mackenzie King, the chair has never been permanently filled. So the new Can Lit course is a significant breakthrough.
1977
In their round-windowed quarters on Spadina Avenue, which serve as living space for staff and writers as well as offices, they were soon publishing most of the literature that swelled into the new wave of Canadian letters, known today by the affectionate rubric CanLit.
1989
"I get either condescension or frothing at the mouth from the CanLit people who think if you live in Canada, you should be writing about Canada all the time."
1989
Bharati Mukherjee (who told me this week she's happy to have her work regarded as part of the CanLit scene, despite the fact that she now lives and works in the U.S.) [...].
2005
Thacker traces the gradually accelerating progress of Munro's career. He is excellent on how tough it was to be a Canadian author in the late 1950s before people talked glibly of "CanLit." Back then, most bookstores used to have a single shelf labelled "Canadiana."
2014
Nick Mount, a professor of English literature at the University of Toronto, is currently working on a book about the CanLit explosion of the 1960s and '70s, a period when our national literature came of age. I think we're presently in the midst of another boom. While the industry still faces financial challenges, Canadian writers are in the midst of a creative peak that rivals anything we've seen before.
References
- Canadian Literature • Journal Homepage
- Gage-5
- ITP Nelson
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