CCL, no. 87, Fall 1997

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What's Canadian about Canadian Children's Literature? A Compendium of Answers to the Question

Editor's Note: When I sent out the paper call for this issue, I didn't expect the responses to it would be so passionate. Some people told me they loved the idea and looked forward to the issue. But others objected even to the idea of asking such a question. Some found it irrelevent and desperately old-fashioned. Some were deeply suspicious about the value of ever doing any thinking at all about literature in terms of issues of nationality. Some were convinced that the project was a conspiracy to promote one particular view of Canadian identity over others, with upsetting or dangerous political ramnifications. But whatever opinion people were expressing, they were expressing it vehemently. I realized that the few articles I would be able to include could not possibly represent the range of the intensity of all these different feelings. That was when I had the idea of asking everyone I could think of if they'd be willing to write a short answer to my question to include in the issue. A lot of people agreed to do so. These are the answers they provided. (PN)

Note de l'Éditeur: Quand j'ai lancé l'appel à contributions pour le présent numéro sur l'identité canadienne, je ne m'attendais pas à ce que les réponses que je recevrais soient si passionnées. Quelques-uns m'ont dit apprécier le projet et vouloir y participer volontiers; d'autres ont avoué trouver l'idée un peu dépassée, voir rejeté carrément mon invitation. Certains doutaient de la pertinence de toute réflexion sur l'identité nationale tandis que d'autres me soupçonnaient de vouloir imposer une vision préconçue ou particulière du Canada. Peu important l'opinion que l'on exprimait, celle-ci était toujours formulée avec conviction. Je me suis aussi rendu compte que mon choix d'articles ne pouvait représenter ni l'étendue, ni l'intensité des réponses. C'est alors que j'ai eu l'idée de demander à chacun de me consigner par écrit sa réaction à mon appel. Bien des gens l'ont fait. Voici donc leurs répliques. (PN)

Respondants: Hazel Hutchins, Mary H. Pritchard, Jan Andrews, Teya Rosenberg, Margaret Buffie, Susan Drain, Juliana Saxton, David Bentley, Joe Sheridan, Tim Wynne-Jones, Hilary Thompson, Sarah Ellis, Joan Payzant, Judith Saltman, Angela Rebeiro, Lorraine Anderson, Mary-Alice Downie, Jeanette Lynes, Margot Lewis, Robert Nicholas Bérard, Rosemary Ross Johnston, Sandra Becket, Monique Lebrun, Carol Harvey, Claire L. Malarte-Feldman, Suzanne Pouliot, Claude Romney, Patricia Vickery, Ted McGee, Randall Ware, Ron Jobe, Jim Gellert, Arlene Robinson, Frances Frazer, Donn Kushner, Rod McGillis, Glen Campbell, Welwyn Wilton Katz, Jeffrey Canton, Dave Jenkinson, Barbara Kraus, John Willinsky, Heather Kirk, and Sheila Egoff.

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