Happy Canada Day! To celebrate, I’m profiling some of the most famous Canadian writers. Let’s get started!
First up we have Alice Munro. Munro’s name may be most recognizable as the 2013 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature for being a “master of the contemporary short story”, as described by the panel who decided to give her the award.
Born in Wingham, Ontario in 1931, Munro spent much of her youth writing and eventually published her first story in 1950. Success came relatively quickly to Munro, with her first collection of short stories entitled Dance of the Happy Shades (1968) winning her one of Canada’s most prestigious awards, the Governor General’s Award for Fiction. Munro repeated this win a further two times: once in 1978 with a collection called Who Do You Think You Are?, and again in 1986 with The Progress of Love.
Munro’s work often focuses on the region of small-town, rural Ontario, with wistful and philosophical (largely female) narrators who often experience a strong desire to fulfil creative impulses; rejecting the confines of life and womanhood as defined by society. Everyday events become enlightening and characters experience great insight, which brings the stories to life. Munro is often heralded for her ability to create such vivid stories and characters with so few words.
Munro has won numerous literary awards for her body of work and has even been honoured with a Lorne Pierce Medal from the Royal Society of Canada which acknowledges achievements in literature. Cementing her place as one of Canada’s most revered writers, Munro even had a special silver coin released by the Royal Canadian Mint after receiving her Nobel Prize.
Alice Munro’s writing demonstrates the power and the capability of the short story which can often be marginalized and overshadowed by lengthier novels.
Second up is John McCrae. McCrae’s name may not be hugely well known, but you will certainly have heard of his very famous World War One poem. Born in Guelph, Ontario in 1872, McCrae showed an early interest in the military and demonstrated huge academic promise, of which he was rewarded by receiving a scholarship to the University of Toronto. Initially completing a BA at the University of Toronto, McCrae returned to education to study medicine. Whilst at University McCrae published his first set of poems.
McCrae’s first experience of war was in the Second Boer War where he served in the artillery. Upon his return, McCrae took up teaching posts at universities and even co-wrote a medical textbook.
War was declared against Germany in 1914, thus beginning the First World War conflict. As a Canadian citizen, McCrae was serving as a Major but also as a field surgeon in the Canadian artillery and, during the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915, was put in a charge of a field hospital.
It was during this time that McCrae wrote the poem for which he is most well-known, In Flanders Fields. It’s widely believed that the poem was a response to the death of a friend who was killed during the famous battle. Published in Punch magazine in 1915, the poem became a massive success and was used as propaganda, especially in Canada.
John McCrae died of pneumonia in 1918 yet his legacy still transcends to modern day via his written words. In Flanders Fields is often used within school syllabi and academic textbooks as an example of romanticized war sentiment which was common in the early years of the conflict. Written from the perspective of the dead, it urges the living to carry the torch and continue the fight in place of the fallen.
Obviously, one of the main symbols of Remembrance Day is the poppy, and McCrae’s poem explicitly makes reference to the flowers which grew on the graves of the soldiers. Invariably, this has ensured that In Flanders Fields has become one of the most well-known and most celebrated literary works of the First World War, continually referenced year after year when the conflict is remembered.
Click HERE to read McCrae's poem
Writer of fiction, non-fiction, television and film screenplays, a lecturer, designer and artist, Douglas Coupland is one of the most varied, multi-tasking Canadian figures.
Born in 1961 on a Canadian Armed Forces base in Baden-Söllingen, West Germany, Coupland’s family relocated to Canada when he was four years old. Bucking against the family trend of studying the sciences, Coupland ultimately graduated from a university which specialised in art and design, completing further studying in Italy and Japan also. Coupland fell into writing as a means of paying bills; his literacy career beginning when his articles appeared in magazines.
Coupland’s first novel, Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture (1991) was set in the 1980’s and looked at the lives and lifestyles of young adults in America. It was an international best-seller and popularized words such as ‘McJob’ and ‘Generation X’ which have since transferred into common usage.
Often associated within the Postmodernist bracket, Coupland’s subsequent works includes titles like Microserfs (1995), Girlfriend in a Coma (1998), Hey Nostradamus! (2003), jPod (2006) and Generation A (2009) to name a few. He has also written a number of non-fiction books like City of Glass (2000) where aspects of Vancouver were illuminated by essays and photographs.
Coupland’s fiction often covers themes such as the modern world; consumerism; pop culture; beliefs and attitudes; postmodern religion; the often brutal nature of life; materialism and spiritualism; communication; technology; corruption; sexuality and ideas of what the future may hold. Characters can often be seen searching for some sort of meaning within their disillusioned lives, trying to get insight and meaning from a Godless, capitalist society.
Coupland is often celebrated for his willingness to tackle difficult issues and in doing so, giving an entire generation a voice.