Canada

You may have heard a Canadian recently won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature. It went to the poet Anne Carson for her “bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature.” The following is an article I originally published a few years ago in recognition of Canada’s long contribution to literature since the earliest days of Confederation. It seemed appropriate to republish the article. Enjoy. ...

I believe many Canadians know little about the discovery and development of what would become Canada beyond the two superstars in Canadian history: the Mohawk leader Joseph Brant, whose real name was Thayendanegea, and the British General Isaac Brock. And maybe also Jacques Cartier and Samuel de Champlain. Beyond Brant and Brock hopes to fix that. Canada after Confederation (1870). What is Canada? Canada is hockey. Canada is baseball. Canada is basketball. Canada is fishing along rivers catching perch or on a lake landing a muskellunge (Musky). Canada is the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Canada is the great open plains of the West and big sky country. Canada is the majestic peaks, glaciers, mountain streams and thick forests of the Rockies. Canada is the long backroads heading off into the horizon past farms, villages, forests, and lakes. Canada is a beaver dam, a moose wandering amongst trees in the boreal forest. OK, so now that we have finished flipping through the pictures on the wall calendar, let’s discover how much Canada is more than these wall-posters. ...