Focusing on the work of black, diasporic writers in Canada, particularly Dionne Brand, Austin Clarke, and Tessa McWatt, Blackening Canada investigates the manner in which literature can transform conceptions of nation and diaspora. Through a consideration of literary representation, public discourse, and the language of political protest, Paul Barrett argues that Canadian multiculturalism uniquely enables black diasporic writers to transform national literature and identity. These writers seize upon the ambiguities and tensions within Canadian discourses of nation to rewrite the nation from a black, diasporic perspective, converting exclusion from the national discourse into the impetus for their creative endeavours. Within this context, Barrett suggests, debates over who counts as Canadian, the limits of tolerance, and the breaking points of Canadian multiculturalism serve t as signs of multiculturalism's failure but as proof of both its vitality and of the unique challenges that black writing in Canada poses to multicultural politics and the nation itself.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
University of Toronto Press
ISBN-10
1442615761
ISBN-13
9781442615762
eBay Product ID (ePID)
212100537
Product Key Features
Author
Paul Barrett
Format
Trade Paperback (US), Paperback
Language
English
Subject
Literary Criticism
Type
Textbook
Additional Product Features
Place of Publication
Toronto
Content Note
1
Author Biography
Paul Barrett is a Banting postdoctoral fellow in the Department of English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University.