Canadian Literature celebrates 50 years

Canadian Literature, a journal published out of the University of British Columbia, is celebrating 50 years with a gala celebration, a two-day conference, public lectures and an appeal to create a tuition fund for interns at the magazine.

The journal's first issue was published in1959 (its founding editor was George Woodcock), and in the 200 issues since it has published many of the best-known names among Canadian authors, including Alistair MacLeod (No Great Mischief); Yann Martel (The Life of Pi); Michael Ondaatje (The English Patient); Carol Shields (Stone Diaries, Larry’s Party).

The gala is at the UBC Museum of Anthropology on Thursday, October 1, starting at 7 p.m. followed by benefit auction of art donated by Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell and Margaret Atwood at 8 p.m. at Sage Bistro.

The gala will also feature the launch of a new book, From a Speaking Place: Writings from the First 50 Years of Canadian Literature, published by Ronsdale Press, as well as Sherrill Grace’s, On The Art of Being Canadian, published by UBC Press. During the Gala, Canadian Literature hosts a two-day workshop with academics from 21 universities meeting to discuss the future of Canadian writing and the future of scholarly journals. Workshop participants will tackle questions about publishing and the role of arts and culture in discussions of the environment, ethnicity, gender, poetic experimentation, global citizenship and aesthetics. What, they will ask, might the future look like?