New centre for Canadian literature launched

A love of reading brings many writers to academia, but the study of literature rarely gives back to the ordinary reader. A new centre at the University of Alberta plans to change that, by reintroducing readers and writers to each other and by drawing on Edmonton's unique literary community.

"It's a centre that seeks to connect readers of literature, wherever they are, with the kind of debates and discussions that are going on in the literary arts in Canada," said director and U of A English professor Stephen Slemon. As opposed to existing research centres that focus on one particular aspect of literature, the Canadian Literature Centre is the first one designed to resist narrow specializations.

Slemon said that the centre is intended to be "outward and inclusive, and to be as curious about what real readers are doing when they practice the art of reading as they themselves are about what writers are doing when they practice the art of writing."

Students, writers and academics crowded into the Timms Centre for the Arts lobby on the evening of Nov. 1 for the launch of the U of A Canadian Literature Centre. Distinguished writers Rudy Wiebe, Claudine Potvin, Camilla Gibb and Fred Wah brought a sparkle with short readings from a variety of works.

Edmonton's exuberant literary atmosphere is an open secret in Canada, said Slemon. "We're not an invented-from-nothing centre. The energy is so much out there in the community, and the readers and the writers and the booksellers and the librarians - it's everywhere."

He pointed to the Edmonton Journal's willingness to print poetry and other works by local writers as an example of the city's down-to-earth writing culture.

"Our writing has never been captured by a cadre of elites that made it about themselves," Slemon said. "It's always been out there in the streets. The writers who read today - think about writers of this stature willing to come to do five minutes. What's that about?"

Both the idea and the initial gift for the Canadian Literature Centre came from Dr. Eric Schloss, a local dermatologist, book collector and philanthropist. Schloss has also donated around 25,000 first editions to the U of A libraries since 1989, including more than 5,000 items of Canadian literature. He said he hopes the centre will be more than a resource and will take an active role in promoting Canadian writers.

Professor emeritus Rudy Wiebe read from his autobiography about the first 12 years of his life, and from his latest book, Sweeter Than All the World - a scene set at the old U of A Tuck Shop.

Dr. Claudine Potvin, a professor of modern languages and cultural studies at the U of A, said few of her colleagues know her as a writer because she writes in French. Potvin read a story from her book Pornographies in French, and then read from the English translation which is currently in progress.

After hearing a list of all the U of A writers with Governer General's awards and nominations, Camilla Gibb - currently a GG nominee - joked that she hopes winning is contagious. As the U of A's current writer-in-residence, Gibb is already working directly with the larger reading and writing community in Edmonton.

"We're learning what writing's about when we connect with the community," said Slemon. "We want to make that connection. We want to really be in the community. This is a public institution, and we really want to connect with the public that is doing the work of reading Canadian literature."