The essays gathered in this anthology display the author’s sincere and scholarly engagement with Canadian Literature over a period of twenty five years. Canadian literary texts are examined in culture-specific ways with reference to a wide range of contemporary theoretical perspectives. The Canadian writers, whose works have been closen for scrutiny in Part I of the book, come from diverse cultures within the metaphotic ‘salad bowl’. Though the vision and techniques employed by the writers differ greatly, they all seem to be ‘sub-verting’, even ‘in-verting’ the images created by oppressive metanarratives before replacing them with ‘new’ images of their reality and their aspirations. Importantly, the new imgages are essentially fluid and non-essentialist in nature. Part II of the book which contains interviews with internationally reputed Canadian writers like Margaret Atwood, Ken Mitchell, Saros Cowasjee, Marlene Nourbese Philip, Dionne Brand, Claire harris, Suniti Namjoshi and Yann Martel provides a feast of useful information for researchers and readers of Canadian Literature.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Coomi S. Vevaina
Dr. Coomi S. Vevaina is a professor of English in the University of Mumbai. She has published five books -Intersexions: Issues of Race and gender in Canadian Women's Writing (co-edited with Prof. Barbara Godard), Re/Membering Selves: Alienation and Survival in the Novels of Margaret Atwood and the manawaka Novels of Margaret Laurence, negotiating Differences: Aspects of Contemporary Canadian Literature, Margaret Atwood: The Shape-Shifter (co-edited with Prof. Coral Ann Howells) and Connections: Non-Native Responses to native Canadian Literature (Co-edited with Prof. Hartmut Lutz). She has published about fifty-two papers in refereed Indian and international journals and books and has received numerous honours and awards from national and international bodies for her teaching and writing. In February 2004, she was given the Award of Merit by the Indian association of Canadian Studies for her outstanding contribution to Canadian Studies. She was appointed as a member on the Advisory Board of the International Journal of Canadian Studies from 1999 to 2001 and once again from 2007 to 2009. Dr. Vevaina has lectured extensively in India and abroad and has taught courses in Western universities. Her current areas of interest include gender theory (particularly Fourth Wave Feminist Theory, postcolonial Theory, children's literature and First nations and Afro-Caribbean writing. Besides teaching and research, she has designed courses for several universities and schools and is an educational consultant to some IB. and I.C.S.E. schools in Mumbai. She is deeply involved in creative methods of teaching language and literature and, being a stroryteller herself, has created modules on value-based education through story-telling.
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