LAST YEAR, around this time – like so many Canadian publishers and organizations – Quill & Quire’s staff sat around a table discussing options for our sesquicentennial coverage. Should we dedicate an issue to Canada’s 150th? Commit to monthly coverage? Organize an event? Create a list of the top 150 CanLit books of all time?
As July 1 approaches, it is becoming more apparent that even the concept of Canada 150 is fraught with problems. In light of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the idea of celebrating 1867, Canadian Confederation, and colonialism feels miscalculated. On the other hand, outside of the pomp and fireworks, the anniversary is also drawing attention to longstanding issues, and leading to some bloody smart art and writing. Cree visual artist Kent Monkman used Canada’s sesquicentennial as a launching point for his powerful exhibition, Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience, while it also served as the inspiration for Michif artist Christi Belcourt’s #Resist150 project.
Ultimately, Q&Q decided not to pursue any specific coverage of the anniversary, but rather maintain our focus, as we always have, on Canadian publishing, authors, and books. Yet when I look through this issue, I see pockets of writing that reflect on what it means to be Canadian right now – and where our country may be heading. There’s Tara Henley’s profile of Ahmad Danny Ramadan – a former Syrian refugee, who has become a well-know gay-rights activist and author in Vancouver – launching his first English-language novel (p. 6). On page 10, Eman Bare takes a look at Salaam Reads, Simon & Schuster’s new children’s imprint for Muslim stories, and its first YA author, S.K. Ali, who hopes to shed light on the complexities of Muslim identity. I also spoke to many publishers and booksellers across the country for my story about how cuts to local newspaper books coverage can affect sales (p. 7), and was reminded once again how vast this country is, the challenges of marketing regional titles, and the impossibility of a homogenous books culture ever existing. I also had the pleasure of speaking to several Canadian food writers about national identity through the cookbooks we love and the food we consume (hint: we’re not too fussy about celebrity chefs), and about the enduring legacy of Catharine Parr Traill’s The Female Emigrant’s Guide (starting p. 14).