Writing in Place

At a moment when “in Canada” is at once fraught and fiercely defended, how do writers think about the relationship between home, place, identity, and storytelling?

In honour of the twentieth anniversary of the CLC Kreisel Lecture series, three writers explore what it means to write from, in, and with Canada at a moment when “in Canada” is at once fraught and fiercely defended. How do writers think about the relationship between place, identity, and storytelling? Richard Van Camp, Shani Mootoo, and Lise Gaboury-Diallo individually reflect on their connections to land and community, on the literary textures that provoke and support an understanding of belonging, and on the places—imagined and real—that have influenced their work. To write from or about place in Canada is not to claim it, but to remain cognizant of its histories, presences, and limits, and answerable to them. These writers point to Canada as a relational and convergent space rather than a coherent national imaginary. This literary cross-pollination is for all readers keen to explore how writers break trail for each other and how layered our sense of belonging can be.