Oh Dear. In a recent Vancouver Sun article, a survey of 1,502 Canadians showed that only 53 per cent were able to name a Canadian author without prompting. It seems that young Canadians are most ignorant of our writers, with two-thirds unable to name a single one. It's not surprising really, when you find that Canadian authors were not a mandated part of the B.C. high school English curriculum until 2008.
Among those who could name an author, Margaret Atwood was most frequently mentioned, with Pierre Berton and Farley Mowat trailing some distance behind.
Canadians on average report reading 17 books a year. Teens read the least. Retirees and those who have completed university read the most.
There are a number of awards, which raise our awareness of up and coming Canadian writers. Pre-eminent is the Governor General's Literary Awards, (the G.G.'s) which are awarded annually to the juried best of Canada's fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, children's text, children's illustration and works in translation. The Giller prize, awarded annually for the last 15 years is for English novels and short stories. The Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour has been won by some notable B.C. authors such as Arthur Black and Bill Richardson. Both Black and Richardson have been special guests here in 撸奶社区at Books and Beer events.
Arguably one of the most effective ways of raising national consciousness about our writers has been CBC Radio's Canada Reads program, which has been running for seven years. Five books of fiction are chosen by panelists who must defend their choice over five days of debate. This year's entries were The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant, by Michel Tremblay, Fruit by Brian Francis, The Outlander by Gil Adamson, Mercy Among the Children by David Adams Richards, and the winner, The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, which had already won the Commonwealth Writer's Prize in 2008. Unfortunately, in an act of political correctness, the title was changed to the insipid Someone Knows my Name in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. Can't wait to read it. Hey, they'll all be great reading. It's up to us to keep uniquely Canadian voices alive. 撸奶社区library has all the titles. Come on in and borrow one or more.
