You are currently browsing the monthly archive for April 2011.
This tree looks really busy, as is my life at the moment.
As I had anticipated, I have not been able to post much this month. This blog should resume its normal activity shortly. Meanwhile, there is still a couple of days left to participate to the giveaway.
A while ago, I won a prize at a giveaway held by Shannon at Giraffe Days. She explained how the first giveaway she ever won was at a blog that had reached 10,000 visits and decided she would do the same when she reached that number. Believe it or not, but it was also the first time I was winning a giveaway, so I decided to perpetuate the tradition and hold my own giveaway when I would reach the 10,000-visit mark.
Although I started this blog three years ago, it is only in the past few months that I have really become involved. My activity on this blog previously was only sporadic. I would delay writing posts and would then feel overwhelmed with catching up, so I would not write at all. I have since adopted a more laid back attitude, because I do like writing on this blog and, although many topics are actually related to my academic work, it is a place where I take a breath from too strict writing. The impetus really came when I returned from Canada, with many posts in my head, and joined the Canadian Reading Challenge, which has enabled me to virtually meet people with similar interests. Interaction is indeed a great motivation for blogging, so a big thank you to all of you who are reading and commenting on these posts.
For this giveaway, there are three categories you can enter. Each category is a country that represents me in a way or another and the prize for each of them is one of my favourite books from that country. All you need to do is answer a question and fill the form below. The answer is easily found on my blog through a bit of browsing (hint: think about the category). Easy!
You can answer one, two or three questions, but you can only win one prize. It is open internationally and you can enter the draw until the 30th of April at midnight (GMT). I will announce the winners at the beginning of May.
France (the country where I was born): In a couple of posts, I mention things I miss from France; can you name one of them (no, it’s not wine!)?
The Little Prince by St Exupery (edition may vary)
The Little Prince by St Exupery is my favourite book of all times. My grandmother used to read it to me when I was a kid and I took a lot of pleasure reading it again as an adolescent and as an adult. You can read my review of it here.
Ireland (the country where I live): In one of my posts, I pay a tribute to something that always amazes me in Ireland; what is it?
That They May Face the Rising Sun by John McGahern
That They May Face the Rising Sun is a beautiful novel by John McGahern. Although it is anchored in Irish life, it also touches on universal emotions and feelings. I haven’t reviewed it on this blog, but I mentioned it in a post, here.
Canada (a passion): What big event brought me to Canada last year?
Moral Disorder by Margaret Atwood (edition may vary)
If you have visited this blog before, you will probably be aware that Margaret Atwood is my favourite writer. Moral Disorder is one of her latest collection of short stories. It is a sort of hybrid-novel and each story allows us to recreate the life of the main protagonist, Nell. You can see a full review here.
My second Ontario story is actually not set in Ontario, but in Nova Scotia where Janice Kulyk Keefer, who was born in 1953 and raised in Toronto, resided for a while.
“Transfigurations” takes us on a journey to a hair salon where Angèle works as Régine’s assistant. On her way to work, Angèle is usually bipped by truck drivers, which draws our attention to the status of women as commodities. In the hair salon, Angèle is confronted to the same politics: women come there to retain a youthful appearance and become metamorphosed into those models that make the cover of glossy magazines, without much success. For Angèle, these women are all the same and she knows that they will eventually grow old and meet their death, without recovering their youthful looks.
“Watching the rows of hopelessly hoping faces, Angèle knows in every pliant bone, in every glinting hair of her sweet-skinned, seventeen-year-old body that she will never, ever look like these old women under the dryers – never let herself tell or be told such a story.”
Although the theme of the story interests me, I must admit that the story did not do much for me. It did not stay with me and I did not feel like I wanted to read it again. I might not have read it at the right time in the right place…
Short Story Monday is held by John at The Book Mine Set.
As I have said, I have been busy lately. Last week, I was lucky to be invited to a day seminar at the Canadian embassy in Dublin. For me, it was the occasion to have the pleasure to meet other Irish scholars who share the same interest as mine. We were spoiled with this seminar. Not only were we offered food and drinks in abundance, but also some very interesting papers and a reading by Jane Urquhart.
There was first a reading by Patrick O’Connor, an Irish scholar and poet with a passion for Canada. He read from his latest collection, Behold the Enchanted Country. Each poem evokes a certain place in Canada and were actually inspired by his travels across Canada. As he noted, it is at once a travel guide and a collection of poetry.
Then, André Lapierre from the University of Ottawa offered a talk on Canadian Aboriginal toponomy. He explained the project in which he is involved to get the name of some places changed to their Aboriginal name, because, as he noted, if the language disappear we will still have a way of remembering it through these topographical names. He explored the problems involved in this process and how they manage to resolve them by negotiating with the natives. For instance, one of them was the length of the name, so they agreed that it could be divided to form words more easily pronounced by the non-natives It was a lively and accessible talk, which I really enjoyed.
A few representatives from the Association of Canadian Studies in Ireland also discussed the state of Canadian studies at home and abroad. They especially noted the decline of Canadian studies in Canada, but pointed out that they were thriving abroad. In Ireland, it seems that Canadian studies have survived by being integrated to other programmes.
Finally, Jane Urquhart read from one of his novels, A Map of Glass, in which an Irish man emigrates to Canada. The reading was followed by a series of question to which Urquhart gave considered and detailed answers. I was a pleasure to listen to her witty and humourous comments.
She was asked about her relationship with the short story as she has published a collection, Storm Glass. She explained how when she began writing, she was mostly writing piles and piles of poems, which were growing into narratives. Her short stories were part of this experimentation with writing and she then discovered that she was destined to write novels. She thus does not consider herself as a good short story writer and notes that most of her stories have later evolved into novels.
She was asked about her position on e-publishing and said that she was not drawn to it. Moreover, she noted that it was a decision beyond her control and in the hands of her publishers.
When asked what is essential to write a novel, she answered that “unstructured time” is essential because it is that time in which you are able to think about your novel.
She also argued that it is important to ignore the voices after having written the first book and to continue writing. By that, she meant especially the criticism that might impact on your writing.
Overall, it was an extremely enjoyable afternoon, well worth the trip to Dublin.
Jane Urquhart
The Literary Blog Hop is a fortnightly event held at The Blue Bookcase prompting book bloggers to answer a question.
Do you find yourself predisposed to like (or dislike) books that are generally accepted as great books and have been incorporated into the literary canon? Discuss the affect you believe a book’s “status” has on your opinion of it.
I do not think that to know that a book is part of the literary canon has any influence on my reading, my pleasure to read or the way I judge a book. However, I might become aware of a book more easily because it is canonical and be curious about reading it to know why it has been judged so important.
As I have said before, I think the canon is subjective. Who judges? Who decides what should and should not be part of the canon? Why should I trust this judgement? The canon evolves with time; some classics remain, but many books are rediscovered and become part of the canon because standards change.
What is the canon anyway? How can we define it? It is a selection of core books that have been judged as important. However, certain books might have more relevance at certain times than others, which means that the canon should not be fixed. The term means very little I think. Texts are fluid and their relevance and significance will depend on the reader’s own conditions. The canon depends therefore on the choice of a limited amount of readers. It is a rigid term and one that loses significance I believe.
Reading is a matter of taste before anything else. Being part of the canon does not mean I will enjoy the work. I might be curious about it and wonder why the book has been judged as canonical, but that does not mean I will like it. I would be more inclined to follow the recommendations of someone who knows my reading tastes well than to read a book because it is canonical and therefore it must be good.
“En Avril, ne te découvre pas d’un fil.”
This is a French saying meaning that in April one should remain wrapped up. By the look of my monthly pic, which looks very wintery, it seems true. The sunshine is there, but evenings are still chilly and I still have to turn on the heating at times.
I can’t believe that the month of March has already come and gone. The beginning of the month was really busy, with World Book Night and then my trip to Spain, and I haven’t yet managed to catch up on… on everything. I haven’t even finished writing one of my papers for the next two conferences and I’m going away on Sunday.
Yes, April should be another busy month, but I think I will be able to slow down a little towards the second half of the month. I must say that life has been quite exciting, so I am not complaining!
Have a wonderful month!
C'est la vie! 