Canadian Studies

Research and Publications

  • Christl Verduyn’s research interests include Canadian and Québécois literatures; women’s writing and criticism; multiculturalism and minority writing; life writing and archival approaches to literature; and the interdisciplinary field of Canadian studies. She has published books, special issues of journals, articles, and reviews in these areas, and has been an active participant in and organizer of conferences in them as well. Her research has been generously supported over the years by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada and the Canadian Federation for the Humanities.


    Books

    • Margaret Laurence: An Appreciation (Broadview Press 1988)
    • Dear Marian, Dear Hugh: The MacLennan-Engel Correspondence (U. of Ottawa Press 1995)
    • Lifelines: Marian Engel's Writings (McGill-Queen's University Press 1995)
    • Literary Pluralities (Broadview Press 1998)
    • Marian Engel's Notebooks: “Ah, mon cahier, ecoute ...” (Wilfrid Laurier University Press 1999)
    • Aritha van Herk: Essays on her Works (Guernica Editions 2001)
    • Identity, Community, Nation: Essays on Canadian Writing (with D. Schaub, Magnes Press 2002)
    • Marian Engel: Life in Letters (with K. Garay; University of Toronto Press 2004)
    • Must Write: Edna Staebler’s Diaries (Wilfrid Laurier University Press 2005)
    • Asian Canadian Writing Beyond AutoEthnography (with E.Ty; Wilfrid Laurier U. Press 2008)
    • Marian and the Major: Engel’s Elizabeth and the Golden City (McGill-Queen’s UP. 2010)
    • Tulips and Maple Leaves: Perspectives on 65 Years of Dutch Canadian Relations (with C. Steenman Marcusse; Barkhuis Press [NL] 2010)
    • Archival Narratives for Canada: Re-Telling Stories in a Changing Landscape (with K. Garay, Fernwood Press 2011)
    • Canadian Studies: Past, Present, Praxis (with J. Koustas, Fernwood Press 2012)

    Journals - special guest-edited issues

    • “Taking a Stand! Activism in Canadian Cultural Archives,” Archivaria 67 (Spring 2009)
      Guest-edited special section and introduction (with K. Garay).
    • *“Activism in Archives,” Topia: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies 20 (Fall 2008).
      Guest-edited feature section and introduction (with K. Garay).
    • “Archives and Canadian Literature,” Journal of Canadian Studies 40:2 (Spring 2006).
      Co-edited with K. Garay and Introductory essay.
    • “Niagara!” Journal of Canadian Studies 39:3 (Fall 2005).
      Co-edited with J. Koustas.
    • “Locating Canadian Cultures in the 21st Century,” Journal of Canadian Studies 35:3 (Autumn 2000).
      Editor and Introductory essay.
    • “Suzanne Jacob,” Voix et Images 21.2 (Hiver 1996).
      Presentation, Introduction, author interview, and lead article. In collaboration with L. Saint-Martin.
    • “Pulling Together: Canadian Literary Pluralities,” Journal of Canadian Studies 31.3 (Fall 1996).
      Editor, Introduction, and contributed article.

    Articles and Essays in Journals and Books

    “More than an observer: Emmy Andriesse: Dutch Underground Photographer,” (with C. Steenman Marcusse), Photographs, Histories, and Meanings, ed. M. Kadar et.al. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2009. 139-166.

    “A Canadian Bear, A Woman’s Heart: Douglas Glover’s Elle and Marian Engel’s Bear,” TransCanadiana: Polish Journal of Canadian Studies, Vol. 1 (2008): 74-85.

    “Canadian Women Writers as Essayists: The Examples of Aritha van herk and Di Brandt,” From Inside and Outside: Different Perspectives on Canada: Multidisciplinary Approaches, Judit Molnar, ed. Kiadta [Hungary]: Debrecen Press, 2008. 107-119.

    “Marian et le Major: étude de manuscrits et d’archives,” Archives littéraires et  manuscrits d’ecrivains: politiques et usages du patrimoine, Jacinthe Martel, ed. Montreal: Editions Nota Bene, 2008. 205-220.

    “Self as Garbled Translation: Douglas Glover’s Elle/Elle,” in Traduire depuis les marges/Translating from the Margins, Denise Merkle, Jane Koustas, Glen Nichols and Sherry Simon, eds. Montreal: Edition Nota bene, 2008. 59-74.

    “(Es)Saying It Her Way: Carol Shields as Essayist,”in Carol Shields and the Extra-Ordinary, Marta Dvorak and Manina Jones, eds.  Montreal: McGill-Queen’s UP, 2007. 59-79.

    “Canadianization of the Curriculum,” History of the Book in Canada Vol. 3 Gerson, Carole and Jacques Michon, eds. Toronto: UTP, 2007. 556-63. (With Lucie Robert and Janet Friskney)

    “‘Creative Criticism’: the ‘Writer as Critic’ in Canadian Literature,” (with J. Saul), Open Letter 12:9 (Summer 2006): 65-76.  

    “A Piece of the Picture: Kryn Taconis Photojournalist,” Building Liberty: Canada and World Peace 1945-2005. eds. Conny Steenman-Marcusse and Aritha van Herk. Groningen: Barkhuis Publishing, 2005. 53-73.

    “Culture and Gender in Kristjana  Gunnars’ Writing,”  Essays on Kristjana Gunnars, Monique Tschofen ed. Toronto: Guernica Editions, 2004. 172-189.

    “Ecrire l’invisible: éthique et écriture dans Les filles du 5-10-15 et Jeux de patience d’Abla Faroud,” Dalhousie French Studies “Littérature et éthique” Vol. 64 (Fall 2003): 33-39.
                                                                                                                                                   
    “Tongue in Cheek: Dutch in Aritha van Herk’s Writing,” Adjacencies: Minority Writing in Canada. Moyes, Lianne, Licia Canton and Domenic Beneventi, eds. Toronto: Guernica Editions, 2004. 157-167. Reprint from Verduyn 2001.

    “‘Breath on a window pane’: André Alexis’s Childhood,” Identity, Community, Nation: Essays on Canadian Writing. D. Schaub and Christl Verduyn, eds. Jerusalem: The Hebrew University Magnes Press, 2002. 18-33.

    “Dynamic Cultural Exchange,” Introduction (with Licia Canton). The Dynamics of Cultural Exchange: Creative and Critical Works. L. Canton, ed. Montréal: Cusmano Editions, 2002. 19-25.

    “Stor(y)ing Cultural Difference - Rediscovering Canada,” Rediscovering Canadian Difference, Gudrun Bjork Gudsteins ed. Reykjavik, Iceland: NACS  2001. 214-221.  
                                       
    “L’éth(n)ique, La Québécoite et l’écriture migrante québécoise,” Tessera Vol. 29 (Winter 2001): 73-81.

    “Femme(s) sans lettres: Le Bonheur B la queue glissante d’Abla Farhoud,” La Francophonie au pluriel: une nouvelle cartographie de l’imaginaire au féminin, eds. Lucie Lequin & Catherine Mavrikakis. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2001. 295-307.
                                                   
    “Cavewomen Div(in)ing for Pearls,” Margaret Laurence: Critical Reflections David Staines, ed.  Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2001. 23-37.

    “Personal Papers: Putting Lives on the Line: Working with the Marian Engel Archive,” Working in Women’s Archives, Researching Women’s Private Literature and Archival Documents eds. Helen Buss and Marlene Kadar. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2001. 91-101.

    “Migrance et Folie,” Trajectoires au féminin dans la littérature québécoise (1960-1990), ed. L. Joubert. Montreal: Les Editions Nota Bene, 2000. 119-130.  

    “Cultural Locations, Cultural Locutions,” Journal of Canadian Studies 35:3 (Autumn 2000): 5-15.

    “Disjunctions: Place, Identity and Nation in ‘Minority’ Literatures in Canada,” Canadian Issues/ThPmes canadiens XX (1998): 164-75.

    “Re-constructing Canadian Literature: the Role of Race and Gender,” Painting the Maple: Essays on Race, Gender, and the Construction of Canada, eds. Veronica Strong-Boag et al. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1998. 100-13.

    “Relative(ly) Politic(al)s: Comparing (Examples of) Québec/Canadian “ethnic” immigrant” writings,” Cultural Identities in Canadian Literature/ Identités culturelles dans la littérature canadienne, ed. Bénédicte MaugiPre. New York: Peter Lang, 1998. 211-25.       

    “Interdisciplinarity and the Study of Canadian Literature,” Arachne 4.2  (1997): 77-89.

    “Perspectives critiques dans des productions littéraires migrantes au féminin,  au Québec et au Canada,” Special Issue: “Pulling Together: Canadian Literary Pluralities,” Journal of Canadian Studies 31.3 (Fall 1996): 78-86.

    “Etre est une activité de fiction: l’écriture de Suzanne Jacob,” Voix et Images 21.2 (Hiver 1996): 232-42.

    “Teaching E/Merging Literatures,” Canadian Ethnic Studies, ed.  J. Pivato.  28.3 (1996): 39-46.
               
    “Ecriture et migration au féminin au Québec: de mPre en fille,” Multi-culture, multi-écriture. La Voix migrante au féminin en France et au Canada, eds. Lucie Lequin et MaVr Verthuy. Paris, France: L’Harmattan, 1996. 131-44.

    “Migrant Writing/Memory Work: Mediating Me/Moi,” Intersexions: Issues of Race and Gender in Canadian Women’s Writing, eds. Barbara Godard and Coomi Vevaina. New Delhi: Creative Books, 1996. 99-111.

    “The MacLennan-Engel Letters,” Hugh MacLennan, ed. Frank Tierney. Ottawa:  University of Ottawa Press, 1995. 23-34.

    “Marian Engel’s cahiers,” Prairie Fire, Special Issue: “Life writing,” ed. Helen Buss, 16.3 (Autumn 1995): 127-34.

    “The Mule and the Muse: Marian Engel’s Monodromos,” Voyages: Real and Imaginary, Personal and Collective, Canadian Issues/ThPmes canadiens, XVI, eds. John Lennox, Lucie Lequin, MichPle Lacombe and Allan Seager.  Montreal: Association for Canadian Studies, 1994. 33-43.

    “Connaître son rapport au réel: postmodernisme, féminisme et l’écriture de Line McMurray,” Les Discours féminins dans la littérature postmoderne au  Québec sous la direction de Raija Koski, Kathleen Kells et Louise Forsyth.  New York: Edwin Mellen, 1993. 135-53.
                           
    “La Voix féminine de l’altérité québécoise littéraire,” Mélanges de littérature québécoise et canadienne-française, offerts au professeur Réjean Robidoux, Yolande Grisé et Robert Major, eds. Ottawa: Editions de l’Université d’Ottawa, 1992. 379-90.

    “La prose féminine québécoise des années trente,” L’autre lecture: critiques au  féminin de  textes québécois: Tome I, ed. Lori Saint-Martin. Montréal: Editions XYZ, 1992. 57-72.         

    “Une voix féminine précoce au théâtre québécois: Cocktail (1935) d’Yvette Ollivier  Mercier-Gouin,” L’autre lecture: critiques au féminin de textes québécois:  Tome I, ed. Lori Saint-Martin. Montréal: Editions XYZ, 1992. 73-84. 

    “Between the Lines: Marian Engel’s cahiers and notebooks,” Essays on Life Writing: From Genre to Critical Practice, ed. Marlene Kadar. Toronto: University  of Toronto Press, 1992. 28-41.

    “Nouvelles voies/voix: l’écriture de Nadine Ltaif,” Quebec Studies 14 (Spring/Summer 1992): 41-48.

    “Je: voi(e)s double(s): L’itinéraire littéraire de Nadine Ltaif,” Tessera 12 (Summer 1992): 98-105.

    “Contra/diction/s: Language in Laurence’s The Diviners,” Journal of Canadian Studies 26.3 (Fall 1991): 52-67.

    “Métamorphose, Rythmographie, Machinique: l’Éuvre de Line McMurray,” Tessera 8 (Spring 1990): 80-95.

    “Une Voix féminine précoce au théâtre québécois: Cocktail (1935) d’Yvette Ollivier Mercier-Gouin,” Histoire du Théâtre au Canada/Theatre History in Canada 11.1 (Printemps 1990): 48-58.

    “Explod/ing/ed Fictions: Marian Engel’s Writing,” Atlantis: A Women’s Studies Journal 14.1 (Fall 1988): 13-19.

    “Murder in the Dark: Fiction/Theory by Margaret Atwood,” Canadian Fiction  Magazine/Tessera 57 (Sept. 1988): 124-31.

    “La Prose féminine québécoise des années 1930,” Québec Studies 8 (Spring 1988): 43-57.

    “No Tongue in Cheek: Recent Work by English Canadian poets Daphne Marlatt, Lola Lemire Tostevin and Margaret Atwood,” Canadian Woman Studies  8.3 (Fall 1987): 60-62.       

    “Family Fictions, Lunatic Villas: Marian Engel’s Writing,” The New Quarterly,  Special Issue: “Family Fictions,” VII.1-2 (Spring/Summer 1987): 274-84.

    “L’écriture féminine contemporaine: une écriture de la folie?” Gynocritics/La Gynocritique: Feminist Approaches to Writing by Canadian and Québécoise Women /Approches féministes B l’écriture des Canadiennes et des Québécoises, ed. Barbara Godard. Toronto: ECW Press, 1987. 71-77.

    “From ‘The Word on Flesh’ to ‘The Flesh made Word,’” “Women’s Fiction in Canada,” American Review of Canadian Studies XV.4 (Winter 1985): 449-64.
               
    “Ecrire le moi au féminin,” Journal of Canadian Studies 20.2 (Summer 1985): 18-28.

    “La Femme dans la littérature féminine et féministe au Canada anglais et français  depuis 1960,” Femmes: images, modPles/Women: images, role-models, sous la direction de Evelyne Tardy. Montréal: ICREF/CRIAW, 1985. 93-99. 

    “Les femmes et le langage,” RFR/DRF (Resources for Feminist Research/ Documentation sur la recherche féministe) 13.3 (November 1984): 16-18.

    “Miss Charlie: Subversion in Women’s Writing,” Room of One’s Own/ Tessera 8.4 (Fall 1983): 109-15.

    “La Religion dans le Journal d’Henriette Fadette (1874-1880),” Atlantis: A Woman’s Studies Journal 8.2 (Spring 1983): 45-50.

    “L’image de la femme dans l’Éuvre de Gérard Bessette,” Lectures de Gérard Bessette, ed. J.-J. Hamm. Montréal: Québec/Amérique, 1982. 99-114.

    “Looking Back to Lot’s Wife,” Atlantis 6.2 (Spring 1981): 38-47.

    “La Géographie dans Les Iles de la nuit d’Alain Grandbois,” Grandbois vivant: Communications du colloque organisé par Centre de recherche en poésie québécois, ed. Alex.Amprimoz. Montréal: l’Hexagone, 1980. 215-28.

    “Analyse structurale de Pleure pas, Germaine de Claude Jasmin,” Coincidences, Université d’Ottawa, I.3: 7-24.

    “Discursive Space: Canadian Women Writers' Essay Writing,” Re-exploring Canadian Space/Redécouvrir l'espace canadien, Jeanette den Toonder and Bettina can Hoven, eds. Groningen (NL): Barkhuis, 2012. 163-170.

    Conference (co)organization

    • TransCanada 3: Literature, Institutions, Citizenship, Mount Allison University 16-19 July 2009.
    • Archives and the Canadian Narrative: re/Telling Canada’s Stories & Regional Archives in the Digital Universe, Mount Allison University 10-12 June 2009.
    • Canadian Studies: State of the Art, Mount Allison University 12-14 February 2009.
    • Taking a Stand: A Conference on Activism in Canadian Cultural Archives, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa 12-14 June 2007.
    • “Turning the knobs on writers’ closets”: Archives and Canadian Literature, McMaster University, 24-26 May 2005.
    • Beyond Autoethnography: Writing Race and Ethnicity in Canada, Wilfrid Laurier University, 29-30 April 2005.
    • Re/Writing the Past: Literature and History, Wilfrid Laurier University, 27 February 2004
    • “Niagara!” Niagara Falls, 24-26 April 2003.
    • The Windy Pine Colloquium: Ethnic and Racial Minority Writing and Criticism in Canada, Trent University, 24-27 August 1995.
    • Making Canadian Culture, six workshops, Trent University, Fall 1994-Spring 1995.
    • Moving Forward: Creating a Feminist Agenda for the 1990s, Trent University, 15-17 June 1990.