CFP: Canadian Short Fiction Set in the U.S. (7/1/05; journal issue)

A Special Issue of Short Story

Tripping Across the 49th Parallel:
Representations of America and Americans in Canadian Short Fiction

Despite the fact that Canada and the United States share close economic
and political relations, a long border, and diverse cultural
interconnections, and despite the fact that so much American culture
occupies the televisions, movie screens, and bookshelves of Canada,
relatively few Canadian writers have addressed American settings and
characters in their fiction. Likewise, while much has been said about
the cultural effects of the U.S. upon Canada, very few have tackled the
effects of Canadian culture and literature within the U.S. The latter
remains particularly surprising since a number of Canadian
writers-Margaret Atwood, Douglas Coupland, Mavis Gallant, Alice Munro,
and Carol Shields, among others-stand at the forefront of American
literary periodicals, including The New Yorker, The New York Review of
Books, and even, ironically perhaps, Best American Stories. Why have so
few Canadian writers explored the Canadian experience in the U.S.? Why
have so few literary and cultural critics explored the cultural factors
underwriting, at least in part, the success of Canadian writers in the
U.S. market? Does the recent work of writers like Coupland and Mark
Anthony Jarman suggest a new willingness on the part of Canadian writers
to sound the Canadian experience in American milieu?

In keeping with Short Story's mix of fiction, criticism, interviews, and
book reviews, guest editors, Tamas Dobozy and Brady Harrison, invite
both short story writers and scholars to explore the Canadian experience
of and perspective on America, Americans and American-ness. We welcome
both stories set in the U.S. that feature Canadian characters, or
stories set in Canada that feature American characters. Similarly, we
invite analyses of Canadian short fiction set in or addressing the U.S.,
or, conversely, Canadian short fictions that depict the perceived
American experience of and in Canada. Of particular interest are
articles that seek to explain the success of Canadian short fiction
writers in the U.S. or that explore the impact of Canadian short fiction
on American fiction or culture. Also of interest are papers on why
Canadian writers seem to be reluctant to set their short fictions in
American settings, or why, if this is not the case, such stories are not
more in evidence as subjects of Canadian scholarship and criticism.
Finally, we are open to proposals for book reviews and/or interviews
that pertain to or address any of the above. All critical and
theoretical perspectives are welcome; all styles of fiction are also
welcome.

Abstracts or completed articles or stories due July 1, 2005. Please
send submissions to:

Tamas Dobozy
Dept. of English and Film Studies
Wilfrid Laurier University
75 University Ave. W
Waterloo ON
Canada N2L 3C5
tdobozy_at_wlu.ca

Or

Brady Harrison
Department of English
University of Montana
Missoula, MT 59812
U.S.A.
brady.harrison_at_mso.umt.edu

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Received on Wed Dec 01 2004 - 12:35:44 EST