Research Catalog
Locations of the sacred : essays on religion, literature, and Canadian culture
- Title
- Locations of the sacred : essays on religion, literature, and Canadian culture / William Closson James.
- Author
- James, William C. (William Closson), 1943-
- Publication
- Waterloo, Ont. : Wilfrid Laurier University Press, [1998], ©1998.
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1 Item
| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Text | Request in advance | PR9185.5.R4 J35 1998g | Off-site |
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Details
- Description
- xviii, 270 pages : illustrations; 24 cm
- Summary
- "In ten lively and wide-ranging essays, William Closson James examines various derivations of the sacred in contemporary Canadian culture. Most of the essays focus on the religious aspects of modern Canadian English fiction - for example, in essays on the fiction of Hugh MacLennan Morley Callaghan, Margaret Atwood, and Joy Kogawa. But James also explores other, non-literary events and activities in which Canadians have found something transcendent or revelatory."--BOOK JACKET.
- Subjects
- Spirituality in literature
- Religious fiction, Canadian > History and criticism
- Canada > Civilization
- Canada > Religion
- Littérature canadienne-anglaise > 20e siècle > Histoire et critique
- Religion and culture > Canada
- Religion et culture > Canada
- Religion in literature
- Canadian literature > History and criticism
- Religion and literature > Canada
- Canadian literature (English) > 20th century > History and criticism
- Spiritualité dans la littérature
- Religion dans la littérature
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 245-264) and index.
- Contents
- Ch. 1. Dislocating the Sacred: The Protestant Voice. The Protestant Voice. A Protestant Trio: Davies, MacLennan, and Laurence. Imprisonment and Liberation. How Is Canadian Literature "Religious"? The Protestant Principle in English-Canadian Fiction. A Tentative Conclusion -- Ch. 2. Relocating the Sacred: The Human Ground of Transcendence. Eternity and Transcendence. "Eternity" in Callaghan and MacLennan. The Ordinary and the Sacred in Mitchell and Munro. Divining the Depths in Davies, Laurence, and Atwood. Conclusion -- Ch. 3. Nature as the Locale of the Sacred. Native and Christian Attitudes. Some Typical Canadian Views. Geography over History. A New Direction -- Ch. 4. In Quest of the Sacred: The Canoe Trip. The Quest Pattern. States of the Quest. Transformative Quest and Canadian Character. The Canoe Trip as Initiation Rite. Conclusion -- Ch. 5. Sacred Death: The Belcher Islands Massacre. Introduction. Geographical and Religious Backgrounds. Narrative of the Events.
- The Contemporary Reaction to the Murders. Analysis. A Personal Epilogue -- Ch. 6. Theodicy and the Sacred: A. M. Klein and Hugh MacLennan. Parallel Dislocations. The Second Scroll as Theodicy. The Watch that Ends the Night and Selfhood. The Everyman and the Self. Chaos into Cosmos -- Ch. 7. Love and the Sacred: The Ambiguities of Morley Callaghan's Such Is My Beloved. Callaghan's "Certain Perceptions" The Two Conflicting Realms. The Song of Songs: Love and the Sacred. Conclusion: Incarnational Humanism -- Ch. 8. Sacred Passages: Native Symbols in Atwood and Engel. The Female Initiation Pattern. Atwood's Surfacing. Engel's Bear. Conclusion -- Ch. 9. Nordicity and the Sacred: The Journeys of Thomas York and Aritha van Herk. The Fugitive. The Spiritual Quest. The Return to the South in Desireless. "No End to This Road": Aritha van Herk -- Ch. 10. Mutuality and the Sacred: Joy Kogawa. From Divine Abandonment to Human Solidarity. Bread and Stones and Names in Obasan.
- From Silence to Communion.
- ISBN
- 0889202931
- LCCN
- 99174980
- OCLC
- ocm38431262
- Owning Institutions
- Columbia University Libraries