Robert Lecker
Canadian Literature, all periods; Literary History; Ekphrasis; Life Writing; Canonicity; Material Production
My main field of specialization is Canadian literature. In this area, I have particular expertise in book and publishing history, the evolution of literary value, and communal models of literary sharing and appreciation. Additionally, I have published on music and literature and have offered courses on adaptation and ekphrasis. I am currently exploring modes of life writing and confessional literature. I was the co-editor of the critical journal Essays on Canadian Writing from 1975-2004, and the copublisher at ECW Press from 1977-2003. Some of my books include On the Line: Readings in the Short Fiction of Clark Blaise, John Metcalf, and Hugh Hood; Robert Kroetsch; Another I: The Fictions of Clark Blaise; Making It Real: The Canonization of English-Canadian Literature; Dr. Delicious: Memoirs of a Life in CanLit; The Cadence of Civil Elegies; Keepers of the Code: English-Canadian Literary Anthologies and the Representation of Nation; and Who Was Doris Hedges? The Search for Canada鈥檚 First Literary Agent. I have also edited a number of books including Open Country: Canadian Literature in English; Anthologizing Canadian Literature: Theoretical and Cultural Perspectives; and Do You Want To Be Happy and Write?: Critical Essays on Michael Ondaatje. My book reviews and scholarly writing have appeared in Canadian Literature, Studies in Canadian Literature, Critical Inquiry, PMLA, University of Toronto Quarterly, and elsewhere. My two current projects are a study of Karen Solie鈥檚 poetry and a monograph on music in Michael Ondaatje鈥檚 fiction.
B.A., M.A., Ph.D. (York University)
Books
Who Was Doris Hedges? The Search for Canada's First Literary Agent. (McGill-Queen's UP, 2020)
Keepers of the Code: English-Canadian Literary Anthologies and the听Representation of the Nation听(U of Toronto Press, 2013)
The Cadence of Civil Elegies听(Cormorant, 2006)听
Dr. Delicious: Memoirs of a Life in CanLit (V茅hicule, 2006)
English-Canadian Literary Anthologies: An Enumerative Bibliography听(Reference, 1997)
Making It Real: The Canonization of English-Canadian Literature (Anansi, 1995)
An Other I: The Fictions of Clark Blaise听(ECW, 1988)听
Robert Kroetsch听(Twayne, 1986)
On the Line: Readings in the Short Fiction of Clark Blaise, John Metcalf,听and Hugh Hood听(ECW, 1982)
Edited Books
Do You Want To Be Happy and Write?: Critical Essays on Michael Ondaatje (McGill-Queen's UP, 2023)
Anthologizing Canadian Literature:听Theoretical and Cultural Perspectives (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2015)
Open Country: Canadian Literature in English听(Thomson Nelson, 2007)
听
Borderlands: Essays in Canadian-American Relations听(ECW, 1991)
Canadian Canons: Essays in Literary Value听(U of Toronto Press, 1991)
The New Canadian Anthology: English-Canadian Poetry and Short Fiction, with Jack David (Nelson, 1988)
Introduction to Literature: British, American, Canadian,听with Jack David and Peter O'Brien (Harper & Row, 1987)听
Canadian Writers and Their Works: Essays on Form, Context, and Development听(CWTW), with Jack David and Ellen Quigley. (ECW Press, 1982)
Introduction to Fiction听(Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983)
The Annotated Bibliography of Canada's Major Authors (ABCMA),听Jack David (ECW Press, 1982)
Anthology of Maine Literature, with Kathleen Brown (U of Maine Press, 1982)
Canadian Poetry, with Jack David,听Vols. I & II听(New Press Canadian Classics, 1982)
Introduction to Poetry: British, American, Canadian, with Jack David (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1981)
Articles and Chapters
鈥淔rom Baila to Bebop and Beyond: Music in Michael Ondaatje鈥檚 The Cat鈥檚 Table.鈥� English Studies in Canada 47.4 [2024]: 59-84.
鈥淭he Mechanics of Dwelling: Karen Solie鈥檚 Early Poetry and Short Haul Engine.鈥� University of Toronto Quarterly 93.1 (2024): 64-91.
鈥淧.K. Page鈥檚 鈥業nebriate鈥�: A Gloss on a Glosa.鈥� English Studies in Canada 45.4 [2022]: 83-99.
鈥溾�� American Review of Canadian Studies 51:2 (2021): 330-43.
鈥淧.K. Page鈥檚 鈥業nebriate鈥�: A Gloss on a Glosa.鈥� English Studies in Canada 45.4 (2019): 83-99.
鈥淢usic in Michael Ondaatje鈥檚 Divisadero.鈥� Journal of Commonwealth Literature 54.2 (2019): 273-91.
鈥淐anadian Authors and Their Literary Agents.鈥澨�Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada听54:1-2 (2016): 93-102.
鈥淎uthors and Literary Agents in Canada.鈥�听Awake To Love and Beauty: Proceedings from a Conference in Honour of George Whalley. Ed. Michael John DiSanto, Alana Fletcher, Shelley King, and Jaspreet Tambar. Sault Ste Marie: Algoma University, 2016. 209-20.
鈥淭he Other Side of Things: Reading Clark Blaise's 鈥楴otes Beyond a History鈥�. 鈥� Clark Blaise: Essays on His Works. Ed. J.R. (Tim) Struthers. Oakville, ON: Guernica Editions, 2016. 187-204.
鈥淩epresentations of Nation in Donna Bennett and Russell Brown鈥檚 An Anthology of Canadian Literature in English.鈥� Editing as Cultural Practice. Ed. Dean Irvine and Smaro Kamboureli. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier UP, 2016. 149-67.
鈥淟ike following a mirage鈥�: Memory and Empowerment in Alice Munro鈥檚 鈥淭he Bear Came Over the Mountain.鈥� Journal of the Short Story in English 64 (Spring 2015): 207-18.
鈥淩eflections on ECW.鈥� ECW Press 40. Ed. Michael Holmes. Toronto: ECW, 2014. 10-28.
鈥淣ineteenth-Century English-Canadian Anthologies and the Making of a听National Literature.鈥� Journal of听Canadian Studies 44.1 (Winter 2010): 91-117.
鈥溾�楢 Quest for the Peaceable Kingdom鈥�: The Narrative in Northrop Frye鈥檚 鈥楥onclusion鈥� to the Literary History of Canada.鈥� Northrop Frye鈥檚 Canadian Literary Criticism and Its Influence. Ed.听Branko Gorjup. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2009. 260-76.
鈥淢aterializing Canada: National Literature Anthologies and the Making of a Canon.鈥� Australasian Canadian Studies 26.1 (2008): 23-41.
鈥淎nthologizing Canadian Literature: Material Conditions and the Making of a Canon.鈥� 2007 Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities. Honolulu,听Hawaii, 2007.听
鈥淭he Evolution of Canadian Criticism since 1970.鈥� Congreso Internacional听Patrimonio Cultural. Universidad de Cordoba. Cordoba, Argentina, 2006.听
鈥淲here Is Here Now?鈥� Essays on Canadian Writing 71 (2000): 6-13.
鈥淟e Conseil des Arts du Canada et la formation de la litt茅rature canadienne."听Que vaut la litt茅rature? Ed. Denis-Saint Jacques. Qu茅bec: Editions Nota bene, 2000. 235-44.
鈥�Would You Publish This Book? Material Production, Canadian Criticism, and The Theatre of Form.鈥� Studies in Canadian Literature 25.1 (2000): 15-36.
鈥淭he Canada Council and the Construction of Canadian Literature.鈥� English Studies in Canada 25.3-4 (1999): 322-45.
鈥淭he Writing鈥檚 on the Wall.鈥� Saturday Night,听July-August 1996: 15-24, 51.鈥淩eaders, Machines, Gardens: Alice Munro鈥檚 鈥楥arried Away.鈥欌�� Essays on Canadian Writing 66听(1999): 103-27.
鈥淲atson and Pierce and Our Canadian Literature.鈥� Canadian Poetry: Studies,听Documents, Reviews 38 (1996): 49-87.听
鈥淚nventing Literature.鈥� Geist 4.19/20 (1995-96): 25-30.
鈥淭he New Canadian Library: A Classic Deal.鈥� American Review of Canadian Studies 24.2 (1994): 197-216.
鈥淎nthologizing English-Canadian Fiction: Some Canonical Trends.鈥� Open Letter 9.1 (1994): 25-80.
鈥淧rofessionalism and the Rhetoric of English Canadian Criticism.鈥� Zeitschrift f眉r Kanada-Studien 25.1 (1994): 87-103.
鈥淧rivacy, Publicity, and the Discourse of Canadian Criticism.鈥� Essays on Canadian Writing 51-51 (1994): 32-82.
鈥淣obody Gets Hurt Bullfighting Canadian-Style: Rereading Frank Davey's 鈥楽urviving听the Paraphrase.鈥欌�� Studies in Canadian Literature 18 (1993): 1-23.
鈥淚n听Search听of听the听Peaceable听Kingdom:听The听Narrative听in听Northrop听Frye's听鈥楥onclusion鈥櫶齮o听the听Literary听History听of听Canada.鈥澨�PMLA听108听(1993):听283听93.鈥淎听Country听without听a听Canon听Canadian听Literature and the Esthetics of Idealism.鈥� Mosaic 26.3 (1993): 1-19.
鈥淢aking It Real: Representations of Value in English-Canadian Criticism.鈥� Canada Ieri e Oggi 3. Atti dell '8' convegno internazionale di studi canadesi. Fasano: Schena, 1992. 9-21.
鈥淐ritical Response [to Frank Davey].鈥� Critical Inquiry 16.3 (1990): 682-89.
鈥淭he Canonization of Canadian Literature: An Inquiry into Value.鈥�听Critical Inquiry 16.3 (Spring 1990): 656-71.
Reviews and Public Scholarship
I鈥檓 interested in communal forms of literary analysis and commentary and have participated in a number of published roundtable discussions on the topic. For example, here is a link to a on Canadian publishing as seen through the eyes of Canada鈥檚 first literary agent. I am also involved in analysis of the ways in which literary forms and genres can provide new modes of interpretation and in this on Canadian poets P.K. Page and Leonard Cohen. I have also begun to publish excerpts from , a study of music in Michael Ondaatje鈥檚 fiction. Recent of contemporary literature can be found in journals such as the University of Toronto Quarterly.
- (2022)
- Royal Society of Canada Fellow
- 鈥婼SHRC Research Leave Grant, SSHRC Leave Fellowship, and SSHRC Research Grants (1983-2014,听2016-2021)
- H. Noel Fieldhouse Award for Distinguished Teaching
I am interested in supervising research on all aspects of Canadian writing, with an emphasis on contemporary Canadian poetry and fiction. Areas of particular interest include Canadian literary history; canonicity and canon formation; literary value; publishing and material factors influencing literary production; studies of ekphrasis; confessional writing; explorations of literary history.
University of Maine, Orono
York University, Toronto