CANADIAN Single Author Journals

  This is a bibliographical research note for those with a specific interest in single author journals. You will know who you are and what they are. Even more specifically, it is for those who are wondering if there are any Canadian single author journals. The word “Canadian” will be employed in this context to attempt to answer two questions: 1) are there any single author journals devoted to Canadians?, and 2) are there Canadians who are, or were, producing single author journals about people who are not Canadian?  The answer to both questions is “Yes." Those answers are not easily found, so this note will be useful for the very small number who are wondering what Canadian might be worthy of such a journal. It will also be of interest to the even smaller number who wonder what  non-Canadian is important enough to rate such attention from someone here in Canada.    It is very difficult to identify those individuals who have their very own periodical, unless you are willing to look up every single person you think might be important enough to have a journal, produced and printed over a period of time on their behalf. Identification of all of the single author journals was problematic before the Internet and remains so. Before the Internet, one very dedicated and diligent researcher rounded up all the single author journals she could find back in 1979. Over 1000 of them are listed and described in Margaret Patterson’s, Author Newsletter and Journals: An International Bibliography of Serial Publications Concerned With the Life and Works of Individual Authors. A few supplements were published by the author in Serials Review, but otherwise, there have been no other reference books about this subject.  Her book is well-indexed and from one of them I provide below, all of the entries that are “Canadian.” There are only a few and some relate to journals that are about Canadians, and the others about journals produced by Canadians or in Canada. Two of them are still being published, but the authors who are the subjects of these single author journals are not Canadian. The Chesterton Review was started in Saskatchewan and continues on at Seton Hall in New Jersey. Hume Studies began at the University of Western Ontario and the Humeans are still very active down the road at Brock University and elsewhere.   After the Internet one might have assumed that single author journals ceased to exist. It would seem to be far easier and less expensive to set up a website dedicated to the author, or publish an e-journal related to that individual. The two examples provided above indicate, however, that single author journals continue to exist, along with websites devoted to them. Finding them though is as difficult as it always was.  Provided below are two lists. The first one contains all of the references related to Canada that are found in Patterson’s, Author Newsletter and Journals. The second provides the search results found when attempting to identify Canadian single author journals on the Internet.

Stephen Leacock

1. CANADIAN SINGLE AUTHOR JOURNALS FOUND IN PATTERSON'S AUTHOR NEWSLETTERS AND JOURNALS Patterson’s book may not be readily available so I have included the information provided with each reference and the page number on which it is found in Author Newsletters and Journals. 

1. Bakhtin, Mikhail (1895-1975)

Bakhtin Newsletter (Le Bulletin Bakhtine)
Editor: Clive Thomson, French Department, Queen’s University
“Designed to facilitate communication among scholars interested in Bakhtin. The first issue included an analytical bibliography and news of past publications, current projects and future conferences.”
This reference is the only one not found in Author Newsletters… This one is from  the “Supplements” Patterson did in Serials Review. See this issue: Spring, 1984, p. 51.
This newsletter appears to have been published between 1983-1996. Additional information will be found at Queen’s. Western University has some issues in storage. 

2. Chesterton, G.K. (1874 -1936)

The Chesterton Review

In 2025, The Chesterton Review is still being published by the G.K.Chesterton Institute For Faith & Culture at Seton Hall University. Information about it is available at this website: https://www.shu.edu/chesterton/chesterton-review.html

   It is included on this list because it was established  in 1974 in the English Department at St. Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan. The title was: Chesterton Review: The Journal of the Chesterton Society. Here is the information provided by Patterson, p.62.

   Chesterton Review: The Journal of the Chesterton Society. Editor: Ian Boyd, Department of English, St. Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan, 1437 College Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7NOW6, Canada. Sponsor: The Chesterton Society. Fall/Winter 1974—. 2yr. $5(Canadians); $6(non-Canadians); $7(Institutions); $8(non-Canadian Institutions); £2 (Great Britain). [50-150p.] Circulation: 1,263, including 376 outside North America. Last issue examined: vol.4, 1978.

   “Concerned with “the promotion of a critical interest in all aspects of the life and works of G.K. Chesterton.” Critical and biographical studies on sources, influences, comparisons, style; review articles; previously unpublished works; reprints of inaccessible early works; surveys of Chesterton’s popularity and influence in foreign lands; extensive news and comments concerning national and International Chesterton Society meetings and financial status, seminars in North American and foreign countries, work in progress, new publications; reminiscences; brief notes: letters to the editor; bibliographies; poems; International contributors; annual index. The Chesterton Society has branch secretaries in England, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Poland and the United States.”

Indexed by: America History and Life and Historical Abstracts.

Alternate subtitle: Newsletter of the G.K. Chesterton Society, Fall-Winter 1974.

P.62.

3. Choquette, Robert (1905 - 1991)

Cahiers Du Cercle Robert Choquette.

Sponsor and publisher:  Collège de Saint-Laurent 

1956-64 (nos.1-9). Irregular. [40-65 p.]

American-born Canadian poet, novelist, dramatist.

“Dedicated to Choquette, a graduate of the Collège de Saint-Laurent. Composed mainly of poems to Choquette’s honor, with a few essays and stories; brief introductions.” p.63

Choquette was also a diplomat. He was born in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Dantin, Louis - see Seers, Eugène below.

4.Hume, David (1711-76)

   In 2025, Hume Studies is still being published and information about it is available at this website: https://www.humesociety.org/ojs/index.php/hs/index.

  It is included on this list because it was established at the University of Western Ontario in 1975.

“Scottish philosopher, historian.”

Hume Studies. Editor: John W. Davis, Department of Philosophy, Talbot College, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, N6A3K7, Canada. Sponsor: Faculty of Arts, University of Western Ontario, 1975—. 2/yr (April, November). $3.50 (individuals); $5.50 (institutions). [30-50 p.]. Last issue examined: vol.4, 1978.

“Devoted to historical and systematic research on David Hume. Long documented essays on Hume’s work; brief comments on his contemporaries, his influence, letters, manuscripts, and life; Hume bibliographies; notes and news on workshops of the Canadian Society of Eighteenth Studies and other research projects; notes on symposia, projected works; book reviews; announcements of books received. In English, French, German or Italian. Back issues available from Micromedia Limited, Box 34, Station 5, Toronto, Ontario, M5M4L6, Canada. 

[Note: The information immediately above is outdated. Current information and back issues are available from the Hume Society at the website provided at the top of this entry.]

Indexed by: America: History and Life and Philosopher’s Index.

P.166.

5. Leacock, Stephen (1869-1944)

Newspacket. Sponsor: Stephen Leacock Associates. P.O. Box 854, Orillia, Ontario. 

Spring 1970 –. Quarterly.

“Canadian humorist, political scientist."

P.192.

6. Seers, Eugène [Louis Dantin] (1865-1945)

Cahiers Louis Dantin. 

Louis Dantin was the pen name of Eugène Seers. Canadian poet, critic.

Publisher: Editions du  Bien public, Trois-Rivières, Québec. 

1962- (?) Irregular. [60-160 p.] Last issue examined, no.4, 1967.

“Previously unpublished letters from Dantin to his son; personal reminiscences, genealogy of the Seers family, announcements of new editions, with notes and descriptions of Dantin’s works.” 

P.278.

2. SELECTED RESULTS OF SEARCHES FOR CANADIAN SINGLE AUTHOR JOURNALS ON THE INTERNET

  I know of no way to find such things. I simply chose some Canadian authors to search. I am not a Canadianist and the list will be deemed “idiosyncratic” by those looking for an author from a particular province, or one who wrote in a language other than English, or from a specific ‘identity’. 

  A cursory search was done and the result is the Baker’s dozen provided below. A few single author journals are found and you will locate examples quickly under the entries for Margaret Atwood and Lucy Maud Montgomery, from which one can, at least conclude  that single author journals are not only for males. When there is no entry next to the name searched, that means that there was nothing much to notice beyond the basic reference sources and Wikipedia. In a few cases, I have provided some information which may be of use if you want to start your own single author journal about that person.

1. Atwood, Margaret

https://atwoodsociety.org/

   "The Margaret Atwood Society is an international association of scholars, teachers, and students who share an interest in Atwood’s work. The main goal of the Society is to promote scholarly exchange of Atwood’s works and cultural contributions by providing opportunities for scholars to exchange information. To reach this goal, we publish a journal, Margaret Atwood Studies, for which we invite submissions year round, and we host several panels each year on Atwood at various academic conferences, including at the Modern Language Association Convention (MLA), Association of Canadian College and University Teachers of English (ACCUTE), and the Midwest Modern Language Association (MMLA)."

2. Callaghan, Morley

3. COHEN, Leonard

Official Website

https://www.leonardcohen.com/

 Produces - The Leonard Cohen Newsletter
   The Leonard Cohen Files

https://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/

"Welcome to The Leonard Cohen Files - a tribute to the music and poetry of the Canadian singer-songwriter-poet-novelist Leonard Cohen.

This website was launched in September 1995. The site is hosted by Jarkko Arjatsalo in Finland. The webmaster appreciates the continuous help and support provided by Leonard Cohen and his management."

4. DAVIES, Robertson

“Robertson Davies Collection” Queen’s University

https://web.archive.org/web/20100603151729/http://library.queensu.ca/robertsondavies

"Located on the historic campus of Queen's University in beautiful Kingston, Ontario, the W.D. Jordan Special Collections and Music Library houses the personal library of Robertson Davies, the renowned Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist and professor.

The Collection

Comprised of more than 5000 volumes, theatre prints and ephemera, this remarkable collection reflects Davies' deep interests in literature, literary criticism, art, music, theatre, theatre criticism, theatre biography and autobiography, film, drama, history and psychology. Many of the volumes are annotated with handwritten notes inserted.  Particular strengths are in 18th, 19th and 20th century theatre books and prompt copies. Many works are signed or first editions. The items will be shelved according to room order in which they were kept at Windhover, Davies’ country home in Caledon Hills."

5. GRANT, George Parkin

6. Laurence, Margaret

7. McFarlane, Leslie

8. MacLennan, Hugh

  The Hugh MacLennan Papers Online Project McGill University Libraries

https://digital.library.mcgill.ca/maclennan/bio.htm

9. MCLUHAN, Marshall

Official website:

https://marshallmcluhan.com/

   Marshall McLuhan Bibliography at Monoskop

https://monoskop.org/Marshall_McLuhan

"Welcome to Monoskop, a wiki for arts and studies.

Monoskop is an independent web-based educational resource and research platform for arts, culture and humanities founded in 2004."

10. MITCHELL, W.O.

Website W.O.Mitchell Ltd.

https://womitchell.ca/

11. Montgomery, Lucy Maud

 Lucy Maud Montgomery Society of Ontario

https://lucymaudmontgomery.ca/

  L.M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery Literary Society

https://lmmontgomeryliterarysociety.weebly.com/

The L. M. Montgomery Literary Society is an international community of readers with a special interest in the life of Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874 – 1942), her first novel, Anne of Green Gables, as well as her many other novels, 500+ short stories, poetry, letters and personal journals.

The Shining Scroll is the annual publication of the L,MMNL,S.  

 L.M. Montgomery Institute

https://lmmontgomery.ca//

 For additional information see: The L.M. Montgomery Institute, University of Prince Edward Island. https://lmmontgomery.ca/islandora/object/lmmi%3Acollection

Journal of L.M. Montgomery Studies

https://journaloflmmontgomerystudies.ca/

   L.M. Montgomery Research Centre

https://web.archive.org/web/20090803190900/http://www.lmmrc.ca/

"The L.M. Montgomery Research Centre Web site is a scholarly resource designed to highlight the L.M. Montgomery Collection of the University of Guelph Library, making it visible and easily accessible to scholars and readers of Lucy Maud Montgomery."

12. RICHLER, Mordecai

13. Woodcock, George

Website:

https://web.archive.org/web/20130822150108/http://www.georgewoodcock.com/

"George Woodcock (1912-1995) has been variously described as "quite possibly the most civilized man in Canada,"  "Canada's Tolstoy," "by far Canada's most prolific writer," "a regional, national and international treasure" and "a kind of John Stuart Mill of dedication to intellectual excellence and the cause of human liberty." His unrivaled productivity as British Columbia's foremost man of letters was achieved in concert with consistent political ideals and humanitarian actions ever since he and Ingeborg Woodcock arrived in B.C. to build a cabin in 1949.

The Bonus: 
I usually provide one, so here it is. There was a single author journal called, The Curwood Collector. Although it is not about a Canadian and was not produced in Canada, it was published close by in Michigan and the popular author spent a lot of time in Canada, which he often wrote about and referred to as "God's Country." There is a festival every June in Owosso, Michigan to honour, James Oliver Curwood.

Hitchens Resurrected

 

    A few weeks back, Margaret Atwood received The Hitchens Prize. Her acceptance speech was a fine and humorous one and these portions of it are worth providing to those who appreciate Hitchens-like thoughts.
    Ms. Atwood describes being at a literary event at Hay-on-Wye which Hitchens attended and she argued with him, but,

“At least he didn’t accuse me of hurting his feelings, nor did I accuse him of hurting mine. Having feelings was not a thing back then. We would not have admitted to owning such marshmallow-like appendages, and if we did have any feelings, we’d have considered them irrelevant as arguments. Feelings are real—people do have them, I have observed—and they can certainly be plausible explanations for all kinds of behavior. But they are not excuses or justifications. If they were, men who murder their wives because they’re feeling cranky that day would never get convicted….

Hitch and I were both of an archaic generation that endorsed the basic principles of logic. We knew an ad hominem when we fell over one. We didn’t consider the factual truth of any given matter to be dispensable—or worse, to be some scoundrelly piece of propaganda cooked up by the opposing party. We both believed in a healthy society’s need for public debate, with testable evidence presented…

I expect Hitch would join me in a distinction I have been making lately: that between belief and truth. It’s a comment on our special times that I’d even feel I have to make this distinction. A belief cannot be either proved or disproved. If you wish to believe that invisible flower spirits are causing your string beans to grow, there is no point in my trying to dissuade you, because these entities are invisible and immaterial. Something proposed as a truth can, however, be put to the test. In recent years, people have confused beliefs with truths. From this confusion have come ideologies and dogmas—the characteristic of a dogma being that it’s proposed as an absolute truth and cannot be disputed, and if you try disputing it, you’ll be burned as a heretic.

The conclusion:

But, more immediately, there’s another important question the times we live in are asking us. That question is: What sort of political system should we choose? If it’s open democracy, we’ve got some work ahead of us. We must roll up our proverbial sleeves, grab our arrows of desire, sharpen the paring knives of our wits, dedicate our swords to the pursuit of truth, strengthen our resolve, resist the serpents of false argument, hop into our chariots of fire, and … Oh dear (or slightly stronger exclamation), cries the ghost of Christopher Hitchens. What a sack of mixed metaphors!

Yes, I know. But desperate times require desperate remedies, and our times are desperate. However, instead of all these chariots and swords, I’ll propose something simpler. Don’t panic. Think carefully. Write clearly. Act in good faith. Repeat.

From: "Your Feelings Are No Excuse: Emotions May Explain Why People Overreact, but They Don’t Justify It”, Margaret Atwood, Atlantic, April 1, 2022.

About The Hitchens Prize

    Although I am a fan of Hitchens, I was unaware of The Hitchens Prize which was established in 2015 and awards $50,000 to ”the author or journalist whose work reflects a commitment to free expression and inquiry, a range and depth of intellect, and a willingness to pursue the truth without regard to personal or professional consequence".

The previous winners are:

2019 - George Packer, Journalist and Author

2018 - Masha Gessen, Journalist and Author

2017 - Graydon Carter, Editor

2016 - Marty Baron, Executive Editor of The Washington Post

2015 - Alex Gibney, Documentary Filmmaker

[the prize was not awarded during the ‘pandemic years’.]

   The generous creators of the Hitchens Prize are the lawyer Dennis Ross and Victoria Ross, a writer and art historian, who founded The Dennis & Victoria Ross Foundation. A portion of the “Mission” of the foundation is provided here:

“The Dennis & Victoria Ross Foundation (DVRF) is a non-profit foundation organized and operated for educational purposes, including support for public debate and discussion on topics of current or historical importance, and the promotion of emerging artists working in the theater, film, music, and visual arts. 

The Foundation is committed to the value of an educated and engaged public, and to that end plans to sponsor events featuring the work of authors or journalists whose work reflects open, honest, and critical inquiry, and a willingness to challenge or expand conventional wisdom. “

About Christopher Hitchens

   I have already dedicated three posts to Hitchens and if you read them you will know that the use of "Resurrection" was an ironic one. He remains dead, but the ideas he exemplified can still be honoured and promoted.  What it is about Hitchens that needs to be remembered is put well in this paragraph taken from The Dennis & Victoria Ross Foundation:

"Christopher ‬Hitchens defied easy categorization, with interests that spanned the whole landscape of cultural and political topics, and views that crossed conventional fault lines and left him with no firm anchor to the left or right. The Prize, in any event, is not intended, ‬if it were even possible,‭ ‬to identify writers who align closely with Christopher‭ ‬Hitchens,‭ ‬nor to celebrate his views in every particular.‭ Rather,‭ ‬the Prize seeks to advance what he was dedicated to throughout his life: vigorous,‭ ‬honest, and open public debate and discussion,‭ ‬with no tolerance of orthodoxy,‭ ‬no reverence for authority,‭ ‬and a belief in reasoned dialogue as the best path to the truth.‭"

Post Script: 

   For a current example of a case where Hitchen's analytical abilities and bravery could be useful, consider the word "Islamophobia." Earlier this month the government here in Ontario failed to pass Our London Family Act which was written by Muslim community leaders in reaction to a terrible event that occurred in London, Ontario. The subtitle of Bill 86 is "Working Together to Combat Islamophobia and Hatred." While the event was a horrible one and it is likely to be proved to have been motivated by hatred of Muslims or the Islamic faith, not all criticisms of Muslims or Islam need to be regarded as signs of "Islamophobia."

   Also during this month an Angus Reid survey relating to religions was released and one of the headlines about it is: "Canadians Consider Religions More Damaging Than Beneficial." It revealed that all religious groups surveyed viewed evangelical Christianity as more damaging to society than beneficial, while Islam was also perceived in a largely negative light." 
   As far as I know, we don't talk about "Pentecostalphobia" and we should talk less about "Islamophobia." We should be allowed to be critical of any religion without being labelled "phobic." 
  Here is what Hitchens wrote fifteen years ago and I doubt if he would now change it:

"All over the non-Muslim world, we hear incessant demands that those who believe in the literal truth of the Quran be granted “respect.” We are supposed to watch what we say about Islam, lest by any chance we be considered “offensive.” A fair number of authors and academics in the West now have to live under police protection or endure prosecution in the courts for not observing this taboo with sufficient care. A stupid term—Islamophobia—has been put into circulation to try and suggest that a foul prejudice lurks behind any misgivings about Islam’s infallible “message.”

Sources:

   The source for Atwood's speech is provided.  See also: "Hitchens Remembered: On the Occasion of This Year's Hitchens Prize, A Look Back at Tributes to Christopher Hitchens by Atlantic Writers at the Time of His Death," by Cullen Murphy and Annika Neklason, Atlantic, Jan. 21, 2022. 
   My earlier posts about Hitchens are here: "The One and Only Hitch," "Christopher Hitchens" and "Mother Teresa." (A warning about the latter. To put it gently, Hitchens was not a fan.)

   For more about The Hitchens Prize see: The Dennis & Victoria Ross Foundation. 

   Hitchen's remark about "Islamophobia" is found in: "The War Within Islam: The Growing Danger of the Sunni-Shiite Rivalry," Slate, Feb. 19, 2007.  Hitchens is not the only one critical of the term. See the entry for "Islamophobia" in Wikipedia where this is found:

Atheist author and professor Richard Dawkins has criticised the term Islamophobia. He has argued that while hatred of Muslims is "unequivocally reprehensible" the term Islamophobia itself is an "otiose word which doesn't deserve definition. In 2015, along with the National Secular Society, he expressed opposition to a proposal by then Labour Party leader Ed Miliband to make Islamophobia an "aggravated crime". Dawkins stated that the proposed law was based on a term that is too vague, puts religion above scrutiny and questioned if such a law under the term Islamophobia hypothetically could be used to prosecute Charlie Hebdo or if he could be jailed for quoting violent passages from Islamic scripture on Twitter."

The Bonus: 
  Masha Gessen won The Hitchens Prize in 2018 and it was noted that her work is an urgent warning against authoritarian impulses, including in democratic countries. Her life testifies to the power of the written and spoken word as a force for justice and human rights, and as a bulwark against those who would constrain them."
  She is a critic of Putin and the author of this recent article in The New Yorker. It is about Kyiv and more particularly, Babyn Yar, the spot where 33,000 Jews were executed in 1941. "Letter From Kyiv: The Memorial: A Holocaust Atrocity Was About to be Commemorated. Then Came Another War," April 18, 2022.  The writing continues as do the atrocities.