Of late there has been rather more interest in praising our country, than just simply denigrating it. Only a few months ago I noted that an Angus Reid poll had this title: "From 'eh' to 'meh'? Pride and Attachment to Country in Canada Endure Significant Declines." (See: WOE CANADA.) Attitudes appear to have shifted, perhaps because we fear that we will not even be in the top fifty if we become a state in the United States. If you wish to read about Canada before it goes, you could start with Lament for a Nation right after you read this post.
Here at Mulcahy's Miscellany it is suggested that the currently popular,"Elbows Up" can refer also to a position taken when holding up a book to read, and if you are looking now for something Canadian here is a suggestion.
From the New York Times I receive a newsletter with recommendations for reading material. This week's "Read Like the Wind" contains two books chosen by A.O. Scott (Mar.8, 2025.) The second suggestion is provided below along with the commentary offered by Scott.
Although the book is about Canada, admittedly it was written by an American. It is the case, however, that, apart from being an acceptable appraisal of Canada, one can mention that the son of the author is a retired professor who taught for years at UWO/Western and still resides in London. In his latest book he notes that: "I have not regretted moving, permanently, as it turned out, from my native country, the United States, to the former British Dominion of Canada."
Scott's comments:
Wilson, perhaps the hardest-working American literary critic of the 20th century, had formidable range. He wrote mighty books about Marxism, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the literature of the Civil War, and innumerable collections of essays, reviews, diaries and letters. An avowed anti-specialist, proud of never holding an academic post or a staff job at a magazine, he liked to master a subject by writing about it.
After a visit to Toronto sometime in the 1950s, Wilson got sufficiently interested in Canada to begin the inquiries that would result in this volume, modestly subtitled “An American’s Notes on Canadian Culture.” I should note that the book was published in 1965 and so does not include most of what those of us down here might regard as Canadian culture. No Neil Young or Joni Mitchell; no Margaret Atwood or Alice Munro (though a little bit of Mavis Gallant); no SCTV or David Cronenberg.
Still, “O Canada” is an irresistible deep cut for Canadaphiles, a large but fittingly circumspect fandom. Wilson is a crisp, thorough writer, with a knack for making his own fascination with a subject contagious. So you can learn quite a bit of Canadian history here — not a bad thing to be studying just now — without feeling that you’re in school, and you may find yourself eager to hit the library in search of the works of Hugh MacLennan and Marie-Claire Blais.
Mostly, though, you’re likely to be swept up by Wilson’s sense that Canada, in spite of its reputation south of the border, is an intensely dramatic country. This was partly because of the Quebecois separatist movement that was gaining momentum at the time, but also because nationalism and national identity were pressing questions for an alert and curious reader. As they still are."
Sources:
Apart from the NYT source noted above, the quotation by Edmund Wilson's son is from: Holding the Road: Away from Edmund Wilson and Mary McCarthy, Reuel K. Wilson, p.230. On p.231, he notes: "My father's book O Canada: An American's Notes on Canadian Culture (1965), which introduced American readers to a select group of contemporary Canadian authors, has been largely forgotten in both countries. Only my mother's novel The Group (1963) still has resonance for readers of a certain age here, where many women saw it as a positive landmark in the struggle for women's liberation."
