Sexing the Maple: A Canadian Sourcebook - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1551114860 ISBN 13: 9781551114866

Publisher: Broadview Press, 2006

Synopsis

Sexing the Maple is a unique sourcebook designed to raise issues of nationalism and sexuality in Canada through a rich and diverse selection of fiction, poetry, criticism, and history. Structured so as to provide an interactive study of these issues, the collection considers topics as wide-ranging as First Nations sexuality, censorship, assisted reproduction, and religion.

Literary works by Alice Munro, Jane Rule, Timothy Findley, Leonard Cohen, Irving Layton, Lynn Crosbie, Michael Turner, and many others are juxtaposed with criticism and historical documents, many of which were previously out of print or unavailable. Selections include Marshall McLuhan’s 1967 article “The Future of Sex” and excerpts from Stan Persky and John Dixon’s Kiddie Porn, SKY Lee’s Disappearing Moon Cafe, and Margaret Atwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale.

About this title

About the Author

Richard Cavell is Professor of English at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of McLuhan in Space: A Cultural Geography (University of Toronto Press, 2002).

Peter Dickinson is Assistant Professor of English at Simon Fraser University and the author of Here is Queer: Nationalisms, Sexualities, and the Literatures of Canada (University of Toronto Press, 1999).

Review

“I read this brave book in a canoe. A tribute both to its Canadianness and to Cavell and Dickinson’s balancing act in assembling this rich stew of literary nuggets and historical analysis. Sexing the Maple will be an indispensable resource for any future exploration of sexuality and gender in English Canada whether through a cultural or a historical point of view. Indeed its provocative lesson is that the two cannot be separated in any serious excursion into sexuality in this country or any other. Canonical and non-canonical, queer, queering and beyond, here is a sturdy paddle for those upcoming rapids.” ― Thomas Waugh, Concordia University

“Sexing the Maple takes sex out of Canada’s cultural closet. Richard Cavell and Peter Dickinson have assembled an outstanding anthology with fiction and poetry by leading Canadian writers, rare and out-of-print material, and a superb selection of critical articles. The historical and cultural range of topics is impressive, covering the gamut of Canuck sex from anti-masturbation tracts and weird sex in Canadian film to reproductive laws and transgender surgery. This is the first book to theorize and document how stories about our sexualities articulate our sense of Canadian nationhood. The research is impeccable, the theorizing trailblazing, the writing compelling. This book is bold, ambitious, and provocative.” ― Irene Gammel, Ryerson University

Edition details

• Publisher: Broadview Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1551114860
• ISBN 13: 9781551114866
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 481
• Editor: Richard Cavell, Peter Dickinson