The Short Story after 1967

THE ENGLISH-CANADIAN SHORT STORY got off to a hesitant start in the twentieth century. To a considerable extent this was due to the lack of appreciation that Canadian literature had to face in its own country at the time and the limited publication facilities in Canada that resulted. Early short-story writers such as Knister, Grove, and Callaghan were thus forced to find their way into print mainly outside the country. The collected stories of all the major modernist writers, except for Callaghan and Garner, appeared decades after their conception, that is, in the 1960s, the period known as the Elizabethan Era of Canadian literature or the Canadian Renaissance.

The explosive development of Canadian literature in the 1960s, partly boosted by new supportive cultural policies, had a particular impact on the short story. Owing to the fact that short stories typically enjoy multiple publication — a first printing in a magazine, followed by publication in later collections by a single author and/or in anthologies — the genre relies particularly heavily on a flourishing print industry. Indeed, the Canadian Renaissance finally saw the growth of the kind of literary infrastructure that is necessary for a vital national literature. Publishing houses specializing in Canadian literature were founded, such as House of Anansi Press, Coach House Press, Talonbooks, and Oberon Press. Several literary magazines were inaugurated as well (University of Windsor Review, est. 1965, Wascana Review, est. 1966, Malahat Review, est. 1967, Lakehead Review, 1968–1977), providing an essential forum for short-story writing.