Literary Review of Canada's "100 Most Important Canadian Books"

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Howie Meeker was shocked when he heard that his first book is 63 in the Literary Review of Canada’s list of the 100 most important Canadian books ever written.

"You’re kidding," Mr. Meeker laughed when reached at his Vancouver Island home. "That’s sensational."

The inclusion of Howie Meeker’s Hockey Basics, a skills manual for young hockey players, may seem like an odd choice for a literary review’s Top 100 book list. But this is not your typical best-of list.

The literary editors ranked books chronologically — starting with Jacques Cartier’s Account of the Second Voyage of the Navigation of 1535 and 1536 — and according to the work’s impact on the Canadian landscape.

Three literary staff members picked the 100 titles from more than 300 entries; readers of the magazine were asked to submit their picks with a brief blurb in defence of the choice. "We were looking for the most persuasive logic in each case," said Mark Lovewell, co- publisher of the magazine.

The final list is an eclectic mix, ranging from children’s books to royal commission reports. "I can’t imagine any other country that would include royal commission writers," laughed Bronwyn Drainie, editor of Literary Review of Canada.

Pages: 1

  3. 3.
    Wacousta
    by John Richardson
  5. 5.
    Roughing It In The Bush
    by Susanna Strickland Moodie
  7. 7.
    ?
  8. 8.
    Wild Animals I Have Known
    by Ernest Thompson Seton
  10. 10.
    ?
    The Imperialist (1904)
    by Sara Jeanette Duncan
  12. 12.
    Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (Norton Critical Edition)
    by Stephen Leacock
  13. 13.
    Flint and Feather
    by E. Pauline Johnson
  14. 14.
    Maria Chapdelaine
    by Louis Hemon
  15. 15.
    Jalna
    by Mazo De LA Roche
  17. 17.
    Such Is My Beloved (New Canadian Library)
    by Morley Callaghan
  18. 18.
    ?
    The Commercial Empire of the St. Lawrence, 1760–1850
    by Donald Creighton
  19. 19.
    ?
    Menaud, maître-draveur (Boss of the River)
    by Félix-Antoine Savard
  20. 20.
    ?
    As for Me and My House
    by Sinclair Ross
  21. 21.
    ?
    Two Solitudes
    by Hugh MacLennan
  22. 22.
    The Tin Flute (New Canadian Library)
    by Gabrielle Roy
  24. 24.
    Who Has Seen the Wind
    by W.O. Mitchell
  25. 25.
    ?
    The Plouffe Family
    by Roger Lemelin
  26. 26.
    ?
    Refus Global (Complete Refusal)
    by Paul-Émile Borduas
  27. 27.
    Empire and Communications
    by Harold A. Innis
  29. 29.
    People of the Deer (Death of a People)
    by Farley Mowat
  30. 30.
    ?
  32. 32.
    ?
    Insight: A Study of Human Understanding
    by Bernard J. F. Lonergan
  33. 33.
    Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays
    by Northrop Frye
  34. 34.
    The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
    by Mordecai Richler
  35. 35.
    ?
    THE SPICE BOX OF EARTH
    by Leonard Cohen
  36. 36.
    The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man
    by Marshall McLuhan
  37. 37.
    ?
    Renegade in Power: The Diefenbaker Years
    by Peter C. Newman
  38. 38.
    ?
    Report of the Canada Royal Commission on Health Services
    by Hall Commission
  39. 39.
    The Stone Angel (Phoenix Fiction)
    by Margaret Laurence
  40. 40.
    In Praise of Older Women
    by Stephen Vizinczey
  42. 42.
    Next Episode
    by Hubert Aquin
  44. 44.
    A Season in the Life of Emmanuel (New Canadian Library)
    by Marie-Claire Blais
  45. 45.
    ?
    Combat journal for Place d'Armes: A personal narrative
    by Scott Symons
  46. 46.
    The Ecstasy of Rita Joe
    by George Ryga
  47. 47.
    ?
    Final Report of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism
    by Laurendeau-Dunton Commission
  48. 48.
    Michel Tremblay: Les Belles-Soeurs (BCP French Texts)
    by Rachel Killick
  49. 49.
    ?
    Federalism and the French Canadians
    by Pierre Elliot Trudeau

Pages: 1

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Created by starlagurl on Apr 17, 2006.
 

Comments

rosacoco

interesting selection — 50 weeks ago

I like the balance between fiction and non fiction, though there are other books that could be added to the list.

Jun 06, 07:00PM | 0 comments | Reply to this

frbrown

Another list — 2 years ago

Here is another Canadian top 100:

http://www.listsofbests.com/list/69269

It is a more literary list, with not as many royal commissions reports.

Dec 27, 12:31PM | 0 comments | Reply to this



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