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What makes Atlantic Canadian literature a cohesive group? What themes can be found in these regional works that holds the genre together? There are three major dichotomies that can be gleaned in the novels, short stories, poems and plays of the provinces on the Atlantic. These themes are: Love and loneliness, protagonist versus nature, and the act of searching. For which references will be made to Random Passage by Bernice Morgan, Coastlines; the Poetry of Atlantic Canada an anthology of poems by various authors, Atlantica; Stories form the Maritimes and Newfoundland an anthology of short works by various authors as well as a passing reference to Alistair Macleod’s novel No Great Mischief.
It is important to remember the historical context of the country when looking at the literary works. Originally Canadian stories were handed down by word of mouth and by drawings done by the tribes of Native Americans in place of written stories. It’s not until well into when the Europeans arrive in the Atlantic region that written works are introduced. Most of which were simply transplanted stories from established authors. It was not until well into the settlement of the colonies that Atlantic Canadian literature began to bloom. The first of which being Quodlibets in 1628 by Robert Hayman the leader of the British colony Bristol’s Hope, Newfoundland which was a collection of poems.
Other works that followed shared the similar writing tone of those early writers. Being that despite the hard life the letters and works of fiction sent back to Europe spoke of a romanticized version of the colonies. Claiming them as places of constant adventure and excitement the romance of settling ‘untamed lands’ and converting the ‘heathens’ their in. Though these images were rarely matched reality; especially when it came to the mentioning of the Canadian climate- Mild in letters, harsh and prolonged in reality.
In Atlantic Canadian works love is an important theme since its beginnings to modern day. It is one of the fundamental forces that drive all humans no matter where they originate from to seek out one another in societies. In Atlantic literature it is the small population base of the stories that push the issue. Who will you love when your closest available male or female romantic prospects are your family? This is a reflection on the early settler history of the area as most people came over with their families to settle the lands and little other contact outside of one to two other families as seen in the Bernice Morgan novel Random Passage . Also the theme of love is shown to be ageless in the poem ‘Again with Music’ by Kay Smith the poem speaks of an old apple tree that is ‘never to put forth again a pink and white cloud of witnesses, Suddenly blossoms with yellow birds in its grey limbs, and is almost alive again with music. Love O Love let the birds happen to me. Let Wild sweet voices remember me.’ In this section of the poem the author is putting herself as the tree- barren and at the end of its life being suddenly refilled by the birds of new love- fluttery feelings one might say. Sentiments echoed in a second Kay Smith poem: ‘Old Women and Love’ in which she writes ‘...the blood of old women continues to cry out to sing even to dance wildly in their veins...’ in this rather explicit passage she states that even in old age people still have the passions for love. It is something that falls away as humans get older, but instead can become stronger as time goes by. Though it isn’t just romantic love found in the works. There’s also familial love and the loyalty love between a pet and their owner. The latter seen in No Great Mischief by Alistair Macloed.
Along the similar lines of the Love theme found in the works of the region can be found the other side; namely loneliness. Harkening back historically to the European settlers Canada was a very lonely area. So divorced from the lives they lived in Europe and the people they knew therein as well as the individual isolation brought about by the winters when people would frequently be snowed in and unable to visit others in their establishments it is easy to see why the theme took root in the writings. Such as in Milton Acorns short poem ‘Charlottetown Harbour’ which features a lone man sitting on the dock in thought. ‘An old docker with gutted cheeks, time arrested in the used-up-knuckled hands crossed in his lap, sits in a spell of the glittering water...’ the image is quite effective, the thought of a solitary man on the dock thinking deeply on his past accomplishments, the thoughts of how he once worked with others and is now alone, a feeling most people are familiar with; a sense of loneliness from isolation.
What causes this isolation- other than the settlers coming from the familiar to the unknown? That is the next main theme. The weather; in the early years what people accomplished was entirely dependant on the weather. Be it working the lands or out sailing or fishing such as the narrator in ‘That Corrugated Look to Water’ by Milton Acorn. ‘...No day this for men to be at business on the water – no longer ours, but winter’s. Wind’s so raw you don’t know if you’re freezing or boiling...’ this is a feeling to those who live in the Canadian winter. When he wind blows hard and it’s dropped below freezing windburn with wind chill can feel both cold and hot to the numbness sets in. But it is this toughness in the face of the elements that helps to make Atlantic Canadian literature what it is. The climate has engrained itself into the literature as much as any theme. As the line goes from Elizabeth Brewsters poem ‘Where I Come From’ ‘People are made of places’ This is definitely evident in the literature of the area. This can work for a wordsmith or against them as in the case of Bernice Morgan as it is reported she was told that basing her novel in the American settlements of Maine would be a better selling point then the fictional location of Random passage Newfoundland .
The next theme is the search. Everyone is looking for something. Be it home, a person, culture, an object, or a purpose in life. This sense of searching can be found parleyed in Atlantic Canadian literature in poems like ‘I lost My Talk’ where the author Rita Joe is imploring the audience to let her return to her native language to explain herself in comparison to the forced upon language of English. She is searching for her peoples past; A connection to her original culture. Something most Canadians can understand with the influx of American media and culture washing up from the south (Though to admit a majority is merely our own cultural artifacts repackaged in the Hollywood glamour.) or that of any newcomers to the country to balance between their culture and Canadian mainstream. Though the culture is not the only thing searched for in literature. In ‘The squall’ by Milton Acorn the main character is searching for direction in the face of a storm. This could be taken as literally a man simply lost in a storm trying to get where he wants to go. Or culturally similar to the searching of Rita Joe, but as a face value search it also has merit. When sailing on the ocean it is vital to have landmarks on shore or in the sky to prevent from getting lost on the water. ‘...Taking direction from where they’d been with only quick-snatched glances at where they’re going.’ This speaks of how Canadians seem to work. There is a reverence for the past that acts as a guide for the future. Some may say backwards but as the old saying goes ‘those who ignore history are destined to repeat it.’