The Past is Present

This study provides an in-depth look into the fiction of one of African-Canadian literature's foremost writers, Lawrence Hill. It is the first to provide a comprehensive analysis of Hill's historical fictions which narrates histories rarely told before - whether it is the enslavement of blacks in Canada, de facto segregation or racial profiling.

The Black tile in Canada's mosaic has long been neglected in historiography, literary criticism and public discourse. African-Canadian literature sets out to correct this absence. This study provides an in-depth look into the fiction of one of African-Canadian literature's foremost writers, Lawrence Hill. His novels provide a counter-memory, an antidote to the forgetfulness and neglect which often characterize Canada's attitude towards its Black minority both past and present. Dominant collective memory versions are thus corrected to reflect a more faithful Canadian mosaic. Whether it is the enslavement of Blacks in Canada, de facto segregation or racial profiling Hill narrates histories which have rarely been told before. This book is the first to provide a comprehensive analysis of Hill's historical fictions.

Autorentext

Christian J. Krampe taught North American literature and culture at the University of Trier (Germany). He now teaches English and Social Sciences at a high school in Westphalia. His publications include articles on Canadian and US literature as well as teaching English as a foreign language.

Klappentext

The Black tile in Canadäs mosaic has long been neglected in historiography, literary criticism and public discourse. African-Canadian literature sets out to correct this absence. This study provides an in-depth look into the fiction of one of African-Canadian literature s foremost writers, Lawrence Hill. His novels provide a counter-memory, an antidote to the forgetfulness and neglect which often characterize Canadäs attitude towards its Black minority both past and present. Dominant collective memory versions are thus corrected to reflect a more faithful Canadian mosaic. Whether it is the enslavement of Blacks in Canada, de facto segregation or racial profiling Hill narrates histories which have rarely been told before. This book is the first to provide a comprehensive analysis of Hill s historical fictions.

Inhalt
Contents: Collective memory Maurice Halbwachs Blacks in Canada Black Loyalists African-Canadian literature Lawrence Hill's historical fiction Faction vs. Historiographic Metafiction vs. Documentary Novel The Slave Narrative «The Book of Negroes» «Any Known Blood» «Some Great Thing» Interview Lawrence Hill Interview George Elliott Clarke.