Turn-of-the-Century Canadian Literature
for the Young and Adventurous:
Fierce Animals, Red Indians, & Terrible Storms: Courage, Pluck, & Derring-do and
None of It Seen from an Arm-Chair
12:00 p.m., Monday, Oct. 12, 2009
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: free

How do you write about what you know for audiences who think they know, but don’t? The population of Canada was too small to support its talent in the late 19th century, so writers had no choice but to export their products to journals in England and the United States. Then, in a curious turn, Canadians imported their own export.

Dr. Jean Stringam is an associate professor of English at Missouri State University, where she specializes in young adult and children’s literature. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, where she wrote on 19th century short adventure fiction for adolescents written by Canadians but published in periodicals from England and the United States. Her publications and conference papers in this area investigate the materials using various critical perspectives. Dr. Stringam is particularly energized by the international experience; she has recently taught as an exchange professor for two years at Qingdao University in China and for the Missouri London Program.