The Elegant Variation: NOT GONNA GO THERE

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February 27, 2004

NOT GONNA GO THERE

OK, I'm really tempted to make some kind of Canada joke here but I want Sarah to stay my friend. So read it for yourself: Margaret Atwood and poet Robin Mathews on the question of Canadian identity.

The issue, therefore, of Canadian identity, was very much on the front burner in Canada in the 1960s and 1970s. This is why Atwood’s Survival (1972) caused such a commotion when it was published. Atwood, as I mentioned above, dared to argue that the dominating myth in the Canadian way was that of survival. Many were those who doffed their dutiful caps to Atwood’s thesis. Many were those who buzzed round the hive and paid honours to the new queen bee of the Canadian literary establishment. But, not all were in agreement or pleased with the way Atwood defined the Canadian identity. It is important to remember that Mathews was offered a worthy wave of the hand and tribute by Atwood in Survival. Both Atwood and Mathews were neck to neck, at the time, in the race to define the Canadian identity. It is true that Canadians are not Americans, but what does it mean to be a Canadian? This was the core of the dialogue and debate, and Atwood had shown her hand. Mathews was not pleased.

Canadian in-fighting ... dunno ... hard for me to get excited about it. You? Eh? (Actually, it's quite a thoughtful piece. Forgive us.)

Posted at 12:21 AM | Permalink

Comments

Pu. Ssy. PUSSY!

Posted by: O.H. | February 27, 2004 at 07:52 AM

Trust me, you can't make any Canada joke that we haven't thought of. Who do you think laughed hardest at the South Park Movie? Canadians LOVED it.

Posted by: Sarah | February 27, 2004 at 09:26 AM

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The Elegant Variation is "Fowler’s (1926, 1965) term for the inept writer’s overstrained efforts at freshness or vividness of expression. Prose guilty of elegant variation calls attention to itself and doesn’t permit its ideas to seem naturally clear. It typically seeks fancy new words for familiar things, and it scrambles for synonyms in order to avoid at all costs repeating a word, even though repetition might be the natural, normal thing to do: The audience had a certain bovine placidity, instead of The audience was as placid as cows. Elegant variation is often the rock, and a stereotype, a cliché, or a tired metaphor the hard place between which inexperienced or foolish writers come to grief. The familiar middle ground in treating these homely topics is almost always the safest. In untrained or unrestrained hands, a thesaurus can be dangerous."

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The Elegant Variation

A Literary Weblog.
A Guardian Top 10 Literary Blog * A Forbes "Best of the Web" Pick * A Los Angeles Magazine Top Los Angeles Blog
"Really brave ... or really stupid" - NPR

February 27, 2004

NOT GONNA GO THERE

Comments

MY NOVEL

WORTHY READINGS

TEV DEFINED

RECOMMENDED

THIS GUN FOR HIRE:
Reviews & Criticism

SECOND LOOK

Categories

The Elegant Variation

A Literary Weblog. A Guardian Top 10 Literary Blog * A Forbes "Best of the Web" Pick * A Los Angeles Magazine Top Los Angeles Blog "Really brave ... or really stupid" - NPR

February 27, 2004

NOT GONNA GO THERE

Comments

MY NOVEL

WORTHY READINGS

TEV DEFINED

RECOMMENDED

THIS GUN FOR HIRE: Reviews & Criticism

SECOND LOOK

Categories

A Literary Weblog.
A Guardian Top 10 Literary Blog * A Forbes "Best of the Web" Pick * A Los Angeles Magazine Top Los Angeles Blog
"Really brave ... or really stupid" - NPR

THIS GUN FOR HIRE:
Reviews & Criticism