Also available as an ebook.

Includes bibliographical references.

Introduction

1. THE ROAD NARRATIVE AND NATIONAL LITERATURES -- Defining National Literatures -- Parameters of the Study -- Movement and Identity in Canada -- Critical and Cultural Contexts -- Structure of the Book

2. HOME AND AWAY -- Critical and Theoretical Contexts -- Indigenous Desire for Return: Armstrong, Bouvier, Kenny, Highway, Hogan, Oman -- Franco-Quebecois Departure and Return: Archambault, Poulin -- Anglo-Canadian Compulsions to Move: Frayne, Kroetsch, van Herk -- Conclusions

3. SEXUAL CONQUEST ON THE ROAD -- Historical Contexts -- Franco-Quebecois Unsettled Desires: Jasmin, Poulin, Villeneuve -- Anglo-Canadian Roads to Conquest: Gardiner, Kroetsch, van Herk -- Indigenous Reconnection to Home: Alexie, Oman, Van Camp -- Conclusions

4. TRAVELLING COMPANIONS -- Political and Theoretical Contexts -- Franco-Quebecois Outlaw Couples: Jasmin, Poulin, Villeneuve -- Anglo-Canadian Lone Heroes: Ferguson, Frayne, Gardiner, Gidmark, van Herk -- Indigenous Unity in Community: Alexie, Armstrong, Hogan, Highway, Kenny, King, Maracle, Milliken, Ruffo -- Conclusions

5. CONCLUSION: CHANGING LANES -- Indigenous Road Trip Narratives -- Franco-Quebecois Road Trip Narratives -- Anglo-Canadian Road Trip Narratives -- Final Passages -- The Peoplehood Matrix -- The End of the Road?

Bibliography

"This book establishes the existence of a road trip genre in the literatures of Canada. Geography describes the land, and history peoples it, just as memories connect you to place. This is why road trips are such a feature of Anglophone, Québécois and Indigenous writing in Canada, allowing the travelers to claim, at least symbolically, the terrain they have traversed. It is the intersection of history and geography that makes a journey so significant, nourishing a sense of place or revealing the lack of it. Examining the road trips undertaken therefore tells us much about the specific interests of the three general groups at the centre of this study. Their desire, and, in some cases, necessity to travel, the traveling companions and destinations they choose, and the histories they create on the land they are covering are indicative of their particular sense of place and nationhood within the country. In order to demonstrate this phenomenon, the book examines works by a variety of Anglophone, Québécois and Indigenous writers, including Gilles Archambault, Jeannette Armstrong, Jill Frayne, Tomson Highway, Linda Hogan, Scott Gardiner, Claude Jasmin, Robert Kroetsch, Lee Maracle, Jacques Poulin, Aritha van Herk and Paul Villeneuve. A comparative approach to literatures in Canada is the logical continuation of postcolonial studies in that it reveals the intricacies and specificities of various communities, contributing to a more complete understanding of multiple national collectivities. It also offers an important counternarrative to transnational studies."-- Provided by publisher.

Issued also in electronic formats.