Also available as an ebook.

Includes bibliographical references.

"The road trip genre, well established in the literatures of Canada, is a natural outcome of the nation’s obsession with geography. Divided Highways examines road narratives by Anglo-Canadian, Québécois and Indigenous authors and the sense of place and nationhood in these communities.

Geography describes the land, and history peoples it, just as memories connect us to place. This is why road trips are such a feature of writing in Canada, allowing the travellers to claim, at least symbolically, the terrain they have traversed. Macfarlane examines works by a variety of writers from each of these communities, including Gilles Archambault, Jeannette Armstrong, Jill Frayne, Tomson Highway, Claude Jasmin, Robert Kroetsch, Jacques Poulin, Aritha van Herk and Paul Villeneuve, to name but a few.

Studying a diversity of road narratives from Anglo-Canadian, Québécois and Indigenous populations not only demonstrates the existence of a very specific road genre, but is also revelatory of very diverse and often conflicting perceptions of nationhood. It is these expressions of sovereignty that are integral to ongoing discussions of reconciliation and decolonization." (Book Cover)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

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.