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Garrison temporality and geologic temporality in Canadian poetry Rae, Ian
Abstract
This essay examines the interstices between geography and history in English Canadian poetry by analyzing the production of space through poetic imagery. It introduces two terms, "garrison temporality" and "geologic temporality," to demonstrate how poets created divisions in the Canadian landscape temporally, demarcating these divisions according to their understanding of the perceived spaces' historicity. In early Canadian poetry, poets tended to distinguish colonized spaces from uncolonized spaces by designating them as either historical or ahistorical. This was achieved, more specifically, by appropriating civil, or garrison, spaces into a narrative of English expansion which traced its historical lineage back to European antiquity. The space outside the garrison's perimeter was deemed to exist out of time, providing yet another justification for further colonization. Later generations of Canadian poets contested the ahistorical designations created by this narrative, as well as the division they draw between urban and non-urban spaces, by appealing to geologic time. Geologic temporality functions not so much as a viable explanatory model for the narration of history as it does a poetic device for contesting the centrality of Europe and of urban centers in assessing contemporary Canada's place in time. This essay traces the shift in attitudes towards time and space from Charles G.D. Roberts' "Tantramar Revisited" (1886) to Dale Zieroth's "Baptism" (1981).
Item Metadata
Title |
Garrison temporality and geologic temporality in Canadian poetry
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
1997
|
Description |
This essay examines the interstices between geography and history in English
Canadian poetry by analyzing the production of space through poetic imagery. It
introduces two terms, "garrison temporality" and "geologic temporality," to demonstrate
how poets created divisions in the Canadian landscape temporally, demarcating these
divisions according to their understanding of the perceived spaces' historicity. In early
Canadian poetry, poets tended to distinguish colonized spaces from uncolonized spaces
by designating them as either historical or ahistorical. This was achieved, more
specifically, by appropriating civil, or garrison, spaces into a narrative of English
expansion which traced its historical lineage back to European antiquity. The space
outside the garrison's perimeter was deemed to exist out of time, providing yet another
justification for further colonization. Later generations of Canadian poets contested the
ahistorical designations created by this narrative, as well as the division they draw
between urban and non-urban spaces, by appealing to geologic time. Geologic
temporality functions not so much as a viable explanatory model for the narration of
history as it does a poetic device for contesting the centrality of Europe and of urban
centers in assessing contemporary Canada's place in time. This essay traces the shift in
attitudes towards time and space from Charles G.D. Roberts' "Tantramar Revisited"
(1886) to Dale Zieroth's "Baptism" (1981).
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Extent |
3743010 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-03-26
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0087995
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URI | |
Degree (Theses) | |
Program (Theses) | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
1997-11
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.