#ANG1100 Montreal english literature

[cozygothgf]

Soundwalk & Yayoi Kusama exhibition

As my classmate and I walked down the streets of Montreal’s Old Port, the guided audio transported us through time. Our minds, veiled by the immersive sound walk, were elsewhere, oddly enough in the same location, yet in a different time. On that sunny agreeable fall day, while dozens dined in restaurants and more shopped in boutiques, we saw glimpses of the past. We managed to get a glimpse of our city in its darkest of times.

In my personal experience, I wasn’t taught much about colonisation in Canada excluding the obvious ‘Indigenous people lived on theses grounds; explorers discovered this new continent and exploited its resources and people’. The more I learn, listen, read and grow, I understand that the story is much more complicated and tragic than it was taught to me in elementary and high school. During the auditory soundwalk, I remarked how bleak Canada’s story truly is, and how much less we were taught about it than, let’s say, America’s history of colonisation. I was told about the atrocities committed in our neighbouring country, yet not once had I heard about Angélique or Marguerite Duplessis, slaves from my own city. For this very reason, I’d qualify this genre of walk as a documentary as it regards non-fiction historical events with the intent of educating and maintaining historical records. I was shocked to learn about the fact that slavery was practiced here or even that there was a slave market in the Old Port where I had made so many memories as a child. Walking down the streets and seeing the rocks and the architecture through a new perspective really made me take a step back and examine what I knew and what else exactly was hidden in the history of these rocks and buildings. Despite the tragedies, I must admit to feeling a sense of wonder regarding what else had happened, wanting to learn more and thankful for the knowledge that had been gifted to me, as I could share it with others, but mainly, glad to know more about the history of the city that I thought I knew so well.

Yayoi Kusama’s work and her story were incredibly fascinating to discover. I hadn’t known about her as an artist prior to the exhibit, but after living the experience, I must admit that I wanted to learn more about her, her inspirations and her art; thus I immediately bought her autobiography online. I’m still eagerly awaiting its arrival. I found many metaphors in the artist’s work, notably in her choice of titles for her art. In her series titled My Eternal Soul, one of my first observations was the amount of eyes that were painted on the 2 meters by 2 meters canvasses. It was only right as we left the room that the saying ‘the eyes are the window to the soul’ came to mind. The origin of this phrase is uncertain, some attribute it to Shakespeare. I’d like to believe this was an intentional link by Kusama. By painting these eyes, pouring her art and her energy into this pieces, the artist created a window to her soul (by painting eyes) and with the mediums she used, she managed to create an everlasting way for her soul to live on even when she passes away; thus giving depth to My Eternal Soul. On a final note, as someone with mental health struggles it was profoundly encouraging to see someone who’s struggled with similar issues as me, to be able to continue their passions despite the obstacles thrown at them by life or by a chemical imbalance in their brain. It showed me that perseverance and resilience is possible and that art, or in my case writing, can act as a crutch to get through the hard parts of life; it’s therapeutic in it’s own right.

Francesca Pinard

20183078

[ariknazart]

The following is a reading from Mordecai Richler’s Son of a Smaller Hero. In the passage read in the audio, Richler describes the Jewish ghetto of Montreal. Richler uses specific descriptions in his novel, therefore we are able to re-trace the specs described in Son of a Smaller Hero. The places mentioned are places we walk by everyday in the city, yet somehow reading them while walking the streets of Montreal takes us back in time, back when the ghetto was still the ghetto, back to the summer of 1952. For a moment we can feel how the city has evolved since then. While describing St Lawrence Boulevard readers can visualize how crowded and old the city was in that summer. Walking down the streets we are still able to see the ghetto, however even the ghetto has evolved over time. Somehow Montreal is able to preserve the old within the new. Moreover, reading passages from writers who grew up in Montreal or have lived in the city is somehow fascinating, in a sense that the reader who is living in the city in another time frame can travel in time to the past, visit the same places, streets, schools and retrace the steps of the story line. It is of great pleasure to live in a city that has an enormous volume of literature that can serve a guides for a time travel full of adventures. 

[hoda47-blog]

ANG1100 - Why Study English Literature?

After getting my law degree, I decided to turn to things I actually liked as opposed to things that seemed practical. I decided to return to school to take classes in English Literature. This reminded me of the fun of learning for the sake of learning, and not just with the end goal of earning a degree. That was one reason for studying the subject. Another reason is that I want to teach at the university level, and this prompted me to apply for the master’s program in English Literature at the University of Montreal. 

Another reason for wanting to study in this field is that I knew it would improve my writing, and I’ve always to be a writer (among other things). As I began to focus more on my writing, I also started to research the literary market. This led to an interest in the publishing industry, so I got an editorial internship with a publishing company and then was promoted to editorial assistant. I’ d love to become an editor one day, so I wanted to add academics to my work experience. 

Most of those reasons are because of my professional aspirations. But as I first mentioned, I also wanted to focus on studying in a field that I genuinely enjoyed. As most of the videos posted for today’s class mentioned, reading is a great way to develop empathy and be exposed to cultures, situations, and worlds that would be otherwise unknown to us. When reading in an academic setting, it gets you to examine stories through lenses that might not have occurred to you on your own. So I had personal reasons for studying English Literature, too: to expand my knowledge of literature, improve my writing and analytical skills, and broaden my understanding of other cultures, people, historical times, etc.