Canuke Literature : Critical Essays on Ukrainian Writing

Canada was settled in three waves of immigration, the first being from the Western provinces. These people set up homesteads and opened up prairies, which provided an indelible mark on their country. The next phase arrived of educated and professionals, bringing them a new Ukrainian consciousness. The third group consisted of refugees from Europe, Asia, and Eastern Ukraine who not only sought to make themselves safe, but to preserve and contribute to the growth of the future of Ukraine culture. As part of this culture, a literary life has developed and so the combined Canadian-Ukraine name has become ''Canuck''. This book examines the literature found in Ukrainian-born immigrants who wrote primarily in their native tongue of English. It begins with the first novel written in English, Vera Lysenko''s, Yellow Boots, and then looks at other texts that help the reader visualise the Canuck concepts of culture and tradition. It is through the nostalgia and analysis of these texts that the writer portrays the perspective and stylistic form of this literature and its thematic trend.