Student to speak at 50th anniversary of Canadian Literature magazine
 Sam Martin will read from his award-winning paper at October's celebrations in Vancouver. |
A Memorial student in the English department is already getting attention from the Canadian literary establishment.
Following an international call for outstanding graduate students in the field of Canadian literature, Sam Martin was selected by a multi-university adjudication panel as one of six graduate students to receive a travel award to attend the fiftieth anniversary celebrations for Canadian Literature magazine.
He will read from his paper, “Sacramental Readings of Spoken and Written Spaces in Alistair MacLeod’s No Great Mischief and Wayne Johnston’s The Custodian of Paradise” at the conference which is being held as part of the celebrations at the University of British Columbia from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3.
According to Laura Moss, the associate editor of Canadian Literature, “This award recognizes [Sam] as a future leader in the field.”
Sam still can’t quite believe it. “I was very thrilled to get the news. Then I re-checked the e-mail to make sure I read it right, which I had. Then I was nervous.”
Dr Valerie Legge worked extensively with Sam, reading several drafts of the paper, and together they tried to create natural connections between his papers and the themes of the conference.
“Sam has a very creative response to the literature and his dedication to his discipline was evident in his willingness to keep revising his paper until it was as polished as it could possibly be," said Dr. Legge. "I'm confident that the readers who vetted the conference papers recognized the high quality of Sam's work.”
Dr. Legge adds, “It was a real pleasure to work with a student who has talent and high standards. I'm very proud of Sam and he certainly deserves this award.”
Sam Martin will be in good company at the gala. Confirmed speakers (in addition to the six graduate students) include Thomas King, Steven Galloway, Roch Carrier and Aritha van Herk.
Canadian Literature aims to foster a wider academic interest in the Canadian literary field, and publishes a wide range of material from Canadian and international scholars, writers, and poets. Each issue contains a variety of critical articles, an extensive book reviews section, and a selection of original poetry. See www.canlit.ca/50th/ for further information on the 50th anniversary celebrations.
