Voices of Exile in Contemporary Canadian Francophone Literature

(Paperback)

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Over the last four decades, the largest French-speaking state in North America, Qubec, has nested more than a dozen vibrant modes of French expression created by members of the varied cultural communities that have settled there. Voices of Exile in Contemporary Canadian Francophone Literature examines the works of several first-generation Canadian authors originating from Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, and the Maghreb, who produced a trilingual literature that reflects the diversity of their cultural backgrounds.

By casting a critical eye on the works of Saad Elkhadem, Naim Kattan, Abla Farhoud, Wajdi Mouawad, and Hdi Bouraoui, F. Elizabeth Dahab explores themes, styles, and structures that characterize the oeuvre of those authors. Dahab demonstrates that their mode is exile, and in so doing, she reveals the ways in which these writers seek to shape their art, using a host of innovative techniques that engage their renewed cultural identity.

Reviews

Voices of Exile is a ground-breaking study of Arab-Canadian writing and opens up a new, exciting arena in Canadian literary studies. Elizabeth Dahab's pioneering work highlights the history of Arab immigrants' contribution to the literary map of Canada. -- Nasrin Rahimieh, University of California, Irvine
F. Elizabeth Dahab has written an informative, ambitious book which should serve as an admirable introduction to works of the 'other' Canadians, writers of North African and Middle Eastern origin who have produced a burgeoning literature in French, English, or Arabic . . . This book is warmly recommended as an introduction to a group of writers who are symptomatic of a global, universalizing potential which is usually inadequately recognized in Canada. * Canada-Maghreb Centre Bulletin *
Dahab's choice of writers provides diversity in genres, topics and expression. The volume is marked by solid research and analysis. Recommended. * Choice Reviews *
The originality of this monograph resides in the bringing together of corpuses traditionally thought of as distinct. . . . Elizabeth Dahab's work also has the merit of underscoring points of convergence. . . . Dahab's work makes us rethink our notions of belonging , those places in which are inscribed works that are not only far from being marginal but also beg important questions related to identity and literary filiations. * Voix Et Images *
In this compelling study, Professor F. Elizabeth Dahab explores the works of five Canadian writers, all of whom come from the Arab world. Her analysis forcefully brings out the impact of exile, whether it was chosen or forced, on their writing. Displacement leads to a specific relationship to words, the ultimate locus of reterritorialization, when both space and past are irremediably lost. These writers thus interweave the echoes of their histories within modern Canadian literature, inscribing it with their own marks. Such a book has been long awaited. It undoubtedly opens new perspectives. -- Ccile Oumhani, assistant professor, University of Paris XII; author of Le caf d'Yllka
This is the first study anywhere of Arabic-Canadian writers.Dahab has revealed a critical mass of Arabic-Canadian literature which should be recognized in academic circles and popular culture.An important contribution to Comparative Literature, not only as an example of the best scholarship, but one that will inspire other studies of Arabic-Canadian and Arabic-American writers. -- Autumn 2010 * Bulletin of Francophone Postcolonial Studies *
There is a striking lack of scholarship on authors of Arabic descent in North America, and Dahab's volume fills this lacuna with an in-depth critical study of selected writers and texts. By collecting all these authors together and showcasing their works, Dahab has revealed a critical mass of Arabic Canadian literature which should be recognized in academic circles and popular culture. She argues that Arabic Canadian works constitute a significant literature of exile, while at the same time presenting a case for why these, often marginalized, authors should be included in the mainstream culture. Voices of Exile is an important contribution to comparative literature, not only as an example of the best scholarship, but one that will inspire other studies of Arabic Canadian and Arabic American writers. * Canadian Ethnic Studies *
...The wide array of forms and genre examined in Dahab's study moves between - poetry, novels, short stories and plays - itself forms a sustained theme in her analysis, bringing into focus the challenge to traditional delineations of genre and literary form posed by several of these Arabic-Canadian writers. * Reviews in Cultural Theory *
Dahab's Voices of Exile in Contemporary Canadian Francophone Literature is an absolute must read for anyone wanting either to conduct research or to teach a course on the long-neglected area of writers of Arab descent, particularly those living in exile in Canada. Her eminently readable approach to analyzing the works of Farhoud, Mouawad, Kattan, Bouraoui, and Elkhadem makes her contribution to the field of comparative literary studies and Canadian studies accessible to all. indeed, Dahab has achieved her goal of developing a framework for the canonization of the literature of Franco-Canadian writers of Arabic origin by carefully situating and including an Anglo-Canadian writer of Arabic origin into the mix. * American Review Of Canadian Studies *

Author Bio

F. Elizabeth Dahab is professor of comparative literature at California State University, Long Beach