The publishing of a poet: an empirical examination of the social characteristics of Canadian poets as revealed in small press literary magazines.
Date
2011-08-30
Authors
Barlee, Diane Monique
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Abstract
This thesis is an exploratory examination of the social characteristics of 139 poets
featured in a selection of five small press Canadian literary journals. The investigation
charts and analyzes the demographics of 64 poets who were published in 1967, and 75
poets who were published in four small press literary magazines in 2010. The 2010
magazines were purposely sampled as representatives of specific geographical areas in
Canada (i.e., the West Coast, the Prairies, Central Canada, and the East Coast).
The results indicate that in 1967 female poets were less likely to be published;
however, 43 years later, this bias has been rectified. Another notable difference between
the two groups of poets is that in 1967 ethnic minorities were more likely to be published.
Educational achievement was an important factor for both the 1967 and 2010 poets, as
was location, occupation and editorial duties.
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Keywords
Literature, Poetry, Canada, Gatekeeping, Cronyism, Academization, Elitism, Gender Bias, Poetry communities, Sociology of Literature, Sociology of Culture, Canadian Literature, Arc, Prairie Fire, Griffin Poetry Prize, Malahat Review, Fiddlehead, Demographic characteristics