Keepers of the Code

The first sustained study of English-Canadian literary anthologies, Keepers of the Codeexplores the complex network of associations and negotiations that have influenced their development from John Simpson's 1837 anthology The Canadian Forget Me Notto the recently published Canadian Literature: Texts and Contexts. Robert Lecker explores the ways in which these anthologies contributed to the formation of a Canadian literary canon, the extent to which this canon was tied to an ideal of English-Canadian nationalism, and the material conditions accounting for the anthologies' production. Lecker combines biography, history, economics, cultural policy, and literary analysis in his examination of over 275 anthologies. He also pursues the idea that anthologies are narratives that embody the tensions and anxieties of their editors, telling the compelling stories of these people as they responded to the conditions and demands of their day.