Acknowledgements

This collection would have been impossible without the tireless work of the editors of The Puritan literary magazine. E. Martin Nolan and Tyler Willis were instrumental in transforming a scattered collection of ideas into the special issue dedicated to Austin Clarke’s life and writing, which in turn became the basis for this book. I learned more about Canadian literary history, publishing, editing, and how to make a decent martini in the months we spent assembling that issue than at any other time in my life. Thanks, Ted, for your support for this project from the outset. Special praise, thanks, and acknowledgement is due to André Forget, who championed this project from the beginning. André is a sometimes-unsung hero of Canadian literature who has worked quietly, often behind the scenes, to support the work of Canadian writers in his role as general editor of The Puritan and in other capacities. I appreciated our rides to Hamilton to work in the Clarke archives and evenings spent visiting some of Clarke’s own favourite haunts. André not only ensured that this book came into being but helped me understand Austin’s writing in new, illuminating ways. André is a wise and insightful critic and the strengths of this collection, whatever they are, bear his mark.

Thank you to the archivists and support staff at the William Ready Archives at McMaster University. Your help in working through Clarke’s archives, over a number of years, has been invaluable. Thank you also to my colleagues at Concordia University and the University of Guelph.

Thank you also to the collaborators and friends who generously provided their time and resources in supporting this project. This list is far from exhaustive but it includes Daniel Coleman, Patrick Crean, Dennis Lee, Loretta Clarke, Asha Varadharajan, Katherine McKittrick, Jean Marc Ah-Sen, Darcy Ballantyne, Rinaldo Walcott, Leslie Sanders, David Chariandy, C.J. Bogle, Adrian and John Harewood, Judith Muster, J. Coplen Rose, Richard Cunningham, Sarah Roger, Guybrush Taylor, Emmy Anglin, Michael Bucknor, Neil ten Kortenaar, Ryan Perks, and Murray Tong. Thanks also to Siobhan McMenemy for her support of this project and valiant efforts to wrangle a particularly baggy monster into shape. Special thanks to Kate Siklosi for her endless support, friendship, and timely shade. Thanks also to Susan Keenan and Patrick Barrett for everything.

This collection is dedicated to the memory of Austin Clarke.

Austin Clarke.
Permissions: William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections, McMaster University Library