A study of who is remembered, how, and why in Canada’s literary landscape.

Commemorations of deceased writers can often take on a life of their own—from the stately and serious to the kitschy and commercial. In Literary Life After Death, Carole Gerson categorizes and analyzes how writers have been commemorated in Canada to show how tributes have changed over time and in response to evolving national and social concerns.

The book first examines government-sanctioned commemorations—coins, stamps, plaques, historic sites, and place names—before turning to initiatives by local communities and nonprofits, including house museums, literary tourist sites, statues, and parks. It also considers amateur and online tributes, as well as literary commemorations when later authors revisit deceased writers as characters in new works. In doing so, this work identifies commonalities among commemorations as well as the underrepresentation of groups such as women authors, racialized authors, queer writers, and Indigenous writers in Canada. From these insights, Literary Life After Death brings together dozens of examples to offer an expansive and often amusing look at literary studies and Canadian cultural history.