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There,sawonderfulprospectors,conventioninTorontowheretheygatheronce
ayeartotalkaboutrocksanddrinkCanadianwhiskey.
Iwasbornintowhatwasessentiallyaprettyremotenortherncommunity.
Whenmyparentsarrivedinthatareatherewasreallynocommunitytospeakof;
noroads,noschools.Itwasnecessarytogoinbydogteam,orbybushplane,or
acombinationofthetwo.BythetimeIwasborn,twentyyearslater,the
infrastructurewasinplace.But,asyoungadults,myparents,thedescendantsof
settlersthemselves,reallywerepioneers.Ithinkthatmademyfamilydifferent
thantheusualmid-twentiethcenturyCanadiannuclearfamily,butthiswasadif-
ferenceIknewnothingabouttillafterIwassixyearsold,becauseIhadn,t
experiencedanythingelse.Butoncewemovedtothecity,Ibegan,evenas
asmallchild,toseehowspecialandsingularthatnorthernlandscapewasandat
thesametime,IbegantoknowthatIhadlostthatlandscape.WhenIcameto
Toronto,Irememberbeinghorrifiedbythefactthatallofthehousesonour
streetwerethesame,andfrightenedabouthowIwouldeverfigureoutwhich
oneofthosehouseswasmine.
IknowthattheNorthisabigtheme;somethingthatCanadianshavewritten
aboutandthoughtabout,butlivingthereisanotherthingaltogether.It,sauni-
queaspectofCanadabecauseCanadians,ironically,haveatendencytobelieve
moreinEast,West,orSouth.Theyhaveatendencytolookattheworldinterms
ofastatelyprocessionofprovincesmovingfromeasterntowesternpartofthe
countryfollowingthepatternsofsettlement.
WhatIdiscoveredwhenIwentbacktotheNorthwhenIwaswritingThe
Underpainterwasthatthelightiscompletelydifferentthere.Irecognizeditas
beinglightfrommychildhood,althoughIhadn,tthoughtaboutitatalluntilI
returned.Thewaythelightfallsonthewaterisdifferentaswell.Anotherthing
thatshouldbenotedisthattheNorthexistsinspiteofus,andinspiteofour
exploitationofit.ThesettlementinwhichIspentmyfirstsixyears,forexample,
hascompletelydisappeared,gone.Therewerebeautifulloghousesbuiltalong
theedgesofLakeKenogamisis,buttheyhaveeitherburntdown,ortheyhave
decomposed.Everythinghasgonebacktobush.Thiskindofreabsorptionis
somethingveryhardtoimaginewhenyou,relivinginacitylikeTorontowhich
hasthesameatmosphereasanylargeAmericancity;thefactthatacomplete
townsitecouldbeabsorbedbackintotheearth.FormetheNorthwassomething
thatmademedifferentthaneveryoneelse,anditgavemesomethingofmyown;
anabandonedsacredland.Onethatwouldhavetoexist,ifitcontinuedtoexist
atall,inmyimagination.
D.F.:InthepassagefromTheStoneCarversthatyoureadinPoleskiOśrodekSztukionthe18th
ofSeptember2007thereisareferencetotheNorthwestPassage.MargaretAtwoodassociates
JohnFranklinwithadisaster,andaddsthat"Canadiansarefondofagooddisaster”(11).In
StrangeThings.TheMalevolentNorthsheenlargesuponCanadianinterpretationsofthemotif.
