The Writer's Burden

Writers have a very difficult role in Canadian society and, truth be told, they're not doing a very good job at it these days.

The first task of writers is to define the national persona.

Seen one around the Canadian landscape lately?

Exactly.

So who will take up the challenge? Everyone? Anyone?

Margaret Atwood, bless her heart, has already shot her bolt on the Canada of the '60s, '70s and maybe the beginning of the '80s. We thank her. But we really cannot rely on her to define us to ourselves in the new millennium. She has more or less earned a nice retirement from our angst in which she can focus on writing the kind of stuff she wants to write. In other words, this is her shot to go global, in a big way, to earn a place in the literary hierarchy of the English language.

So it's now up to the young, the ballsy, the up-and-comers to take up the challenge and tell us who we are.

Anyone up to it? Please step forward quickly, because we've got very little time to play with here.