IMAGINING TORONTO
Intersections of literature
and place in the Toronto region
"The roofs of the houses form terraces leading like steps to the citycore. The bank towers climb, and over them all the CN Tower soars, a landmark wherre no one lives or stays. ... This tower is a source of ghostly voices, turbulent speech, stray notes, and static, an infinite variety that may bear no single message, only the enticements and variations of energy, complex and nomadic, a stir and sound more enigmatic than any structure that we could make." (B.W. Powe, Outage. Toronto: Random House, 1995: 180-181)
"She likes the mix on the street here, the mixed skins. Chinatown has taken over mostly, though there are still some Jewish delicatessans, and, further up and off to the side, the Portuguese and West Indian shops of the Kensington Market. Rome in the second century, Constantinople in the tenth, Vienna in the nineteenth. A crossroads. Those from other countries look as if they're trying hard to forget something, those from here as if they're trying hard to remember. Or maybe it's the other way around." (Margaret Atwood, The Robber Bride. Toronto: Seal, 1993: 39)
Toronto Literature by Subject:
An Incomplete Catalogue
An Incomplete Catalogue
Last updated 8 April 2007.
Visit the Imagining
Toronto Library
(updated frequently)
Visit the Imagining Toronto Guide to Toronto Booksellers
Visit the Imagining Toronto Guide to Toronto Booksellers
The following catalogue of Toronto literature is organized loosely by subject, genre, theme, and place. It is offered as a starting point for further reading, and as such does not pretend to be complete. For the complete catalogue of Toronto literature (which includes numerous titles not categorized here), visit the Imagining Toronto Library. Please submit suggestions, additions, or comments to Amy Lavender Harris at alharris@yorku.ca.
| Subject
or Theme |
Some
Suggested Titles |
| Aboriginal
Experiences |
Callaghan,
Barry,
"A Kiss is Still a Kiss" (in Callaghan, Barry, ed. This Ain't No Healing Town:
Toronto Stories. |
| Annex, the |
Govier, Katherine,
1985. Fables of
Brunswick Avenue: Stories. Toronto: Harper Perennial. Atwood, Margaret, 1993. The Robber Bride. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. |
| Architecture and
Design |
MacEwen,
Gwendolyn, 1972. "House of the Whale" in Noman.
Stories. Toronto: Oberon. O'Donnell, Darren, 2004. Your Secrets Sleep With Me. Toronto: Coach House Books. Ondaatje, Michael, 1987. In the Skinof a Lion. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. |
| Black Experiences |
Brand,
Dionne, 1994. "Driving North, Driving Home", "Bathurst". In Bread
out
of Stone. Toronto: Vintage.
Brand,
Dionne,
1996. In Another Place, Not
Here.
Toronto: Knopf.Brand, Dionne, 2002. Thirsty (poems). Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.Brand, Dionne, 2005. What We All Long For. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf. Clarke, Austin, 1967. The Meeting Point. Vintage Canada. (the first book of Clarke's Toronto Trilogy) Clarke, Austin, 1971. When He Was Free and Young and He Used to Wear Silks. Stories. Toronto: Anansi. Clarke, Austin, 1973. Storm of Fortune. Little, Brown & Company. (the second book of Clarke's Toronto trilogy; released in 1998 as a Vintage Canada paperback) Clarke, Austin, 1975. The Bigger Light. (the third book of Clarke's Toronto trilogy) Clarke, Austin, 1986. Nine Men Who Laughed. Stories. Toronto: Penguin. Clarke, Austin, 1997. The Origin of Waves. McClelland & Stewart. Clarke, Austin, 1999. The Question. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart / Emblem Editions. Hill, Lawrence, 1997. Any Known Blood. Toronto: Harper Collins Canada. Hopkinson, Nalo, 1998. Brown Girl in the Ring. New York: Warner. Prince, Althea, 2001. Loving This Man. Toronto: Insomniac Press. Prince, Althea, 2005. Ladies of the Night: Stories. Toronto: Insomniac Press. Richardson, Karen and Steven Green, eds., 2004. T Dot Griots: An Anthology of Toronto's Black Storytellers. Trafford. |
| Children and Young Adult |
Brandis,
Marianne, 1990. The
Sign of the Scales. Erin, Ontario: Porcupine's Quill.
(historical novel suitable for adult and young adult readers; see also The Tinderbox (Porcupine's
Quill, 1982 and The
Quarter-pie Window (Porcupine's Quill, 1985. Brandis has also
written other historical novels set in nineteenth century York,
including Fire Ship ;
Porcupine's Quill, 1982.) Freedman, Zelda, 2005. Rosie's Dream Cape. Ronsdale Press. (Children's story; deals with working conditions in the Toronto garment industry, circa 1921.) Ishawaran, Wobine, 2007. The Fly Away Kite: Centre Island Picnic. UK: Authorhouse. Korman, Gordon, 1978. This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall. Toronto: Scholastic. See also: Go Jump in the Pool (1979), Beware the Fish (1980), The War With Mr. Wizzle (1982), Macdonald Hall Goes Hollywood (1991), Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall (1995). Korman's Who Is Bugs Potter (1980) is also set in Toronto. Mcnamee, Graham, 2003. Acceleration. Wendy Lamb Books. Young adult. Thurman Hunter, Bernice, 1981. That Scatterbrain Booky. Toronto: Scholastic. See also With Love From Booky (1983) and As Ever, Booky (1985). Nichol, Barbara, 1997. Dippers. Tundra. (Children's story about the Don River, circa 1912.) See also One Small Garden (2004). |
| Cabbagetown |
Butler,
Juan, 1970. Cabbagetown
Diary: A Documentary. (a novel) Toronto: Peter Martin Associates
Limited. Garner, Hugh, 1968. Cabbagetown. Markham, Ontario: Simon & Schuster. McAree, J.V., 1953. Cabbagetown Store. Toronto: Ryerson Press. Plantos, Ted, 1977. The Universe Ends at Sherbourne & Queen. Toronto: Steel Rail. Plantos, Ted, 2000. The Shanghai Noodle Killing. Toronto: Seraphim. |
| Crime / Detective /
Mystery / Noir / Horror |
Aubert,
Rosemary, 1997. Free Reign.
Bridge Works /
Beckley. See also the other novels in Aubert's Ellis Portal series: The Feast of Stephen (1999,
Bridge Works / Beckley), The
Ferryman Will Be There (2001, McArthur), Leave Me By Dying (2003,
McArthur), and Red Mass
(2006, McArthur). Baker, Nancy, 1993. The Night Inside. Toronto: Viking. Later re-released as Kiss of the Vampire. Barclay, Linwood, 2004. Bad Move. New York: Bantam. Battan, Jack, 1991. Blood Count. Toronto: Macmillan. Brady, Liz, 2001. Bad Date. (A Jane Yeats Mystery) Toronto: Second Story Press. Carpenter, J.D., 2001. The Devil in Me. (A Campbell Young Mystery). Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. Coles, Don, 2004. Doctor Bloom's Story. Toronto: Random House. Deverell, William, 1995. Street Legal: The Betrayal. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. (Deverell is the creator of the CBC Street Legal series.) Gibson, Brian, 2004. Bleeding Daylight. Thornhill, Ontario: Oubliette Press. Gordon, Alison, 1995. Striking Out. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. See also: Safe at Home (1991). Green, Terrence M., 1996. Blue Limbo. New York: Tor. Green, Terrence M., 1988. Barking Dogs. New York: St. Martin's Press. Holmes, Michael, 2000. Watermelon Row. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press. Huff, Tanya, Blood Price (1991), Blood Trail (1992), Blood Lines (1992), Blood Pact (1993), Blood Debt (1997). Jennings, Maureen, 2006. Vices of My Blood. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. Book 6 of the Detective William Murdoch series, set in 1890s Toronto. See also: Night's Child (no. 5, 2005), Let Loose the Dogs (no. 4, 2002), Poor Tom is Cold (no. 3, 2001), Under the Dragon's Tail (no. 2, 1998), Except the Dying (no. 1, 2001). MacKay, Scott, 2003. Old Scores. (Detective Barry Gilbert series) St. Martins Minotaur. See also: Fall Guy (2001) and Cold Comfort (1998). Martin, Mary E., 2005. Conduct in Question. iUniverse. (also Final Paradox, 2006). McFetridge, John, 2006. Dirty Sweet. Toronto: ECW Press. Moritsugu, Kim, 2003. The Glenwood Treasure. Toronto: Dundurn. Rehner, Jan, 2003. Just Murder. Toronto: Sumach. Swan, John, 2004. Sap. Toronto: Insomniac Press. Wright, Eric, 2002. The Last Hand. Dundurn. The final installment of the Charlie Salter Mysteries, which also includes The Night the Gods Smiled (1984; winner of the City of Toronto book award), Smoke Detector (1984), Death in the Old Country (1985), A Single Death (1986), A Body Surrounded by Water (1987), A Question of Murder (1988), A Sensititve Case (1990), Final Cut (1991), A Fine Italian Hand (1992), and Death By Degrees (1993). |
| Disease and Healing |
Coles,
Don, 2004. Doctor Bloom's
Story.
Toronto: Knopf Canada. Davies, Robertson, 1994. The Cunning Man. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. Findley, Timothy, 1993. Headhunter. Toronto: Harper Collins Canada. Gibson, Margaret (Margaret Gibson Gilboord), 1976. The Butterfly Ward. Toronto: Oberon. Burgess, Tony, 1998. Pontypool Changes Everything. Toronto: ECW Press. |
| Historical Toronto |
Akler,
Howard,
2005. The City Man.
Toronto: Coach House Books. Atwood, Margaret, 1996. Alias Grace. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. Redhill, Michael, 2006. Consolation. Toronto: Doubleday / Random House. |
| Immigrant
Experiences |
Ali,
Ansara, 1992. The Sacred
Adventures
of a Taxi
Driver. London, Ontario: Third Eye. Bezmozgis, David, 2004. Natasha and Other Stories. Toronto: Harper Collins Canada. Brand, Dionne, 2005. What We All Long For. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf. Bates, Judy Fong, 2003. Midnight at the Dragon Cafe. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. Michaels, Anne, 1996. Fugitive Pieces. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. Ondaatje, Michael, 1987. In the Skin of a Lion. Toronto: Vintage. Ricci, Nino, 1995. In a Glass House. The follow-up to Ricci's Lives of the Saints (1990); the trilogy concludes with Where Has She Gone (1997). Sileika, Antanas, 2002. Buying on Time. Erin, Ontario: Porcupine's Quill. Vassanji, M.G., 1991. No New Land. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. |
| Kensington Market |
Brand,
Dionne, 2005. What We All
Long For.
Toronto: Alfred A.
Knopf. Dearing, Sarah, 2001. Courage My Love. Toronto: Stoddart. Doctorow, Cory, 2005. Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town. New York: Tor. Meyer, Vivian, 2006. Bottom Bracket. Toronto: Sumach. |
| Junction, the |
Green, Terrence M., 1999. A Witness to Life. New York: Forge. |
| Men |
Marche, Stephen, 2005. Raymond
and Hannah. Toronto: Doubleday. Robertson, Ray, 2005. Gently Down the Stream. Toronto: Cormorant. Smith, Rusell, 1994. How Insensitive. Erin, Ontario: Porcupine's Quill. Smith, Russell, 1999; 2001. Young Men (stories). Toronto: Anchor Canada. |
| Parkdale |
Capponi, Pat, 2006.
Last Stop
Sunnyside. Toronto: Harper Collins. Clark, Trevor, 1989. Born to Lose. Toronto: ECW. Morey, Mike, 2003. Uncle Dirty. Toronto: Escape Media. Robertson, Ray, 2005. Gently Down the Stream. Toronto: Cormorant. |
| Poetry |
Atwood,
Margaret,
1970.
"Resurrection" and "A Bus Along St. Clair: December", from The Journals of Susanna Moodie.
Toronto: Oxford University Press. Brand, Dionne, 2002. Thirsty (poems). Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. Crosbie, Lynn, 1998. Queen Rat: New and Selected Poems. Toronto: House of Anansi. (see "Alphabet City" in particular) Dewdney, Christopher, 2000. Signal Fires. Poems. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. di Cicco, Pier Giorgio, 1977. "6 Months of the CN Tower" (poem) The Sad Facts. Vancouver: Fiddlehead. Granatstein, Morris, 2000. Toronto, My City (poems new & selected). Toronto: Tortoise Books / Printed by Coach House Press. Jones, Daniel, 1985. The Brave Never Write Poetry. Toronto: Coach House. Lee, Dennis, 1974 (reissued1994). Civil Elegies. Toronto: Anansi. MacEwen, Gwendolyn, 1987. Afterworlds. (poems). Toronto: McLelland & Stewart. Michaels, Anne, 1997. "Phantom Limbs", from The Weight of Oranges / Miner's Pond. Poems. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. Michaels, Anne, 1999. "There is No City that Does Not Dream", from Skin Divers. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. Nichol, bp, 1982. The Martyrology, Book V. Toronto: Coach House Books. Souster, Raymond, 1964. The Colour of the Times. Toronto: Ryerson. (Winner of the Governor General's Award for poetry) Souster, Raymond, 1965. Ten Elephants on Yonge Street. Toronto: Ryerson. Souster, Raymond, 1967. As Is. Toronto: Oberon. (poems: Souster was probably Toronto's most dedicated poet, writing and publishing poems about the city over a half-century span.) Souster, Raymond, 1968. Lost and Found. Toronto: Oberon. Souster, Raymond, 1971. The Years. Toronto: Oberon. Souster, Raymond, 1984. Queen City. Oberon. Souster, Raymond, 1986. It Takes All Kinds. Oberon. Souster, Raymond, 1996. Close to Home. Oberon. |
| Poverty and
Homelessness |
Aubert,
Rosemary, 1997. Free Reign.
Bridge Works /
Beckley. Bishop-Stall, Shaunessy, 2004. Down to This: Squalor and splendor in a big-city shantytown. Toronto: Random House Canada. Capponi, Pat, 1992. Upstairs in the Crazy House. Toronto: Viking. Capponi, Pat, 2006. Last Stop Sunnyside. Toronto: Harper Collins Canada. Meyer, Vivian, 2006. Bottom Bracket. Toronto: Sumach. Papdimos, Basil, 1989. The Hook of it Is. Enismore, Ont.: Emergency Press. Scrimger, Richard, 1996. Crosstown. Toronto: The Riverbank Press. |
| Punk /
Counterculture |
Crosbie,
Lynn,
1998. Queen Rat: New and
Selected Poems.
Toronto: House of Anansi. Duncan, Jennifer, 1999. Sanctuary & Other Stories. Montreal: Livres DC Books. Jones, Daniel, 1998. 1978. Toronto: Rush Hour Revisions. |
| Queer |
Anderson, Gordon
Stewart, 2006. The Toronto
You are Leaving.
Toronto: Untroubled Heart. Symons, Scott, 1969. Civic Square. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. |
| Rosedale |
Moritsugu,
Kim, 2003. The
Glenwood Treasure. Toronto: Dundurn. Symon, Scott, 1969. Civic Square. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. |
| Science Fiction /
Fantasy / Speculative Literature |
Doctorow,
Cory, 2003. Down and Out in
the Magic Kingdom. New York: Tor. Doctorow, Cory, 2003. A Place So Foreign and Eight More. Doctorow, Cory, 2004. Eastern Standard Tribe. New York: Tor. Doctorow, Cory, 2005. Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town. New York: Tor. Hopkinson, Nalo, 1998. Brown Girl in the Ring. New York: Warner. Huff, Tanya, 1989. Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light. New York: Daw. Huff, Tanya, 1991. Blood Price. New York: Daw. (Part of the Vicki Nelson detective series, which also includes Blood Trail (1992), Blood Lines (1992), Blood Pact (1993), and Blood Debt (1997). May, Julian. Rampart World series consisting of Perseus Spur, Orion Arm, and Sagittarius Whorl. McCurdy, J. Fitzgerald, 2004. The First Demons The Mole Wars, Book One. Toronto: Harper Collins. Pederson Chew, Kristen, ed., 2002. The Bakka Anthology. Toronto: Bakka Books. Sawyer, Robert J., 2000. Calculating God. New York: Tor. Wilson, Robert Charles, 2000. The Perseids and Other Stories. New York: Tor. |
| Sex and Sexuality (see also: Men, Queer, Women) |
Govier, Katherine,
1982. Going
Through the Motions. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. Marche, Stephen, 2005. Raymond and Hannah. Toronto: Doubleday. |
| Short Stories |
Callaghan, Barry,
ed., 1995. This Ain't No
Healing Town. Toronto: Exile Editions. Fagan, Cary and Robert MacDonald, eds., 1990. Streets of Attitude: Toronto Stories. Toronto: Yonge & Bloor Publishing. Niedzviecki, Hal, ed., 1998. Concrete Forest: The New Fiction of Urban Canada. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. Wolfe, Morris and Douglas Daymond, eds., 1977. Toronto Short Stories. Toronto: Doubleday Canada. |
| Suburbia |
Barclay,
Linwood, 2004. Bad
Move. New York: Bantam. Berry, Michelle, 2005. Blind Crescent. Toronto: Penguin Canada. Schultz, Emily, 2006. Joyland. Toronto: ECW Press. Sileika, Antanas, 2002. Buying on Time. Erin, Ontario: Porcupine's Quill. |
| Women |
Atwood,
Margaret,
1969. The Edible Woman.
Toronto:
McClelland & Stewart. Atwood, Margaret, 1976. Lady Oracle. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. Atwood, Margaret, 1988. Cat's Eye. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. Atwood, Margaret, 1993. The Robber Bride. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. Govier, Katherine, 1982. Going Through the Motions. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. Marche, Stephen, 2005. Raymond and Hannah. Toronto: Doubleday. |
| Yorkville (1960s) |
Denoon,
Anne,
2002. Back Flip.
Erin, Ontario:
Porcupine's Quill. Lyons, Don, 1984. Yorkville Diaries. Toronto: Elephant Press. Robertson, Ray, 2002. Moody Food. Doubleday. |
| York University |
Gibson, Brian,
2004. Bleeding
Daylight. Thornhill, Ontario: Oubliette Press. Huff, Tanya, 1991. Blood Price. New York: Daw. Ricci, Nino, 1995. In a Glass House. |