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Festival 2004 is dedicated to Jack McClelland

A Toast For Jack McClelland (1922 - 2004)

Jack McClelland is a Canadian hero. In the manner of legends, this charming man stepped from command of a World War Two torpedo boat in the dangerous waters of the English Channel to the helm of McClelland & Stewart and for four decades navigated the treacherous waters of Canadian publishing. With the daring and intensity he displayed in his naval duties, he brought unprecedented fervour to the struggle to develop a significant Canadian presence amidst the ocean of books pouring over Canada’s borders.

It is difficult to imagine Canadian literature as we know it today without the boldly innovative contributions of Jack McClelland. Working with few preconceptions, he followed his instincts, often impulsively, and printed good books, regardless of their commercial viability. In the ’50s, he created the very influential New Canadian Library series under the editorship of Malcolm Ross. It was the first large-scale approach to marketing Canadian writers in paperback and provided the arsenal for the country’s burgeoning undergraduate courses in Canadian literature. The authors whose careers he nurtured included Gabrielle Roy, Earle Birney, Al Purdy, Margaret Laurence, Leonard Cohen, Margaret Atwood, Farley Mowat, Pierre Berton, Irving Layton, Mordecai Richler, Timothy Findley, and Peter C. Newman, among many others. He was an extremely loyal publisher who, in a stolid industry, would often hatch outlandish schemes to promote his authors.

Many commentators remark that McClelland had fun publishing and allude to his flamboyant style. However, it’s worth remembering that while he often found his work enjoyable and relished his contacts with authors and artists, the challenges of operating a difficult business and generating Canadian books for a sparse, widely-dispersed and relatively indifferent population required courage, resourcefulness, and determination. It was a demanding and financially marginal undertaking that in time took its toll on his well-being. His abundant verve and his well-known conviviality should not obscure the fact that he worked damned hard over torturous hours and often under extreme stress. It was not by enchantment that during his watch the literature of this country moved from the obscure Canadiana sections of bookstores to the front windows and centre-aisle displays, a situation which we now may take for granted.

Sixteen months ago when the decision was made to dedicate this year’s Festival of Words to Jack McClelland he had been ill for several years. He died this past June. For his dominant role in establishing Canadian literature as a major force shaping Canadian identity and in gratitude for the many superb writers and wonderful books he gave us, the Festival of Words toasts Jack McClelland.