David Staines
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David McKenzie Staines, (born August 8, 1946) is a Canadian
literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...
, university professor, writer, and editor. Staines was born in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Ontario, and studied at the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
, where he obtained a BA in 1967, and at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, where he obtained an MA in 1968 and a PhD in 1973. Staines graduated from
St. Michael's College School St. Michael's College School (also known as St. Michael's, St. Mike's, and SMCS), is an all-boys Catholic private school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Administered by the Congregation of St. Basil, it is the largest school of its kind in Canada ...
, a private academic high school in Toronto. After a career that saw him teach at Harvard, the
University of Prince Edward Island The University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) is a public university in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and the only university in the province. Founded in 1969, the enabling legislation is the ''University Act, R.S.P.E.I 2000.'' H ...
,
Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...
,
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...
, and UMass Amherst, Staines became a professor of English at the
University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...
. Staines specializes in three particular areas:
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
,
Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...
and
Canadian literature Canadian literature is written in several languages including Canadian English, English, Canadian French, French, and various Indigenous Canadian languages. It is often divided into French- and English-language literatures, which are rooted in th ...
s, with particular interest in the relationship between literature and its social context. In his studies of medieval literature Staines has examined the evolution of romance traditions, which resulted in a landmark new translation of the classic tales of
Chrétien de Troyes Chrétien de Troyes (; ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on King Arthur, Arthurian subjects such as Gawain, Lancelot, Perceval and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's chivalric romances, including ''Erec and Enide'' ...
: ''The Complete Romances of Chrétien de Troyes'' (1990). He is also an authority on
Arthurian According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a leader of the post-Ro ...
legends. Staines is particularly active in the field of Canadian studies, for example, as editor of the scholarly ''Journal of Canadian Poetry'' since 1986 and general editor of
McClelland and Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. History It was founded ...
's
New Canadian Library The New Canadian Library is a publishing imprint of the Canadian company McClelland and Stewart. The series aims to present classic works of Canadian literature in paperback. Each work published in the series includes a short essay by another not ...
series since 1988. He has published a number of major essay collections, including ''The Canadian Imagination'' (1977), a book that introduced Canadian literature and literary criticism to an American audience, as well as studies on
Morley Callaghan Edward Morley Callaghan (February 22, 1903 – August 25, 1990) was a Canadian novelist, short story writer, playwright, and Television, TV and radio personality. Biography Of Canadian/English-immigrant parentage,Clara Thomas, ''Canadian No ...
and
Stephen Leacock Stephen Butler Leacock (30 December 1869 – 28 March 1944) was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humourist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humourist in the world. Early life S ...
. He is also interested in farming, in particular, the raising of livestock, such as donkeys. Staines was awarded the
Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...
's
Lorne Pierce Medal The Lorne Pierce Medal is awarded every two years by the Royal Society of Canada to recognize achievement of special significance and conspicuous merit in imaginative or critical literature written in either English or French. The medal was first ...
in 1998. He was also member of the jury for the
Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried co ...
in 1994, 1995, 1996 and 2003. In 2005, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 2011, he was awarded the Order of Ontario for helping to establish the Giller Prize, Canada's highest award for fiction, and the
Charles Taylor Prize The RBC Taylor Prize (2000–2020), formerly known as the Charles Taylor Prize, was a Canadian literary award, presented by the Charles Taylor Foundation to the best Canadian work of literary non-fiction. It was named for Charles P. B. Taylo ...
for Literary Non-Fiction. In 2011, he was made a Member of the
Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...
"for his contributions as a champion of Canadian literature and mentor to young writers."


References


External links


Faculty page at University of Ottawa
1946 births Living people Canadian expatriate academics in the United States Canadian medievalists Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Harvard University alumni Harvard University staff Members of the Order of Ontario Members of the Order of Canada University of Toronto alumni Literary critics of English Mount Holyoke College faculty Smith College faculty Academic staff of the University of Ottawa Writers from Toronto {{Canada-academic-bio-stub