La censure et la subversion de l'institution littéraire

Abstract

At first glance, Quebec's children's literature seems to be exempt from the American and English Canadian rash of censorship in schools and public libraries. By comparison, Québécois authors enjoy an even better and most enviable condition: Publishers are more liberal, they do not shy away from thorny issues, and, generally, are not afraid of publishing frank and unorthodox narratives or vivid and graphic illustrations. The vast majority of readers tend to be receptive and accept, even if they do not demand, such liberal views. However, there are some cases of censorship, although very few of them get media attention. There are even fewer cases of writers willing to speak about pressures to which they have been submitted by their publishers. The study of censorship in Quebec, which has to be done, should thus postulate a distinction between censorship as such and self-censorship, or pre-publication censorship.