Lucius Finally Hits the Anglophone Stage: Robertson Davies’ Operatic Golden Ass and the Reunification of Apuleius’ Asinus Aureus

The theatrical reception of Apuleius’ Asinus Aureus has largely been limited to the story of Cupid and Psyche because an adaptation of the entire novel challenges writers to “solve” the “problems” Apuleius puts before the reader, most of which involve the unity of the narrative. Canadian novelist Robertson Davies’ libretto for the posthumously produced The Golden Ass (1999) is the first attempt in English to present the entire novel onstage (and the first opera), and tries to solve the problems presented by Apuleius in a distinctly twentieth-century way, combining a life of reading and writing about the novel with the influence of Carl Jung and Robert Graves.

DE FANTASMAS A LUGARES ASSOMBRADOS: MURTHER AND WALKING SPIRITS À PENUMBRA DO GÓTICO PÓS-COLONIAL

Possibilitados de se manifestar, os sujeitos pós-coloniais usam diversas estratégias para recontar suas histórias. Como objetivo desse artigo, buscou-se observar como esses sujeitos pós-coloniais se expressam e como se dá a busca por identidade(s), a partir da análise de um romance do gênero gótico, Murther and walking spirits, do canadense Robertson Davies, que apresenta várias facetas do pós-colonialismo, explorando vários pontos de vistas. Bhabha (1994), Rudd (2010), Young (2001), Freud (2003), Sedwick (1986), entre outros, constituem o aporte teórico. As personagens de Davies transitam por diversas eras e espaços, expondo a visão de sujeitos pós-coloniais em um país que ainda hoje se encontra ligado à coroa britânica, ao mesmo tempo que é constantemente sobreposto pelo poderio econômico e cultural dos EUA, encontrando-se no limiar de mundos.

Major Authors: Robertson Davies, Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje

This chapter discusses the works of three Canadian novelists best known internationally: Robertson Davies, Margaret Atwood, and Michael Ondaatje. The careers of Davies, Atwood, and Ondaatje, although overlapping chronologically, represent distinctive stages in Canada's evolving cultural traditions and publishing practices since the 1950s. Davies's novels signal the first stage in a transition from colonial to postcolonial identity in post-war Canada. Atwood in the 1970s provided the script for a Canadian cultural and literary identity separate from British and American in what Carol Shields called ‘a period of explosive patriotism’. Ondaatje's novels and family memoir epitomize the ‘refocusing and defocusing’ of Canadian literature since the 1980s, coinciding with the nation's shifts into multiculturalism and transnationalism. The chapter first provides a background on Davies, Atwood, and Ondaatje's careers before considering some of their works, including the Deptford trilogy (Davies), The Handmaid's Tale (Atwood), and The English Patient (Ondaatje).

Exploring the Tinsel Prints of the Robertson Davies Collection

Like modern baseball or hockey cards, tinsel prints were collectable images of famous actors and actresses produced in nineteenth century England. They could be purchased as singles or in sets of six or four, in colour or in black and white from. The purchaser could buy bags of prepared tinsel decorations along with the prints making them customizable. Thus, after the tinseling process, no two prints would be identical. This study focuses on the tinsel prints in the Robertson Davies Collection held at the W.D. Jordan Rare Books and Special Collections Library at Queen’s University. This research was conducted at the beginning of the campaign to conserve and rehouse the tinsel prints in from the Canadian author and playwright Roberston Davies’ personal collection. Each print was studied to determine the actor featured, the role they portray, the play this character is from, and the place each print has in the larger collection. The tinsel prints from the Robertson Davies Collection were also compared to tinsel prints in larger collections such as The Museum of London, The Victoria and Albert Museum, and The Folger Shakespeare Library, to assess the individuality of each print. The findings of this research formed the foundation of an Omeka based website to showcase the outcomes as well as high resolution pictures. This publically accessible platform allows for those outside the Queen’s community to explore the Robertson Davies Collection and further their own knowledge on 19th century English theatrical ephemera.