The contemporary art culture of Canada (and, first of all, its peculiar poetry) was formed under the conditions of a focused state policy, the main core of which can be denoted by the concept of «multiculturalism”.
Multiculturalism is a complex interdisciplinary phenomenon of modern culture, which developed mainly in the USA in the 80–90s of the XX century, but laid down in the emergence of American culture and grew out of various literary (40–70s of the XX century) and cultural theories (60–70-ies of XX century.) Multiculturalism can be attributed to cultural research, although it affects various areas of public life — from politics and sociology to literature and art. And has analogies in the cultural traditions of other countries where there is ethnic plurality and ethnic race m diversity: in the UK, Austria, Switzerland, France, as well as in the objectively multicultural continents of Australia and New Zealand, Africa. However, only in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Malaysia is multiculturalism a public policy. Thus, the mindset in society, corresponding to this concept, in the last thirty years of the 20th century was affirmed not only in Canada and in each of these countries have their own characteristics. For example, in the named countries of the Asia-Pacific region, this phenomenon was associated with an active influx of immigrants from Asia and Latin America.
In them, in addition to Canada, the problems of national self-awareness and self-identification of ethnic minorities intensified; there was a need to form a reasonable cultural policy that takes into account the interaction of many different traditions (religious, family, artistic) within one country.
Therefore, it is important to find out why, with similar phenomena in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region in the context of global migration of people and the integration of their artistic and cultural traditions into the culture of other countries. Only Canada manages to successfully develop without interethnic and other conflicts and occupy a leading place in the world in welfare and international cultural initiatives with other countries. It is equally important today to find out how European and Eastern cultures interact on the territory of Canada, since 79 % of the population of modern Canada are immigrants (mainly creative intelligentsia from Asia and Africa) and according to which model the culture of modern Canada develops in comparison with countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
In Canada, from the beginning of the 70s of the 20th century, when the Government passed the «Act on Multiculturalism” in 1971, and in 1972, the Senate of Canada signed a document on the development of Japanese studies and centers for Asian studies, the influence of Japanese culture is especially noticeable. Despite the prevailing stereotype of perception of Japan, it is Canada's economically important partner, and between the two countries happened.
Over the past thirty years, Canada has developed original literature and poetry created by immigrants. Her influence on the work of the Canadian intelligentsia (immigrants from Europe) was powerful and very fruitful. Special state programs for the study of ethno cultures facilitated this.
In domestic Canadian studies, a single point of view has not been formed regarding the «size of the contribution» of French and English Canada to its unified culture. The incorrectness of disputes on this topic prevents the introduction of such an important discipline as the Culture and Literature of Canada into the research and curriculum of Russian universities.
Meanwhile, the issue of the conflict of cultures of French and English Canada at the beginning of the XXI century can be considered settled, and the harmonizing influence (on both parts of the country) of the artistic culture of the countries of the East played a significant role in this.
The official cultural policy of Canada is to preserve the traditions of various ethnic groups, and at the same time, to overcome their self-isolation. This course promotes accelerated integration of immigrants into Canadian society and creates a favorable cultural atmosphere for them. Canada has turned into a multinational country, where there is a place for mass culture, but, above all, for the genuine art and literature of different nations. Various educational programs help immigrants to master French and English languages professionally, get a job in their specialty. The Government of Canada takes care of popular literary education, artistic taste and offers programs that stimulate and interest in creativity.
In the late 90s of the XX century, League of Canadian Poets began to hold poetry festivals and coordinate numerous national competitions for the best poetry book — among beginning poets, among children, among professional poets. It is this League that organizes book fairs of Canadian poetry abroad (for example, in London, Paris, Prague); she informs Canadian study centers around the world about literary innovations — with annotations, curriculum vitae about authors, price indicators.
In Canada, copyright protection organizations, state and federal National Arts Councils have been established.
At the cultural level, they talk about active processes of enriching the worldview of the intelligentsia of Canada, due to the specifics of the imagery, mentality, and traditions of various ethnic groups from other countries. At the level of the literary text and its language, they reflect the processes of interaction of different poetic devices, ideas about the genre and structure, inconsistencies in the interpretation of rhyme, line length, word symbolism and its phonomorphological composition.
All of Canada’s poetry and, accordingly, literary criticism and the study of its texts, i.e. Canadian poetics as a scientific field, unlike, for example, Russia, is based on the study of audience perception of poetry. On direct contact with the reader, viewer, listener, while our domestic poetry and modern poetry prefers the study of a specific text, author's style, historical and cultural and aesthetic context.
In Canada, a poetic mastery program has been thought out: famous poets of Canada give lectures and practical seminars, classes with an audience of different ages and at different levels of education: in primary, secondary and higher schools, as well as for all adults who wish.
The above material not only shows how the Education for Poetry program is being implemented in Canada, but also highlights the mechanism of its functioning and clearly emphasizes the reasons for its existence. The main of which is to prepare an active, self-confident person who can position himself in any situation, to raise a person who respects the work and success of others, who analyzes his shortcomings and knows how to work in the name of his own victory, and most importantly — self-confident and tolerant of others.
The influence of various ethnic traditions is especially pronounced in the work of professional Canadian poets (regardless of their origin). These are very important changes; however, they went unnoticed by most of the domestic and foreign researchers of Canada. Meanwhile, «multiculturalism” is now becoming a strategic vector of Canada’s domestic and foreign policy, the evolution of national identity and civic ethics. Canadian multiculturalism guarantees the development of languages, literature, musical and visual arts of each ethnic group represented in society, as well as the possibility of their harmonious integration into the national culture of Canada.
References:
- De Beavoir S. The Second Sex. 1953.
- Holfstede G. Cultures and Organizations. Cambridge, 1991.
- Lewis O. Manly-Hearted Women among the North Piegan // American Anthropologist. 1941. № 43.
