Mennonite literature

Mennonite literature, in the modern sense, usually refers to writing by Mennonites about Mennonites, whether ethnic or religious. Although fiction was written about Mennonites by non-Mennonites since at least the 1800s, the term Mennonite literature, as a genre, usually refers to literary works written by people who self-identify as Mennonites.[4] There is some debate as to whether literature written by Mennonites that is not expressly about Mennonites, such as the work of A.E. Van Vogt and Paul Hiebert, fits into the genre.

Mennonite literature often deals with topics of identity and has been described as "transgressive" as it is often critical of Mennonite traditions.[5] Magdalene Redekop posits a "Spielraum" or playspace of Mennonite writers and other artists.[6] Some Mennonite writers have been characterized as overtly comedic such as Arnold Dyck and Armin Wiebe, while others, such as Miriam Toews, have incorporated humour into otherwise more serious subject matter. The literature offers Mennonites a place to explore ideas and experiences that may not be accepted within sanctioned church publications. Maurice Mierau has described Mennonite literature as "making art out of one’s own experience and history, even when that history is different from the official version of propaganda and pulpit.”[7] Robert Zacharias has pointed out that Canadian Mennonite literature has come to be primarily associated with Russian Mennonites.[8]

Mennonite literature of some form has existed since the emergence of the Anabaptist movement in the 16th century, when many Mennonites would read the works of Menno Simons and owned a copy of Martyrs Mirror. [9] Early works by non-Mennonites about Mennonites include the novels of Helen R. Martin, while Mabel Dunham's historical novel The Trail of the Conestoga and Gordon Friesen's critical Flamethrowers are examples of early 20th Mennonite writing from an insider's point-of-view.[10] In 19th and early 20th century Europe, the most significant Mennonite literary voices where German-language poet Bernhard Harder and J.H. Janzen, a noted Mennonite short story writer.[11] Also early in the 20th century, Russian Mennonite writers Arnold Dyck and later Reuben Epp began to write fiction in Plautdietsch, which had been an unwritten language until then.[12]

In the modern sense, however, Mennonite literature as a significant literary movement really emerged in the later half of 20th century as assimilated Mennonites in North America began to write works of fiction, rather than historical or theological treatises. At the time when Rudy Wiebe published the controversial Peace Shall Destroy Many in 1962, he was considered a lone voice of Mennonite writing in Canada.[13]

In the decades after the publication of Peace Shall Destroy Many, a wave of Mennonite literature emerged, particularly on the Canadian Prairies, with writers like Di Brandt, Lois Braun, Patrick Friesen, Dora Dueck, Sarah Klassen, Armin Wiebe, David Bergen, Sandra Birdsell, Al Reimer, and Miriam Toews offering a critical eye to their Mennonite upbringing. Winnipeg-based publisher Turnstone Press was at the forefront of championing and promoting Mennonite literature at this time.[14] Roy Vogt's Mennonite Mirror was an important literary journal from the 1970s, while Victor Ens' Rhubarb Magazine was an important showcase of Mennonite writing from the late 1990s until its last issue in 2018.[15] In the late 20th century, there was a significant increase in Mennonite publications, and public awareness of Mennonite writers. Sixteen Mennonite writers have won or been nominated for Governor General's Literary Awards.[16] Rudy Wiebe won the award twice, while Miriam Toews won the award for her bestselling novel A Complicated Kindness,[17] and David Bergen won the Giller Prize for The Time in Between.[18]

In the United States, authors such as Julia Kasdorf, Jeff Gundy, Warren Kliewer, Merle Good and Rhoda Janzen have contributed to the movement.[19] Janzen's memoir Mennonite in a Little Black Dress spent 13 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.[20] Ingrid Rimland's novel The Wanderers won the California Literary Award in 1977. The literary criticism of Ervin Beck and Ann Hostetler has been instrumental in codifying Mennonite literature. The English Department at Goshen College is home to the Center for Mennonite Writing and publishes the Center for Mennonite Writing Journal.[21]

Organized by Conrad Grebel University College professor Hildi Froese Tiessen, the first Mennonite/s Writing academic conference was held in Waterloo, Ontario in 1990, while seven more conferences have been held since that time, establishing Mennonite literary criticism.[22]

In 1990 Katie Funk Wiebe observed that "satire as a comment on the human condition has not been used successfully in Mennonite periodicals, even if clearly labeled satire, indicating that the point of view expressed is likely to be the opposite of what is expressed.[23] In 2016, Mennonite writer Andrew Unger started the Mennonite satire website The Daily Bonnet, the success of which indicates a change in attitudes towards satire among Mennonites.[24][25]

Queer Mennonite literature has also emerged in recent years. Daniel Shank Cruz notes the work of Lynnette D'anna, Stephen Beachy, Jan Guenther Braun, and Casey Plett as important works of Queer Mennonite literature.[26] Plett won the Amazon.ca First Novel Award and the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction for her novel Little Fish.[27]