Unprecedented political times can spark unexpected, urgent conversations in literature.
On Sept. 20, editor Elamin Abdelmahmoud, ArtSci ’11, and contributors Carol Off, David Moscorp, and Ian Reid discussed their forthcoming collection of essays, Elbows Up! Canadian Voices of Resilience and Resistance, at the 2025 Kingston WritersFest. In a humorous discussion, speakers tackled the topic of Canadian cultural identity and the Elbows Up movement in response to the Trump Administration. Over 200 people filled the audience with a nervous, charged energy that captured the uncertainty of this political moment.
As the audience filed in, music from classic Canadian rock like The Tragically Hip and Rush filtered through the speakers of the Kingston Marriott’s Limestone Ballroom. When the speakers took the stage, they wasted no time discussing the catalyst for Elbows Up!: U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments about Canada becoming the “51st state,” which came with “startling casualness,” Abdelmahmoud said onstage.
But the authors’ deep reckoning with U.S.-Canada relations was anything short of casual. Off said her contribution to the anthology as an answer to broader questions about this relationship. She grappled with the question of “how we [Canadians can] answer Trump” onstage.
Reid is particularly startled by recent events in U.S. politics. In reference to Trump’s election in 2024, what Reid finds “more unsettling than the actual person” is that “most people [in America] voted for the person that won,” he said onstage. The audience murmured hushed agreement.
For Reid, Elbows Up! demonstrates the power of literature in capturing cultural mood. Discussing political tension is “more impactful for me and more intentional [in] fiction,” he said.
Fiction has long been a stage for Canadian contributions to cultural dialogue. Trump, whom Moscorp cheekily described as “an occasionally charming, late-stage syphilitic” brings old questions about Canadian sovereignty into the conversation. The New Romans: Canadian Candid Opinions of the U.S. is a 1968 anthology from Canadian authors grappling with similar questions about how Canadians relate to the U.S. Elbows Up! “Is in conversation with The New Romans,” Abdelmahmoud said in an interview with The Journal.
However, the Elbows Up! panel had a hopeful outlook on the conversation put forth by The New Romans. The Elbows Up movement, from which the anthology gets its title, is a confidently pro-Canadian stance against U.S. threats to sovereignty. This attitude didn’t exist when The New Romans was published, according to Off. She was “amazed” to see Canadians stand up to the U.S. in 2025, she said onstage.
“I’m a born-again patriot!” Off said to cheers from the audience. For her, “patriotism is this beautiful thing that’s inclusive, based on values.”
For Abdelmahmoud, patriotism is about asking questions and engaging with one’s country. “You can be angry with your country and still be patriotic,” he said in an interview with The Journal. “I would argue that people who are angry are maybe more patriotic, because they [think their country] can be more,” he said.
This patriotism is timelier than ever. “You can’t sit this one out,” Abdelmahmoud said onstage regarding the current political tensions. In a striking moment during the event, his sarcastic comments about the U.S. as “authoritarian” were met with laughter. When he mentioned “fascism” in the next breath, the audience fell silent. Near the end of the event, an audience member used the Q&A session to ask the audience, “Who here is afraid of America right now?” About a third of the crowd raised their hands.
Elbows Up! encompasses these fears. Its title “communicates all of the anxieties, all of the questions, all of the worries that people are having,” Abdelmahmoud said. “But it also encompasses all the rallying together that’s happening, and ‘Elbows Up’ is a shorthand.”
At the end of the event, the four speakers received a standing ovation from the audience. Elbows Up! sold out at the festival bookstore within minutes of the event’s conclusion.
If the strong response to this discussion is any indication, Canada’s ready for more conversations from future patriots.
Tags
Arts, Elbows Up, Literature, WritersFest, writing
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