What does it mean to be Ukrainian in contemporary Canada? The Ukrainian Canadian writers in Unbound challenge the conventions of genre – memoir, fiction, poetry, biography, essay – and the boundaries that separate ethnic and authorial identities and fictional and non-fictional narratives. These intersections become the sites of new, thought-provoking and poignant creative writing by some of Canada’s best-known Ukrainian Canadian authors.

To complement the creative writing, editors Lisa Grekul and Lindy Ledohowski offer an overview of the history of Ukrainian settlement in Canada and an extensive bibliography of Ukrainian Canadian literature in English. Unbound is the first such exploration of Ukrainian Canadian literature and a book that should be on the shelves of Canadian literature fans and those interested in the study of ethnic, postcolonial, and diasporic literature.

Originally from St. Paul, Alberta, Lisa Grekul has lived in Mbabane (Swaziland), Toronto, Edmonton, and Vancouver. She completed her B.A. and M.A. degrees at the University of Alberta, and she holds a Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia. Now residing in Kelowna, she teaches Canadian literature in the Department of Critical Studies at the University of British Columbia-Okanagan. Balancing a talent for fiction and skill for scholarly inquiry, Grekul's published works investigate the role and place of fourth- and fifth-generation Ukrainians in Canada. Leaving Shadows: Literature in English by Canada's Ukrainians (University of Alberta, 2005) is her second book; her first, Kalyna's Song (Coteau, 2003), was shortlisted for the Amazon.ca/Books in Canada Best First Book Award and the inaugural Kobzar Literary Award. Currently, she is at work on a book- and film-project, (Con)temporary Nomads: Canadian Autobiography and the Search for Home, focused on Eastern European diasporic communities in Canada.

Lisa Grekul's profile page

Lindy Ledohowski is an educational leader and literary scholar. She serves on the board of trustees for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

Lindy Ledohowski's profile page

• Winner, The Kobzar Literary Award

"This collection provides an interesting body of writing that explores ethnocultural identity in both theoretical and highly personal terms."

University of Toronto Quarterly, vol 87 3, Summer 2018