Ottawa Literary Heritage Society
Our Heritage
The Ottawa environment has inspired written responses since the early 17th century, when Samuel de Champlain's local journal entries inaugurated a Euro-Canadian literary tradition in this region already enriched by a vast oral tradition.
The Ottawa Literary Heritage Society is dedicated to the continuity and advancement of the region's impressive multicultural literary history. Our broad mandate is to promote the civic and national significance of this history, through literary commemoration, education, documentation, and communication. We invite members and volunteers to participate in Ottawa's literary community through any of the Society's initiatives:
Commemoration
- Identifying natural and built sites in the Ottawa area that have significant connections to local or national literary history.
- Working to promote and preserve these sites and give them official protection under municipal, provincial and national heritage legislation.
Education
- Convening and participating in local events that contribute to literacy and literary culture.
- Developing programs or curriculum to promote literacy and literary heritage in local schools.
Documentation
- Researching, publishing or reprinting texts and documents of significance to Ottawa's literary heritage.
- Facilitating the collection and preservation of documents produced by local writers, literary groups and reading venues.
Communication
- Providing information, expertise and advocacy for local literary initiatives.
- Developing a literary heritage website as an information link between past and present literary endeavours.