maybe this is obvious to everyone else but #canlit seems more like a term that refers to a group of people who know each other more than a simple categorizing term for literature made by people who were born in/have some extended relationship to the nation conceived as "canada"

i would almost argue that anyone that doesn't have a way into this community wouldn't be categorized as canlit. this is a problem. for people with no way in all of this must appear incredibly alienating. it feels alienating to me! it's like a club lol.

the canlit club problem is heightened because people in canlit have an incredibly heightened sense of self-importance (like a big fish in a small pond) and you can literally gain some semblance of notoriety just because you've been around for a certain amount of time

From the outside looking in, it appears like a network of people who know and can secure funding and who know each other. I am assuming because friends/colleagues and those who know each other will share knowledge and information with one another.

Clubs where you can get in because you know someone on the inside. Again, alienating.

I don't think I am really saying anything other people haven't said better/before. I think about my own space in this community and I think I wouldn't be here (whatever "here" is) if it wasn't for a few very kind people over the years. But those opportunities seem so luck-based

and I worry for other people who may not have been so lucky. Things to ponder! Things to ponder.