Detecting literary artifacts

Ask Dr. Michael Peterman to describe his work and his answer may be somewhat surprising.

"I'm a kind of archeologist of the past," he says thoughtfully. "I find things that have gotten hidden under rocks and that people have forgotten."

Peterman's artifacts are works of American and Canadian literature - and over the years he has uncovered some precious gems. One of his latest projects, for which he received a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (sshrc) and has been working on for the past five years, focuses on the life and works of James McCarroll, a little-known 19th century writer who, among many other achievements, founded an early newspaper in Peterborough, edited another in Cobourg, wrote a variety of prose and other creative works including four published books, and worked for the customs department of Canada during the 1850s and '60s.

Like many of the other "literary artifacts" he has unearthed over the years, Peterman has had to dig deeply to uncover what he has found about the life and letters of James McCarroll. Because none of the writer's family records were saved, most of his research has involved sifting through magazines and newspapers. He hopes to complete a biography of McCarroll, whom he argues was "the most important Canadian writer in Toronto during the decade leading up to Confederation," during his present sabbatical. The sshrc has awarded him a grant to complete the project, and he has hired a former graduate student from Trent to help him with the research.

The more he discovers about McCarroll, he says, the more convinced he becomes that people across North America will be interested in learning about him. From his magazine and newspaper writings to his business ventures and his "other life" as a musician, Peterman says McCarroll "was all over the place" - and, like many other Canadian authors and artists, he ended his career in the United States.

Peterman is also working on bringing forth the writings of another under-celebrated 19th century author, Lakefield-born Isabella Valancy Crawford, who wrote prolifically for magazines and American periodicals. This project is a joint venture with a York University professor, and two students are also involved with the research.

When it comes to research, for Peterman, "one thing leads to another." He first came across reference to McCarroll, for example, while working on a collection of the letters of the more widely known pioneer writers Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill. (McCarroll was a friend of both women). Catharine Parr Traill mentions Isabella Valancy Crawford several times in her letters as a young girl growing up in Lakefield.

Peterman's other published works include a book on writer/newspaper editor Robertson Davies, essays on contemporary Ontario authors Margaret Laurence and Timothy Findley, and on American authors Willa Cather, Edith Wharton and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Past, contemporary, celebrated, unknown, Canadian, American - there are many writers whose works and lives are either undiscovered or otherwise not widely understood. Along with his team of students and colleagues from Trent and York universities, Peterman's goal is to bring their stories and talents to the surface - and at the same time give those working with him a rare opportunity to do some "literary digging" through the past and present.