Lorraine York is Distinguished University Professor of Canadian Literature and Culture in the Department of English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University. She is the author of Literary Celebrity in Canada (University of Toronto Press 2007), Margaret Atwood and the Labour of Literary Celebrity (University of Toronto 2013), and Celebrity Cultures in Canada, co-edited with Katja Lee (Wilfrid Laurier University Press 2016). Her most recent book, Reluctant Celebrity, which examines public displays of celebrity reluctance as forms of privilege intertwined with race, gender, and sexuality, appeared with Palgrave Macmillan in 2018. Her work on Canadian literary celebrity has brought her into the realm of L.M. Montgomery studies.
What excites you about being a Journal editorial board member?
Being able to see the field as it undergoes change is one of the best things about being an editorial board member, and a good part of that has to do with seeing new generations of scholars come to LMM studies and lend their own take on these texts.
What was Montgomery’s greatest accomplishment?
Montgomery’s greatest accomplishment, I believe, was to write what she did, as prolifically as she did, and with such unerring professionalism, given the manifold barriers, both systemic and personal, that she faced in her life. She represents an important moment in the professionalization of women’s writing in Canada.