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Saskatchewan Bibliography

Jump to: Non-Fiction | Arts & Literature | Useful Canadian Background

(Almost all the bibliography titles are held by the University of Saskatchewan Library.)

Nonfiction

Balanko, Shelley Lynn. Anti-gay Violence at the University of Saskatchewan: Occurrences, Mental and Physical Health Consequences, and Perceived Effectiveness of Support Services.
M.A. thesis- University of Saskatchewan, 1997.

Bradley, Maureen. Tainted: Christopher Lefler and the Queer Censorship Chill.
This is a 28 minute artist's tape that examines the community response to the controversy aroused by Lefler's attempts to out a prominent Saskatchewan official during 1993 and 1994.

Carpenter, David. “The Devine Comedy.” NeWest Review, v. 14 no. 1 (Oct./Nov. 1988) p. 7-8.

Community Building [video recording] Written, produced and directed by Glen Wood. Regina, Viddy Well Films, 1999.
Members of the Gay and Lesbian Community of Regina are shown working to build the new community building that opened on Broad Street in 1999. Includes interviews examining 27 years of the organization’s history and scenes from construction and fundraising parties.

Chapman, Terry. “’An Oscar Wilde Type’: The Abominable Crime of Buggery in Western Canada, 1890-1920.” Criminal Justice History, v. 4 (1983) p. 97-118.
Examines social and legal attitudes toward homosexuality in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia from 1890 to 1920. Western Canadians identified homosexuals as sinful, immoral, and perverse, especially following the sensational trials of Oscar Wilde.

Chapman, Terry. “Male Homosexuality: Legal Restraints and Social Attitudes in Western Canada, 1890 - 1920.” in Law and Justice in a New Land: Essays in Western Canadian Legal History. Ed. Louis A Knafla. Toronto: Carswell, 1986. p. 267 - 292.

Dick, Lyle. “Heterohegemonic Discourse and Homosexual Acts: The Case of Saskatchewan in the Settlement Era.” Paper presented at the Sex and the State History Conference, Toronto, July 1985.

Dick, Lyle. “Male Homosexuality in Saskatchewan's Settlement Era: the 1895 Case of Regina's 'Oscar Wilde.'” Histoire sociale / Social History, No. 83 (May 2009), pp. 107-45.

Doug Wilson [film vignette] in 100 Saskatchewan Stories. Produced and directed by Jarrett Rusnak. Regina: Dacian Productions, 2005.

Elliott, Heather A. Difficulties Relating to Sexual Expression Among Lesbians. M.A. thesis- University of Regina, 1992.

Erlandson, Cheryl Ann. Safe Schools: Breaking the Silence on Sexual Difference. Saskatooon: Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation, 2002.

Faces of Diversity [video recording]. Produced and directed by Heather Kuttai. Saskatoon: Disability Services for Students, U of S, 2001.
Students of different races, cultures, and sexual orientations, and students with both visible and invisible handicaps, discuss their experiences and the misconceptions they face at university.

Fraser, Keath. As for Me and My Body: A Memoir of Sinclair Ross. Toronto: ECW Press, 1997.
Fraser offers a queer reading of the Saskatchewan classic novel As for Me and My House (1941) and other writings by the homosexual novelist Sinclair Ross.

Graham, Jim. Pressing: Reading the Signs. Saskatoon: AKA Gallery, 1989.
Catalogue from an exhibition by artist Dik (later Duncan) Campbell.

Grubisic, Brett J, and Young, Brian. “Fear and Loathing on the Prairie.” Fuse Magazine, v. 17 no. 3 (1994) p. 9-10.
Concerns the controversy aroused when University of Saskatchewan art student Christopher Lefler attempted to out a prominent Saskatchewan official in an art installation piece.

Korfman, Geoffrey. The Wilde West: Homosexual Behavior in the Court Records of Saskatchewan, 1895-1930. M.A. Thesis - Trent University, 2007.

Korinek, Valerie J. “Activism = Public Education: The History of Public Discourses of Homosexuality in Saskatchewan, 1971 - 93.” in I Could Not Speak My Heart: Education and Social Justice for Gay and Lesbian Youth. Ed. James McNinch and Mary Cronin. Regina: University of Regina, Canadian Plains Research Center, 2004. p.109 - 137.

Korinek, Valerie J.“A Queer-Eye View of the Prairies: Reorienting Western Canadian Histories.” In The West and Beyond: New Perspectives on an Imagined Region. Ed. Alvin Finkel and Sarah Carter and Peter Fortna.  Edmonton: AU Press, 2010.  p. 278-296.
Korinek traces the efforts of several prairie gays and lesbians to carve out a space for themselves, including Norman Dahl, born 1928 in Birch Hills, SK and the couple of Lilja Stefansson and Evelyn Rogers who began their relationship in Rouleau, SK in 1959.

Korinek, Valerie J. "Gay and Lesbian Activism." Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center, 2005.

Korinek, Valerie J. “’The Most Openly Gay Person for at Least a Thousand Miles’: Doug Wilson and the Politicization of a Province, 1975 - 1983.” Canadian Historical Review, v. 84 no. 4 (December 2003). p. 517-550.

Korinek, Valerie J. "Wilson, Douglas." Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center, 2005.

MacFarlane, Glenda. “A Lesson from Beechy: Censorship Begins at Home.” NeWest Review, v. 18 no. 4 (April/May 1993) p. 33-34.
Attempts to perform a school play about a gay teenager in rural Saskatchewan engendered great opposition.

McDonald, Gary. The Relationship Between Sex-role Stereotypes, Attitudes Toward Women and Male Homosexuality in a Non-clinical Sample of Homosexual Men. M.A. thesis- University of Regina, 1977.

McNinch, James (Ed). I Could Not Speak My Heart: Education and Social Justice for Gay and Lesbian Youth. Regina: University of Regina, Canadian Plains Research Center, 2004.

Millard, Peter. “Breaking the Silence: Silence is Essential in Maintaining Homophobia. That’s Why Gays are Breaking the Silence in the School System.” Briarpatch, v. 29 no.6 (July/Aug. 2000) p. 6-8.
Concerns the annual Breaking the Silence Conference hosted by the University of Saskatchewan College of Education to examine lesbian/gay issues in the schools.

Millard, Peter. “Human Rights and the P.C. Government.” in Devine Rule in Saskatchewan:
A Decade of Hope and Hardship. Ed. Lesley Biggs and Mark Stobbe. Saskatoon: Fifth House, 1991. p. 33-48.

Philips, Elizabeth. “Evergon but Not Forgotten.” NeWest Review, v. 15 no.5 (June/July 1990) p. 5-6.
A controversy erupted in late 1989 at Saskatoon’s Mendel Gallery over the display of homoerotic photographs by a celebrated Canadian artist.

Queen City. [video production] Produced, directed and edited by David Geiss. Regina: David Geiss, 2006.
Inside a dark bar on a busy Regina street exists a community that is outrageous, loud, flamboyant, and entertaining. But why do grown men and women dress up in flashy costumes and lip synch songs to an audience night after night? This forty-five minute documentary examines the world of Saskatchewan drag queens.

Ready to Get Married. [video production]
This film by Gemini award winner Anand Ramayya followed Saskatoon couple Julie Richards and Nicole White as they fought to have their relationship recognized by their families and governments. It was part of a documentary series The New Face of Multiculturalism produced in 2005 by the Saskatchewan Intercultural Council and Kahani Entertainment Inc.

Richards, Neil. Celebrating a History of Diversity: Lesbian and Gay Life in Saskatchewan, 1971 - 2006. A Selected Annotated Chronology, Saskatoon: Avenue Community Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity, 2005.

Richards, Neil. "Millard, Peter." Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center, 2005.

Russell, Jim. “A Gaze Blank and Pitiless as the Sun.” Fuse Magazine, v. 18 no.2 (1994) p. 7-10.
Concerns the response of the Saskatchewan government and the Saskatchewan Arts Board to a grant made to U of S student Christopher Lefler who used ‘outing’ in his installation art.

Saskatchewan Gay Coalition. Lesbians and Gay Men: A Minority Without Rights.
(A brief submitted to the Saskatchewan Legislature. 1978).

Sexual Orientation. Special issue of Briarpatch (Saskatchewan’s independent newsmagazine) v. 18 no. 8 (October 1989).
Includes contributions by Joanne Abrahamson, Glen Brown, Shauna Checkley, Gens Hellquist, Peter Millard, Doug Wilson and Ralph Wushke.

Spence, Alex. Gay on the Canadian Prairie: Twenty Years of Perceptions, 1983-2002.
Saskatoon: Perceptions Publications, 2003.

Spence, Alex. Perceptions: The First Twenty-Two Years, 1983-2004: An Index to the Canadian Gay & Lesbian Newsmagazine. Saskatoon: Perceptions Publications, 2005.

Storey, Katherine. An Exploration of Lesbian Women’s Health in Saskatchewan.
M.A. thesis- University of Regina, 2001.

Stubblejumper.[video production] Produced, written, directed and edited by David Geiss. Regina: da vid Films, 2009.
In the fall of 1975, at the University of Saskatchewan, Doug Wilson placed an add in the student newspaper, seeking to start a campus gay group. This action served as the catalyst for a dramatic unfolding of events, shaping the future of Wilson's life. This biographical docudrama is a tale of activism, poetry, politics and love.

Tkachuk, Janice Morgan. Sexual Behaviours and Fantasies in Relation to Sex and Sexual Orientation.
M.A. thesis- University of Regina, 1998.

Traquair, Helen Morgan. Lesbian Mothers by Choice: an Exploratory Study.
M.A. thesis- University of Regina, 1993.

Wagner, Cindy Lou. Jason. Christopher Lake, Sask: The Author, 2006.
A Saskatchewan family relate their experiences, thoughts and emotions raising and accepting a gay son.

Arts and Literature

Baker, Brenda. The Maleness of God. (Short stories) Regina: Coteau Books, 1999.
In the title story a Christian mother comes to realize that she loves her gay son more than she loves her husband and his vengeful God.

Bidulka, Anthony. Amuse Bouche: a Russell Quant Mystery. Toronto: Insomniac Press, 2003.
Russell Quant, Saskatoon’s first and only gay gumshoe sleuths his way from Paris to Pike Lake with eventful stops at Innovation Place and the 8th Street DQ.

Bidulka, Anthony. Flight of Aquavit. Toronto: Insomniac Press, 2004.
Winner of the 2004 Lambda literary award for best men's mystery.
Detective Russell Quant is back facing a series of personal threats in Saskatoon.

Bidulka, Anthony. Tapas on the Ramblas. Toronto: Insomniac Press, 2005.
2005 Saskatchewan Book Award finalist for Fiction.
This third Russell Quant mystery takes the Saskatoon detective to Barcelona, Tunisia and Italy.

Bidulka, Anthony. Stain of the Berry. Toronto: Insomniac Press, 2006.
Everyone has their Boogeyman. But who- or what is scaring Saskatoon locals to death? In this fourth Russell Quant mystery the gay PI tries to uncover the real cause of death in a suspected suicide.

Bidulka, Anthony. Sundowner Ubuntu. Toronto: Insomniac Press, 2007.
Russell travels to Southern Africa to locate a lost gay son sought by a Saskatoon mother.

Bidulka, Anthony. Aloha Candy Hearts. Toronto: Insomniac Press, 2009.
In the sixth Russell Quant mystery, gay PI Quant balances the demands of a wedding and a memorial while investigating a shocking Saskatoon murder.

Bidulka, Anthony. Date With a Sheesha. London: Insomniac Press, 2010.
From the glitzy, flamboyant, mega-high rises of Dubai, to the frankincense fields of Oman and scorching sand dunes of Saudi Arabia, PI Russell Quant is on one heckuva magical carpet ride; one that skids to a deadly halt on the frozen surface of a Saskatchewan pond.

Bowen, Gail. Deadly Appearances. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1990.
Murder wrecks havoc in the Queen City. Regina sleuth Joanne Kilbourn delves into the killing of her friend the newly elected provincial opposition leader Andy Boychuk and uncovers some queer truths about political lives.

Bowen, Gail. The Endless Knot. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2006.
In the 10th Joanne Kilbourn mystery a furious father faces charges in Regina after attacking a journalist who has exposed his transsexual child in a sensational book spotlighting the children of prominent Canadians.

Braun, Jan Guenther. Somewhere Else. Winnipeg: Arbeiter Ring, 2008.
Jesse is sixteen and in an impossible situation - being the lesbian daughter of the president of a Mennonite college. Braun once lived on a farm near Osler, Saskatchewan.

Carpenter, David. Jewels. Erin, Ont.: Porcupine’s Quill, 1985.
This novella alternating between a snowbound Saskatoon and a sumptuous Victoria relates the strange adventures of Julian Fairfax, an aging and closeted gay librarian. Julian’s soul is slowly turning grey until a friend asks for his help and he joins a bizarre world of smugglers.

Funk, Wes. Baggage. Regina: Benchmark Press, 2010.
Based in part on his own experiences, Baggage follows the attempts of Sam, a shy and gay nineteen-year-old farm kid to make a new life for himself in Saskatoon.  Landing a job at a downtown diner he meets Slash, the restaurant’s gruff, middle-aged cook and Bliss, a troubled waitress.

Funk, Wes. Dead Rock Stars: Time Doesn’t Heal All Wounds. Sometimes It Takes Something More.  [Regina, SK]: Backwoods Press, 2008.
This personalized fictional story teases us with anecdotes about growing up as a gay pop-culture-infatuated youth in a small Saskatchewan town. Actually, it's about leaving the town behind, then being forced to face it when you're a 40-year-old owner of a record shop and your father dies.

Goobie, Beth. Hello Groin. Victoria: Orca Book Publishers, 2006.
16 year old Dylan Kowolski struggles with issues of sexuality and identity in her Saskatoon high school. She's suspected for a long time that she might be a lesbian, and when word gets out that she and her boyfriend, and when word gets out that she and her boyfriend are not having sex, the peer pressure because intense.

Gordon, Alison. Prairie Hardball. Toronto: McCelland & Stewart, 1997.
Toronto sportswriter Kate Henry travels to Battleford, SK where her mother is to be inducted into a local sports hall of fame for her particpation in the professional women's baseball teams that were featured in the movie A League of Their Own. When one of the stars of the former Racine Belles is strangled, Kate joins the investigation.

Lapointe, Annette. Stolen. Vancouver: Anvil Press, 2006.
Protagonist Rowan Friesen has made a career of drug-dealing and smalltime thievery on the outer edges of Saskatoon. Lapointe's lean, tight narrative is a tale of theft, love and madness on the Canadian prairie which moves along like a V-8 pickup bouncing over dirt roads.

McGehee, Peter. The Fabulous Sirs (Music and lyrics by Peter McGehee / additional material by Fiji Champagne Robinson.) Toronto: [Fabulous Sirs], 1988.

McIntyre, David L. Watershed Stories as Sung by the Prairie Pride Chorus. Regina: Prairie Pride Chorus, 2006.
The composer conducts Regina's LGBT community chorus in the cycle of sixteen songs he wrote based upon the life experiences of the choir members. This signature piece has been performed many times across Saskatchewan and at festivals in Toronto and Vancouver.

Roberta, Jean. Secrets of the Invisible World: Lesbian Short Stories. Montreal: Lilith Publications, 1988.
Regina writer Jean Hillabold investigates the loves and friendships, desires and fears of lesbian women.

Ross, Sinclair. Sawbones Memorial. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1974.
The population of Upward, a small prairie town, gathers to mark the retirement of their longtime physician. Providing the piano music is the town queer Benny Fox, whose experiences and attitudes are said by one critic to resemble those of Ross, Saskatchewan’s most acclaimed novelist.

Sperling, Shoshana. Finding Regina. (Play) Winnipeg: J. Gordon Shillingford, 2002.
The attempted suicide of a gay man brings three old friends to the ICU of a Regina hospital.
A night of laughter, confessions and revelations of painful long-concealed truths ensues.

Wieler, Diana J. Bad Boy. New York: Delacorte Press, 1992.
16 year old A.J. becomes the bad boy of the Triple-A Moose Jaw Cyclones when he discovers that his best friend and teammate is gay. This YA novel about hockey violence and teenage friendship won a Governor General’s award for children’s fiction.

Useful Canadian Background

Crawford, William. Homosexuality in Canada: a Bibliography. Toronto: Canadian Gay Archives, 1984.

Kinsman, Gary. The Regulation of Desire: Homo and Hetero Sexualities. Montreal: Black Rose Books, 1996.

McLeod, Donald W. Lesbian and Gay Liberation in Canada: A Selected Annotated Chronology, 1964-1975. Toronto: ECW Press / Homewood Books, 1996.

Spence, Alex. Homosexuality in Canada: a Bibliography. Toronto: Pink Triangle Press, 1979.

Spence, Alex. Gay Canada: a Bibliography and Videography, 1984-2000. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, c2001.

Spence, Alex. Gay Canada: a Bibliography and Videography, 1984-2000. Supplement: including also many citations from 2001 and early 2002. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, c2002.
View consolidated and expanded online version, 2005.

Warner, Tom. Never Going Back: a History of Queer Activism in Canada.
Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002.

(page last updated on: 16-March-2009)