''Descant'' (1970 – 2015) was a quarterly

literary magazine A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letter ...

that published new and established contemporary writers and visual artists from Canada and around the world, reflecting "a cosmopolitan awareness." It was established in 1970 as a

mimeograph A mimeograph machine (often abbreviated to mimeo, sometimes called a stencil duplicator) is a low-cost duplicating machine that works by forcing ink through a stencil onto paper. The process is called mimeography, and a copy made by the pro ...

. Based in Toronto, in its later years ''Descant'' published two themed issues per year, and a winter and summer miscellany issue. From 2007 to 2014, ''Descant'' sponsored the Winston Collins/''Descant'' Prize for Best Canadian Poem. The list of contributors to ''Descant'' includes numerous now-famous Canadian authors. Many of these are listed i
Bibliomania
(No. 133, summer 2006) an
Bibliomania 2
(No. 135, winter 2006) and include:

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...

, bill bissett,

Nicole Brossard Nicole Brossard (born November 27, 1943) is a leading French-Canadian formalist poet and novelist. Her work is known for exploration of feminist themes and for challenging masculine-oriented language and points of view in French literature. Sh ...

Anne Carson Anne Carson (born June 21, 1950) is a Canadian poet, essayist, translator, classicist, and professor. Trained at the University of Toronto, Carson has taught classics, comparative literature, and creative writing at universities across the Unit ...

Camilla Gibb Camilla Gibb (born February 20, 1968) is an English-born Canadian writer who currently resides in Toronto. Early life and education Born in London, England, she grew up in Toronto, Ontario, and studied at North Toronto Collegiate Institute and ...

Barbara Gowdy Barbara Gowdy, CM (born 25 June 1950) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer. Born in Windsor, Ontario, she is the long-time partner of poet Christopher Dewdney and resides in Toronto. Literary career Gowdy's novel '' Falling Angels'' ...

, Dennis Lee,

Daphne Marlatt Daphne Marlatt, born Buckle, CM (born July 11, 1942 in Melbourne, Australia), is a Canadian poet and novelist who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. At a young age her family moved to Malaysia and at age nine they moved to British Columbia, ...

Anne Michaels Anne Michaels (born 15 April 1958) is a Canadian poet and novelist whose work has been translated and published in over 45 countries. Her books have garnered dozens of international awards including the Orange Prize, the Guardian Fiction Prize, t ...

Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, essayist, novelist, editor, and filmmaker. He is the recipient of multiple literary awards such as the Governor General's Award, the Giller P ...

Al Purdy Alfred Wellington Purdy (December 30, 1918 – April 21, 2000) was a 20th-century Canadian free verse poet. Purdy's writing career spanned fifty-six years. His works include thirty-nine books of poetry; a novel; two volumes of memoirs and four b ...

Leon Rooke Leon Rooke, CM (born September 11, 1934) is a Canadian novelist. He was born in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina in the United States. Educated at the University of North Carolina, he moved to Canada in 1969. He now lives in Toronto, Ontario. Rook ...

Jane Urquhart Jane Urquhart, LL.D (born June 21, 1949) is a Canadian novelist and poet. She is the internationally acclaimed author of seven award-winning novels, three books of poetry and numerous short stories. As a novelist, Urquhart is well known for her e ...

and Jan Zwicky. The last issue of ''Descant'', No. 167, was launched a
Supermarket Restaurant and Bar
in Toronto, in January 2015. A final party was held at Revival Bar in Toronto on March 25, 2015. The magazine's extensive archives are located in the

Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library is a library in the University of Toronto, constituting the largest repository of publicly accessible rare books and manuscripts in Canada. The library is also home to the university archives which, in addition ...

at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

History

In 1970, a group of University of Toronto graduate students produced mimeographed copies of the first issue of ''Descant'' for the Graduate English Association. Jane Shen was the first editor of ''Descant'' and Karen Mulhallen became the editor in 1973 for all subsequent issues. The magazine was run out of her home for the first six years she was editor; Managing Edito
Maria (Gould) Meindl
worked in Karen Mulhallen's home office for three years. ''Descant'' received Charitable organizations (Canada) status in 1988. From 1972 until the last issue published in 2015, the magazine was

perfect bound Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of ''signatures'', sheets of paper folded together into sections that are bound, along one edge, with a thick needle and strong thread. Cheaper, b ...

. There are approximately 25 contributors per issue, in poetry, fiction and non-fiction, as well as visual artists in photography, painting and mixed media. A number of issues include a full-colour

gatefold A gatefold cover or gatefold LP is a form of packaging for LP records that became popular in the mid-1960s. A gatefold cover, when folded, is the same size as a standard LP cover (i.e., a 12½ inch, or 32.7 centimetre square). The larger gatefo ...

and, since issue No. 133, the magazine includes colour in the text as well. Several issues are double issues. Three of ''Descant'' magazine's special issues were also published as books: ''Views from the North'' (

The Porcupine's Quill The Porcupine's Quill is an independent publishing company in Erin, Ontario, Canada. The Porcupine's Quill publishes contemporary Canadian literature, including poetry, fiction, art and literary criticism. It is owned and operated by Tim and Elke ...

, 1984; out of print); ''Patria'', by

R. Murray Schafer Raymond Murray Schafer (18 July 1933 – 14 August 2021) was a Canadian composer, writer, music educator, and environmentalist perhaps best known for his World Soundscape Project, concern for acoustic ecology, and his book ''The Tuning of th ...

(

Coach House Books Coach House Books is an independent book publishing company located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Coach House publishes experimental poetry, fiction, drama and non-fiction. The press is particularly interested in writing that pushes at the boundar ...

, 2002); and ''Tasks of Passion: Dennis Lee at Mid-career'' (Descant Editions, 1982). Four anthologies of student-teacher writing were published as part of ''Descants Students, Writers and Teachers (SWAT) outreach programme: ''Armadillo'' (2008), ''Barracuda'' (2009), ''Capybara'' (2011) and ''Dromedary'' (2011). In 1995,

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

published ''Paper Guitar: 27 Writers Celebrate 25 Years of Descant Magazine'' including contributions from

Rosemary Sullivan Rosemary Sullivan (born 1947) is a Canadian poet, biographer, and anthologist. She is also a professor emerita at University of Toronto. Biography Sullivan was born in the small town of Valois on Lac Saint-Louis, just outside Montreal, Quebec ...

Timothy Findley Timothy Irving Frederick Findley Timothy Findley's
entry in

Alberto Manguel Alberto Manguel (born March 13, 1948, in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine-Canadian anthologist, translator, essayist, novelist, editor, and a former Director of the National Library of Argentina. He is the author of numerous non-fiction books such ...

Katherine Govier Katherine Mary Govier (born July 4, 1948) is a Canadian novelist and essayist. Biography Katherine Govier was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and was educated at the University of Alberta and York University. She has been made a Distinguished Alumna ...

Evelyn Lau Evelyn Lau (; born July 2, 1971) is a Canadian poet and novelist. Biography Evelyn Lau was born in Vancouver, British Columbia on July 2, 1971 to Chinese-Canadian parents from Hong Kong, who intended for her to become a doctor. Her parents' am ...

and

W. P. Kinsella William Patrick "W. P." Kinsella (May 25, 1935September 16, 2016) was a Canadian novelist and short story writer, known for his novel ''Shoeless Joe'' (1982), which was adapted into the movie ''Field of Dreams'' in 1989. His work often concern ...

. From 1993 until its close in 2015, the ''Descant'' office was located in the historic

George Brown House (Toronto) George Brown House is a historic building in the Grange Park (neighbourhood), Grange Park neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was home to Fathers of Confederation, Father of Confederation, Reform movement (pre-Confederation Canada), R ...

, at 50 Baldwin Avenue in Toronto. In December, 2014, Karen Mulhallenbr>announced
that the magazine would be closing due to ongoing financial hardship.Deborah Dundas

''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', December 11, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2015. ''Descant'' ceased publication with its last issue in the winter of 2014, after 45 years of publication. The last issue, No. 167, ''In a Cabinet of Curiosities'', was launched in Toronto in January 2015. On March 25, 2015, ''Descant'' hosted a farewell party at Revival Bar in Toronto. The Master of Ceremonies was author

Antanas Sileika Antanas Sileika (Antanas Šileika; born 1953) is a Canadian-Lithuanian novelist and critic. Biography Sileika was born in 1953 in Weston, Ontario to Lithuanian-born parents. After completing an English degree at the University of Toronto, he ...

, former ''Descant'' co-editor, and Director of the

Humber College The Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, commonly known as Humber College, is a public College of Applied Arts and Technology in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1967, Humber has two main campuses: the Humber North c ...

School for Writers. ''Descant'' magazine maintains a limited social media presence through their website, blog and Twitter account.

Awards

The magazine won six

Canadian National Magazine Awards The National Media Awards Foundation (NMAF) is a Canadian charity whose mission is to recognize excellence in the content and creation of Canadian magazines and Canadian digital publishing through two annual awards programs: the National Magazine ...

: Silver, poetry (1983); Gold, fiction (1989); Silver, Editorial Package (1998); Silver, essays (2002); Gold, poetry (2007); Silver, fiction (2010). It was nominated for poetry (2003; finalist 2006) and received Honourable Mentions in 1996 (fiction), 1997 (fiction), 2003 (poetry), 2004 (essays; poetry) and 2006 (poetry; words and pictures). ''Descant'' is also the recipient of the Writers' Trust of Canada

Journey Prize The Journey Prize (officially called The Writers' Trust of Canada McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize) is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by McClelland and Stewart and the Writers' Trust of Canada for the best short story published by a ...

for fiction, (1995; nominee 1997 and 2003). In 2014, contributing writer Lori McNulty was shortlisted for the Journey Prize. In 1988, ''Descant'' magazine won the Litho Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Printing Industry.

Structure and operating grants

''Descant'' magazine was published by the ''Descant'' Arts and Letters Foundation, a legally separate entity with no editorial input into the magazine. A managing editor position was filled on a part-time basis. Design and technical support were employed on a contract basis. Submissions to the magazine were assessed by volunteers at open editorial meetings. Volunteer co-editors worked with interns and contract support to produce the magazine. Contributing editors to the magazine were
Kay Armatage

Mark Kingwell Mark Gerald Kingwell (born March 1, 1963) is a Canadian professor of philosophy and associate chair at the University of Toronto's Department of Philosophy. Kingwell is a fellow of Trinity College. He specialises in theories of politics and cultu ...

, and

. Among other sources of financial support, ''Descant'' received the following operating grants from 1974 to 2014: * 1974–2011 Canada Council Operating Grants * 1974–2011 Ontario Arts Council Operating Grants * 2009–2014 Ontario Arts Council Operating Grants * 2009–2014 Canada Council Operating Grants

Literary outreach programmes

''Descant'' developed and received funding for a number of literary outreach programs: SWAT (students, writers and teachers workshops)
Operation Springboard
(writing workshops with young people in conflict with the law)
Now Hear This!
(literary workshops and support for at-risk youth; connected professional authors with community groups and aspiring student writers), and grief-writing workshops.

Winston Collins/''Descant'' Prize for Best Canadian Poem

This prize was awarded from 2007 to 2014. Winners and judges are listed on th
''Descant'' website
Each year two judges were chosen: one man and one woman, one living outside of Ontario, and neither one a published poet. Prize winners received CDN $1,000."Topic: Descant/Winston Collins Prize"
''Arc Poetry Magazine''. Retrieved June 4, 2015.

References

External links

* * ''Descant'
blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Descant (Magazine) 1970 establishments in Ontario 2015 disestablishments in Ontario Defunct literary magazines published in Canada English-language magazines Magazines established in 1970 Magazines disestablished in 2015 Magazines published in Toronto Quarterly magazines published in Canada