This year's Whidden Lecture features Canadian author and poet Bruce Meyer. Meyer, who earned a PhD from McMaster, will speak on Canadian Literature and the Western Tradition, tonight (Wednesday, Oct. 4) and tomorrow night(Oct.5).

The two-part talk will focus on the contributions to this country's literature by expatriate writers such as Elizabeth Smart and, in the second evening, will examine the topic of tragedy — what Meyer calls “the missing element” in Canadian literature.

The lectures, which will be held in the Great Hall of the University Club (Faculty Club), start at 8 p.m. A reception follows each talk.

Well-known to most Canadians, Meyer is the host of two popular CBC This Morning broadcasts: “Great Books” and “A Novel Idea.” He is also author of 16 books, including four collections of poetry and a collection of short stories entitled Goodbye Mr. Spalding (Black Moss Press, 1996).

His latest work, The Golden Thread: A Reader's Journey Through the Great Books, published by Harper Collins, is scheduled to appear in bookstores this month.

Meyer is founder and director of the Writing and Literature Program of the University of Toronto's School of Continuing Studies.