Fantasy and reality come together in sports and Jamie Dopp argues that nowhere is this blurring of the borders of reality more evident than in Canadian hockey. Using imagination as a unifying theme, Dopp offers in-depth analyses of key texts of hockey literature, with a focus on how these texts reveal the imaginative possibilities of the game. Popular texts like Stompin' Tom Connors' "The Hockey Song," Scott Young's Scrubs on Skates trilogy, and Roch Carrier's The Hockey Sweater, as well as important literary texts like Bill Gaston's The Good Body, Cara Hedley's Twenty Miles, and Richard Wagamese's Indian Horse are examined. Dopp's analysis draws on literary history and methods and explores broader topics such as the role of imagination in human culture, the significance of play, the evolution of sport in Canada and elsewhere, the history of Canada, and the history and social significance of hockey. Fantasy and reality come together in sports and Jamie Dopp argues that nowhere is this blurring of the borders of reality more evident than in Canadian hockey. Using imagination as a unifying theme, Dopp offers in-depth analyses of key texts of hockey literature, with a focus on how these texts reveal the imaginative possibilities of the game. "Dopp looks closely at hockey myths but not solely to debunk them. Hockey on the Moon offers a conversation in the best sense. This is hockey talk that works across the aisle." -Jason Blake, author of Canadian Hockey Literature Acknowledgements
Introduction
1 Stompin' Tom Versus Big Al: Two Imaginative Versions of the Game
2 The Fighting Soul of Hockey in Ralph Connor's Glengarry School Days
3 Hugh MacLennan and the Two Solitudes of Hockey
4 Boys on the Defensive: The Myth of Hockey in Scott Young
5 Belief and Doubt in Roch Carrier's "The Hockey Sweater"
6 Haunted by Bill Spunska: Roy MacGregor's The Last Season
7 Blarney's Version: The Comic Spirit of Hockey in Paul Quarrington's King Leary
8 Hockey as a Gateway to the Underworld in Wayne Johnston's The Divine Ryans
9 Playing with the Hero in Richard Harrison's The Hero of the Play
10 Hockey, Zen, and the Art of Bill Gaston's The Good Body
11 Cara Hedley's Twenty Miles and the Challenge of the Hockey Barbie 12 The Faustian Bargain of the Athlete-Hero in Randall Maggs's Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems
13 Richard Wagamese's Indian Horse: Reimagining the Home Game
