Présences du littéraire dans l’espace public canadien

[card for the letter "A"]

A a

AWORK

āhĭsto ̸  rĭc (al)  adjs. Not historic(al);
Unrelated to history.

Apple

āmŏ ̸ ral  a. Unconcerned with or outside
of morals; non-moral.

snAke

āsĕ ̸ xŭal  a. Having no distinct sex; also,
produced without sexual agency.

Fig leAf

ā ̸ work (werk)  n. Unconcerned with
gender of worker and unrelated to
designation of locale as workplace;
also produced without necessity of
monetary agency.

[ [card for the letter «B»]

B b

Birth

Bread

Not I, not I, not I
and she did.
Not I, not I, not I
and she did.
Not I, not I, not I
and she did.

Young adult men
are the most
resistant to periods
of famine…

[card for the letter  «C»]

C c
Claire
A Tale of Right And Wrong.

Claire was a steam engine. She worked hard
every day pulling coaches up and down the
mountain. Her friends were all steam en-
gines too. They met every Friday for din-
ner at the station. Claire loved this time
with her friends.
When Claire was younger she taught
Andy, her little steam engine, to pull
coaches. When he was old enough he went
to work on the prairie, on the other side of
the mountain. After Andy left Claire, she
missed him very much.
One day when Andy was working, he
tooted his horn loud enough that even Claire
could hear it, so far away. Claire sent him a
smoke signal, warning him to save his en-
ergy for pulling the heavy coaches. It seemed
to her, at the time, that she was right to
warn him. After she talked about it with
her friends, however, she wasn’t so sure.
Claire decided to ask Andy if he thought
she was right or if he thought she was
wrong. He said he used to think he knew
the answer, but was sure he didn’t know
the answer now.

[ card for the letter «D»]

Dd

A puppy’s mother
Is called a dog bitch

[card for the letter  «E»]

Ee

Experience
(Work Related)

Eight little children having fun,
Their parents have experience with each one.

Experience cooking for Elsa
who will not eat most things.
Experience nursing Egan
who fell down off the swings.
Experience teaching Emma
who’s just learning to walk.
Experience entertaining Elijah
who’s the only kid on his block.
Experience negotiating with Edgar
who will not wear his glasses.
Experience scheduling Elizabeth’s
French and English classes.
Experience counselling Ellen
who wets her bed at five.
Experience researching car seats
to keep Etienne safe and alive.

Eight little children having fun,
their parents have experience with each one.

[card for the letter  «F»]

Ff

Foot
of the household

[card for the letter «G»]

Gg

Glove

Goods
Draw a line from each word to the picture
With the same beginning sound.
exchange
trade
barter
sell
value
worth
owner
debtor
borrow
claim

[card for the letter «H»]

Hh

ours

Cut along dotted lines
Punch holes
Attach to circle at dot

[card for the letter «I»]

Ii

you are here

[ card for the letter «J»]

Jj

Job

Dear Roberta,
My friend has
no time for me.
She’s not working
yet she is always
busy. She h
no time off
she’s on […]as
hours  […]as
I’ve  […]call 24
sp  […]a day
[…]uld like to
[…]nd more time
with her but i
don’t understand
this situation.
Can you help?

[card for the letter «K»]

Kk

Kitchen

konstant klutter
kareworn klown
kneads kouch

[ card for the letter «L»]

Ll

Life

[ card for the letter «M»]

Mm

MOTHERHOOD
The township of Hamelin was besieged by rats
who chewed everything from the food in the vats
to the babies in their cradles and men’s Sunday hats.
Mothers pulled off their hoods and raised fists at the vermin
while Mayor and Corporation dressed in ermine
though they scratched their heads no solution could determine.

Then came the Pied Piper who bargained with Mayor and Corporation
to the massive job of Hamelin’s rat extermination.
When he started to play there gathered behind him in formation
all the rats who soon would perish of their watery destination.
But when he returned his rewards to reap
those sneaky official realized with a leap
dead rats can’t back…said his price was too steep!

So the piper raised his pipe and again began to play
but this time it was the children who followed him away.
The townsfolk raged at politicians whose faces had turned grey
The mothers raised their fists then turned and left to fray.

The mothers donned their hoods and so by mortal man unspied
followed children and piper to the mountain-side
where appeared a wondrous portal opened wide.
In marched piper, children and mothers
then a mighty crash shut out all the others.
And ne’er again did Hamelin’s folk see their children or their lovers.

The missing children never did return to that we can attest.
But as for the mothers no-one knows the rest
for as many stories, jokes and stereotypes do suggest
motherhoods long on are almost impossible to divest.

GLOSSARY
Motherhood-Mantle assumed by women most usually after birthing a child. Worn
draped loosely over the head, it seems to render the wearer invisible and inaudible
to other adults. Traditionally available in blue only.

[card for the letter «N»]

Nn

nope, slang. equivalent
to a negative sentence.
1.    The answer to your
question is negative, your
request or command will
not be complied with.

Nobel Prize, one
of the annual prizes
(for physics, chemis-
try, physiology or
medicine, literature,
economic sciences,
and the promotion of
peace) awarded from
the bequest of Alfred
Nobel (d.1896),
Swedish inventor of
dynamite.

[card for the letter  «O»]

Oo

One

Connect the dots.

[card for the letter  «P»]

Pp

Picnic

Table

[card for the letter  «Q»]

Qq

Quiet

[card for the letter  «R»]

Rr

Rashes

“Children quite frequently
Produce dramatic skin rashes, with no
Other symptoms. They go away as sud-
Denly as they came. Some of these are
Probably allergic reactions; some
May be caused by viruses.”

Penelope Leach
Your Baby And Child
From Birth To Age Five

[ card for the letter «S»]

Ss

Stress

Taking care of children is demanding
work! Taking care of children is de-
manding work! Taking care of children
is demanding work! Taking care of
children is demanding work! Taking care
of children is demanding work! Tak-
ing care of children is demanding
work! Taking care of children is de-
manding work! taking care of chil-
dren is demanding work! Taking care
of children is demanding work! Taking
care of children is demanding work!
Taking care of children is demand-
ing work! Taking care of children is
demanding work! Taking care of
children is demanding work! Tak-
ing care of children is demanding
work! taking care of children is de
manding work! taking care of children
is demanding work! Taking care
of children is demanding work!
Taking care of children is demand
ing work! Taking care of children is
demanding work! Taking care of children
is demanding work! Taking care of children is
demanding work! taking care of children is
[unintelligible]
[unintelligible]
[unintelligible]
[unintelligible]

[ card for the letter «T»]

Tt

TWENTY
There are twenty teeth in
the first set, ten in the
upper jaw and ten in the
lower, comprising eight
incisors, four canines
and eight molars. They
usually come through in
a particular order and
the lower teeth tend to
break through before the
corresponding upper
teeth. The first tooth to
appear is usually a lower
central incisor, at be-
tween five and seven
months, though in some
children it erupts at three
months and in others
not until a year. Next
come the upper central
incisors (6-8 months),
the lower lateral incisors
(7-10 months), the upper lateral incisors
(8-11 months), the
canines (16-20 months),
the first molars (18-24
months) and the second
molars (20-30 months).
At the end of her first
year, the average child
has six to eight teeth.

There are thirty-two teeth
in the second set and these
lie in the jaws beneath the
gums waiting to erupt. The
first through the gums are
the six-year-old or first
molars, and these appear
between six and seven
years. They grow next to
the second molars of the
first set so no first teeth
are distributed. These are
closely followed by the
lower central incisors
which push the central
incisors of the first set out
of the jaw as they ap-
proach the gum. A child
usually loses first teeth in
the order they will be
replaced by the permanent
set. The upper central
incisors and lower lateral
incisors (7-8 years) are
followed by the upper
lateral incisors (8-9 years),
the first premolars (10-12
years), the second
premolars (10-13 years),
the upper canines (11-12
years), the second molars
(11-13 years), the lower
canines (12-13 years) and
the third molars, or
wisdom teeth, in the late
teens or twenties.

[card for the letter «U»]

Uu

UNSNA

The United Nations System of National
Accounts is a system
of economic records
advocated by the
UN for its member
countries.

Traditionally referred
to as “dancemasters”
because of their
distinctive shape,
these inside/outside
calipers-much like
the UNSNA-permit
direct transfer of an
interior measure-
ment to an exter-
ior space.

If people contributing to
the well-being of their
countries by doing
household and child-
rearing work were all
recorded in the UNSNA,
then they would also
be visible in the
distribution of benefit.

[ card for the letter «V»]

Vv

Vote

Ballot

Universal Health Care

Pensions for Homemakers

National Day-care Strategy

Foreign Domestics Program consistent with
Canada’s cultural multicultural policies

Enforcement of Employment
Standards Act for all workers

[card for the letter  «W»]

Ww

WORK

Three of these Words belong together.
Which of these Words is not the same?

WORK WORK WAGE WORK
WORK WORK WORK WORE
WORE WARE WORE WORE
WAGE WARE WARE WARE
WAGE WAGE WAGE WORK

[card for the letters  «X» and «Y»]

XxYy

XX₁ + XY₁ + xy₁ +xx₁ = family [1]
XX₂ + XY₂ + xy₂ + xx₂= family [2]

Problem:
XX, does the household work and
child-rearing of little xx₁, and xx₂ and
xy₁ and xy₂ from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

from Monday to Friday

For this work XX₁ is
paid $15,000 + expenses by XX₂
and $15,000 + expenses by XY₁
for a total income of $30,000 + expenses.

Why

can XY₂ deduct
$8000 from
XY₂’s taxable
income?

can’t XY₁ or XX₂
deduct $8,000
from their taxable
incomes?

is XX₁’s taxable
income before
deductions only
$15,000?

→ and why if XY₁ ceases to reside
with XX₁ and xx₁ and xy₁ does XY₁ no longer pay XX₁ $15,000
even though XX₁
continues to do the same work.

Why does XY₁ only
contribute towards
expenses for xx₁ and
xy₁? And why can XY₁
now deduct the total
paid for expenses from
XY₁’s taxable income.
And why must XX₁ add
an amount = (equal)

to XY₁’s deduction to
XX₁’s taxable income?

[ card for the letter «Z»]

Zz
Zeitgeist

Zeit/geist (tsīt), n. [G., from zeit, time and gesit, spirit.]
The spirit of the time; the moral and intellectual
trend of any age or period.

Of course it’s fun for you, being
Lion hunted. Of course you want to
Stay in the middle of it.

But it could be fun for you too
darling. Making new friends, meeting
Interesting people…

Darling, interesting people
don’t want to make friends
with housewives.

I wish you wouldn’t call yourself
a housewife, you’re so much
more than that!
So is every other
housewife.

Excerpt from the feature film “Please Don’t Eat The Daisies”
Screened at movie theatres when first released, now shown
on network television and available on home video.

©1960 Loew’s Inc. and Euterpe Inc.
©1987 Turner Entertainment Co. and Euterpe Inc.
© 1990 MGM/UA Home Video, Inc.