Canadians dont understand irony. Well, thats a little saying of mine, and I repeat it often while traveling in Canada less because its true than because it so deeply annoys Canadians. Inevitably this little aphorism of mine triggers amongst Canadians an earnest endorsement of the fact that they *do* understand irony, at which point I simply nod and say Point proven. Theres a tiny bit of truth in the aphorism, though. In Vancouver I was often responded to as if I were speaking seriously even when what I stated was insane. Likely it was just politeness behind such responses, but the ease of disconcerting the earnest surprised me, and led to many shared jokes (I always make sure these interchanges end in shared laughter; Im not cruel in my irony like the British) (and no I dont stereotype people by nationality, why?) Heres my favorite episode. Karl and I went to Cartems Donuterie one afternoon instead of eating lunch. As I chose the various donuts I was going to devour I asked some questions about the ingredients like, is your salted caramel made with sea salt or Tibetan salt? When I was told that the apple fritter is so much better than youd expect, not at all like those fritters old men eat, I asked if I had been recommend the fritter because I am old. To the very serious but puzzled responses I just said, I think Canadians dont get irony. And I immediately got an earnest defense of why they do. That never gets old. But as I paid for the donuts and coffee (which took a while to make, since it was pour over), I spoke longer with the two people working in the store. They were both book lovers, and were fascinated that Karl and I had come to Vancouver to be part of the MLA Convention. They said they thought it was the greatest thing to be paid to read, teach and write books -- and they are right. When it works out (and that is not *nearly* often enough: I know how very fortunate I am), being a professor is an amazing job to have. They asked me about my forthcoming book, and did not believe that anyone could make stone interesting. I offered to send them a copy in May when it comes out, so they both eagerly gave me their email addresses, and I will. I think we should all give our books to unsuspecting members of the general public: books want to be read, and even academic books dont like to sit unused in libraries. After Karl and I sat down to eat our feast, I realized we needed to cut the donuts to share them. I returned to the counter and requested a plastic knife. As it was handed to me, I asked if it was suitable for use in killing oneself. The person who handed the little utensil to me looked at me seriously, nodded her head, and said quietly, Yes. But you will die VERY slowly. I smiled, and she shouted We do know irony! We fist pumped, and then I ate the donuts with Karl. I will be very happy to mail those two books to Vancouver this spring.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 20:37:15 +0000
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