Canadian

Allen’s novel was disappeared. It was successfully erased from the story of Canadian literature, and from the broader story of the emerging Canadian nation state. Despite its difference from mainstream literary modes made apparent by the visually striking innovations of the book, including the most dynamic use of ellipses in Canadian literature, the book became invisible almost immediately upon publication. In J.L. Charlesworth’s review of literature for 1928 to 1929, the fact of the censorship is all that remains of the book: “A third first novel, They Have Bodies, by Barney Allen of Toronto, achieved the distinction of being banned by the police censorship of that City” (571). This critical edition, the first edition since its censorship, marks the reversal of that erasure and the possibility of seeing this experimental chef-d'oeuvre as if for the first time.