UPEI launches L.M. Montgomery online academic journal

L.M. Montgomery is best known around the world as the author of iconic P.E.I. novel Anne of Green Gables.

However, there is a lot more to her body of work — for anyone wanting to learn more about the Island author, UPEI has launched an online academic journal about Montgomery.

"There is already such a strong Montgomery community," said Kate Scarth, UPEI's chair of L.M. Montgomery studies and the editor of the journal.

She said a lot of people do "amazing research" on Montgomery simply as a hobby.

"It's readers and fans. So we are really building on that with the journal."

Bringing the community together

The journal will bring together independent researchers and scholars Scarth said.

Most journals are essays and that will be part of the journal, but because it is being created as an online forum, more can be done, Scarth said.

"We can have images, we can have videos, we can have art," she said. 

Allowing images, art and videos to be part of the forum will reflect the community created in Montgomery's novels, she said.

"The community is not just scholars. And so we want a lot of people to feel like they can submit their work — their responses to Montgomery, whether that's fan-fiction or video."

Broader appeal for Anne

Scarth said she is hoping that allowing multimedia will help the journal appeal to a broader audience.  

"I don't actually remember a time when I didn't know who L.M. Montgomery was."

One memory that sticks out for Scarth is coming to P.E.I. when she was eight years old with a stack of Anne books and visiting Green Gables feeling like she was part of the story, she said.

What makes Montgomery relevant

Scarth said she believes Montgomery is so enduring because of the characters she created.

"Anne is a person that a lot of us wish we could be. She always knows how to win people over and the right thing to say."

Scarth said Montgomery paints pictures with her words of beautiful landscapes and elicits a sense of community.

"The community is so important to you that Montgomery creates — it's a community you want to be part of and she really pulls you in."

The journal went live Wednesday evening and can be accessed online.

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