Literary canon

The literary canon of a group, for any time or place, is the list of literary works (usually books) considered by the group to be the most important of that time or place. A group can be anything from a cult to a nation, and the time and place can be equally broad.

Because the question of "what people are most interested in" is one that "weighs in on whether or not the work is canonized," and because interests of a group's members will change over time, it follows that "a literary work may move in and out of interest and contextual relevance. Over time, literary canons will reflect these changes, and works [...] be added or subtracted from the canon."

The name sounds like an ironic reference to the Roman Catholic process of canonization, or granting sainthood. Hower, the literary practice has been going on for far longer than the religious one. For instance, the Ancient Greeks had a canon of nine lyric poets.

Because canonized works are those that are taught as canonical, it can be argued that canons are self-perpetuating: that the major reason for it to be in the canon is that it is already in the canon. A variant of that criticism would be the criticism from some members of younger generations, newcomers, or other groups that the canon excludes their kind because that is its purpose.