Lawrence Durrell (1912-1990) was an expatriate 'par excellence' and a multiculturist 'avant la lettre.From his childhood in India to his years on the Mediterrannanean, Durrell was awake to the idea of great synthesis of East and West, and his work daringly blended the traditions and idioms of Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. As a little boy he rode real elephants. A mature artist he sat atop a metaphysical elephant, taking in everything from Beowulf to the Buddha, from Cleopatr to Clea, and creating his own exhuberant, highly original syntheses.The Conference in Ottawa, a center of Canada's own brand of multicultural genius, will explore the wide range of Durrell's inspirations and reach. Particularly welcome are proposals that deal with variegated sources of his work and how his multicultural perspectives inform 20th-century literature. Welcome also are discussions of Canada's literary heritage and how, like Durrell's, it springs from many sources and merges many idioms. As ever we encourage papers, on all aspects of Durrell's work and on the compagny he kept, his circle of fellow artits.