|
Alistair MacLeod, short story writer, novelist (b at North Battleford, Sask, 20 Jul 1936). A chronicler of the landscape and people of Cape Breton, Alistair MacLeod is the author of 3 books of short stories, an acclaimed novel, and an illustrated Christmas story. After living on the prairies, his family moved back to Inverness County, NS when he was 10. He was educated at St. Francis Xavier University (BA and BEd), the University of New Brunswick (MA) and University of Notre Dame (PhD), and taught at the University of Windsor where he edited the University of Windsor Review.
Alistair MacLeod's stories, collected in The Lost Salt Gift of Blood (1976) and As Birds Bring Forth the Sun and Other Stories (1986), outline the folkways, socioeconomic realities and relationships of family and community in Cape Breton against the mythic backdrop of natural cycles. Several narratives involve the initiation of a child or young man into the knowledge of tragedy and the vanity of human aspirations. Others trace the pattern of exile and return in the lives of Cape Bretoners who yearn to escape their impoverished home but find themselves irresistibly drawn back, either in actuality or imagination. His work explores characters' historic and geographic ties to a homeland; many of the stories are about the Highland Scots people of Cape Breton who have preserved highland traditions and the Gaelic language for almost 200 years. Alistair MacLeod pursues these themes at greater length in his first novel, No Great Mischief (1999), in which the novel's narrator, Alexander MacDonald, outlines the history of his family from its 18th-century emigration from Scotland to Nova Scotia until the 1980s. The novel was nominated for all Canada's major literary awards, and won the 2001 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. In 2000 the author's short stories were collected in a single volume, Island: The Collected Stories, to which two new stories were added. The new, title story introduces Alistair MacLeod's first female protagonist, who is the last of her family to run the lighthouse two miles from the island. It continues Alistair MacLeod's unsentimental portrayal of the cultural decline of Nova Scotia. This was followed by To Everything There Is a Season: A Cape Breton Christmas Story (2004), an illustrated Christmas story. Alistair MacLeod is the subject of a NATIONAL FILM BOARD documentary, Reading Alistair MacLeod (2005), which explores his life in interview with him, his family and admirers such as Margaret ATWOOD and Colm Toibin. In 2008 Alistair MacLeod was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in recognition of his commitment to Canadian literature and influence on other Canadian authors.
Author
COLIN BOYD
Links to Other Sites
Alistair MacLeod
Listen to an interview with Alistair MacLeod about “Island - The Complete Stories”. Produced by WBUR in Boston.
MacLeod, Alistair
Read January Magazine’s review of the author’s debut novel, “No Great Mischief.”
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| David Thompson was an outsider, struggling to find a foothold in the empire that had consumed his country... |
|
| Pierre Elliott Trudeau, politician, writer, constitutional lawyer, prime minister of Canada 1968-79 and 1980-84 (b at ... |
|
|
| Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that ... |
|
|
| Louis Riel, Métis leader, founder of Manitoba, central figure in the NORTH-WEST REBELLION (b at Red River ... |
|
|
| Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that ... |
|
|
| Evangelical Christian Church, often called the Christian Church (Christian Disciples), is a denomination stemming from ... |
|
|
| The Group of Seven was founded in 1920 as an organization of self-proclaimed modern artists. The original members - ... |
|
|
| Sears Canada Inc, headquartered in Toronto, is a Canadian retailer incorporated in 1952. In 1953 operating under the ... |
|
|
| John Ware, "Nigger John," horseman, rancher (b near Georgetown, SC 1845; d near Brooks, Alta 11 Sept 1905). ... |
|
|
| Land claims are dealt with by a process established by the federal government to enable INDIANS, INUIT and ... |
|
Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
Illustrations, lively text, animations, sounds and games help make learning about Canadian history, art, geography, architecture and other topics entertaining as well as informative.
The ultimate test of your knowledge of Canada, trivial and otherwise. You can choose from more than 60 dynamic quizzes with visual or text clues. Your scores depend on the speed with which you answer and the number of clues you need. Results are sent to you by email and high scores are posted on the site.
This unique resource includes more than 6000 events from Canadian and world history. It can be searched by era, subject, keyword or date. To find out what happened on your birthday, select the month and day of your birth.
This selection of the 100 "greatest" events in Canadian history was made by editor in chief James H. Marsh to draw attention to events that have left an indelible memory in the minds of later generations.
| THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MUSIC IN CANADA |
|
| Léo Roy. Composer, writer on music, pianist, organist, teacher, b Quebec City 27 Nov 1887, d there 1 Sep 1974. As a child he studied harmonica, xylophone, piano, organ, trumpet, trombone, horn, and double-bass with his ... |
|
|
