Margaret Laurence
Margaret Laurence, CC ( born July 18, 1926 in Neepawa, Manitoba, † January 5, 1987 in Lakefield, Ontario) was a Canadian writer. She was known primarily for her novels and short stories.
Life
Laurence was born Jean Margaret Wemys in a small town in Manitoba. She was raised by her aunt after her parents had died already in their early childhood. She completed her studies at Winnipeg's United College (now the University of Winnipeg ) and then worked as a journalist at the newspaper Winnipeg Citizen. In 1947 she married the engineer Jack Laurence; 1950, the couple moved to Africa, where Jack Laurence, first in Somalia and then in the then British colony of the Gold Coast (now Ghana) worked. In 1957 the family returned to Canada. In 1962, Margaret Laurence separated from her husband and moved to England. In 1969 she began a few years to live over the summer in an abandoned cabin in the woods in Canada, but spent the winter continues in England. During this time she has also held teaching positions at various Canadian universities. In 1971 she was appointed Companion of the Order of Canada; three years later they finally finally returned to their homeland and settled in Lakefield, Ontario down. Between 1981 and 1983 she worked at Trent University in Peterborough (Ontario). In addition to her literary and academic activities, Laurence was also active in political issues; so they stood for nuclear disarmament, environmental protection and against censorship. According to the information of their biographer James King, which were confirmed by Laurence's children, she had her whole life struggling with depression and alcoholism. In 1987, she committed suicide after he had been diagnosed with lung cancer.
Work
Laurence began her literary career in Africa. In 1954, she published a collection of Somali poetry and stories, which she had translated into English and partly retold. Her first own novel, This Side Jordan, though was only after her return, but also dealt with Africa - he treated the Ghanaian independence movement. Even in her next books she grabbed African scenes of action again and again. From a diary that she had done in Somalia, she made the autobiographical novel, The Prophet 's Camel Bell. As best work from this period, however, the stories were rated by many critics that were summarized in 1963 in the band The Tomorrow - Tamer. However, the literary breakthrough Laurence until her later novels, playing mostly in Canada in the area around their birthplace Neepawa. These novels are sometimes referred to as " Manawaka series". The first three parts of this series, The Stone Angel (1964 ), A Jest of God ( 1966) and The Fire - Dwellers (1969 ) wrote Laurence still in England after separating from her husband. However, a wide readership they reached especially in Canada, where Laurence established herself with her appearance as one of the most famous writers. The Stone Angel is still her most read work. 1974 Manawaka series was completed with The Diviners, which picks up the various characters from the earlier parts again and is considered her most ambitious novel. Other novels they then published no more; it was limited to essays and children's books.
The focus in Laurence's novels lies in the character representation. The form it measures by its own account only to the extent importance, as they have to create a framework in which the characters can be represented. These figures are often ordinary people, which are distinguished by any special properties; partly there are single women in middle age, sometimes characters on the fringes of society. Laurence's great success in Canada was partly attributed to the fact that they take seriously Canada as an independent cultural region and thus creating an identity that is independent of the earlier colonial history. This focus also have their early works from Africa, most of which arose during the colonial period, and explores how the fight for cultural and political independence.
For the novels A Jest of God and The Diviners Laurence was awarded respectively to the Governor General's Award for Fiction.
Bibliography
- A Tree for Poverty (1954, as editor; anthology of Somali poetry and stories )
- This Side Jordan (1960, novel)
- The Tomorrow - Tamer (1963, short stories )
- The Prophet 's Camel Bell ( 1963 autobiography )
- The Stone Angel ( 1964 novel)
- A Jest of God ( 1966 novel), filmed in 1968 as The Love of a Summer with Joanne Woodward
- Long Drums and Cannons: Nigerian Dramatists and Novelists 1952-1966 (1968, as editor )
- The Fire - Dwellers ( 1969 novel)
- A Bird in the House (1970; story collection )
- Jason 's Quest (1970, children's book )
- The Diviners (1974, novel)
- Heart of a Stranger ( 1976, essays )
- Six Darn Cows ( 1979 Children's Book )
- The Olden Days Coat ( 1980 children's book )
- A Christmas Birthday Story ( 1982 children's book )
- Dance on the Earth: A Memoir ( 1989, autobiography )