OCTOBER 29, 1999
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THE UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA OCTOBER 29, 1999 |
| Governor General’s Literary Award nominations have been earned by professor W.D. Valgardson, chair of the department of writing, and philosophy professor Dr. Jan Zwicky.
Valgardson was nominated in the children’s literature category for The Divorced Kids Club and Other Stories (Groundwood Books/Douglas & McIntyre), cited by the jury for its “economical, lyrical and honest” prose. The eight stories in the collection (for ages 10 to adult) deal vividly with ’90s teenagers coming to terms with changing circumstances in their lives. “They’re stories about the little things that make life a little better or a little worse...the happiness and tragedy in peoples’ lives. Not huge events, just daily life,” says Valgardson. Inspiration came from “these kids that just started walking around in my head” or from stories read in any of the three newspapers he goes through each morning. It’s Valgardson’s first Governor General’s nomination after 12 books of fiction for adults and young people. Nominated in the poetry category, Zwicky’s Songs for Relinquishing the Earth (Brick Books) was cited for “a compelling and versatile intelligence, along with exquisitely modulated rhythms of feeling. Zwicky shows that poetry is the best manifestation of philosophy.” Her collection was initially self-published in 1996, each copy hand-bound and distributed independently until demand outgrew her ability to keep up with orders. Zwicky desired to “connect the acts of publishing and publicity with the initial act of composition, to have a book whose public gestures were in keeping with the intimacy of the art.” Winners will be announced Nov. 16 with Governor General Adrienne Clarkson presenting the prizes at Rideau Hall. |