WD Valgardson
William Dempsey Valgardson (born May 7, 1939 in Winnipeg , Manitoba ) is a Canadian writer who has written novels , short stories and poetry and has received two prestigious Canadian literary awards.
Life
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, William Dempsey Valgardson grew up in Gimli , Manitoba in a family of Icelandic origin. Valgardson received a BA from United College, a BA from the University of Manitoba, and a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa . For a long time he worked as a lecturer in creative writing at the University of Victoria in British Columbia .
His writing mostly focuses on the cultural differences within Canada and uses irony and symbolism as stylistic devices . His short stories depict normal people in normal situations, but under certain circumstances, which lead to unusual and surprising life solutions.
WD Valgardson has won various awards and honors. Among them was the Books in Canada First Novel Award for Gentle Sinners (1980) and the BC Book Prizes belonging Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize for The Girl With the Botticelli Face ( 1992 ). His short story Bloodflowers was included in the Best American Short Stories in 1971.
In his work, in addition to the children's books, the short stories that he wrote especially for young people stand out.
plant
- Short stories
- Bloodflowers: Ten Stories . Oberon Press, 1973
- God is Not a Fish Inspector . Oberon, 1975
-
Red dust . Oberon, 1978
- Excerpt: Bargain purchase in December, in: Columbus and the giant lady. Translator Elfi Schneidbach. Structure publishing house atv, TB, Berlin 1992
- What Can't Be Changed, Shouldn't Be Mourned . Douglas & McIntyre, 1990
- The Divorced Kids Club short stories for junior high. Groundwood, 1998
- Frances novel for junior high. Groundwood, 2002
- Snow, in Modern Tellers of the World. Canada. Ed. & Transl. Walter E. Riedel. Erdmann , 1976, pp. 363-371 (Snow, from The Malahat Review )
- Poems
- In The Gutting Shed . Turnstone Press, 1976
- The carpenter of dreams : poems - Victoria, BC: Skaldhus Press, 1986
- Novels
- Gentle Sinners . Oberon Press 1980
- The Girl With the Botticelli Face Douglas & McIntyre, 1992
- What Can't Be Changed Shouldn't Be Mourned [e-book]. Douglas & McIntyre, New York 2009
- Books for children and young readers
- Thor children's picture book, illustrated by Ange Zhang. Groundwood, 1994
- Winter Rescue illustrated by Ange Zhang. 1st US ed. 1995. Margaret K. McElderry Books, New York 1995
- Sarah and the People of Sand River children's picture book, illustrations by Ian Wallace. Groundwood, 1996
- Garbage Creek and Other Stories . Groundwood, 1997
- Anthologies
- What The Bear Said: Skald tales from New Iceland folk tales from Lake Winnipeg . Turnstone Press, 2011
- Movie scripts
-
God Is Not A Fish Inspector . Allan Kroeker, Dept. of Education, Manitoba 1980
- German version of the text: God is not a fisheries inspector, in: Gute Wander, mein Bruder. Übers. Undine Korn. St. Benno Verlag , Leipzig 1986 (English 1975)
- Capital . Director: Allan Kroeker, 1981, 28 min 40 s
- The Pedlar based on "A Place of One's Own", director: Allan Kroeker Produced by: Michael Scott 1982, 54 min 32 s
- Gentle Sinners film (1983) 105 min, director: Eric Till
- Broadcast scripts
- Bloodflowers . CBC 1983
- Granite Point . CBC 1983
- Seiche radio drama, CBC, 1988
- The Divorced Kids Club short stories for junior high - Groundwood, 1998
Awards and nominations
- 1980: Books in Canada First Novel Award for Gentle Sinners
- 1992: Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize for The Girl With the Botticelli Face
- 1997: Shortlist , Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize for Sarah and the People of Sand River
- 2000: Shortlist, Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize for The Divorced Kids Club and Other Stories
Web links
- William Dempsey Valgardson ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia .
- Lorna Crozier , Patricia Young , Patrick Lane , Mark Jarman , Jack Hodgins , Linda Rogers , Marion Farrant , Susan Musgrave , Bill Gaston , Marlene Cookshaw and WD Valgardson: Tips from authors. In: The Claremont Review. The International Magazine for Young Adult Writers, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2012
- Figures in a Landscape: William Dempsey Valgardson, “A Matter of Balance”, 1982, summary , authors Maria and Martin Löschnigg, University of Graz . Ed. Reingard M. Nischik , Online Boydell & Brewer, 2017 ISBN 9781571136886 Print: The Canadian Short Story: Interpretations Camden House 2007 u.ö. ISBN 1571134794 , pp. 321-330
notes
- ↑ first published in 1980 according to other sources. German version: Balance , in explorations . 26 Canadian storytellers. Ed. Karla El-Hassan, Helga Militz. Verlag Volk und Welt , Berlin 1986, pp. 247-260. In English again in Contemporary Canadian Short Stories. Reclam, Stuttgart 1990
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Valgardson, WD |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Valgardson, William Dempsey |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canadian writer and university professor of Icelandic origin |
DATE OF BIRTH | May 7, 1939 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Winnipeg , Manitoba , Canada |