Canadian Writers

Because I was born in Canada of Canadian parents, and although I grew up in India and have lived my adult life in the United States, I still feel a close connection to, and pride in, Canada. I am particularly proud of the great Canadian writers who have international reputations. I discovered some of these authors during my college days, in a wonderful class on Canadian literature taught by the great Canadian poet A.J.M. Smith, and discovered others on my own throughout the years. Below is a list of a few prominent Canadian writers, some from the past and some currently writing, whose work I have read and liked, along with brief comments, as well as the titles of one or more of their best-known works. I will likely write in more detail about some of these authors and books individually in future posts.

-Margaret Atwood. Novelist, poet, critic, and political/social commentator. She and Munro are the most famous Canadian writers currently writing. Surfacing; Cat's Eye; The Handmaid's Tale.
-Robertson Davies. He and Richler were the most famous Canadian authors until Atwood and Munro came along. The Deptford Trilogy.
-Mavis Gallant. Gallant published over a hundred stories in The New Yorker. The Collected Stories; Paris Stories.
-Margaret Laurence. The Stone Angel.
-Malcolm Lowry. Under the Volcano.
-Anne-Marie Macdonald. Fall on Your Knees.
-Rohinton Mistry. Mistry is also on my list of writers of Indian heritage (3/1/10). A Fine Balance. Family Matters.
-L.M. Montgomery. Revered by young female readers around the world. I adored her books as a child, and loved reading them to and with my daughter later. It happens that I am also distantly related to Montgomery; her stories take place on Prince Edward Island, where my grandfather grew up. Anne of Green Gables and its sequels.
-Alice Munro. Considered by many to be the leading living short story writer in the world. Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage: Stories (a collection from several earlier volumes); Too Much Happiness (her latest collection).
-Michael Ondaatje. The English Patient. Anil's Ghost.
-Mordecai Richler. The great Montreal writer. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz.
-Carol Shields. I have already posted about Shields (2/20/10), a great favorite of mine. The Stone Diaries; Larry's Party; Unless.