Author Archives: mrdrake3@illinois.edu

Alistair MacLeod, Canadian Novelist, Dies at 77

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alistair_macleod

The Canadian literary world is mourning the loss of Alistair MacLeod, a great writer and academic who inspired generations of students, who died at age 77 this past Sunday. The Saskatchewan native died from complications from a stroke he suffered in January.

MacLeod’s first and only novel, “No Great Mischief,” was published in 1999 to ecstatic reviews. He also published somewhat fewer than two dozen short stories. Nearly all of MacLeod’s fiction is set on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, where MacLeod spent his childhood and maintained a home later in life. In spite of his limited literary output, his reputation remains extremely bright.

For wonderful biographical accounts, please consider reading the following:

–“In appreciation of Alistair MacLeod” by Frances Itani, Ottawa Citizen

–“Alistair MacLeod, a Novelist in No Hurry, Dies at 77” by Margalit Fox, New York Times

–“Remembering a great writer: Alistair MacLeod dies at 77” by Steven Galloway, Special to the Globe and Mail

 

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Shortlist for Fifteenth Caine Prize Announced

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On Tuesday, April 22nd, Professor Wole Soyinka, Nobel Prize Winner and Patron of the Caine, announced the five shortlisted writers for the 2014 Caine Prize for African Writing. The prize is an annual literary award for the best original short story written by an African writer and published in the English language. The prize was founded in the United Kingdom in 2000 and is named after Sir Michael Harris Caine, the former chairman of Booker Group. Due to the Caine Prize’s connection to the Booker, the contest is sometimes called the “African Booker.”

To commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of the Caine Prize, each shortlisted writer will be awarded £500. The chair of judges this year, Jackie Kay, remarked: “What a golden age for the African short story, and how exciting to see real originality – with so many writers bringing something different to the form.” The winner of the 2014 Caine Prize will be announced on Monday, July 14th. The winner will be awarded £10,000.

The official Caine Prize website includes a wealth of related content, including the full press release, biographical information about the writers, and – best of all! – the nominated short stories themselves in free downloadable PDF files. The Caine Prize website also maintains a blog rich with information about the prizewinners, workshops, and more.

For a critical perspective on the Caine Prize, try reading African writer Ikhide R. Ikheloa’s commentary regarding the 2011 prize, called “How Not to Write About Africa.” He remains concerned that prize winners lazily play on stereotypes to meet Western expectations, rather than enlarge readers’ conceptions about Africa.

 

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