One year after the death of internationally acclaimed Canadian writer Mavis Gallant, writer David Macfarlane reflects on her death in the March edition of Walrus Magazine.
In “Traces of Mavis – How a great Canadian writer died penniless in Paris” Macfarlane recalls attending Gallant’s funeral last year, talking with friends about the writer’s work and life, and admitting: “I didn’t choose this story in a conscious way—certainly not in the orderly, exemplary manner of an academic or critic.”
“Mavis Gallant was a wonderful writer, a sharp observer of human nature, a formidable conversationalist, and an indomitable spirit who made her own way, often uphill,” said Canadian writer Margaret Atwood in a statement last year. “She was funny, quirky, and prickly if you crossed her, but kind underneath it, especially to underdogs. Her unique voice will be much missed.”
Gallant was born in Montreal in 1922. As a journalist she worked for the Montreal Standard newspaper, and in 1944 published her first short stories in a small circulation magazine in Montreal called Preview. Later many of her short stories first appeared in The New Yorker.
Gallant is known for collections such as Montreal Stories, Going Ashore and 1981′s Home Truths, which earned her a Governor General’s Literary Award.
More information:
Walrus Magazine/David Macfarlane – Traces of Mavis – How a great Canadian writer died penniless in Paris – here
David Macfarlane website – www.macfarlaneonline.com
National Post/Robert Fulford – Mavis Gallant dead at 91: An appreciation of the Canadian literary great – here
FlavorWire/Michelle Dean – An Appreciation of the Under-appreciated Mavis Gallant – here
RCI (February, 2014) – Internationally celebrated writer Mavis Gallant dead at 91 – here
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