Aritha Van Herk
Encyclopedia
Aritha van Herk is a Canadian
writer, critic, editor, and university professor.
She was born in Wetaskiwin, Alberta
(near Edmonton
). Her parents and elder siblings immigrated to Canada from the Netherlands
before she was born. She grew up in a bilingual home, speaking English
and Dutch
. In 1974, she married Robert Jay Sharp, who is a geologist. Van Herk studied Canadian literature and Creative Writing at the University of Alberta
in Edmonton, graduating with a B.A. Honours in 1976, and an M.A. in 1978. Since 1983, van Herk has been teaching at the University of Calgary
. She teaches Creative Writing, Canadian Literature, and Contemporary Narrative.
, which granted the book international distribution throughout North America
and Europe
. With her second novel, The Tent Peg (1981), van Herk continued to focus on issues of both female experience and the Canadian wilderness in a narrative where the female protagonist disguises herself as a man in order to get a job as a cook in a northern geological bush-camp. Van Herk established herself as a postmodern novelist by challenging classic myths and mythology, upending notions of both gender and genre, and experimenting with humour and magic realism
. Van Herk would continue to subvert literary conventions with her third novel, No Fixed Address: An Amorous Journey (1986), a parody
of the picaresque
genre in which underwear saleswoman Arachne Manteia traverses the Canadian prairies in her vintage Mercedes. The novel, nominated for the Governor General’s Award, won the Howard O'Hagan Award for Best Alberta Novel. Like No Fixed Address, van Herk’s fourth novel Restlessness (1998) questions and subverts narrative form, and features another female character on the fly. In this reversed Sheherazade tale, Dorcas, a nomadic protagonist in a self-reflexive narrative about how to avoid both story and travel, paradoxically divulges her own life story to the man whom she has contracted to kill her.
Anna Karenina.
Van Herk has also published two collections of essays and ficto-criticism, In Visible Ink (crypto-frictions) (1991) and A Frozen Tongue (1992). Both works question the boundaries of the traditional genres of fiction, memoir, poetry, and criticism that van Herk’s writing characteristically seeks to combine yet circumvent.
Glenbow Museum
in 2007, was nominated for an Alberta Tourism Award in the category of Alberta Pride, and won the White Hat of the Year Award from the city of Calgary. Audacious and Adamant: the Story of Maverick Alberta (2007) was published to correspond with the Mavericks Exhibition.
, Calgary Herald
, Alberta Views
, Elle
, Chatelaine
, Canadian Fiction Magazine, Canadian Geographic
, and The Walrus
, as well as numerous other national and international periodicals and newspapers.
Van Herk is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
since 1997, and has served on numerous juries, including the Governor General’s Award and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. As a university professor she has guided many of her graduate students to literary success, including Anita Rau Badami
, Thomas Wharton
, and Jessica Grant. She continues to travel extensively, presenting both her creative and critical work all over the world.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
writer, critic, editor, and university professor.
She was born in Wetaskiwin, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
(near Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
). Her parents and elder siblings immigrated to Canada from the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
before she was born. She grew up in a bilingual home, speaking English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
. In 1974, she married Robert Jay Sharp, who is a geologist. Van Herk studied Canadian literature and Creative Writing at the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
in Edmonton, graduating with a B.A. Honours in 1976, and an M.A. in 1978. Since 1983, van Herk has been teaching at the University of Calgary
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...
. She teaches Creative Writing, Canadian Literature, and Contemporary Narrative.
Novels
Van Herk’s writing career began with the publication of her M.A. thesis in 1978. Judith a novel that explores a feisty female protagonist’s experiences in both rural and urban Canadian spaces, was the first winner of the Seal First Novel Award (C$50,000) from McClelland and StewartMcClelland and Stewart
McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is partially owned by Random House of Canada, now a subsidiary of Bertelsmann....
, which granted the book international distribution throughout North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. With her second novel, The Tent Peg (1981), van Herk continued to focus on issues of both female experience and the Canadian wilderness in a narrative where the female protagonist disguises herself as a man in order to get a job as a cook in a northern geological bush-camp. Van Herk established herself as a postmodern novelist by challenging classic myths and mythology, upending notions of both gender and genre, and experimenting with humour and magic realism
Magic realism
Magic realism or magical realism is an aesthetic style or genre of fiction in which magical elements blend with the real world. The story explains these magical elements as real occurrences, presented in a straightforward manner that places the "real" and the "fantastic" in the same stream of...
. Van Herk would continue to subvert literary conventions with her third novel, No Fixed Address: An Amorous Journey (1986), a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the picaresque
Picaresque novel
The picaresque novel is a popular sub-genre of prose fiction which is usually satirical and depicts, in realistic and often humorous detail, the adventures of a roguish hero of low social class who lives by his wits in a corrupt society...
genre in which underwear saleswoman Arachne Manteia traverses the Canadian prairies in her vintage Mercedes. The novel, nominated for the Governor General’s Award, won the Howard O'Hagan Award for Best Alberta Novel. Like No Fixed Address, van Herk’s fourth novel Restlessness (1998) questions and subverts narrative form, and features another female character on the fly. In this reversed Sheherazade tale, Dorcas, a nomadic protagonist in a self-reflexive narrative about how to avoid both story and travel, paradoxically divulges her own life story to the man whom she has contracted to kill her.
Criticism
Van Herk has published numerous works blending fiction and criticism, which also offer a complementary exploration of her relationship with place. In particular, van Herk has rooted and uprooted conceptions of the Canadian west and the far north. In 1990, she initiated a new genre she called geografictione, with Places Far From Ellesmere. As a travel narrative that analyzes the very concepts of both travel and narrative, Places Far From Ellesmere questions the mapping of works of fiction, as well as the journeys that take place within fiction itself, most notably Tolstoy'sLeo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
Anna Karenina.
Van Herk has also published two collections of essays and ficto-criticism, In Visible Ink (crypto-frictions) (1991) and A Frozen Tongue (1992). Both works question the boundaries of the traditional genres of fiction, memoir, poetry, and criticism that van Herk’s writing characteristically seeks to combine yet circumvent.
Non-fiction
Most recently, van Herk’s work has focused on the history of Alberta, with Mavericks: an Incorrigible History of Alberta (2001), winner of the Grant MacEwan Author’s Award. Mavericks inspired a permanent exhibition by the same name. It opened at Calgary’sCalgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
Glenbow Museum
Glenbow Museum
The Glenbow Museum in Calgary is one of Western Canada's largest museums, with over 93,000 square feet of exhibition space in more than 20 galleries, showcasing a selection of the Glenbow's collection of over a million objects....
in 2007, was nominated for an Alberta Tourism Award in the category of Alberta Pride, and won the White Hat of the Year Award from the city of Calgary. Audacious and Adamant: the Story of Maverick Alberta (2007) was published to correspond with the Mavericks Exhibition.
Periodical writing and professional work
Van Herk continues to publish prolifically; her short stories, essays, articles, and book reviews regularly appear in The Globe and MailThe Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
, Calgary Herald
Calgary Herald
The Calgary Herald is a daily newspaper published in the Canadian city of Calgary, Alberta.- History :The paper was first published on August 31, 1883 by Andrew Armour and Thomas Braden as The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate and General Advertiser. It started as a weekly paper with only...
, Alberta Views
Alberta Views
Alberta Views is a general interest magazine published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada that covers political, social and cultural issues in the province of Alberta. Its monthly circulation is 20,000 copies. Alberta Views was named Canadian Magazine of the Year at the 2009...
, Elle
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
, Chatelaine
Chatelaine (magazine)
Chatelaine is an English-language Canadian magazine of women's lifestyles. Both Chatelaine and its French-language version, Châtelaine, are published monthly by Rogers Media, Inc., a division of Rogers Communications, Inc...
, Canadian Fiction Magazine, Canadian Geographic
Canadian Geographic
Canadian Geographic is the bimonthly magazine of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society . It was first published in May 1930 under the name Canadian Geographical Journal. The society's objective was to produce a popular magazine dealing primarily with Canadian geography...
, and The Walrus
The Walrus
The Walrus is a Canadian general interest magazine which publishes long form journalism on Canadian and international affairs, along with fiction and poetry by Canadian writers. It launched in September 2003, as an attempt to create a Canadian equivalent to American magazines such as Harper's, The...
, as well as numerous other national and international periodicals and newspapers.
Van Herk is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
since 1997, and has served on numerous juries, including the Governor General’s Award and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. As a university professor she has guided many of her graduate students to literary success, including Anita Rau Badami
Anita Rau Badami
Anita Rau Badami is an Indian-Canadian novelist. Born in Rourkela, Orissa, India, she was educated at the University of Madras and Sophia College in Bombay. She emigrated to Canada in 1991, and earned an M.A. at the University of Calgary...
, Thomas Wharton
Thomas Wharton
-Life:Born in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Wharton attended the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary. He was a student of Rudy Wiebe and Greg Hollingshead. His first novel began as his M.A. thesis, under the supervision of Kristjana Gunnars. He worked on his PhD at Calgary with Aritha...
, and Jessica Grant. She continues to travel extensively, presenting both her creative and critical work all over the world.
Novels
- Judith. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1978.
- The Tent Peg. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1981.
- No Fixed Address. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1986.
- Places Far From Ellesmere: a geografictione. Red Deer, AB: Red Deer, 1990.
- Restlessness. Red Deer, AB: Red Deer, 1998.
Criticism
- In Visible Ink (crypto-frictions). Edmonton: NeWest, 1991.
- A Frozen Tongue. Mundelstrup, Denmark: Dangeroo, 1992.
Non-Fiction
- Mavericks: An Incorrigible History of Alberta. Toronto: Penguin, 2001.
- Audacious and Adamant: The Story of Maverick Alberta. Toronto: KeyPorter, 2007.
Books edited
- More Stories From Western Canada. Toronto: Macmillan, 1980. (with Ruby Wiebe)
- West of Fiction. Edmonton: NeWest, 1983. (with Leah Flater & Ruby Wiebe)
- Alberta Re/Bound. Edmonton: NeWest, 1990.
- Boundless Alberta. Edmonton: NeWest, 1993.
- Due West. Coteau, NeWest and Turnstone, 1996. (with Wayne Tefs and Geoffrey Ursell)
- Building Liberty: Canada and World Peace, 1945-2005. Groningen, the Netherlands: Barkhuis, 2005. (with Conny Steenman-Marcusse)
External links
- Official Website
- Department of English, University of Calgary Website
- Aritha van Herk Special Collections at the University of Calgary Library
- Aritha Van Herk's entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
- http://www.arithavanherk.de
- http://www.guernicaeditions.com/writers.htmlInformation on Aritha van Herk: Essays on Her Work ed. Christl VerduynChristl VerduynDr. Christl Verduyn is Professor of English Literature and Canadian Studies at Mount Allison University. She is the 2006 recipient of the Governor General's International Award for Canadian Studies, awarded by the International Council for Canadian Studies...
, GuernicaGuernica EditionsGuernica Editions is a Canadian independent publisher established in Montreal, Quebec, in 1978, specializing in Canadian literature, poetry and nonfiction...
2001]