M. G. Vassanji
Encyclopedia
Moyez G. Vassanji, CM
(born 30 May 1950) is a novelist and editor
, who writes under the name M. G. Vassanji. A citizen of Canada, Vassanji's identity easily straddles three continents.
M. G. Vassanji was born in Kenya
and raised in Tanzania
. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
and the University of Pennsylvania
, where he specialized in nuclear physics, before moving to Canada as a postdoctoral fellow in 1978. From 1980 to 1989 he was a research associate at the University of Toronto
. During this period he developed a keen interest in medieval Indian literature and history, co-founded and edited a literary magazine (The Toronto South Asian Review, later renamed The Toronto Review of Contemporary Writing Abroad), and began writing fiction. In 1989, with the publication of his first novel, The Gunny Sack, he was invited to spend a season at the International Writing Program
of the University of Iowa
. In 1996 he was a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla, India.
M.G. Vassanji is one of Canada's most acclaimed writers. He has published six novels, two collections of short stories, a memoir of his travels in India, and a biography of Mordecai Richler
. His work has appeared in various countries and several languages. Vassanji has been nominated for the Giller Prize for best work of fiction in Canada three times, winning twice. He has also been awarded the Commonwealth Regional Prize (Africa), and the Governor-General's Prize for nonfiction. His work has also been shortlisted for the Rogers Prize, the Governor-General's Prize in Canada for fiction, as well as the Crossword Prize in India. His most recent book, set in Tanzania will be published in Canada in 2012. He is a member of the Order of Canada
and has been awarded several honorary doctorates.
. As a secondary theme, members of this community (like himself) later undergo a second migration to Europe
, Canada, or the United States. Vassanji examines how the lives of his characters are affected by these migrations: "[the Indian diaspora] is very important...once I went to the US, suddenly the Indian connection became very important: the sense of origins, trying to understand the roots of India that we had inside us" (Kanaganayakam, p. 21). Vassanji looks at the relations between the Indian community, the native Africans and the colonial
administration. Though few of his characters ever return to India, the country's presence looms throughout his work; his 2007 novel The Assassins Song, however, is set almost entirely in India, where it was received as an Indian novel.
Vassanji is concerned with the effects of history
and the interaction between personal and public histories. Public history is memory and folk history, as well as colonial history, all three of which are interrogated in his work. The colonial history of Kenya and Tanzania serves as the backdrop for much of his work; in the Assassin's Song, however, he tackles Indian folk culture and myths. It is, however, the personal histories of the main characters that drive the narrative. Vassanji's presentation of the past is never cut-and-dried. He avoids the impression of, a simple, linear, historical truth emerging. In much of his work the mysteries of the past remain unresolved. (Kanaganayakam p. 22). He consistently refuses to be pigeonholed by nationality or faith, attempts to do which he finds offensive and malicious.Vassanji's writings have increasingly received attention by a number of literary critics who have focused on issues such as migration, diaspora, citizenship, gender and ethnicity.
Magazine's Honour Roll. Vassanji won the inaugural Giller Prize in 1994 for The Book of Secrets. He again won the Giller Prize in 2003 for The In-Between World of Vikram Lall. He was the first writer to win the Giller Prize more than once. (In 2004, Alice Munro
became the prize's second repeat winner). In 2006, When She Was Queen was shortlisted for the City of Toronto Book Award
. His most recent novel, The Assassin's Song
was short-listed for the 2007 Giller Prize, the Rogers Prize, and the Governor General's Prize in Canada, as well as the Crossword Prize in India.
In 2009 his travel memoir, A Place Within: Rediscovering India, won the Governor-General's Prize for nonfiction.
In 2005, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada
.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(born 30 May 1950) is a novelist and editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, who writes under the name M. G. Vassanji. A citizen of Canada, Vassanji's identity easily straddles three continents.
M. G. Vassanji was born in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
and raised in Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
and the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, where he specialized in nuclear physics, before moving to Canada as a postdoctoral fellow in 1978. From 1980 to 1989 he was a research associate at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. During this period he developed a keen interest in medieval Indian literature and history, co-founded and edited a literary magazine (The Toronto South Asian Review, later renamed The Toronto Review of Contemporary Writing Abroad), and began writing fiction. In 1989, with the publication of his first novel, The Gunny Sack, he was invited to spend a season at the International Writing Program
International Writing Program
The International Writing Program is a writing residency for international artists in Iowa City, Iowa. Since its inception in 1967, the IWP has hosted over 1,100 emerging and established poets, novelists, dramatists, essayists, and journalists from more than 120 countries...
of the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
. In 1996 he was a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla, India.
M.G. Vassanji is one of Canada's most acclaimed writers. He has published six novels, two collections of short stories, a memoir of his travels in India, and a biography of Mordecai Richler
Mordecai Richler
Mordecai Richler, CC was a Canadian Jewish author, screenwriter and essayist. A leading critic called him "the great shining star of his Canadian literary generation" and a pivotal figure in the country's history. His best known works are The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Barney's Version,...
. His work has appeared in various countries and several languages. Vassanji has been nominated for the Giller Prize for best work of fiction in Canada three times, winning twice. He has also been awarded the Commonwealth Regional Prize (Africa), and the Governor-General's Prize for nonfiction. His work has also been shortlisted for the Rogers Prize, the Governor-General's Prize in Canada for fiction, as well as the Crossword Prize in India. His most recent book, set in Tanzania will be published in Canada in 2012. He is a member of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
and has been awarded several honorary doctorates.
Themes
The focus of Vassanji's work is the situation of East African IndiansIndian diaspora in East Africa
The Indian diaspora in Africa refers to people of Indian origin living in Africa. Most Indians in Africa arrived in the 19th century as British indentured labourers, many of them to work on the Kenya-Uganda railway, while others had arrived earlier by sea as traders....
. As a secondary theme, members of this community (like himself) later undergo a second migration to 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...
, Canada, or the United States. Vassanji examines how the lives of his characters are affected by these migrations: "[the Indian diaspora] is very important...once I went to the US, suddenly the Indian connection became very important: the sense of origins, trying to understand the roots of India that we had inside us" (Kanaganayakam, p. 21). Vassanji looks at the relations between the Indian community, the native Africans and the colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
administration. Though few of his characters ever return to India, the country's presence looms throughout his work; his 2007 novel The Assassins Song, however, is set almost entirely in India, where it was received as an Indian novel.
Vassanji is concerned with the effects of history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and the interaction between personal and public histories. Public history is memory and folk history, as well as colonial history, all three of which are interrogated in his work. The colonial history of Kenya and Tanzania serves as the backdrop for much of his work; in the Assassin's Song, however, he tackles Indian folk culture and myths. It is, however, the personal histories of the main characters that drive the narrative. Vassanji's presentation of the past is never cut-and-dried. He avoids the impression of, a simple, linear, historical truth emerging. In much of his work the mysteries of the past remain unresolved. (Kanaganayakam p. 22). He consistently refuses to be pigeonholed by nationality or faith, attempts to do which he finds offensive and malicious.Vassanji's writings have increasingly received attention by a number of literary critics who have focused on issues such as migration, diaspora, citizenship, gender and ethnicity.
Awards and honours
Vassanji's work has received considerable critical acclaim. The Gunny Sack won a regional Commonwealth Writers Prize in 1990. In 1994, he won the Harbourfront Festival Prize in recognition of his "achievement in and contribution to the world of letters." That year he was also one of twelve Canadians chosen for Maclean'sMaclean's
Maclean's is a Canadian weekly news magazine, reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events.-History:Founded in 1905 by Toronto journalist/entrepreneur Lt.-Col. John Bayne Maclean, a 43-year-old trade magazine publisher who purchased an advertising agency's in-house...
Magazine's Honour Roll. Vassanji won the inaugural Giller Prize in 1994 for The Book of Secrets. He again won the Giller Prize in 2003 for The In-Between World of Vikram Lall. He was the first writer to win the Giller Prize more than once. (In 2004, Alice Munro
Alice Munro
Alice Ann Munro is a Canadian short-story writer, the winner of the 2009 Man Booker International Prize for her lifetime body of work, a three-time winner of Canada's Governor General's Award for fiction, and a perennial contender for the Nobel Prize...
became the prize's second repeat winner). In 2006, When She Was Queen was shortlisted for the City of Toronto Book Award
City of Toronto Book Award
The Toronto Book Awards are Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the city of Toronto to the author of the year's best fiction or non-fiction book or books "that are evocative of Toronto"....
. His most recent novel, The Assassin's Song
The Assassin's Song
The Assassin's Song is a novel by M. G. Vassanji, published in 2007 by Doubleday Canada. It is the story of a young Indian boy whose dream is to escape his family's religious legacy. He wants to be ordinary: to go to school, play cricket, talk to girls, and make his own choices...
was short-listed for the 2007 Giller Prize, the Rogers Prize, and the Governor General's Prize in Canada, as well as the Crossword Prize in India.
In 2009 his travel memoir, A Place Within: Rediscovering India, won the Governor-General's Prize for nonfiction.
In 2005, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
.
Novels
- The Gunny Sack (1989) ISBN 0-38566-065-0
- No New LandNo New LandNo New Land is a novel by M. G. Vassanji, published in 1991. The action is largely set in Dar es Salaam and Toronto. The title derives from Lawrence Durrell's novel The Alexandria Quartet, in which he translates Constantine P. Cavafy's "The City."...
(1991) ISBN 0-77108-722-5 - The Book of SecretsThe Book of Secrets (novel)The Book of Secrets is a novel by M. G. Vassanji, published in 1994.It was the winner of the very first Giller Prize for Canadian fiction...
(1994) ISBN 0-31215-068-7 - Amriika (1999) ISBN 0-77108-725-X
- The In-Between World of Vikram LallThe In-Between World of Vikram LallThe In-Between World of Vikram Lall is a novel by M. G. Vassanji, published in 2003 by Doubleday Canada. The novel won the Giller Prize that year.-External links:* - Random House Canada...
(2003) ISBN 0-38565-991-1 - The Assassin's SongThe Assassin's SongThe Assassin's Song is a novel by M. G. Vassanji, published in 2007 by Doubleday Canada. It is the story of a young Indian boy whose dream is to escape his family's religious legacy. He wants to be ordinary: to go to school, play cricket, talk to girls, and make his own choices...
(2007) ISBN 0-38566-351-X