‘A boost’ for authors in Canada

With the news Thursday that Canadian author Alice Munro was the recipient of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature, authors across the country were holding their heads high.

“I just think that it’s a real boost to us,” said Tracy Hamon, program manager for the Saskatchewan Writer’s Guild.

“It shows that there are chances for recognition out there for us ... that we exist, and we know how to write,” she laughed.

The 82-year-old Munro became the 13th woman, and the first from Canada, to win the award since its inception in 1901.

Her mastery of the short story genre has led to her being revered in literary circles.

The fact that her subject matter often revolves around normal people in normal situations makes the award that much more significant, Hamon said.

“A lot of the people that win the Nobel Prize write politically, or somehow they write about political issues,” she said.

“So I think that this is a real coup for writers that write about ordinary people.”

Medrie Purdham, an English professor at the University of Regina, said that while Munro’s subject matter may be ordinary, her execution is anything but.

“(She) just realizes it with such truth that it seems as large and significant as something more universal or more political,” she said.

“You won’t hear a word of criticism against her work. She’s just lauded universally as an undisputed master of the short story.”

One of Munro’s best qualities, Purdham said, is her apparent ability to transcend the framework of the short story itself.

“It manages to be realistic while meditating on what a short story is and should do,” she said.

“She’s always reflecting on what material is and what the ethics of storytelling are, but she does it in a way that isn’t sort of overtly clever or precious.”

Having published her first set of short stories at the age of 37, Munro is what some might call a latebloomer, Hamon said, but her accomplishments serve as a lesson for downtrodden Canadian writers who may be struggling with their craft.

“If you love writing, and you are good at what you do, then persevere and keep doing it,” Hamon said.

“Don’t stop writing.”