Writing from an In-between Place

M.G. Vassanji is the author of seven novels, two collections of short stories, a travel memoir about India, and a biography of Mordecai Richler.  His essays have appeared in various places, and his books have been published in various countries and several languages.  He is twice winner of the Giller Prize (1994, 2003) for best novel in Canada; the Governor General's Prize (2009) for best work of nonfiction; the Harbourfront Festival Prize; the Commonwealth First Book Prize (Africa, 1990); and the Bressani Prize. The Assassin's Song was also shortlisted for India's Crossword Prize.  He is a member of the Order of Canada.

Vassanji was born in Kenya and raised in Tanzania.  Before coming to Canada in 1978, he attended MIT and the University of Pennsylvania, where he specialized in theoretical nuclear physics.  From 1978-1980 he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Atomic Energy of Canada, and 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, and began writing stories and a novel.  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.  That year ended his active career in nuclear physics.  His contributions there he considers modest, in algebraic models and high spin states. In 1996, Vassanji was made a fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla, where he visited again in 2010 as visiting professor.

This event is free and open to all, but please email Claire Chambers if you would like to attend.

For directions to the Berrick Saul Building, see http://www.york.ac.uk/hrc/contact/maps