Adele Wiseman (May 21, 1928 – June 1, 1992) was a Canadian author.
Born in
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
,
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
, she received a BA in English literature and psychology from the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba. Her parents were
Russian Jews
The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...
who emigrated from
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
to Canada, in part, to escape the
pogroms
A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian ...
that accompanied the
Russian Civil War
, date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
.
In 1956, Wiseman published her first novel, ''The Sacrifice,'' which won the
Governor General's Award
The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields.
The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...
, Canada's most prestigious literary prize. Her novel, ''Crackpot,'' was published in 1974. Both novels deal with Jewish immigrant heritage, the struggle to survive
the Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagion ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and the challenges the next generation faced in acculturating to Canadian society.
Wiseman also published plays, children's stories, essays, and other non-fiction. Her book, ''Old Woman at Play,'' examines and meditates on the creative process while paying tribute to Wiseman's mother and the dolls she made.
Wiseman was lifelong friends with
Margaret Laurence
Jean Margaret Laurence (née Wemyss; July 18, 1926 – January 5, 1987) was a Canadian novelist and short story writer, and is one of the major figures in Canadian literature. She was also a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, a non-pr ...
who was another Canadian author from Manitoba. She was an active and accessible Writer-in-Residence at the
University of Windsor
, mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge
, established =
, academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada
, former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963)
, type = Public universit ...
in her final years. At a campus rally against the First Gulf War, she read passionately a new poem denouncing war.
Selected works
* ''The Sacrifice'' (1956)
* ''Old Markets, New World'' (1964)
* ''Crackpot'' (1974)
* ''Old Woman at Play'' (1978)
* ''Memoirs of a Book Molesting Childhood and Other Essays'' (1987)
* ''Kenji and the Cricket'' (1988)
* ''Puccini and the Prowlers'' (1992)
Further reading
*
* Valerie-Kristin Piehslinger: ''Portrayals of Urban Jewish Communities in U.S. American and Canadian Immigrant Fiction in Selected Texts by
Anzia Yezierska
Anzia Yezierska (October 29, 1880 – November 20, 1970) was a Jewish-American novelist born in Mały Płock, Poland, which was then part of the Russian Empire. She emigrated as a child with her parents to the United States and lived in the ...
and Adele Wiseman.'' AV Akademikerverlag, Saarbrücken 2013
Awards
* Governor General's Award for Fiction (1956)
* Beta Sigma Phi Sorority Award (1957)
* Brotherhood Award of the National Conference of Christians and Jews (1957)
* Canadian Foundation fellowship (1957)
* Guggenheim fellowship (1958)
* Canada Council Arts Scholarship (1959)
* Leipzig Book Fair Bronze Medal (1964)
* Canadian Booksellers Association Book Award (1974)
* J. I. Segal Foundation Award (1974 and 1988)
* Three Guineas Charitable Foundation Agency Award (1984–1985)
The Canadian Encyclopedia
''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage.
Available fo ...
Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections
Clara Thomas (née McCandless; May 22, 1919 – September 26, 2013) was a Canadian academic. A longtime professor of English at York University, she was one of the first academics to devote her work specifically to the study of Canadian literatur ...
,
York University Libraries
York University Libraries (YUL) is the library system of York University in Toronto, Ontario. The four main libraries and one archives contain more than 2,500,000 volumes.
History
The first York library opened in 1961 at Glendon College and ...
,
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...