''Man Descending'' is a collection of

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

written by

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

-born writer

Guy Vanderhaeghe Guy Clarence Vanderhaeghe (born April 5, 1951) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer, best known for his Western novel trilogy, ''The Englishman's Boy'', '' The Last Crossing'', and ''A Good Man'' set in the 19th-century American and Can ...

. The book was first published by Macmillan of Canada in 1982 and Vanderhaeghe went on to become one of the few first-time authors to win the coveted

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual List of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. Th ...

for Fiction for this work. It also won the

Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize The Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize is a British literary prize established in 1963 in tribute to Geoffrey Faber, founder and first Chairman of the publisher Faber & Faber. It recognises a single volume of poetry or fiction by a United Kingdom, Irish ...

. The book consists of 12 stories covering different ages in people's lives, ranging from teenage romance to the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Among the more often-quoted stories in this work are "Sam, Soren and Ed" which introduced characters Vanderhaeghe would later feature in his first novel, '' My Present Age'', and "The Expatriates' Party" in which a high school teacher launches a profanity-laced tirade against a troublesome student. Several stories in this collection were previously published in Canadian literary journals, magazines, and compilations. One story, "Reunion", was later reprinted in an edition of ''

Best American Short Stories The Best American Short Stories yearly anthology is a part of '' The Best American Series'' published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since 1915, the BASS anthology has striven to contain the best short stories by some of the best-known writers in co ...

'', even though its author was Canadian. A short film by Raymond Lorenz and Neil Grieve, based upon the story "Man Descending", was nominated for the

Genie Award for Best Theatrical Short Film The Genie Award for Best Theatrical Short Film was a Canadian film award, historically presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television through its Genie Awards program to a film judged as the year's best short film.Maria Topalovich, ''And ...

at the

12th Genie Awards The 12th Genie Awards were held on November 26, 1991, and honoured Canadian films released in 1990 and 1991."Genies undergo changes". ''The Globe and Mail'', November 26, 1991. The ceremony was hosted by actor Leslie Nielsen Following the disastro ...

. Canadian singer-songwriter

Justin Rutledge Justin Rutledge (born January 3, 1979) is a Toronto-based Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter signed to Outside Music. Rutledge's musical style is often compared to that of American alt-country singer Ryan Adams. His influences, both ...

's 2008 album '' Man Descending'' was also named for the book."For the Record: Justin Rutledge's Man Descending"

CBC Radio 3 CBC Radio 3 is a Canadian digital radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which plays a relatively freeform mix of indie rock, indie pop, alternative hip hop, folk, country and electronic music. The service, which la ...

, April 16, 2008.

Story list

# The Watcher # Reunion # How the Story Ends # What I Learned from Caesar # Drummer # Cages # Going to Russia # A Taste for Perfection # The Expatriates' Party # Dancing Bear # Man Descending # Sam, Soren and Ed

References

1982 short story collections Short story collections by Guy Vanderhaeghe New Canadian Library Governor General's Award-winning fiction books Macmillan Publishers books {{1980s-story-collection-stub