William Dempsey Valgardson (born 7 May 1939) is an Icelandic-Canadian fiction writer and poet. He was a long-time professor of writing at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...

in British Columbia and a professor of English at

Cottey College Cottey College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Nevada, Missouri. It was founded by Virginia Alice (Cottey) Stockard in 1884. Since 1927 it has been owned and supported by the P.E.O. Sisterho ...

in Nevada, Missouri. Valgardson was 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, ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

, of Icelandic descent, and raised in

Gimli, Manitoba Gimli is an unincorporated community in the Rural Municipality of Gimli on the west side of Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. The community's first European settlers were Icelanders who were part of the New Iceland settlement in Manitoba. The com ...

. He completed his BA at United College,

BEd A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many beds ...

at 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.MFA at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

. His writing often focuses on cultural differences and involve irony and symbolism. His short stories involve normal people in normal situations, who, under certain circumstances, lead unusual and surprising lives. Valgardson has won numerous awards and accolades including the

Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize The Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, established in 1985 as one of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes, is awarded annually to the best work of fiction by a resident of British Columbia, Canada. The award is named after novelist and short story writer Ethel W ...

for ''The Girl With the Botticelli Face'' (1992) and the

Books in Canada First Novel Award The Amazon.ca First Novel Award, formerly the Books in Canada First Novel Award, is a Canadian literary award, co-presented by Amazon.ca and ''The Walrus'' to the best first novel in English published the previous year by a citizen or resident o ...

for ''Gentle Sinners'' (1980). His short story ''Bloodflowers'' was included in '' Best American Short Stories 1971''.

Bibliography

*'' Bloodflowers: Ten Stories'' short stories - Oberon Press, 1973 *''The Job'' Anthology, Toronto, CBC radio *''God is Not a Fish Inspector'' short stories - Oberon Press, 1975 *'' In The Gutting Shed'' poetry -

Turnstone Press Turnstone Press is a Canadian literary publisher founded in 1976 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the oldest in Manitoba and among the most respected independent publishers in Canada. Turnstone was founded in 1976 by academics David Arnason, John Beaver, D ...

, 1976 *''

Beyond Normal Requirements Beyond may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Beyond'' (1921 film), an American silent film * ''Beyond'' (2000 film), a Danish film directed by Åke Sandgren, OT: ''Dykkerne'' * ''Beyond'' (2010 film), a Swedish film directed b ...

'' Anthology, Toronto, CBC radio, 1977 *''

Í Manitoba Í, í ( i-acute) is a letter in the Faroese, Hungarian, Icelandic, Czech, Slovak, and Tatar languages, where it often indicates a long /i/ vowel (''ee'' in English word ''feel''). This form also appears in Catalan, Irish, Italian, Occitan, ...

'' Utvarp Reykjavik, Rikis Utvarpid, Reykjavik, Iceland June 11, 1977 *''Red Dust'' short stories - Oberon Press, 1978 *'' God is Not a Fish Inspector'' film Allan Kroeker, Dept.of Education, Manitoba, 1980. *''

Gentle Sinners Gentle may refer to: * Gentleness People * Johnny Gentle, stage name of John Askew (born 1936), British pop singer who once toured with the Silver Beetles (later the Beatles) as his backing group * Peter Gentle (born 1965), Australian rugby league ...

'' novel - Oberon Press,1980 *''The Burning'' CBC Radio, Vancouver, 1981 *''Bloodflowers'' Stereo Sound Stage, CBC radio, Toronto, Oct. 30, 1982 *'' The Pedlar'' based on "A Place of One's Own", film Directed by: Allan Kroeker Produced by: Michael Scott 1982, 54 min 32 s *''

'' CBC film 105 min, Director: Eric Till, 1983 *''Bloodflowers'' Sundary Matinee, Toronto, CBC radio, March 6, 1983 *''

Granite Point Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

'' Saturday Stereo Theatre, Toronto, CBC radio, Oct. 29 1983 *''The Cave''

Vanishing Point A vanishing point is a point on the image plane of a perspective drawing where the two-dimensional perspective projections of mutually parallel lines in three-dimensional space appear to converge. When the set of parallel lines is perpendicul ...

, Toronto CBC Radio, Dec. 28, 1985 *''

An Unacceptable Standard of Cockpit Practice An, AN, aN, or an may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Airlinair (IATA airline code AN) * Alleanza Nazionale, a former political party in Italy * AnimeNEXT, an annual anime convention located in New Jersey * Anime North, a Canadian an ...

'' Disasters, CBC radio, Vancouver, 1985 *'' Sælir eru einfaldir''Icelandic National Radio, Reykjavik, Iceland, May 3–31, 1985 *'' The Carpenter of Dreams'' : poems—Victoria, B.C. : Skaldhus Press, c1986 *'' Bloðrot'' Icelandic National Radio, Reykjavik, Iceland, July 27, 1986 *'' Carpenter of Dreams'' Sextet, Sunday Matinee, CBC Radio, Feb. 15, 1987 *''

Seiche A seiche ( ) is a standing wave in an enclosed or partially enclosed body of water. Seiches and seiche-related phenomena have been observed on lakes, reservoirs, swimming pools, bays, harbors, caves and seas. The key requirement for formation of ...

'' State of the Arts, CBC Radio, Jan. 10, 1987 *'' Ukrainian Journey'' Morningside, CBC Radio, Jan. 22–26, 5 parts, 1987 *'' Blóðrót'', islensk þýðing Guðrúnar Guðmundsdóttir, ásamt inngangi eftir Harald Bessason—Kópavogi:Sigmar Þormar, 1989. *'' What Can't Be Changed Shouldn't Be Mourned'' short stories, Douglas&McIntyre, 1990 *'' The Man From Snaefellsness'' Stereo Theatre, CBC Radio, (2 hour drama), Oct. 6, 13, 1991 *''Wrinkles'' Arts Encounters, CBC Radio, Winnipeg, 1991 *'' The Girl With the Botticelli Face'' novel, Douglas&McIntyre, 1992 *'' The Girl With The Botticelli Face'' Between The Covers, CBC, Toronto, Oct. 4–22, 1993 *''Thor'' children's picture book, illustrated by Ange Zhang - Groundwood, 1994 *'' The Hockey Fan'' - 1st ed. -- Victoria .C.: Published for the Hawthorne Society by Reference West, c1994 *'' The Girl With The Botticelli Face'' On The Arts, CBC Radio, April 18, 25, 1994 *'' The Man Who Was Always Running Out of Toilet Paper'' Icelandic National Radio, Reykjavik, Iceland, trans Solveig Jonsdóttir, Sept., 1994 *'' The Girl With The Botticelli Face'' The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Nov. 10, 17 Nov. 11, 18, 1994 *'' Stúlkan með Botticelli andlitið'' novel, Þýðing, Gunar Gunnarsson og Hildur Finnsdóttir. -- Seltjarnarnes celand Ormstunga, c1995 *'' Ingibjorg's Christmas Gift'' performed by the Inuvik Choral and Theatrical Society, CBC North Radio, Dec. 18, 19, 20, 1995 *'' Winter Rescue'' illustrated by Ange Zhang. 1st U.S. ed. 1995. -- New York : Margaret K. McElderry Books, 1995, c1994. *'' Sarah and the People of Sand River'' children's picture book, illustrations by Ian Wallace - Groundwood, 1996 *''Thor'' teikningar eftir Ange Zhang; Guðrun B. Guðsteinsdóttir, Íslenkaði—Seltjarnarnes celand Ormstunga, 1996 *'' Garbage Creek and Other Stories'' young people's short stories - Groundwood, 1997 *'' Sarah och folket frán Sand River'' children's picture book, illustrations by Ian Wallace : till svenska av Aziza Xenia Dhaouadi—Stockholm: Eriksson&Lindgren, 1998 *'' The Divorced Kids Club'' short stories for junior high - Groundwood, 1998 *''A Matter of Balance'' CBC Radio, Toronto, 1999 *'' Un visage 'a la Botticelli'' roman; traduit de l'anglais par Jean Chapdelaine Gagnon -- ontreal Les Herbes rouges, 2001 *''Frances'' novel for junior high - Groundwood, 2002 *'' What Can't Be Changed Shouldn't Be Mourned'' lectronic resource -- New York : Douglas & McIntyre, 2009. *'' What The Bear Said: Skald tales from New Iceland'' folk tales from Lake Winnipeg - Turnstone Press, 2011

References

External links

W. D. Valgardson
in ''

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 f ...

''
Valgardson
at Encyclopedia.com
''Tolerance, intolerance, and fanaticism, W.D. Valgardson's reaction to the religious debate in New Iceland'' – Anderson, Erla Louise Colwill – 2000-05-01
at FGS Electronic Theses and Dissertations,

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.1939 births Canadian male novelists Canadian people of Icelandic descent Cottey College faculty Academic staff of the University of Victoria Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni People from Gimli, Manitoba Writers from Winnipeg Living people Amazon.ca First Novel Award winners