Neil Devindra Bissoondath (born 19 April 1955, in Arima,

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

) is a Trinidadian-Canadian author who lives in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada. He is a noted writer of fiction. He is an outspoken critic of Canada's system of

multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...

, and is the nephew of authors V. S. Naipaul, Shiva Naipaul, and Savi Naipaul Akal; grandson of Seepersad Naipaul; grandnephew of Rudranath Capildeo and Simbhoonath Capildeo; and cousin of Vahni Capildeo.

Life and career

Bissoondath attended St. Mary's College in Trinidad and Tobago, where he was born in Arima. Although he was from a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

tradition, he was able to adapt to a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

high school. He describes himself as not very religious and distrustful of dogma. In the early 1970s, political upheaval and economic collapse had created a climate of chaos and violence in the island nation. In 1973, at the age of 18, Bissoondath left Trinidad and settled in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, where he studied at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

and received a Bachelor of Arts in French in 1977. He then taught English and French at the Inlingua School of Languages and the Toronto Language Workshop. He won the McClelland and Stewart award and the National Magazine award, both in 1986, for the short story "Dancing". Bissoondath was interviewed by Ali Lakhani in the journal ''Rungh'' about his views on writing and life.

Awards

He won the

Writers' Trust of Canada The Writers' Trust of Canada () is a registered charity which provides financial support to Canadian writers. Founded by Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, Margaret Laurence, and David Young (Canadian playwright), David Young; the W ...

's Gordon Montador Award in 1995 for ''Selling Illusions''. Bissoondath has received honorary doctorates from Glendon College,

and

Université de Moncton The Université de Moncton is a Canadian French-language university in New Brunswick. It includes campuses in Edmundston, Moncton, and Shippagan. The university was founded in 1963 following the recommendations of the royal commission on hig ...

. In 2010 he was made a Chevalier of the Ordre national du Québec."Neil Bissoondath - Chevalier (2010)"
Ordre national du Québec. In 2012, he was awarded the NALIS (National Library of Trinidad and Tobago) Lifetime Literary Achievement Award.Neil Bissoondath biography
at NALIS.

Bibliography

Novels

*''A Casual Brutality'' () – 1989 *''The Innocence of Age'' – 1993 *''The Worlds Within Her'' () – 1999 (Nominated for a Governor General's Award) *''Doing the Heart Good'' () – 2002 *''The Unyielding Clamour of the Night'' () – 2005 *''The Soul of All Great Designs'' () – 2008

Novella

*''Postcards from Hell'' – 2009

Short story collections

*''Digging Up Mountains'' – 1986 *''On the Eve of Uncertain Tomorrows'' – 1990

Non-fiction

*'' Selling Illusions: The Cult of Multiculturalism in Canada'' 1994

References

External links

Neil Bissoondath's
entry in

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

Neil Bissoondath biography
at NALIS. * Nicholas Dinka
"Neil Bissoondath - Hard questions"
''Quill & Quire''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bissoondath, Neil 1955 births Living people Canadian Hindus Canadian male novelists Canadian people of Indian descent Critics of multiculturalism Trinidad and Tobago novelists Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to Canada Trinidad and Tobago Hindus Writers from Quebec City People from Arima 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists Trinidad and Tobago people of Indian descent Trinidad and Tobago male writers 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Academic staff of Université Laval Officers of the Order of Canada Naipaul family Novelists from Quebec