The Governor General's Award

1997 Award Winners

Northwest Passages would like to congratulate all the winners of the 1997 Governor General's Literary Awards!

Here is a complete list of all the winners, along with the respective juries' comments on each winning book:

Fiction:

The Underpainter by Jane Urquhart

A brilliant and breathtaking tour de force, The Underpainter resonates with multiple themes, intense emotion, and the sheer beauty of language and art. Urquhart seamlessly imbues both character and landscape with the eternal power of myth. This thought-provoking "Portrait of the Artist" was the unanimous choice of the jurors.

Cet imperceptible mouvement by Aude

Powerful stories, each of them profoundly necessary, that uncompromisingly examine the minute details of the soul in language that is limpid and incisive, where every word is essential.

Poetry

Land to Light On by Dionne Brand

Brand's poems are shot through with an eloquent humility. There is a giving in to bewilderment and despair, which nevertheless sings with courage and love, in a world filled with violence and misunderstanding. This is fiercely political poetry, which never loses its connection with the deep rhythms of the heart.

Romans-fleuves by Pierre Nepveu

Romans-fleuves by Pierre Nepveu takes the form of long poetic texts with an incantatory rhythm and sumptuous style, reflecting tradition while renewing the theme of the search for self through a continental voyage. He brilliantly revives images of winter and the river, and is thus evocative of Gatien Lapointe. His originality lies in his association of the great questions of our times with his own personal quest.

Drama

fareWel by Ian Ross

In Ross's original, touching play, each character is presented on his or her own terms, with humour, compassion and dignity. The play is both intimate and universal. Finally, it is very, very funny.

Dits et Inédits by Yvan Bienvenue

Powerful writing and devasting humour, poetry essential to a world without poetry, and healing pain, since in it lies the pain of an entire era. The language and writing of Yvan Bienvenue leave us no other choice: we have to be here.

Nonfiction

Drumblair - Memories of a Jamaican Childhood by Rachel Manley

Drumblair is an intimate memory of the Manley family - Norman and Edna and their son Michael - and their impact on the intellectual, social and cultural landscape of Jamaica and the West Indies. It is also the story of Michael Manley's daughter and her journey to adulthood. Told in the language of a poet, it is, as Derek Walcott has said of it, "a sensitive and invaluable memoir. Admirable in its reticence and accurate in its mood."

Enfants du néant et mangeurs d'âmes - Guerre, culture et société en Iroquoisie ancienne by Roland Viau

A masterly analysis of the meaning of war amongst the Iroquois. An original work of history that challenges our childhood lessons on the cruelty of the First Peoples and brings us into the heart of the most intimate representations of a society.

Children's Literature - Text

Awake and Dreaming by Kit Pearson

Awake and Dreaming is a magical story about Theo and her relationships. We meet her raffish mother who can't seem to organize her own life, her Aunt Sharon who can organize everything, and the Ghost of Cecily, who weaves the magic that touches the heart of young Theo. Cecily tells Theo: "If you watch carefully, there are always what I call shining moments, even in hard times - moments of sheer joy, when you're just glad to be alive." Reading this book is truly a shining moment.

Pien by Michel Noël

A forceful and tender tribute to the everyday heroes of Northwestern Quebec: First Peoples, loggers, family members. Michel Noël's frank, humorous and sustained style renders unforgettable these portraits of a not-so-distant past, just prior to the huge logging operations. We have the privilege of discovering a true author.

Children's Literature - Illustration

The Party by Barbara Reid, text by Barbara Reid

Pastel shades of plasticine augmented with judicious camera effects create a fun and technically perfect vision of a family birthday party. With unusual vantage points and masterful use of caricature, Barbara Reid draws the reader into her party. This is a book of keen observation and playful detail that will make Aunt Joan blush.

Poil de serpent, dent d'araignée, by Stéphane Poulin, text by Danielle Marcotte

Stéphane Poulin paints a world of legends in a magical realism style. From the very first page, we penetrate an eerie universe, thanks to illustrations that are skilfully composed and laden with atmosphere. Through Poulin's use of monochrome, light seems to burst from the pages. His visual treatment is a wonderful rendering of this forgotten tale of New France.

Translation

The Euguelion by Howard Scott
English version of L'Euguélionne, by Louky Bersianik

Howard Scott finds ingenious solutions to a wide range of daunting translation problems, including French wordplay for which he finds imaginative English equivalents. He recreates the excitement of the original French text for the English reader. This is the essence of translation.

Arracher les montagnes by Marie José Thériault
French version of Digging up the Mountains by Neil Bissoondath

Marie José Thériault has raised the art of translation to such heights that one could believe Arracher les montagnes to be one of her best works as a writer herself. A good translation is always a good read; more rarely is it such good writing as we find here.