CURRENT UPDATE : NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE 2013

NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE 2013

The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2013 is awarded to the Canadian author Alice Munro for “master of the contemporary short story”.

Biobibliographical notes

Alice Munro was born on the 10th of July, 1931 in Wingham, which is in the Canadian province of Ontario. Her mother was a teacher, and her father was a fox farmer. After finishing high school, she began studying journalism and English at the University of Western Ontario, but broke off her studies when she got married in 1951. Together with her husband, she settled in Victoria, British Columbia, where the couple opened a bookstore. Munro started writing stories in her teens, but published her first book-length work in 1968, the story collection Dance of the Happy Shades, which received considerable attention in Canada. She had begun publishing in various magazines from the beginning of the 1950's. In 1971 she published a collection of stories entitled Lives of Girls and Women, which critics have described as a Bildungsroman.

Munro is primarily known for her short stories and has published many collections over the years. Her works include Who Do You Think You Are? (1978), The Moons of Jupiter (1982), Runaway (2004), The View from Castle Rock(2006) and Too Much Happiness (2009). The collection Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage (2001) became the basis of the film Away from Her from 2006, directed by Sarah Polley. Her most recent collection is Dear Life(2012).

Munro is acclaimed for her finely tuned storytelling, which is characterized by clarity and psychological realism. Some critics consider her a Canadian Chekhov. Her stories are often set in small town environments, where the struggle for a socially acceptable existence often results in strained relationships and moral conflicts – problems that stem from generational differences and colliding life ambitions. Her texts often feature depictions of everyday but decisive events, epiphanies of a kind, that illuminate the surrounding story and let existential questions appear in a flash of lightning.

Alice Munro currently resides in Clinton, near her childhood home in south western Ontario.

Major works in English

·      Dance of the Happy Shades and Other Stories. – Toronto : Ryerson, 1968

·      Lives of Girls and Women. – Toronto : McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1971

·      Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You : Thirteen Stories. – Toronto : McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1974

·      Who Do You Think You Are? : Stories. – Toronto : Macmillan of Canada, 1978. – Note: also published as The Beggar Maid : Stories of Flo and Rose. – New York : Knopf, 1979

·      The Moons of Jupiter : Stories. – Toronto : Macmillan of Canada, 1982

·      The Progress of Love. – Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 1986

·      Friend of My Youth : Stories. – Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 1990

·      Open Secrets : Stories. – Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 1994

·      The Love of a Good Woman : Stories. – Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 1998

·      Queenie : A Story. – London : Profile Books/London Review of Books, 1999

·      Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage : Stories. – Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 2001

·      Runaway : Stories. – Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 2004

·      The View from Castle Rock : Stories. – Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 2006

·      Away from Her. – New York : Vintage, 2007. – Note: contains the short story “The Bear Came Over The Mountain” which was later made into the motion picture Away from her

·      Too Much Happiness : Stories. – Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 2009

·      Dear Life : Stories. – Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 2012

 Collected short stories

§      Selected Stories. – Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 1996

§      No Love Lost. – Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 2003

§      Vintage Munro. – New York : Vintage, 2004

§      Carried Away : A Selection of Stories. – New York : Knopf, 2006

§      Alice Munro’s Best : Selected Stories. – Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 2008

§      New Selected Stories. – London : Chatto & Windus, 2011

 Works in French

µ Pour-qui te prendstu? : roman / traduit de l'anglais par Colette Tonge. – Montréal : Québec/Amérique, 1981. – Traduction de : Who Do You Think You Are?

µ Les lunes de Jupiter : nouvelles / traduit de l'anglais par Colette Tonge. – Paris : Albin Michel, 1989. – Traduction de : The Moons of Jupiter

µ Miles city, Montana / traduit de l'anglais par Florence Petry et Jean-Pierre Ricard. – Paris : Deuxtemps Tierce, 1991. – Traduction de : The Progress of Love

µ Amie de ma jeunesse : nouvelles / traduit de l'anglais par Marie-Odile Fortier-Masek. – Paris : Albin Michel, 1992. – Traduction de : Friend of my Youth

µ Secrets de Polichinelle : nouvelles / traduit de l'anglais (Canada) par Céline Schwaller-Balaÿ. – Paris : Rivages, 1995. – Traduction de : Open Secrets

µ L'amour d'une honnête femme : nouvelles / traduit de l'anglais (Canada) par Geneviève Doze. – Paris : Payot et Rivages, 2001. – Traduction de : The Love of a Good Woman

µ La danse des ombres heureuses : nouvelles/ traduit de l'anglais (Canada) par Geneviève Doze. – Paris : Payot et Rivages, 2002

µ Un demi-pamplemousse : nouvelles / traduit de l'anglais (Canada) par Michèle Causse. – Paris : Payot & Rivages, 2002

µ Un peu, beaucoup, pas du tout / traduit de l'anglais (Canada) par Geneviève Doze. – Paris : Payot et Rivages, 2004. – Traduction de : Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage

µ Loin d'elle / traduit de l'anglais (Canada) par Geneviève Doze. – Paris : Payot & Rivages, 2007

µ Fugitives / traduit de l'anglais (Canada) par Jacqueline Huet et Jean-Pierre Carasso. – Paris : Olivier. 2008. – Traduction de : Runaway

µ Du côté de Castle Rock / traduit de l'anglais (Canada) par Jacqueline Huet et Jean-Pierre Carasso. – Paris : Olivier, 2009. – Traduction de : The View from Castle Rock

µ Trop de bonheur / traduit de l'anglais (Canada) par Jacqueline Huet et Jean-Pierre Carasso. – Paris : Olivier. 2013. – Traduction de : Too Much Happiness 

Works in Swedish

ü  Tiggarflickan / översättning av Karin Benecke. – Stockholm : Norstedt, 1984. – Orig:s titel: The Beggar Maid

ü  Jupiters månar : noveller / översättning av Karin Benecke. – Stockholm : Norstedt, 1985. – Orig:s titel: The Moons of Jupiter

ü  Kärlekens vägar : noveller / översättning av Karin Benecke. – Stockholm : Norstedt, 1991. – Orig:s titel: The Progress of Love

ü  Äpplen eller apelsiner : noveller / översättning av Karin Benecke. – Stockholm : Norstedt, 1993. – Orig:s titel: Friend of my Youth

ü  Kärlek, vänskap, hat : noveller / översättning av Rose-Marie Nielsen. – Stockholm : Wahlström & Widstrand, 2003. – Orig:s titel: Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage

ü  Nära hem / översättning: Karin Benecke. – Stockholm : Atlas, 2009. – Urval ur: Progress of Love; Moons of Jupiter; Friend of my Youth

ü  För mycket lycka / översättning: Rose-Marie Nielsen. – Stockholm : Atlas, 2010. – Orig:s titel: Too Much Happiness

ü  Brinnande livet / översättning: Rose-Marie Nielsen. – Stockholm : Atlas, 2013. – Orig:s titel: Dear life

ü  Tiggarflickan / översättning : Karin Benecke. – Ny utg. – Stockholm : Atlas, 2013. – Orig:s titel: The Beggar Maid

Works in Spanish

Ä Las lunas de Júpiter / traducción de Esperanza Pérez Moreno. – Barcelona : Versal, 1990. – Título original: The Moons of Jupiter

Ä El progreso del amor / versión castellana de Flora Casas. – Madrid : Debate, 1990. – Título original: The Progress of Love

Ä Amistad de juventud / traducción de Esperanza Pérez Moreno. – Barcelona : Versal, 1991. – Título original: Friend of My Youth

Ä Secretos a voces / versión castellana de Flora Casas. – Madrid : Debate, 1996. – Título original: Open Secrets

Ä El amor de una mujer generosa : relatos / traducción de Javier Alfaya Bula, José Hamad, Javier Alfaya McShane. – Madrid : Siglo XXI de España, 2002. – Título original: The Love of a Good Woman

Ä Odio, amistad, noviazgo, amor, matrimonio / traducción de Marcelo Cohen. – Barcelona : RBA, 2003. – Título original: Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage

Ä Escapada / traducción de Carmen Aguilar. – Barcelona : RBA, 2005. – Título original: Runaway

Ä La vista desde Castle Rock / traducción de Isabel Ferrer y Carlos Milla. – Barcelona : RBA, 2008. – Título original: The View from Castle Rock

Ä Demasiada felicidad / traducción de Flora Casas. – Barcelona : Lumen, 2010. – Título original: Too Much Happiness

Ä La vida de las mujeres / traducción de Aurora Echevarría. – Barcelona : Lumen, 2011. – Título original: Lives of Girls and Women

Ä Mi vida querida / traducción de Eugenia Vázquez Nacarino. – Barcelona : Lumen, 2013. – Título original: Dear Life 

Critical studies (a selection)

v Probable Fictions : Alice Munro’s Narrative Acts / edited by Louis K. MacKendrick. – Downsview, Ont. : ECW Press, 1983

v Dahlie, Hallvard, Alice Munro and Her Works. – Toronto, Ont. : ECW Press, 1984

v The Art of Alice Munro : Saying the Unsayable : Papers From the Waterloo Conference / edited by Judith Miller. – Waterloo, Ont. : University of Waterloo Press, 1984

v Martin, W. R., Alice Munro : Paradox and Parallel. – Edmonton, Alta. : University of Alberta Press, 1986

v Blodgett, E. D., Alice Munro. – Boston : Twayne, 1988

v Carrington, Ildikó de Papp, Controlling the Uncontrollable : The Fiction of Alice Munro. – DeKalb : Northern Illinois University Press, 1989

v Rasporich, Beverly Jean, Dance of the Sexes : Art and Gender in the Fiction of Alice Munro. – Edmonton, Alta. : University of Alberta Press, 1990

v Redekop, Magdalene, Mothers and Other Clowns : The Stories of Alice Munro. – London: Routledge, 1992

v Carscallen, James, The Other Country : Patterns in the Writing of Alice Munro. – Toronto : ECW Press, 1993

v Heble, Ajay, The Tumble of Reason : Alice Munro’s Discourse of Absence. – Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 1994

v Howells, Coral Ann, Alice Munro. – Manchester : Manchester University Press, 1998

v The Rest of the Story : Critical Essays on Alice Munro / edited by Robert Thacker. – Toronto : ECW Press, 1999

v Munro, Sheila, Lives of Mothers & Daughters : Growing Up With Alice Munro. – Toronto : McClelland & Stewart, 2001

v Thacker, Robert, Munro : Writing Her Lives : a Biography. – Toronto : Douglas Gibson, 2005

v Mazur, Carol, Alice Munro : An Annotated Bibliography of Works and Criticism / compiled by Carol Mazur ; edited by Cathy Moulder. – Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2007

v Hooper, Brad, The Fiction of Alice Munro : An Appreciation. – Westport, Conn. : Praeger, 2008

v Skagert, Ulrica, Possibility-Space and Its Imaginative Variations in Alice Munro's Short Stories. – Stockholm : Stockholm University, 2008

v Alice Munro / edited and with an introduction by Harold Bloom. – New York : Bloom’s Literary Criticism, 2009

v Duncan, Isla, Alice Munro’s Narrative Art. – New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2011

v Alice Munro / Charles E. May, editor. – Ipswich, Mass. : Salem Press, 2013

Works in German

Ø  Das Bettlermädchen : Geschichten von Flo und Rose / Aus dem Amerikan. übers. von Hildegard Petry. – Stuttgart : Klett-Cotta, 1981. – Originaltitel: Who Do You Think You Are?

Ø  Kleine Aussichten : ein Roman von Mädchen und Frauen / Aus dem Amerikan. übers. von Hildegard Petry. – Stuttgart : Klett-Cotta, 1983. – Originaltitel: Lives of Girls and Women

Ø  Die Jupitermonde : Erzählungen / Aus dem Amerikan. übers. von Manfred Ohl und Hans Sartorius. – Stuttgart : Klett-Cotta, 1986. – Originaltitel: The Moons of Jupiter

Ø  Der Mond über der Eisbahn : Liebesgeschichten / Aus dem Amerikan. übers. von Helga Huisgen. – Stuttgart : Klett-Cotta, 1989. – Originaltitel: The Progress of Love

Ø  Glaubst du, es war Liebe? : Erzählungen / Aus dem Engl. übers. von Karen Nölle-Fischer. – Stuttgart : Klett-Cotta, 1991. – Originaltitel: Friend of my Youth

Ø  Offene Geheimnisse : Erzählungen / Aus dem Engl. von Karen Nölle-Fischer. – Stuttgart : Klett-Cotta, 1996. – Originaltitel: Open Secrets

Ø  Die Liebe einer Frau : drei Erzählungen und ein kurzer Roman / Aus dem Engl. von Heidi Zerning. – Frankfurt am Main : S. Fischer, 2000. – Originaltitel: The Love of a Good Woman

Ø  Der Traum meiner Mutter : Erzählungen / Aus dem Engl. von Heidi Zerning. – Frankfurt am Main : S. Fischer, 2002

Ø  Himmel und Hölle : neun Erzählungen / Aus dem Engl. von Heidi Zerning. – Frankfurt am Main : S. Fischer, 2004. – Originaltitel: Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage

Ø  Tricks : acht Erzählungen / Aus dem Engl. von Heidi Zerning. – Frankfurt am Main : S. Fischer, 2006. – Originaltitel: Runaway

Ø  Wozu wollen Sie das wissen? : elf Erzählungen / Aus dem Engl. von Heidi Zerning. – Frankfurt am Main : S. Fischer, 2008. – Originaltitel: The View from Castle Rock

Ø  Der Bär kletterte über den Berg : drei Dreiecksgeschichten / Aus dem Engl. von Heidi Zerning. – Berlin : Wagenbach, 2008

Ø  Tanz der seligen Geister : fünfzehn Erzählungen / Aus dem Engl. von Heidi Zerning. – Zürich : Dörlemann, 2010. – Originaltitel: Dance of the Happy Shades

Ø  Zu viel Glück : zehn Erzählungen / Aus dem Engl. von Heidi Zerning. – Frankfurt am Main : S. Fischer, 2011. – Originaltitel: Too Much Happiness

Ø  Was ich dir schon immer sagen wollte : dreizehn Erzählungen / Aus dem Engl. von Heidi Zerning. – Zürich : Dörlemann, 2012. – Originaltitel: Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You