Adele Wiseman(May 21, 1928 – June 1, 1992)[1][2]was a Canadian author.

Adele Wiseman
Born(1928-05-21)May 21, 1928
Winnipeg,Manitoba,Canada
DiedJune 1, 1992(1992-06-01)(aged 64)
Toronto,Ontario,Canada
EducationUniversity of Manitoba(BA, 1949)
Notable awardsGovernor General's Award for English-language fiction(1956)

Born inWinnipeg,Manitoba,she received aBachelor of Artsin English literature and psychology from theUniversity of Manitobain 1949.[2]Her parents wereRussian Jewswho emigrated fromUkraineto Canada, in part, to escape thepogromsthat accompanied theRussian Civil War.[3]

In 1956, Wiseman published her first novel,The Sacrifice,which won theGovernor General's Award,[4]Canada's most prestigious literary prize. Her novel,Crackpot,was published in 1974.[2]Both novels deal with Jewish immigrant heritage, the struggle to survivethe DepressionandWorld War II,and the challenges the next generation faced in acculturating to Canadian society.

Wiseman also published plays, children's stories, essays, and other non-fiction. Her book,Old Woman at Play,examines and meditates on the creative process while paying tribute to Wiseman's mother and the dolls she made.[5]

Wiseman was lifelong friends withMargaret Laurencewho was another Canadian author from Manitoba.[2]She was an active and accessible Writer-in-Residence at theUniversity of Windsorin her final years. At a campus rally against the First Gulf War, she read passionately a new poem denouncing war.

Awards

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  • Governor General's Award for English-language fictionforThe Sacrifice(1956)[2][6]
  • Beta Sigma Phi Sorority Award (1957)[2]
  • Brotherhood Award of the National Conference of Christians and Jews (1957)[2]
  • Canadian Foundation fellowship (1957)[2]
  • Guggenheim fellowship (1958)[2]
  • Canada Council Arts Scholarship (1959)[2]
  • Leipzig Book Fair Bronze Medal (1964)[2]
  • Canadian Booksellers Association Book Award (1974)[2]
  • J. I. Segal Foundation Award (1974 and 1988)[2]
  • Three Guineas Charitable Foundation Agency Award (1984–1985)[2]

Selected works

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  • The Sacrifice(1956)
  • Old Markets, New World(1964)
  • Crackpot(1974)
  • Old Woman at Play(1978)
  • Memoirs of a Book Molesting Childhood and Other Essays(1987)
  • Kenji and the Cricket(1988)
  • Puccini and the Prowlers(1992)

Further reading

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  • Ruth Panofsky (2006).The Force of Vocation: The Literary Career of Adele Wiseman.University of Manitoba Press.ISBN0-88755-689-2.
  • Valerie-Kristin Piehslinger.Portrayals of Urban Jewish Communities in U.S. American and Canadian Immigrant Fiction in Selected Texts byAnzia Yezierskaand Adele Wiseman.AV Akademikerverlag, Saarbrücken 2013ISBN9783639463538urn:nbn:de:101:1-201304031931
  • Adam Sol, David S. Koffman, Gary Barwin, Michael Greenstein, Ruth Panofsky, Lisa Richter, Emily Robins Sharpe, and Rhea Tregebov.“Canadian Jewish Poetry: A Roundtable”,Canadian Jewish Studies / Études Juives Canadiennesvol. 34, 2022.

References

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  1. ^Boyd, Colin (2014-04-06)."Adele Wiseman".The Canadian Encyclopedia.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-04-16.Retrieved2023-05-21.
  2. ^abcdefghijklmnBrown, Michael; Panofsky, Ruth (2021-06-23)."Adele Wiseman".Jewish Women's Archive.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-04-28.Retrieved2018-04-26.
  3. ^Boyd, Colin."Adele Wiseman".The Canadian Encyclopedia.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-01-05.Retrieved2018-04-26.
  4. ^"Past GGBooks winners and finalists".Governor General's Literary Awards.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-04-04.Retrieved2018-04-23.
  5. ^Ruth., Panofsky (2006).The force of vocation: the literary career of Adele Wiseman.Winnipeg, Man.: University of Manitoba Press.ISBN0887556892.OCLC243614302.
  6. ^"Governor-General Literature Awards Are Announced".Red Deer Advocate,May 8, 1957.
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