Something – Anything – Foreign Award
I could be
admitted to the Order of Canada; I could receive the Canada Council for the
Arts Literary Award; and I could be featured in a national magazine for my
great contributions to Canadian literature.
But if I
was mentioned in the back pages of the Sandpoint, Idaho
weekly newspaper, this would be the recognition most often cited and celebrated
by my family and friends – because- it was not
- Canadian.
Certainly,
any Top 10 Canadian Writing Awards list would be incomplete without what many
consider our country’s highest recognition – recognition from outside our
country. Like Groucho Marx declining club membership because the club would
have him as a member, Canadians I know sneer at any award or honour that is
stained with the lowly and suspicious limitation of being Canadian.
I thus
await some foreign award or medal with throbbing ambition. In the interim, I
clutch on to a handful of reviews and articles with non-Canadian addresses.
The one
that most often makes me smirk with self-importance is a letter from the writer
and thinker Arthur C. Clarke,
who graciously emailed me and then sent a letter about my book on Creativity and Innovation.
Kary Mullis, the Nobel Laureate, once suggested that his autobiography enjoyed
its greatest sales boost because of Sir Arthur’s positive comments - so I was
anxious to comb through the letter for something similarly quotable. Most of
the letter was about his health and our other exchanges.
But I did
extract the somewhat relevant following.
“Very
Interesting !! ... I was particularly pleased to see Mandelbrot’s
contribution.”
Not much.
The most valuable part of the letter is probably the late author’s signature.
The other
quotable foreign fragment that I pull out regularly is the positive review of
my biography of woman aeronautical engineer Elsie MacGill
in the American Library Association’s – ACRL Magazine - Choice – considered the premier review instrument for the higher
education community in the U.S.
The Review
which reached tens of thousands of librarians and professionals in many
countries was great and really reflected the essence of the book, concluding
with “Recommended ... well worth
reading.”
But just to
keep my ego inside its Canadian box, it added “despite the author’s occasional
purple prose.”
Little did
the reviewer know, not only would I, as a Canadian, wallow with delight in any
attention from outside my country, I also happen to aspire to the label of
purple prose poser. I have become a master of the art form
and ended up promoting that particular element of the Choice
review beyond all others - at least when it strikes me funny and when I am
listing the Top 10 Canadian Writing Awards.
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