W. D. Valgardson |
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| Born | 7 May 1939 (1939-05-07) (age 84)
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| Occupation(s) | Novelist, short story writer, poet |
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| Notable work | Bloodflowers: Ten Stories (1973) |
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Icelandic-Canadian fiction writer, poet, and academic
William Dempsey Valgardson (born 7 May 1939) is an Icelandic-Canadian fiction writer and poet.[1] He was a long-time professor of writing at the University of Victoria in British Columbia.[1]
His writing often focuses on cultural differences and involve irony and symbolism. His short stories involve normal people in normal situations, who, under certain circumstances, lead unusual and surprising lives.
Valgardson has won numerous awards and accolades including the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize for The Girl With the Botticelli Face (1992) and the Books in Canada First Novel Award for Gentle Sinners (1980).[2] His short story "Bloodflowers" was included in Best American Short Stories 1971.
Biography
Valgardson was born 7 May 1939 in Winnipeg, Manitoba to parents Dempsey Alfred Herbert, a fisherman of Icelandic descent, and Rachel Iris Valgardson.[3] He was raised in Gimli, Manitoba, a community with a large Icelandic population.[1][3] This upbringing greatly impacted his personal life perspective, as well as his future writing.[3]
He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba in 1960, followed by a Bachelor of Education in 1966.[3] Three years later, he received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa after attending the Iowa Writers' Workshop.[3]
Between his degree programs, Valgardson taught English in various schools across rural Manitoba;[3] after receiving his master's degree, he taught English at Cottey College.[3] During this time, he began writing and publishing, with his first short story collection, Bloodflowers: Ten Stories, coming out in 1973.
Valgardson began teaching writing at the University of Victoria in 1974.[3]
