Laurence, Margaret

Margaret Jean Laurence (nee Wemyss) was born in Neepawa, Manitoba in 1926. Her mother died when she was four years old. Her father remarried her aunt. He died when she was nine years old and at that point her aunt and stepmother raised her. Margaret married Jack Laurence on September 13, 1947 (they later divorced) and they had two children; Jocelyn and David. She was educated at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.

Margaret Laurence lived in a number of different places including: Somaliland (1950-1952), Ghana (1952-1957), Vancouver (1957-1962), England (1949-1950 and 1962-1969) and finally Ontario until her death in 1987. Her most important piece of literature was the Manawaka series which consists of: "The Stone Angel" in 1964, "A Jest of God" in 1966, "The Fire Dwellers" in 1969, "A Bird in the House" (connected short stories) in 1970 and "The Diviners" in 1974. The subject matter of this series dealt with women and how the prairies were treated by politics. She also wrote about Africa which included: "This Side of Jordan" in 1960, "The Tomorrow-Tamer" in 1963, "The Prophet's Camel Bell" in 1963, "Drums and Cannons" in 1968, "Heart of a Stranger" (personal essays about Africa, her Canadian roots, and her discovery and recognition of her own Canadian identity) in 1976, various short stories, a non-fictional account of her life in Somaliland and a study of Nigerian novelists and playwrights. Her autobiography "Dance on the Earth" was published posthumously in 1989. (Taken from: Ousby, Ian. "The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English." Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1993.)

Laurence won the Governor General's Award for "A Jest of God" and "The Diviners". She received honorary degrees from 12 universities including Trent University in 1972. She was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1973 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1977. She was Chancellor of Trent University from 1981 to 1983, a writer-in-residence and frequent guest speaker at Trent. Margaret Jean Wemyss Laurence died at Lakefield January 5, 1987. (See the Trent Fornightly, Vol. 17, No. 9.)