M G Vassanji - author

M G Vassanji is the author of nine novels, two collections of short stories, a travel memoir about India, a memoir of East Africa, and a biography of Mordecai Richler. He is twice winner of the Giller Prize (1994 and 2003) for best work of fiction in Canada; the Governor General's Prize (2009) for best work of nonfiction; the Harbourfront Festival Prize; the Commonwealth First Book Prize (Africa, 1990); and the Bressani Prize.  His book “The Assassin's Song”, inspired by devotional ginans which deeply influenced him in childhood, was also shortlisted for the Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Prize, the Writers Trust Award, and India's Crossword Prize.

M G Vassanji was born in Nairobi, Kenya and raised in Tanzania.  His characters reflect his personal roots as an Asian of East Africa, whose historical record, as of that region as a whole, is sparse.  In his own words:

“Since I was a kid, I always wanted to write something beautiful. Of course what was beautiful varied with how old I was. I would also wonder why I was always reading about other places – why not something about people like me, in places such as where I lived – Dar es Salaam, for example. Finally when I went to North America, first to Boston and Philadelphia, then to Toronto, I felt an intense need to re-create what I had lost: stories, memories, histories, landscapes, sounds. And so I began to write. Even when I recreate the past, my work has always dealt with how much can you know, and in what manner. And so my work has confronted the intersection of history with memory – written history with communal, national, family, and personal memory; it is also aware of the subject or person – the novelist or story-teller – who creates. Not only the story but the story-teller is also the subject of my novels. Africa has inspired me because that is where I come from; India has inspired me because it is where my roots are and it is where the ginans come from. I have been deeply influenced by the ginans since early childhood."

He received a BS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, before going to live in Canada.  He lives in Toronto, and visits East Africa and India often.  His work has been translated into several languages. Vassanji has given lectures worldwide and written many essays, including introductions to the works of Robertson Davies, Anita Desai, and Mordecai Richler, and the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi. In June 2015, M G Vassanji was awarded the Canada Council Molson Prize for the Arts. He is also a member of the Order of Canada.

His passion for his craft and surely his many accomplishments in the field of writing have left a legacy for future authors in the Jamat to look to.  As he says:

“I believe that creative writing comes from a compulsion or a need in the writer. It is not a casual occupation or a job. I was an avid reader. I read to escape and to enjoy.”

For more info go to mgvassanji.com