Genni Gunn. Courtesy Amazon.
Genni Gunn (born 1949) is a Canadian poet, novelist, and translator.
Life[]
Gunn was born Genni Donati in Trieste, Italy.[1]
She moved to Canada in 1960 at 11 years old, and grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. Before starting university Gunn had toured Canada with a number of bands.[1]
Gunn studied at the University of British Columbia where she earned a B.F.A. in 1982 and an M.F.A. in 1984. While still a student, she began to publish poetry and short stories.[1]
Gunn has taught creative writing for many years at Kwantlen University College in Vancouver, and has been a visiting professor at Queen's University, Kingston, the Banff School of Arts, The University of British Columbia, and the Island Mountain Arts School. She has been an active member of the Writers’ Union of Canada and the Literary Translators Association of Canada.[1]
Gunn has translated poetry books by Italian poet, Dacia Maraini, Devour Me Too (1987) and Travelling in the Gait of a Fox (1992),[1] and one by Corrado Calabro, Text Me (2014).[2]
Her opera libretto, Alternative Visions, was staged in Montreal in May, 2007.[1]
Writing[]
Her debut colletion, On the Road (1991), contained short stories on traveling with a band. Her novel, Thrice Upon a Time (1990) deals with the search for the identity of an abandoned child; the narrative uses fictional native legends which are templates of the novel. Her 3rd book was a collection of prose poems, Mating in Captivity (1993).[1]
Her second novel, Tracing Iris (2001), deals with the daughter’s search for the mother who left her when she was a child. The novel was made into a film, The Riverbank (2011). These themes of loss, abandonment, and search for identity are also explored in Gunn’s 3rd novel, Solitaria (2010), set in Italy’s southern Adriatic coast. Here Piera, the heroine, keeps the secret of her long-lost brother. Her siblings come home to discover the truth from her at last.[1] She has also published a Travel Memoir, Tracks: Journeys in Time and Place (2013).
Recognition[]
Gunn’s works have been finalists for the CBC Literary Awards in all 3 categories: fiction, personal essay, and poetry; the Giller Prize longlist for Solitaria (2011); the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Thrice Upon a Time; the Gerald Lampert Award for poetry collection Mating In Captivity; the Premio Internazionale Diego Valeri for literary translation for Traveling in the Gait of a Fox; and the John Glassco Translation Prize for Devour Me Too.
She has received 2 Praxis Film Development Fellowships for her screenplays.
Publications[]
Poetry[]
- Mating in Captivity. Kingston, ON: Quarry, 1993. ISBN 1-55082-067-2
- Faceless. Winnipeg, MB: Signature Editions, 2007. ISBN 1-897109-16-4
Novels[]
- Thrice Upon a Time. Kingston, ON: Quarry Press, 1990. ISBN 0-919627-81-1
- Tracing Iris. . Vancouver: Raincoast, 2001. ISBN 1-55192-486-2
- Solitaria. Winnipeg, MB: Signature Editions, 2010. ISBN 1-897109-43-1
Short fiction[]
- On the Road. Ottawa: Oberon, 1991. ISBN 0-88750-840-5
- Hungers. Vancouver: Raincoast, 2002. ISBN 1-55192-566-4
- "Stones" (2008), in Exotic Gothic 2 (edited by Danel Olson), ISBN 978-1-55310-109-3 hardbound, ISBN 978-1-55310-110-9 paperback[3]
- "Water Lover" (May 2012), in Exotic Gothic 4 (edited by Danel Olson), ISBN 978-1-84863-300-1 hardbound, ISBN 978-1-84863-301-8 [3]
Non-fiction[]
- “Avoiding the Stereotypes,” in Writers in Transition (edited by C.D. Minni & A. Foschi Ciampolini). Montreal: Guernica, 1990.
Translated[]
- Corrado Calabro, Text Me = Dimmelo Per SMS). Winnipeg, MB: Signature Editions, 2014.[2]
- Dacia Maraini, Devour Me Too = Mangiami Pure). Montreal: Guernica, 1987 .
- Dacia Maraini, Traveling in the Gait of a Fox = Viaggiando Con Passo Di Volpe). Kingston: Quarry, 1992.
Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy Athabasca University.[4].
Audio / video[]
GENNI GUNN @ JUDECAST
Opera[]
- Alternate Visions (with music by John Oliver), commissioned by Vancouver Opera, produced by Chants Libres, Montreal, May 2007.
See also[]
References[]
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Joseph Pivato, Genni Gunn, English-Canadian Writers, Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, Athabasca University. Web, Apr. 10, 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Text Me / Dimmelo per SMS, Amazon.ca. Web, May 13, 2019.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Genni Gunn," Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Web, July 1, 2012.
- ↑ Bibliography of Works by Genni Gunn, English-Canadian Writers, Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, Athabasca University. Web, July 1, 2012.
External links[]
- Books
- Genni Gunn at Amazon
- About
- Genni Gunn at English-Canadian Writers
- Genni Gunn Official website
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