Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to page-level navigation Go to the Disability Resource Centre Website Go to the DRC Booking Accommodation Portal Go to the Inclusive Technology Lab Website
The University of British Columbia
UBC - A Place of Mind
The University of British Columbia Okanagan campus
UBC Okanagan News
  • Research
  • People
    • Student Profile
    • Faculty Profile
    • Alumni Spotlight
  • Campus Life
    • Campus News
    • Student Life
    • Teaching & Learning
  • Community Engagement
  • About the Collection
    • Stories for Media
  • UBCO Events
  • Search All Stories
Home / 2013 / October / 11 / Visiting Author David Chariandy gives literary reading on Oct. 21

Visiting Author David Chariandy gives literary reading on Oct. 21

October 11, 2013

Ambitious first novel lauded by critics, nominated for literary prizes

Author David Chariandy

Author David Chariandy gives a reading of his work on Monday, Oct. 21, 7 p.m. at the Okanagan Regional Library, 1380 Ellis St. Kelowna. Chariandy also speaks on Post-race: Hope and Delusion in the 21st Century, on Tuesday, October 22, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the University Theatre.
Photo by: Joy von Tiedemann

Author David Chariandy makes two appearances in the Okanagan this month as this year’s Cultural Studies Annual Speaker and as part of UBC’s Visiting Author series. Chariandy will give a reading of his work on Monday, October 21, 7 p.m. at the Okanagan Regional Library at 1380 Ellis St. Kelowna.

The author, an associate professor of English at Simon Fraser University, also presents a free lecture, titled Post-race: Hope and Delusion in the 21st Century. This event takes place on Tuesday, October 22, from 3:30 to 5 p.m., University Theatre at UBC’s Okanagan campus.

Chariandy’s acclaimed first novel, Soucouyant (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2007), was nominated for several prizes, including the Governor General’s Award (shortlisted); a Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book (shortlisted); the Amazon.ca/Books in Canada First Novel Award (shortlisted); the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize (shortlisted); the Toronto Book Award (shortlisted); the Scotiabank Giller Prize (longlisted); and the International IMPAC Dublin Award (longlisted).

Soucouyant examines the life of an immigrant woman living near Toronto who suffers from pre-senile dementia and her son’s return to care for her. There are issues of past meeting present, racial struggle and class distinction.

Chariandy says that much of the inspiration for Soucouyant came from his grand-aunt’s decline and death from dementia. While she forgot how perform ordinary daily tasks, she remembered an “elsewhere past” in astonishing detail.

“My grand-aunt’s passing forced me to confront not only the sorrow one feels for the death of a loved one, but also the responsibility one might feel towards another’s personal memories,” Chariandy told Canadian Living magazine.

“I guess another discussion could take shape around the various issues that I’ve tried to represent: history and memory; the psychological toll of dementia on families and caregivers; the relationships between immigrant parents and their sons or daughters; the legacies and ongoing realities of colonialism and of bigotry; the ways we interpret or misinterpret monsters and monstrous acts,” Chariandy said in the Canadian Living interview.

His second novel, Brother, is forthcoming from McClelland & Stewart.

— 30 —

Media Contact

Patty Wellborn
Media Relations Strategist
University Relations

The University of British Columbia
Okanagan campus
Tel: 250 317 0293
E-mail: patty.wellborn@ubc.ca

Content type: Media Release
More content from: Uncategorized

Trending Stories

  • Work Study opens new doors for undergraduates
  • Finding new life for plastic waste
  • Strengthening Indigenous community through research
  • Safeguarding water quality
  • Pushing the boundaries of spinal cord research
All Stories
Contact Media Relations

About UBC Okanagan

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose traditional, ancestral and unceded territory the campus resides. The most established and influential global rankings all consistently place UBC in the top five per cent of universities in the world, and among the top three Canadian universities.

The Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

Discover more about UBC Okanagan

Find a Program Admissions Book a Tour UBCO Facts
UBC Okanagan Campus News, University Relations

Innovation Precinct Annexation 1 (IA1)
3505 Spectrum Court
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 2Z1

We respectfully acknowledge the Syilx Okanagan Nation and their peoples, in whose traditional, ancestral, unceded territory UBC Okanagan is situated.

 

Search all stories

Subscribe to receive news by email

Visit UBC's Vancouver news room

Global and Admin Messages

News

Okanagan Campus

TikTok icon Linkedin icon

UBC Okanagan News
Okanagan Campus
3333 University Way
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 1V7
Find us on
  
Back to top
The University of British Columbia
  • Emergency Procedures |
  • Terms of Use |
  • Copyright |
  • Accessibility