Robert Majzels Explained
Robert Majzels (born May 12, 1950) is a Canadian novelist, poet, playwright and translator.[1]
Life
Majzels was born in Montreal, Quebec. In 1986, he graduated with a master's degree in English Literature from Concordia University in Montreal, where he would later teach creative writing for thirteen years. Between 2000 and 2002, he lived in Beijing, China and studied Chinese. After teaching for seven years at the University of Calgary, he now lives in Sooke, British Columbia.
Works
Majzels is strongly influenced by critical and literary theory. His works explore both the limits of language and narrative forms and their ethical repercussions. His novels highlight the artificiality of Western literary language, especially its linearity, archetypal narratives, and the ways in which it works to establish characters as believable personae (characterization). Concurrently, they explore other, neglected forms of literary expression. For example, Apikoros Sleuth experimented with a Talmudic form, noted for its polyphonic, discursive, and digressive qualities.
Awards
- 2000 Governor General's Award for French to English translation for Just Fine, from the French Pas Pire, by France Daigle (2000).[2]
- 2008 Griffin Poetry Prize shortlist for Notebook of Roses and Civilization, from the French Cahier de roses & de civilisation, by Nicole Brossard (2007).
- 2008 Governor General's Award for French to English translation nomination with Erín Moure for Notebook of Roses and Civilization, from the French Cahier de roses & de civilisation, by Nicole Brossard (2007).
- 2014 Best Translated Book Award, Poetry, shortlist for White Piano by Nicole Brossard, from the French.[3]
- 1994 Canadian Jewish Playwriting Competition, first prize for This Night the Kapo.
- 1991 Dorothy Silver Award, Playwrights competition, first prize for This Night the Kapo.[4]
Partial bibliography
- Novels
- 1992: Hellman's Scrapbook a novel. Cormorant Books
- 1998: City of Forgetting a novel. Mercury Press
- 2004: Apikoros Sleuth a novel. Mercury Press
- 2007: The Humbugs Diet a novel. Mercury Press
- 2020: kHarLaMoV's aNkLe: A Utopian Fantasy. The Elephants
- Plays
- 2005: This Night the Kapo. Playwrights Canada Press
- Translations
- 1999: A Fine Passage a novel, translated from the French Un fin passage by France Daigle. Anansi
- 2000: Installations poetry translated with Erín Moure from the French Installations by Nicole Brossard. Muses' Co.
- 2002: Museum of Bone and Water poetry, translated with Erín Moure from the French Musée de l'os et de l'eau by Nicole Brossard. Anansi
- 2004: Life's Little Difficulties a novel, translated from the French Petites difficultés d'existence by France Daigle.
- 2013: For Sure translated from the French Pour sûr by France Daigle. Anansi
References
- Alexander Hart, "MAJZELS, Robert" (2002) in: William H. New (ed.), Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada. University of Toronto Press, p. 750.
- Web site: Robert Majzels . Playwrights Canada Press . September 10, 2015 . October 27, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151027130446/http://www.playwrightscanada.com/index.php/robert-majzels.html . dead .
- Web site: 2014 Best Translated Book Awards: Poetry Finalists . Three Percent . Chad W. Post . April 14, 2014 . April 16, 2014.
- Web site: 12 or 20 questions: with Robert Majzels. Rob McLennan . Alberta, Writing . December 8, 2007 . September 10, 2015.
External links