C13 - Friday, May 11, 1984 - North Shore News Ce ———CCNCCCC#d CONTRIBUTION TO CANADA Hugh MacLennan receives Royal Bank award HUGH MACLENNAN, 77, one of Canada’s foremost authors, is the recipient of this year’s $100,000 Royal Bank Award. Mr. MacLen- nan will receive the award and a gold medal on June 27 at a banquet to be held in Montreal. The Royal Bank has presented the award an- nually since 1967 to Cana- dians whose achievements have made an outstanding contribution to human welfare and the common good. ‘Mr. MacLennan will be read more and more in CGanada and abroad and will be recognized as the signifi- cant voice in Canada for the 20th century,’ said the Reyal Bank Award selection com- mittee. The committee, which acts independently of the bank, said the award is ‘‘a tribute to Mr. MacLen- nan’s lifetime of creative work which has articulated the Canadian experience in a way that remarins timeless and relevant to a universal readership." “Canada has become known throughout the world in an intimate and lasting way through Mr. MacLen- nan's work,’ said Dr. Roger Gaudry, former rector of the University of Montreal and chairman of the selection committee. ‘*But perhaps his most enduring achievement is not his interpretation of Canadians to others, but rather his interpretation of (Canadians to each other. Mr. Macl.ennan remains today, through his writing and his direct personal influence, an eloquent witness of the quali- ty of life which may be described as Canadian.’’ Maclennan, author of seven novels, six volumes of essays, and regular articles tor a wide vanety of both ( anadian and international pubhcations, many of which have been translated into several languages, has receiv ed 18 honorary university degrees and is a Companion of the Order of Canada Born ain Cilace Bay, Nova Scotia un F807 the attended Dalhousie lo miversity. went on ta Omaford as a Rhodes Scholar and completed his Tht: THM ined meat De at eS isatatatutana nas doctorate at Princeton University, specializing in the classics and Roman history. He became a teacher in 1938 at Lower Canada College in Montreal prior to joining the English department at McGill University in 1951, a relation- ship he retains as a resident of Montreal, although he no longer teaches. Gaudry said McGill University has been enriched by MacLennan’s contribu- tions. He said ‘‘thousands of students have passed through Mr. MacLennan’s classes since he began teaching and there is endless testimony from them of the great shap- ing influence he has been.”’ Gaudry said MacLennan is one of the few people who can make Canada’s recent literary history come truly alive for students in a way that only someone central to that tradition can. Commenting on MacLen- nan’s achievements, David L. Johnston, principal and vice- chancellor of McGill, said: ‘*First, he has enabled us to understand and take con- structive pride in ourselves and the society our ancestors have built. Secondly, he has enabled our society — Canada — to understand and contribute more positively to the world of nations within which it functions." Since his first novel, Barometer Rising, was published in 1941, Mr. MacLennan’s works have embodied the struggles and successes which bind Cana- dians. Two Solittudes, published in 1945S, which pro- vides an analysis of human relations as seen in the con- flict of Canada’s French and English cultures, has lost none of its significance after 38 years, said Gaudry ‘‘lt continues to be studied by English and French Cana- dians for tts unique and pro- found insights,’” he said The Watch That Ends the Night, which was awarded the Governor General's Award for English Fiction in 1959, has been acclaimed as one of the mast aesthetic con tributions toa Canadian lutcrature, noted Craudry be said the novel will Continued to be read for Maclennan’s cx ploration of the political and plorat Precipice (1948), Each Man’s MacLennan joins two individual conflicts that have Son (1951), Return of the other literary figures — tended to divide Canadians. Sphinx (1967) and Voices in novelist Morley Callaghan His other novels are: The Time (1980). (1970) and literary scholar Children’s Fare $638 (ages 2-11) e Seniors can save $25 on return airfare ® Includes return airfare from Vancouver e Transportation taxes not included For complete details, terms and conditions, call your travel agent or Pacific Western Holidays in Vancouver at 276-9000 or at 112-800-663-0252 from within B.C & Pacific sou. Western Hoh! TAY Dr. H. Northrop Frye (1978) — among the 21 Canadians who have received the Royal Bank Award since 1967.