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Nancy Huston

April 11, 2024

Nancy Louise Huston, OC (born September 16, 1953) is a Canadian-born novelist and essayist who writes primarily in French and translates her own works into English.[1]

Nancy Huston
Huston in 2008
BornNancy Louise Huston
(1953-09-16) 16 September 1953 (age 70)
Calgary, Alberta
OccupationNovelist, translator
NationalityCanadian
Notable awardsGrand prix des lectrices de Elle
SpouseTzvetan Todorov
Children2, including Léa

Biography edit

Huston was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, the city in which she lived until age fifteen, at which time her family moved to Wilton, New Hampshire, where she attended High Mowing School. She studied at Sarah Lawrence College in New York City, where she was given the opportunity to spend a year of her studies in Paris. Arriving in Paris in 1973, Huston obtained a master's degree from the École des hautes études en sciences sociales, writing a thesis on swear words under the supervision of Roland Barthes.[2]

After many years of marriage to Tzvetan Todorov, with whom she had two children (Léa and Sacha),[3] Huston now shares her life with Swiss painter Guy Oberson.

Career edit

Because French was a language acquired at school and university, Huston found that the combination of her eventual command of the language and her distance from it as a non-native speaker helped her to find her literary voice. Since 1980, Huston has published over 45 books of fiction and non-fiction, including theatre and children's books. Some of her publications are self-translations of previously published works. Essentially she writes in French and subsequently self-translates into English but Plainsong (1993) was written first in English and then self-translated to French as Cantique des plaines (1993) – it was, however, the French version which first found a publisher.

She has 25 fiction publications, of which 13 are original fiction and 11 are self-translations.

In her fiction, only Trois fois septembre (1989), Visages de l'aube (2001) and Infrarouge (2010), as well as her three children's books, have not been published in English. She has also published two plays but has not yet translated either.

She has 14 non-fiction publications, of which 12 are original publications and two are self-translations. The other ten non-fiction publications have not yet been self-translated.

While Huston's often controversial works of non-fiction have been well-received, her fiction has earned her the most critical acclaim. Her first novel, Les variations Goldberg (1981), was awarded the Prix Contrepoint and was shortlisted for the Prix Femina. She translated this novel into English as The Goldberg Variations (1996).

Her next major award came in 1993 when she was received the Canadian Governor General's Award for Fiction in French for Cantique des Plaines (1993). This was initially contested as it was a translation of Plainsong (1993), but Huston demonstrated that it was an adaptation and kept the prize. A subsequent novel, La virevolte (1994), won the Prix "L" and the Prix Louis-Hémon. It was published in English in 1996 as Slow Emergencies.[4]

Huston's novel, Instruments des ténèbres, has been her most successful novel yet, being shortlisted for the Prix Femina, and the Governor General's Award. It was awarded the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens, as well as both the Prix des lectrices (Elle Québec) and the Prix du livre Inter in 1997.[5]

In 1998, she was nominated for a Governor General's Award for her novel L'Empreinte de l'ange. The next year she was nominated for a Governor General's Award for translating the work into English as The Mark of the Angel.

In 1999, she appeared in the film Set Me Free (Emporte-moi), also collaborating on the screenplay.

Her works have been translated into many languages from Chinese to Russian.

In 2005, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada,[6] and she received the Prix Femina in 2006 for the novel Lignes de faille and which, as Fault Lines, has been published by Atlantic Books and is shortlisted for the 2008 Orange Prize.[7]

Her latest novel is Infrarouge (2010).

In 2007, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Liège.

In 2010, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa.[8]

In 2012, she won the Literary Review's Bad Sex in Fiction Award for her novel, Infrared.[9]

Critical response edit

Canadian poet and critic Frank Davey in "Big, Bad and Little Known: The Anglophone-Canadian Nancy Huston" (2004), is critical of Huston's English writing style. In response to this, Joseph Pivato in "Nancy Huston Meets le Nouveau Roman" (2016), contends that Huston was influenced by the French writers of le Nouveau Roman and their theory of composition.

Selected works edit

Fiction edit

  • The Goldberg Variations (1996) – self-translation of Les variations Goldberg [fr] (1981) awarded the Prix Contrepoint in 1982.
  • The Story of Omaya (1987) – self-translation of Histoire d'Omaya (1985)
  • Trois fois septembre (1989) [no English self-translation]
  • Plainsong (1993) – Cantique des plaines (self-translation) (1993)
  • Slow Emergencies (1996) – self-translation of La Virevolte (1994)
  • Instruments of Darkness (1997) – self-translation of Instruments des ténèbres (1996)
  • The Mark of the Angel (1998) – self-translation of L'empreinte de l'ange (1988)
  • Prodigy: A Novella (2000) – self-translation of Prodige : polyphonie (1999)
  • Limbes/Limbo (2000) [bilingual edition]
  • Visages de l'aube (2001) [with Valérie Winckler – no English version]
  • Dolce Agonia (2001) – self-translation of the French version Dolce agonia (2001), cover illustration by Ralph Petty
  • An Adoration (2003) – self-translation of Une adoration (2003)
  • Fault Lines (2007) – self-translation of Lignes de faille (2006)
  • Infrarouge (2010) – Infrared (2012)
  • Danse noire* (2013) – [no English self-translation as of yet]

Theatre edit

  • Angela et Marina (2002) [with Valérie Grail – no English self-translation]
  • Jocaste reine (2009, translated as Jocasta Regina, 2010)

Non-fiction edit

  • Jouer au papa et à l'amant (1979) [no English self-translation]
  • Dire et interdire : éléments de jurologie (1980) [no English self-translation]
  • Mosaïque de la pornographie : Marie-Thérèse et les autres (1982) [no English self-translation]
  • Journal de la création (1990)[no English self-translation]
  • Tombeau de Romain Gary (1995) [no English self-translation]
  • Pour un patriotisme de l'ambiguïté (1995) [no English self-translation]
  • Nord perdu : suivi de Douze France (1999)
  • Losing north: musings on land, tongue and self (2002) [self-translation of Nord perdu : suivi de Douze France]
  • Professeurs de désespoir (2004) [no English self-translation]
  • Passions d'Annie Leclerc (2007) [no English self-translation]
  • L'espèce fabulatrice (2008)
  • The Tale-Tellers: A Short Study of Humankind (2008) [self-translation of L'espèce fabulatrice]

Correspondence edit

  • À l'amour comme à la guerre (1984) [no English version]
  • Lettres parisiennes : autopsie de l'exil [with Leila Sebbar] (1986) [no English version]

Selected texts edit

  • Désirs et réalités : textes choisis 1978–1994 (1995) [no English version]
  • Âmes et corps : textes choisis 1981–2003 (2004) [no English version]

Children's fiction edit

  • Véra veut la vérité (1992) [with Léa & Willi Glasauer – English version as "Vera learns the Truth"]
  • Dora demande des détails (1997) [with Léa & Pascale Bougeault – no English version]
  • Les souliers d'or (1998) [no English self-translation]

Filmography edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ "Nancy Huston – Penguin Random House". Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  2. ^ Nancy Huston entry at Encyclopædia Britannica
  3. ^ Chardon, Elisabeth (2008-02-21). "Nancy Huston et Sacha Todorov sans masques". Le Temps (in French). Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  4. ^ Author Profile: Nancy Huston
  5. ^ "Leméac Éditeur - Nancy Huston". Leméac Éditeur.
  6. ^ General, The Office of the Secretary to the Governor. "The Governor General of Canada". Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  7. ^ "Heather O'Neill, Nancy Huston in running for U.K.'s Orange Prize". CBC News. March 18, 2008.
  8. ^ Outstanding individuals to receive honorary doctorates at University of Ottawa spring convocation 2010-11-15 at the Wayback Machine, University of Ottawa Website, 3 June 2010
  9. ^ Kennedy, Maev (December 4, 2012). "Bad sex award goes to Nancy Huston's 'babies and bedazzlements'". The Guardian. Retrieved December 4, 2012.

References edit

  • Eugene Benson and William Toye, eds. The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature, Second Edition. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1997: 564–565. ISBN 0-19-541167-6

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nancy Huston.

April 11, 2024
nancy, huston, nancy, louise, huston, born, september, 1953, canadian, born, novelist, essayist, writes, primarily, french, translates, works, into, english, huston, 2008bornnancy, louise, huston, 1953, september, 1953, calgary, albertaoccupationnovelist, tran. Nancy Louise Huston OC born September 16 1953 is a Canadian born novelist and essayist who writes primarily in French and translates her own works into English 1 Nancy HustonHuston in 2008BornNancy Louise Huston 1953 09 16 16 September 1953 age 70 Calgary AlbertaOccupationNovelist translatorNationalityCanadianNotable awardsGrand prix des lectrices de ElleSpouseTzvetan TodorovChildren2 including Lea Contents 1 Biography 2 Career 3 Critical response 4 Selected works 4 1 Fiction 4 2 Theatre 4 3 Non fiction 4 4 Correspondence 4 5 Selected texts 4 6 Children s fiction 4 7 Filmography 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksBiography editHuston was born in Calgary Alberta Canada the city in which she lived until age fifteen at which time her family moved to Wilton New Hampshire where she attended High Mowing School She studied at Sarah Lawrence College in New York City where she was given the opportunity to spend a year of her studies in Paris Arriving in Paris in 1973 Huston obtained a master s degree from the Ecole des hautes etudes en sciences sociales writing a thesis on swear words under the supervision of Roland Barthes 2 After many years of marriage to Tzvetan Todorov with whom she had two children Lea and Sacha 3 Huston now shares her life with Swiss painter Guy Oberson Career editBecause French was a language acquired at school and university Huston found that the combination of her eventual command of the language and her distance from it as a non native speaker helped her to find her literary voice Since 1980 Huston has published over 45 books of fiction and non fiction including theatre and children s books Some of her publications are self translations of previously published works Essentially she writes in French and subsequently self translates into English but Plainsong 1993 was written first in English and then self translated to French as Cantique des plaines 1993 it was however the French version which first found a publisher She has 25 fiction publications of which 13 are original fiction and 11 are self translations In her fiction only Trois fois septembre 1989 Visages de l aube 2001 and Infrarouge 2010 as well as her three children s books have not been published in English She has also published two plays but has not yet translated either She has 14 non fiction publications of which 12 are original publications and two are self translations The other ten non fiction publications have not yet been self translated While Huston s often controversial works of non fiction have been well received her fiction has earned her the most critical acclaim Her first novel Les variations Goldberg 1981 was awarded the Prix Contrepoint and was shortlisted for the Prix Femina She translated this novel into English as The Goldberg Variations 1996 Her next major award came in 1993 when she was received the Canadian Governor General s Award for Fiction in French for Cantique des Plaines 1993 This was initially contested as it was a translation of Plainsong 1993 but Huston demonstrated that it was an adaptation and kept the prize A subsequent novel La virevolte 1994 won the Prix L and the Prix Louis Hemon It was published in English in 1996 as Slow Emergencies 4 Huston s novel Instruments des tenebres has been her most successful novel yet being shortlisted for the Prix Femina and the Governor General s Award It was awarded the Prix Goncourt des Lyceens as well as both the Prix des lectrices Elle Quebec and the Prix du livre Inter in 1997 5 In 1998 she was nominated for a Governor General s Award for her novel L Empreinte de l ange The next year she was nominated for a Governor General s Award for translating the work into English as The Mark of the Angel In 1999 she appeared in the film Set Me Free Emporte moi also collaborating on the screenplay Her works have been translated into many languages from Chinese to Russian In 2005 she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada 6 and she received the Prix Femina in 2006 for the novel Lignes de faille and which as Fault Lines has been published by Atlantic Books and is shortlisted for the 2008 Orange Prize 7 Her latest novel is Infrarouge 2010 In 2007 she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Liege In 2010 she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa 8 In 2012 she won the Literary Review s Bad Sex in Fiction Award for her novel Infrared 9 Critical response editCanadian poet and critic Frank Davey in Big Bad and Little Known The Anglophone Canadian Nancy Huston 2004 is critical of Huston s English writing style In response to this Joseph Pivato in Nancy Huston Meets le Nouveau Roman 2016 contends that Huston was influenced by the French writers of le Nouveau Roman and their theory of composition Selected works editFiction edit The Goldberg Variations 1996 self translation of Les variations Goldberg fr 1981 awarded the Prix Contrepoint in 1982 The Story of Omaya 1987 self translation of Histoire d Omaya 1985 Trois fois septembre 1989 no English self translation Plainsong 1993 Cantique des plaines self translation 1993 Slow Emergencies 1996 self translation of La Virevolte 1994 Instruments of Darkness 1997 self translation of Instruments des tenebres 1996 The Mark of the Angel 1998 self translation of L empreinte de l ange 1988 Prodigy A Novella 2000 self translation of Prodige polyphonie 1999 Limbes Limbo 2000 bilingual edition Visages de l aube 2001 with Valerie Winckler no English version Dolce Agonia 2001 self translation of the French version Dolce agonia 2001 cover illustration by Ralph Petty An Adoration 2003 self translation of Une adoration 2003 Fault Lines 2007 self translation of Lignes de faille 2006 Infrarouge 2010 Infrared 2012 Danse noire 2013 no English self translation as of yet Theatre edit Angela et Marina 2002 with Valerie Grail no English self translation Jocaste reine 2009 translated as Jocasta Regina 2010 Non fiction edit Jouer au papa et a l amant 1979 no English self translation Dire et interdire elements de jurologie 1980 no English self translation Mosaique de la pornographie Marie Therese et les autres 1982 no English self translation Journal de la creation 1990 no English self translation Tombeau de Romain Gary 1995 no English self translation Pour un patriotisme de l ambiguite 1995 no English self translation Nord perdu suivi de Douze France 1999 Losing north musings on land tongue and self 2002 self translation of Nord perdu suivi de Douze France Professeurs de desespoir 2004 no English self translation Passions d Annie Leclerc 2007 no English self translation L espece fabulatrice 2008 The Tale Tellers A Short Study of Humankind 2008 self translation of L espece fabulatrice Correspondence edit A l amour comme a la guerre 1984 no English version Lettres parisiennes autopsie de l exil with Leila Sebbar 1986 no English version Selected texts edit Desirs et realites textes choisis 1978 1994 1995 no English version Ames et corps textes choisis 1981 2003 2004 no English version Children s fiction edit Vera veut la verite 1992 with Lea amp Willi Glasauer English version as Vera learns the Truth Dora demande des details 1997 with Lea amp Pascale Bougeault no English version Les souliers d or 1998 no English self translation Filmography edit Stolen Life 1998 as screenwriter Notes edit Nancy Huston Penguin Random House Retrieved 3 November 2016 Nancy Huston entry at Encyclopaedia Britannica Chardon Elisabeth 2008 02 21 Nancy Huston et Sacha Todorov sans masques Le Temps in French Retrieved 2024 03 08 Author Profile Nancy Huston Lemeac Editeur Nancy Huston Lemeac Editeur General The Office of the Secretary to the Governor The Governor General of Canada Retrieved 3 November 2016 Heather O Neill Nancy Huston in running for U K s Orange Prize CBC News March 18 2008 Outstanding individuals to receive honorary doctorates at University of Ottawa spring convocation Archived 2010 11 15 at the Wayback Machine University of Ottawa Website 3 June 2010 Kennedy Maev December 4 2012 Bad sex award goes to Nancy Huston s babies and bedazzlements The Guardian Retrieved December 4 2012 References editEugene Benson and William Toye eds The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature Second Edition Toronto Oxford University Press 1997 564 565 ISBN 0 19 541167 6External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nancy Huston Nancy Huston dea ex machina Nancy Huston entry at Canadian Encyclopedia Works by Nancy Huston at Open Library nbsp in French Fonds Nancy Huston R15463 at Library and Archives Canada Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nancy Huston amp oldid 1217607032, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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