Alice Munro née Laidlaw, was born on July 10, 1931 in Wingham, Ontario. She moved to London, Ontario at the age of 19 to attend the University of Western Ontario. There, she married Jim Munro and they moved to British Columbia, Canada to start a family. They lived in Victoria for more than 20 years with their three daughters. In the 1970s, their marriage had faltered and she decided to leave it. In 1973, she returned to Ontario, near her hometown, where she married her second husband, Gerald Fremlin.
Alice Munro’s writing was supported by many writers, including Margaret Laurence. However, she grew more popularity after the publishing of her first book, which attracted the attention of Margaret Atwood, John Metcalf and Audrey Thomas. Her reputation grew during a time where Canada celebrated cultural nationality, which made many to take notice of her.
Munro received many awards for her works, including three Governor General’s Award, two Giller Prizes and a Manbooker International Prize. She also received the Nobel Prize in Literature on 2013.
When her editor, Douglas Gibson, left Macmillan of Canada to start his own imprint of Douglas Gibson Books under McClellan and Stewart, Munro fought to stay with her editor, which resulted in the publishing of The Progress of Love, the first book published in that said imprint.
Dear Life is Munro’s last book, announcing her retirement on June 2013.
Alice Munro’s thoughts on her Nobel Prize, developing her writing style and feminism.
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Works Cited
Munro, Alice. “The Progress of Love.” An Anthology of Canadian Literature in English. 3rd Ed. Donna Bennett and Russell Brown. Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2010. 681-701. Print
Thacker, Robert. “Alice Munro – Biographical.” Nobelprize.org. Web. <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2013/munro-bio.html>.