Jeffrey Moore is a
Canadian writer
This is a list of Canadian literary figures, including poets, novelists, children's writers, essayists, and scholars.
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, translator and educator currently living in
Val-Morin
Val-Morin is a municipality in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Les Laurentides Regional County Municipality.
Geography
Val-Morin is located in the Laurentian Mountains, along the Rivière du Nord and on the shores of Lake R ...
in the Quebec Laurentians. Moore was born in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, and educated at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
, BA, the
Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
and the
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...
, MA.
Novels
Moore's first novel, ''
Prisoner in a Red-Rose Chain
''Prisoner in a Red-Rose Chain'' (also published as ''Red-Rose Chain'') is the first novel by Canadian author Jeffrey Moore it won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book in 2000, and has been translated into a dozen different languages ...
'' won the
Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Commonwealth Foundation presented a number of prizes between 1987 and 2011. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Best ...
for Best First Book in 2000.
Moore's second novel, ''The Memory Artists'', (published 2004 by Viking, 19 translations) won the Canadian Authors Association Prize for fiction in 2005. It follows Noel Burun, a psychology graduate student with
synaesthesia
Synesthesia (American English) or synaesthesia (British English) is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who rep ...
and
hypermnesia, as he sets out with three equally eccentric friends to find a wonder-drug cure for his mother's early-onset Alzheimer's. "Moore explores every facet of memory," according to Joanne Wilkinson in ''Booklist'', "as both a burden and a blessing--in this delightful and inspired story." In the ''New York Times Book Review'', Michael J. Agovino described ''The Memory Artists'' as "a rich novel, erudite and funny, as much about brain chemistry, the wellness industry and poetry as it is about memory." Agovino concludes that "''The Memory Artists'' is a pleasure to read; it's strangely uplifting to spend time with these flawed but humane characters."
In Moore's third novel, ''The Extinction Club'', (published 2010 by Penguin, 12 translations), Nile Nightingale is on the lam from false charges of child abduction pressed against him by his ex-girlfriend in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. When he attempts to hole up in an abandoned church in the Laurentians, he encounters the beaten and bloodied Céleste, a fourteen-year-old, animal-rights activist who has been squatting there. Recently orphaned of her last living relative, her grandmother, Céleste turns to Nile for her survival and to continue her battle against poachers ready to hunt the rare North American cougar to extinction. "At its best, ''The Extinction Club'' is gripping and incisive," according to the Globe and Mail review by Darryl Whetter, who also credits the novel with integrating "philosophical inquiries into violence and predation with an undeniably dynamic plot."
Academic Reception
Academic treatment of Moore's work, thus far, has focussed on its relation to Quebec literature and, more specifically, to
Anglo-Quebec literature. For example, in his essay "Is There an Anglo-Québécois Literature?" Gregory J. Reid notes that "Moore's ''Prisoner in a Red-Rose Chain'' includes French-speaking characters and, therefore, code shifting" and that the novel problematizes "the minority status of English in Quebec
. .through exaggeration and comic irony rather than earnest denial." In "A Context for Conversation? Reading Jeffrey Moore's ''The Memory Artists'' as Anglo-Quebec Literature," Patrick Coleman compares the novel to
Robert Majzels
Robert Majzels (born May 12, 1950) is a Canadian novelist, poet, playwright and translator.
Life
Majzels was born in Montreal, Quebec. In 1986, he graduated with a master's degree in English Literature from Concordia University in Montreal, w ...
' ''Hellman's Scrapbook'' and
Jacques Godbout
Jacques Godbout, OC, CQ (born November 27, 1933) is a Canadian novelist, essayist, children's writer, journalist, filmmaker and poet. By his own admission a bit of a dabbler (''touche-à-tout''), Godbout has become one of the most important wri ...
's ''Les Têtes à Papineau'' and concludes that "Further comparative studies along these lines, in which a particular work is confronted with others from both different languages and literary traditions, would sharpen our understanding of the problematic relationship between theme, style and location in
Anglo-Quebec literature." In "Jeffrey Moore's ''The Memory Artists'': Synaesthesia, Science and the Art of Memory," Marc André Fortin analyzes the novel in terms of the interplay between science and literature.
[Fortin, Marc André. "Jeffrey Moore']
"The Memory Artists: Synaesthesia, Science and the Art of Memory."
Studies in Canadian Literature (2012) 37.2: 32-53.
Selected Translations of French works
*''International Festival of Films on Art'' catalogues 1988—present (Montreal: FIFA)
*Isabelle Van Grimde, ''The Body in Question(s)'' (Edmonton:
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...
, 2014). Original title ''Le Corps en question(s)''.
*Mario Brodeur (ed.), ''Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal'' (
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
: Éditions de la Fabrique de la paroisse NDM, 2010). Original title ''Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal''.
*
Didier Ottinger
Didier Ottinger, born in Nancy in 1957, is a French museum curator, art critic and author. He is known for organizing exhibitions and publishing books on modern and contemporary painting. He is now assistant director of the Centre Pompidou at the ...
, ''Magritte'' (Montreal:
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA; french: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, MBAM) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square ...
, 1996). Original title ''Magritte''.
*
Pierre Vallières
Pierre Vallières ( – ) was a Québécois journalist and writer, known as an intellectual leader of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ). He was the author of the essay ''Nègres blancs d'Amérique'', translated as ''White Niggers of Am ...
, ''The Impossible Quebec: Illusions of Sovereignty Association'' (Montreal: Black Rose Books, 1996). Original title ''Un Québec impossible''.
*Jean Clair, ''Lost Paradise: Symbolist Europe'' (Toronto:
McClelland & Stewart
McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann.
History
It was founded ...
, 1995). Original title ''Paradis perdu: L'Europe symboliste''.
*Serge Tisseron, ''Stephen Schofield'' (Lethbridge: Southern Alberta Art Gallery, 1994). Original title ''Stephen Schofield''.
*
Michael Snow
Michael Snow (born December 10, 1928) is a Canadian artist working in a range of media including film, installation, sculpture, photography, and music. His best-known films are ''Wavelength'' (1967) and '' La Région Centrale'' (1971), with the f ...
, ed. 1948–1993: ''Music/Sound, The Michael Snow Project'' (Toronto:
Art Gallery of Ontario
The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Beve ...
, The Power Plant, Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 1993).
*
Lars Nittve
Lars Nittve (born 17 September 1953) is a Swedish museum director, curator, art critic and writer. He was the founding Director of Tate Modern in London; former Director of the Moderna Museet in Stockholm; the founding Director of Rooseum – C ...
, ''Passagearbeten'' (Malmo, Sweden: Rooseum, 1993). Original title ''Passagearbeten''.
*Michiko Yajima, ''Elementa Naturae'' (Montreal:
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal
The Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (MACM) is a contemporary art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the Place des festivals in the Quartier des spectacles and is part of the Place des Arts complex.
Founded in 1964, it is ...
, 1987). Original title ''Elementa Naturae''.
University Teaching
Moore has lectured on translation, literature and creative writing at
Concordia University
Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...
, the
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...
,
UQÀM,
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
,
Bishop's University
Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Diocese of Quebe ...
, and led workshops for the Quebec Writers' Federation.
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Jeffrey
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Canadian agnostics
Canadian male novelists
20th-century Canadian novelists
21st-century Canadian novelists
University of Toronto alumni
Writers from Montreal
Postmodern writers
20th-century Canadian translators
21st-century Canadian translators
Academic staff of the Université de Montréal
University of Ottawa alumni
20th-century Canadian male writers
21st-century Canadian male writers
Canadian male non-fiction writers