Joan Barfoot

Joan Louise Barfoot (born May 17, 1946) is a Canadian novelist. She has published 11 novels, including ''Luck'' (2005), which was a nominee for the 2005 Scotiabank Giller Prize, and ''Critical Injuries'' (2001), which was longlisted for the 2002 Man Booker Prize. Her latest novel, ''Exit Lines'', was published in 2009.

Life and career

Joan Barfoot was born on May 17, 1946 in Owen Sound, Ontario, and graduated with a degree in English from the University of Western Ontario in 1969. She worked as a reporter and editor for various newspapers in Ontario including the ''Windsor Star'', the ''Toronto Sun'' and the ''London Free Press''. As a child, while she and her mother watched a squirrel in their back yard from their kitchen, her mother told Barfoot to tell her the squirrel's story and she'd write it down. Barfoot doesn't remember the story but remembers her delight when her mother read the story back to her and the power of creating it. Barfoot was also encouraged to write by a teacher who told Barfoot she wrote well and to consider some word-related career. In addition to writing Barfoot occasionally teaches creative writing classes though she believes writing ought to be an entirely private pleasure and a puzzle. She lives in London, Ontario.

In 1986, her second novel, ''Dancing in the Dark'' (1982), became a film of the same name, starring Martha Henry. It won three Genie Awards, including Best Art Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. ''Dancing in the Dark'' is a novel about the reflection of a criminally insane woman who is serving time in prison for the murder of her unfaithful husband. She explains her reasoning for the murder throughout the novel while looking for psychological freedom.

Barfoot's work has been compared internationally with that of Anne Tyler, Carol Shields, Margaret Drabble, Fay Weldon and Margaret Atwood.

Barfoot's first novel to win an award was ''Abra''. ''Abra'' is about a young mother who abandons her home, husband and children and moves to the Canadian Wilderness.

In 1992, she won the Marian Engel Award, presented each year by the Writers' Trust of Canada to a female Canadian novelist who is in the middle of her career.

Critical commentary

In 2005, the Giller jury committee, describing ''Luck'', wrote that "Joan Barfoot is at the peak of her powers with this splendidly realized tragicomedy about a household in the wake of an unexpected death. With its note-perfect narration, mordant wit and wonderfully neurotic cast of characters, ''Luck'' shows how death can reveal life in all its absurdity and complexity. This scintillating comedy of manners is also a profound meditation on fate, love, and artifice."

Prizes and honours

*1978 Books in Canada First Novel Award, for ''Abra''
*1992 Marian Engel Award
*2001 Shortlist, Trillium Book Award, for ''Critical Injuries''
*2002 Longlist, Man Booker Prize, for ''Critical Injuries''
*2005 Nominee, Scotiabank Giller Prize, for ''Luck''
*2005 Huron University College medal of distinction

Bibliography

*''Abra'' (1978) (UK title: ''Gaining Ground'') McGraw-Hill Ryerson
*''Dancing in the Dark'' (1982) Macmillan of Canada
*''Duet for Three'' (1985)
*''Family News'' (1989)
*''Plain Jane'' (1992)
*''Charlotte and Claudia Keeping in Touch'' (1994)
*''Some Things About Flying'' (1997) Key Porter Books
*''Getting Over Edgar'' (1999) Key Porter Books
*''Critical Injuries'' (2001) Key Porter Books
*''Luck'' (2005) Alfred Knopf Canada
*''Exit Lines'' (2009) Alfred Knopf Canada

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barfoot, Joan
20th-century Canadian novelists
21st-century Canadian novelists
1946 births
Living people
Writers from London, Ontario
University of Western Ontario alumni
Canadian women novelists
20th-century Canadian women writers
21st-century Canadian women writers
Amazon.ca First Novel Award winners