Neil Devindra Bissoondath (born April 19, 1955, in

Arima Arima, officially The Royal Chartered Borough of Arima is the easternmost and second largest in area of the three boroughs of Trinidad and Tobago. It is geographically adjacent to Sangre Grande and Arouca at the south central foothills of th ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

) is a Trinidadian-Canadian author who lives in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. He is a noted writer of fiction. He is an outspoken critic of Canada's system of

multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...

and is the nephew of authors

V.S. Naipaul Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul (; 17 August 1932 – 11 August 2018) was a Trinidadian-born British writer of works of fiction and nonfiction in English. He is known for his comic early novels set in Trinidad, his bleaker novels of alienati ...

and

Shiva Naipaul Shiva Naipaul (; 25 February 1945 – 13 August 1985), born Shivadhar Srinivasa Naipaul in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, was an Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian, Indo-Trinidadian and British novelist and journalist. Life and work Shiva Na ...

, grandson of

Seepersad Naipaul Seepersad Naipaul (; 1906–1953) was an Indo-Trinidadian writer. He was the father of V. S. Naipaul, Shiva Naipaul, Kamla Tewari (''née'' Naipaul), and Sati Bissoondath (''née'' Naipaul), and married into the influential Hindu Indo-Trinidadian ...

, grandnephew of

Rudranath Capildeo Rudranath Capildeo (; 2 February 1920 – 12 May 1970) was a Trinidadian and Tobagonian politician, mathematician and barrister. He was a member of the prominent Hindu Indo-Trinidadian Capildeo family. Capildeo was the leader of the Democrati ...

and

Simbhoonath Capildeo Simbhoonath Capildeo (; 1914-1990) was a prominent lawyer and politician in Trinidad and Tobago. He was the elder brother of Rudranath Capildeo and uncle of Nobel laureate Sir Vidia "V. S." Naipaul and Shiva Naipaul. He was father to two son ...

, and cousin of

Vahni Capildeo Vahni Anthony Ezekiel Capildeo (born Surya Vahni Priya Capildeo; born 1973) is a Trinidad and Tobago-born British writer, and a member of the extended Capildeo family that has produced notable Trinidadian politicians and writers (including V. S. ...

Life and career

Bissoondath attended St. Mary's College in Trinidad and Tobago, where he was born in Arima. Although he was from a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

tradition, he was able to adapt to a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

high school. He describes himself as not very religious and distrustful of dogma. In the early 1970s, political upheaval and economic collapse had created a climate of chaos and violence in the island nation. In 1973, at the age of 18, Bissoondath left Trinidad and settled in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, where he studied at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

and received a Bachelor of Arts in French in 1977. He then taught English and French at the Inlingua School of Languages and the Toronto Language Workshop. He won the McClelland and Stewart award and the National Magazine award, both in 1986, for the short story "Dancing". Bissoondath was interviewed by

Ali Lakhani M. Ali Lakhani, (born 1955) is a writer, lawyer, and editor whose works focus on metaphysics and the perennial principles found in the wisdom traditions of the world. He is married to Nazlin N. Lakhani and lives in Vancouver, Canada. Biograph ...

in the journal ''Rungh'' about his views on writing and life.

Awards

He won the

Writers' Trust of Canada The Writers' Trust of Canada (french: La Société d'encouragement aux écrivains du Canada) is a registered charity which provides financial support to Canadian writers. Founded by Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, Margaret Laure ...

Gordon Montador Award The Gordon Montador Award was a Canadian literary award, presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada to honour non-fiction writing on social issues. Created in 1991 in memory of book editor and publisher Gordon Montador,"Award announced". ''The Globe ...

in 1995 for ''Selling Illusions''. Bissoondath has received honorary doctorates from

Glendon College Glendon College is a public liberal arts college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Formally the federated bilingual campus of York University, it is one of the school's nine colleges and 11 faculties with 100 full-time faculty members and a student po ...

and

Université de Moncton The Université de Moncton is a Canadian francophone university in New Brunswick. It includes campuses in Edmundston, Moncton, and Shippagan. The university was founded in 1963 following the recommendations of the royal commission on higher ed ...

. In 2010 he was made a Chevalier of the

Ordre national du Québec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Gov ...

."Neil Bissoondath - Chevalier (2010)"
Ordre national du Québec. In 2012, he was awarded the

NALIS The National Library and Information System of Trinidad and Tobago (known as NALIS) is a corporate body established by the NALIS Act No. 18 of 1998 to administer the development and coordination of library and information services in Trinidad and ...

(National Library of Trinidad and Tobago) Lifetime Literary Achievement Award.Neil Bissoondath biography
at NALIS.

Bibliography

Novels

*''A Casual Brutality'' () – 1989 *''The Innocence of Age'' – 1993 *''The Worlds Within Her'' () – 1999 (Nominated for a

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

) *''Doing the Heart Good'' () – 2002 *''The Unyielding Clamour of the Night'' () – 2005 *''The Soul of All Great Designs'' () – 2008

Novella

*''Postcards from Hell'' – 2009

Short story collections

*''Digging Up Mountains'' – 1987 *''On the Eve of Uncertain Tomorrows'' – 1991

Non-fiction

*'' Selling Illusions: The Cult of Multiculturalism in Canada'' 1994

References

External links

Neil Bissoondath's
entry in

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

Neil Bissoondath biography
at NALIS. * Nicholas Dinka
"Neil Bissoondath - Hard questions"
''Quill & Quire''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bissoondath, Neil 1955 births Living people Canadian Hindus Canadian male novelists Canadian people of Indian descent Critics of multiculturalism Trinidad and Tobago novelists Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to Canada Trinidad and Tobago Hindus Writers from Quebec City People from Arima 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists Trinidad and Tobago people of Indian descent Trinidad and Tobago male writers 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Université Laval faculty Officers of the Order of Canada