[LINK] "Legendary Montreal-born writer Mavis Gallant dead at age 91"

[rfmcdonald]

I've already shared on Facebook Victoria Ahearn's Canadian Press article announcing the sad news that Mavis Gallant, Canadian expat and great writer, has died.

Montreal-born short story great Mavis Gallant lived in Paris for much of her lauded career and brought a European flair to her writing, but she made a big impact on the literary community in her native country, Canadian authors said Tuesday after word of her death.

"Mavis Gallant was a marvellous short story writer and a constant hopeful influence on my life," Nobel Prize-winning short story master Alice Munro said in a telephone interview from Victoria.

"I didn't know her well. I met her at a few conferences, I think here in B.C. But the important thing was that long before that, I knew about her work and the fact that she was a Canadian and she wrote mainly short stories, which you were not really encouraged to do as your main writing.

"So she was important to me in that way."

Gallant died Tuesday morning in her Paris apartment, said publisher McClelland & Stewart. She was 91.

The article goes on to talk at length about Gallant, her life, and her writing.