CHAPTER II BIOGRAPHY AND WORKS OF MARGARET LAURENCE LIFE:Margaret Laurence was born on 18 July, 1926 in the prairie town of Nepawa, Manitoba, Canada to a Scottish solicitor, Robert Wemyss and Verna Jean Simpson who was an Irish. She was the only child to the couple. Laurence’s birth name was Jean Margaret Wemyss and also called Peggy in her childhood by her loved ones. Peggy did not get much of the time with her mother as when she was four her mother died. To take care of little Peggy her aunt Margaret Campbell Simpson was called who married her widower father an year later and adopted a baby boy in 1933 and named him Robert. Peggy lost her father too due to Pneumonia in 1935 when she was nine. Her step mother became her only legal guardian and the moved to her maternal grandfather John Simpson. Both her step mother and maternal grandfather had a great impact on her life. Her stepmother being a teacher and a librarian always motivated her to read and explore. Laurence developed the interest in reading and writing at a very early age. She always wanted to be a writer and had the creative and imaginative skills from the very beginning . she carried a dairy with her and use to jot down her thoughts and ideas. Laurence started writing stories since she was seven years old, continued writing throughout high school and college and polished her craft of writing well before it was published. Laurence was a bright student since childhood and got her university admission on scholarship considering her academic records and financial conditions. She attended the United College of Winnipeg in 1944, which was affiliated to the University of Manitoba and later became University of Winnipeg itself. There she chose English, History, Ethics and Psychology. Within few weeks of joining college she found herself among the young writers like her, where her interest in literature found nourishment more creatively and professionally. She used to discuss literature with her mates in the leasure time and had an active possession throughout her entire college life. She created herself opportunities in the field of journalism. She graduated in 1947 and then worked for “The westerner” a weekly newspaper and Winnipeg Citizen, reporting about much of the social and political issues. An year later she married Jack Fergus Laurence ( a civil engineer) and the couple moved to England and then to British protectorate of Somaliland in East Africa in the year 1950. At the initial phase in Africa while her husband was busy in creating artificial lakes in the desert of Somaliland, Laurence engaged herself in writing book reviews, daily radio column and also covered labour news. Laurence faced the controversy created by the British officials that the dry desert of Somaliland is not for a women. But later they were convinced by her husband Jack that Margaret is an easy to carry girl and survive in any condition. She got the permission to continue her stay in that harsh burning desert experiencing the life in camps and tents, where life depended on courage and endurance. While covering the labour news Laurence closely witnessed the folk culture, which drained her deeper into the Somali folk tales and folklores. At this time studying and translating the Somali oral tradition become her main objective. Laurence published her first book naming “A Tree for Poverty” in 1954, which was a collection of her translated Somali poetry and folk traditions. The Laurence couple lived in Gold Coast which is now known as Ghana, for five years between 1952 and 1957, where they planned their family and had two children Jocelyn born in 1952 and David born during a vacation in England. This was the time when Laurence stepped into the genre of fiction and published her first African story “The Drummer of All the World” in 1956 in the Queen Quarterly. Observation of the life and people she was surrounded with, in a closer view led her publish many other stories including “The Tomorrow Tamer” in 1963. Laurence read the Nigerian novelists and dramatists from 1952 to 1966 and critically represented them in her “Long Drums and Cannons” which was published in 1968. In between she also turned towards novel writing and started her first and only African novel, “This Side Jordan” published in 1960. The study of the African writers enriched her with the value of roots, ancestors and culture, which also turned her towards her own nativity. In 1957, Laurence with her husband moved to Vancouver where she finished her “This Side Jordan” and started her first book of her famous Manawaka series “The Stone Angle”, where she turns to her own country. Laurence used to attend the United Church to teach in the Sunday school and wrote a Christmas nativity story for it but soon she lost her interest in Unitarian as they have nothing to do with the ancestors. In between Laurence went through domestic disagreements and was unable to have balance between her married life and writing career. So she decided to separate and finally after divorce in 1962, Laurence headed to England along with her manuscript and two children. Moving to England took Laurence’s writing career to its peak. There she established herself as a major Canadian novelist widely recognized as a fictionist. She wrote reviews, articles, essays and letters, met other Canadian writers during her most active phase of her writing career and published her all the books of the Manawaka series back to back. Laurence created the fictional world naming it Manawaka with “The Stone Angle” published in 1964 and continued the legacy with “Jest of God” in 1966, “The Fire Dwellers” in 1969 and “A Bird in the House” in the 1970. She also wrote a children’s book “Jason’s Quest” in 1970. Laurence’s popularity for her uniqueness and love for native land drew the attention of people and she was inveigled back to Canada, through the awards from eleven Canadian Universities in the decade of 1970s, which proved to be the decade of honor and fame. She became a companion of the order of Canada, served as writer-in-residence at Trent University, University of Toronto and University of West Ontario. When Laurence returned back to Canada she lived in a cottage on the Otonabee river in Ontario, which became a very important part of her life for the decade. She named it “The Shack” and addressed it as her most loving place for the later years. She wrote “The Diviners” her last Manawaka book with a background setting of that small cedar cabin, which was published in 1974. During the years in summer cottage Laurence addicted herself to Letter writing which connected her with the readers. She received and answered hundreds of letters in an year and was also in touch with the friends and loved ones through mails. For Laurence communication has always been an important element for her writings as well as for her survival and well being. Laurence switched her writings from fiction to children’s books towards her last years and wrote “The Olden Days Coat” (1979), “Six Darn Cows” (1979) and “The Christmas Birthday Story” (1980). In 1981 Trent University appointed Laurence as the Chancellor. Laurence died on 5 th of January 1987. WORK:Laurence started writing at a very early age and her first work was “Pillars of the Nation” for a contest sponsored by the Manitoba Free Press. It was age of twelve when Laurence wrote a story about the Scottish pioneer settlers of the country trekking towards the west. Laurence was extremely aware of the Scottish culture since childhood and the Scottish ancestory dominated her imagination more than her maternal Irish background. For Laurence, writing was the only way to escape the horrible events of her childhood. Being the witness of the tragic deaths in the family at a very young age disturbed Laurence and creating a world of fiction became the relief diverting the mind from the external events such as life and death. Laurence’s Manawaka town first appeared in the “Pillars of the Nation”, won honorable mention and also reflected her fiction writers talent recognized by Musgrove and Malcolm. Laurence’s gift of imagination and creativity found its nourishment and blossom through the African experiences.
