Alumnus receives Order of Canada
If he were alive today, W.O. Mitchell might be surprised indeed to find Nino Ricci joining him among the ranks of the Order of Canada. The venerable Canadian literary icon had, after all, told his creative writing student at York University back in the 1980s that he didn’t have what it takes to be a writer.
Ricci chuckles at that now. “I’m sure he thought he was doing me a favour, to save me time,” says the author (MA English 87), who has won or been shortlisted for an impressive number of literary prizes in the ensuing years. “At this point, we’d probably be great friends.”
Ricci was named a Member of the Order of Canada on June 30 for his contributions to Canadian literature. He says he thought of many things when he received the news but foremost was hoping his parents would be able to attend the ceremony, which will be held at a later date.
“This honour speaks more to them than to me. They’re the ones who came here [from Italy] with nothing 50 years ago,” says the author. “They provided the opportunity for their children to get ahead in a way they never could have.”
His master’s thesis at Concordia formed the basis of his first novel, Lives of the Saints. Published in 1990, it received instant international acclaim, earning him the Books in Canada First Novel Award, the Governor General’s Award for Fiction and, in England, the Betty Trask Award and Winnifred Holtby Prize, among other honours. It was the first in a trilogy that continued with In a Glass House and Where Has She Gone. The Lives of the Saints trilogy was adapted into a television miniseries starring Sophia Loren in 2004.
Ricci’s most recent novel, the semiautobiographical The Origin of Species, is about a creative writing graduate student at Concordia in the ’80s. As well as shining a spotlight on his alma mater, the author has returned to participate in literary discussions for students, alumni and the public. In 2009, he accepted the invitation to be an honorary friend of the Libraries Campaign.
“Concordia was one of the places that made me, it’s where I really got my start in writing,” says Ricci. He singled out his advisor, Terence Byrnes, an associate English professor, as being instrumental in his development. “I still feel a fondness for the place.”
By the by, The Origin of Species garnered Ricci his second Governor General’s Award for Fiction.
Good thing he paid no heed to Mitchell.
Related links:
• Nino Ricci
• Order of Canada
• Order of Canada recipients
• Up Close and Personal
• Inspiration from alma mater
• Advice for aspiring creative writers
• Literary Star