The Origin of Ricci's 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 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 to the Order of Canada on June 30 for his contributions to Canadian literature. He says he thought of a variety of things when he got the news, but foremost was hoping that his parents would be able to attend the induction ceremony.
"This kind of 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 to 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 met with 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 2004 television miniseries starring Sophia Loren.
Ricci’s most recent novel, the semiautobiographical The Origin of Species, is about a creative writing graduate student at Concordia in the 1980s. 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 member of the Libraries Campaign Committee.
"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.
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