Moyez G. Vassanj was awarded the degree of Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, at the 2 p.m. ceremony On Friday, June 14, “in recognition of outstanding contributions to the arts and the promotion of international understanding and discourse.”
M.G. Vassanji was born in Kenya and raised in Tanzania. Betore coming to Canada in 1978, he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania, where he specialized in theoretical
nuclear physics.
From 1978 to 1980, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Atomic Energy of Canada and from 1980 to 1989, he was a research associate at the University of Toronto. During this period he developed 4 keen interest in medieval Indian literature and history, co-founded and edited a literary magazine (The Toronto South Asian Review, later renamed The Toronto Review of Contemporary Writing Abroad), and began writing stories and a novel.
In 1989, with the publication of his first novel, The Gunny Sack, he was invited to spend a season at the international writing program of the University of lowa. That year ended his active career in nuclear physics.
Vassanji is the author of seven novels, two collections of short stories, a travel memoir about India, and a biography of Mordecai Richler. His work has appeared in various countries and several languages. His many awards include the Giller Prize (1994, 2003) for best novel in Canada, the Governor General’s Prize (2009) for best work of non-fiction, and the Commonwealth First Book Prize (Africa, 1990).
He is a member of the Order of Canada and has several honorary doctorates.