Literary Lunch

Margaret Laurence was born Margaret Wemyss on July 18, 1926 in Neepawa, Manitoba. She attended Winnipeg United College where she graduated with an honours English degree in 1947.  While at college she was the assistant editor of the Vox student newspaper. After graduation, she worked as a reporter for the Winnipeg Citizen newspaper. In 1947, she married John Fergus Laurence; the couple had two children. They moved around a lot during their marriage, living in England, Somalialan and Ghana. In 1957, the family moved back to Canada. Margaret and her husband separated in 1962 and their divorce became final in 1969. After the separation, Margaret Laurence moved to England with her children. In 1969, she moved back to Canada and became the Writer in Residence at the University of Toronto. In 1986, she was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer.

Margaret Laurence first had some of her short stories published while living in Africa. Her first novel, The Stone Angel was published in 1964. In 1967, her novel The Jest of God (1966) won the Governor General’s Award. Another of her well-known novels is The Diviners. In 1972, Laurence was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. Her last published work was her autobiography, Dance on the Earth: a Memoir (1989); it was edited by her daughter, Jocelyn.

Margaret Laurence died on January 5, 1987.

April 15, 1843-February 28, 1916

1873

1878

1880

1886

1898

E. B. White was born on July 11, 1899 in Mount Vernon, New York. He received a BA from Cornell University in 1921. While at Cornell, he wrote for the Cornell Daily Sun. After graduation he wrote for the Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.  He married Katharine Angell in 1929; the couple had one son.

In 1925, E. B. White had his first article published in the New Yorker Magazine He joined the staff of The New Yorker in 1927.  White also was a columnist for Harper’s Magazine. His first novel, Stuart Little, was published in 1945. Author William Cowley, wrote a review of the book in The New York Times . This was followed by Charlotte’s Web in 1952. In 1959, E. B. White edited and updated The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. This book has been a must-have for every student who has studied the art of writing ever since. In 1963, White was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and in 1978 he received the Pulitzer Prize. In total, White wrote 17 books of prose and poetry.

E. B. White died on October 1, 1985 at his farm in Maine.