Gallant, Mavis

Related Category: English Canadian Literature: Biographies

(Mavis Leslie Gallant)(gă-lănt´), 1922–, Canadian writer, b. Montreal. A newspaper reporter in Canada (1944–50), she moved to Europe in 1950 and ultimately settled in Paris, where she has continued to live. She is acclaimed for her mastery of the short story and first published work appeared in The New Yorker magazine, which has continued to be an important vehicle for her short fiction. Gallant's many stories are unsentimental, wry, and meticulously observed; they frequently feature expatriate characters. Among her story collections are The Other Paris (1956), My Heart Is Broken (1964), The End of the World and Other Stories (1974), In Transit (1988), and Across the Bridge (1993). Her Collected Stories was published in 1996. Gallant has also written two novels, Green Water, Green Sky (1959) and A Fairly Good Time (1970); one play, What Is to Be Done? (1983); and many pieces of nonfiction, including those collected in Paris Notebooks: Essays and Reviews (1986).