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National Library News |
by Diane Schoemperlen
 Diane Schoemperlen |
Early on November 17, 1998, I was given the Governor General’s Award for English Fiction for my book, Forms of Devotion: Stories and Pictures 1. Immediately after the press conference in which the awards were presented, I was whisked away to do interviews for more than two hours straight. Each interviewer began with the same question: "How does it feel?" I used all the appropriate adjectives I could think of: "It feels wonderful, marvellous, terrific, absolutely great." All these words did not begin to cover it.
Then the interviewers were gone, back to their respective offices to file their stories. But they missed the best parts of winning the prize. That evening there was the ceremony and the sumptuous dinner at Rideau Hall. The following evening there was the Gala Reading, sponsored by the National Library, at the Château Laurier. The day after that, the winners were officially presented to the House of Commons and then we had tea in the office of The Speaker, Gilbert Parent.
All of this was a far cry from normal life, and coming home afterwards was a bit of a shock, even though my kitchen was full of flowers, my mailbox was full of cards, and my answering machine was full of congratulatory messages. All of these people, too, wanted to know how it felt. I still could not begin to express how truly honoured and deeply moved I was.
The months since winning the prize have passed quickly, but the joy I felt that day has not diminshed. I am still sometimes asked: "How does it feel?" I can honestly say that it feels every bit as wonderful, marvellous, terrific, and absolutely great now as it did then. In my thank-you speech I noted that, although there are far too few moments in life that offer pure pleasure, this was definitely one of them. It still is.
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1 Schoemperlen, Diane. Forms of Devotion. Toronto: Harper Collins, ©1998.