Author, university professor.
Born at Oak Park, Illinois on 2 June 1935, she married Canadian Donald Hugh Shields and moved with him to Canada to 1957. She taught English at the University of Manitoba and served as the fifth Chancellor of the University of Winnipeg (1996-2000). She wrote novels, poetry, short stories and plays. Winnipeg was the setting of many of her works. Novels such as The Republic of Love, The Stone Diaries, and Larry’s Party portrayed the city in its best light. She received numerous awards for her writing, including the Pulitzer Prize and the Governor General’s Award. She has received honorary doctorates from several Canadian universities, including the University of Winnipeg, was inducted as a member of the Royal Society of Canada, and has received both a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Order of Canada. In 2001, she was inducated into the Winnipeg Citizens Hall of Fame. She died of cancer in Victoria, British Columbia on 16 July 2003. She was selected posthumously as a Manitoba Women Trailblazer.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Innovation Plaza (University of Manitoba, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Carol Shields Memorial Labyrinth (King's Park, Winnipeg)
Official Register of the Order of Manitoba.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 19 July 2003.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 21 May 2023
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