Mavis Gallant

It’s a common fantasy for many aspiring writers to move to Paris, in hopes of becoming famous.  Mavis Gallant is one of the few who did; plus she succeeded where so many others fail, in only a matter of years.  The Montreal native became known as a “writer’s writer” in the course of 10 collections of short stories, which originally appeared in the New Yorker.  She died recently in Paris, the city where she worked for most of her life, at the age of 91.  We were lucky to have had the chance to speak with her back in 2006 when she reflected on a career that had already spanned half a century.