Sid, whose bitter voice narrates the story, later hears reports that Falk was imprisoned in an Austrian work camp and died shortly after the war, as if 'his suffering finally got to him or its sudden absence, the world strangely greyer afterwards with its safe, empty routines.'īy clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy.Įdugyan seasons her hard-boiled romance with evocative depictions of European landscapes before World War II and after the Cold War. On lead trumpet was a gifted 20-year-old prodigy named Hieronymus 'Hiero' Falk, the offspring of an African father and German mother.Īfter the German invasion was complete, Chip and Sid were able to get out of Europe while Hiero, being a mixed-race (hence, 'impure') Rhinelander, was arrested by the SS and never heard from again. Two black Baltimore expatriates, Charles 'Chip' Jones and Sid Griffiths, played drums and bass, respectively.

It was, according to Canadian novelist Esi Edugyan's version of 20th century European history, secretly recorded in Paris just before the Nazis triumphantly roared through the French capital in June 1940. 'Half-Blood Blues' takes its title from a jazz disc that doesn't exist, but you wish you could hear anyway. Her novel was also shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize that same year, running against winning author Julian Barnes and his highly acclaimed The Sense of an Ending.ĪU newsroom spoke to Esi Edugyan from her home in Victoria, B.C., on how the Writer-in-Residence program works (as a service to the AU community), her connection to Alberta, online learning and juggling, and the painstakingly creative novel-writing process.HALF-BLOOD BLUES, by Esi Edugyan. Presented by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and sponsored by ZoomerMedia Ltd., Edugyan is an award-winning writer and novelist whose second novel, Half-Blood Blues, received the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize.

He or she is also a public arts ambassador and an integral teaching and research resource among faculty.Īthabasca University’s Writer-in-Residence program boasts a long roster of preeminent and award-winning authors, including this year’s acclaimed Writer in Residence/Writer for Health Esi Edugyan.

A Writer-in-Residence is a lot more than a visiting author who provides advice to students while working on their masterpieces.

Author of half blood blues