Author Alexander MacLeod, son of the late UWindsor professor Alistair MacLeod, speaks about his father’s love of the University during a ceremony Monday dedicating the walkway in front of Dillon Hall.
“All of us are better when we’re loved…” — the well-known words of late English and creative writing professor Alistair MacLeod were remembered Monday by family members, friends, and colleagues during a ceremony to mark the official dedication of Alistair MacLeod Walk, a pedestrian thoroughfare stretching from the campus’s Stephen and Vicki Adams Welcome Centre to the Leddy Library.
Dr. MacLeod’s words and personal story were immortalized on a plaque marking the spot, which notes the walk will “serve as a permanent reminder of the importance and impact of literature and humanities to a university, and of the power of creativity and the written word in guiding personal journeys.”
Formerly a portion of Patricia Road, the walk honours one of UWindsor’s most acclaimed scholars and authors in recognition of both his personal and academic contributions.
“Alistair MacLeod inspired generations of students to pursue creative scholarship and was universally admired and respected by the campus community,” said UWindsor president Alan Wildeman.
MacLeod, who died in April 2014, taught English and creative writing at UWindsor for more than three decades and mentored dozens of aspiring young writers. His literary career included the 1999 novel No Great Mischief — winner of the 2001 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the Trillium Book Award, and the Lannan Literary Award — as well as the short story collections The Lost Salt Gift of Blood (1976), As Birds Bring Forth the Sun and Other Stories (1986), and Island (2000).
In 2000, MacLeod was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and in 2007 he was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada in recognition of his commitment to Canadian literature.
Among guests at the event were MacLeod’s wife Anita (BA 1981); son Alexander MacLeod (BA 1995), a professor of English and Atlantic Canada Studies at Saint Mary’s University, and best-selling author of the 2010 short-story collection Light Lifting, which won the Atlantic Book Award and was short-listed by the Frank O’Connor Award and the Giller Prize; son Andrew MacLeod (BA 2009, B.Ed 2010), who did a short reading; son Daniel MacLeod (BA 2004), director of the Jesuit Centre for Catholic Studies at St. Paul’s College, University of Manitoba; as well as children Marion MacLeod (B.Ed 2002), a pianist and sessional instructor in the School of Creative Arts, and Kenneth MacLeod (DTS 2011), a violin teacher who accompanied his sister in a musical piece to honour their father.