Alistair MacLeod's name keeps coming up lately, and yet few of us who follow Canadian literature really know who he is. We've heard of him, but have we read him? I've spent 20 years following Canadian literature and -- honestly, and seriously -- I knew his name but had never heard so much buzz as in the past few weeks.

In early October, I saw MacLeod mentioned on CTV News as the mentor to an 80-something author, Leila Pepper, who is being published to great acclaim. Then I noticed that he was one of the judges in the recent Giller Prize, alongside Margaret Atwood and Jane Urquhart. And, a week after that, he became a nominee for a major international literary prize.

MacLeod is now shortlisted, along with fellow Canadians Bonnie Burnard, Gail Anderson-Dargatz and Lillian Bouzane, for the 2001 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, worth about $172,000 Cdn. The winner will be named on May 14.

All this buzz created enough curiosity, that I looked up his two latest books. His IMPAC nomination is for No Great Mischief, which has been called "a significant first novel." The Toronto Sun reviewer wrote: "A middle-aged Alexander examines the past of his immediate family and ancestry -- dating back to 1779 when his great-great-great grandfather Calum moved his large family from the Scottish Highlands to settle in Cape Breton, where he became known, in Gaelic, as the Calum Ruadh, patriarch of Cape Breton clan MacDonald ... It is a tale whose savage, cruel beauty makes you weep at its conclusion."

But MacLeod's Canadian publisher is instead hyping Island, a new collection of 16 short stories that's right out on the front shelves of Chapters stores all across Canada. Great stuff, I discovered. MacLeod's writing has the heart and soul that's so absent from the sharp stylists who are picking up all the trophies and cheques these days (they shall remain nameless, but you know who I mean). MacLeod's publisher says: "In Island you will find all of Alistair MacLeod's short stories: all seven stories from The Lost Salt Gift of Blood, and all seven from As Birds Bring Forth the Sun. Also included is the long story Island, previously published only as a special edition of 150 copies, and, for the first time in print, his 1999 story Clearances. All readers will have their own favourites, but no one will go away unmoved by these stories of men and women acting out their 'own peculiar mortality' against the haunting Cape Breton landscape."

MacLeod is obviously an important figure in CanLit, but his relative obscurity may have something to do with the fact that there's nothing implicitly sexy about his background. He's a middle-aged, white, balding man with no apparent ethnic or sexual identity, who has never lived in Toronto -- the centre of the universe to most Canadians.

MacLeod was born North Battleford, Saskatchewan, raised in Nova Scotia's Inverness County. Educated at Nova Scotia Teachers' College (1956), he now teaches at the University of Windsor, Ontario. Recent forays to teach at the Banff School of Fine Arts the past seven years may have helped draw him into the literary sphere, and put him on judging committees with likes of Margaret Atwood.

MacLeod spent his entire career in relative obscurity, publishing short stories in small reviews, and the book up for the Scottish prize is actually his first full-fledged novel. Now he hits the big time, late in life. Fox News says of latest: 'The wisdom and perspective that MacLeod's age confers upon him are abundantly evident, and serve him well in No Great Mischief. The novel is as far removed from the all-too-familiar, wearily ironic, jump-cutting hip style as it could possibly be. Instead, MacLeod is not afraid to let his story - which consists largely of memories - unfold slowly and painstakingly within an intricately constructed narrative." I say thumbs up to that. Have you read any Alistair MacLeod? Care to write a review?

Down East:
East coast music lovers take note! The Music Industry Association of Newfoundland and Labrador is going to be holding its 9th Annual Conference in St.John's this weekend. The actual conference will be held at the Battery Hotel in St. John's. Its purpose is to provide a forum for members to meet, share ideas, learn and network within the music industry. The really big shew is the actual Awards Show that's held in St.John's Arts and Culture Centre on Sunday.

Last year's winners featured some of Newfoundland's top talent, with The Fables taking Best New Artist/Group and Album of the Year. Buddy Wasisname & The Other Fellas won Entertainer of the Year and Mike Bennett grabbed Best Country Artist/Group.

If you're a Maritime music lover you won't want to miss the Music Industry Association of Newfoundland & Labrador's 9th Annual Conference. Last year was a sell out. Call and book your tickets while you can. All tickets: $10

Out West: The Esther Honens Calgary International Piano Competition and Festival is currently underway. The Calgary festival, considered to be one of the finest in the world, is a quadrennial occasion. Winners not only receive substantial prize monies; in non-competition years, Laureates are helped secure concert dates as well as record and distribute CDs, establish residencies and secure artistic management. Psst -- The web site is very cool.

Need Some Cash?: Tons of Money, the famous Aldwych farce by Will Evans has been revised by Alan Ayckbourn. The Daily Mail calls it a "crowd-pleaser which is an unerring theatrical delight."