My Baby Loves A Bunch of Authors Quiz

Answer: Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Gabriel Garcia Marquez was born in Colombia in 1927. He rose to fame with the publication in 1967 of "One Hundred Years of Solitude", which became his most commercially successful novel. He is primarily known for his novels and short stories, for which he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982.

The first verse of the song "My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors" goes:
"Well you should see my story reading baby, you should hear the things that she says,
She says, 'Hon, drop dead, I'd rather go to bed with Gabriel Garcia Marquez.'"

Answer: William S. Burroughs

William Seward Burroughs was born in 1914 in Missouri, U.S. He got an arts degree from Harvard University, and was briefly enlisted in the US Army. In 1944 he moved to New York City, where he lived with Jack Kerouac, and the two collaborated on the novel "And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks" (not published until 2008). Burroughs had many legal issues resulting from alcohol and drug abuse.

His first published work "Junkie" (1953) was semi-autobiographical. His novel "Naked Lunch", also semi-autobiographical, gained him notoriety as well as fame since it was banned in the US until 1962 due to obscenity laws.

Answer: Pen name of Gloria Jean Watkins

Gloria Jean Watkins is an African-American and female social activist and author. Her most notable work is "Ain't I a Woman?: Black Women and Feminism" (1981), which is cited as an influential contribution to post-modern feminist thought. Her pen name comes from her great-grandmother, Bell Blair Hooks.

Answer: Canadian non-fiction author and journalist

Pierre Berton was born in 1920 in the Yukon, Canada. He was managing editor of the magazine "Maclean's" and was a panelist on the CBC game show "Front Page Challenge" about current events and history. Burton has written 50 books mostly about Canadian history. He passed away in 2004.

The second verse of the song "My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors" goes:
"Cuddle up with William S. Burroughs, leave on the light for Bell Hooks,
I've been flirtin' with Pierre Berton 'cause he's so smart in his books."

Answer: The Godfather

"The Godfather" (1969) is a crime novel about the fictitious Italian Mafia family led by Vito Corleone and his four children, Santino, Frederico, Michael and Constanzia Corleone. The story follows Michael as he is destined to replace his father as The Don while he's also trying to live a more normal lifestyle. Mario Puzo also wrote the screenplay for the Oscar-winning film adaptation.

Answer: W.P. Kinsella

William Patrick Kinsella was born in 1935 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and wrote novels and short stories about baseball and First Nations people. His first published book, "Dance Me Outside" (1977), was a collection of short stories set in a First Nations reserve. They also served as the basis for the CBC TV show, "The Rez". His first novel, "Shoeless Joe" (1982) is about baseball and was adapted into the feature film "Field of Dreams".

The rhyme in the song, "Who's a funny fella? W.P. Kinsella" hopefully made the answer easier; however, it's also a reference to his collection "Fencepost Chronicles" winning the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour.

Answer: Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood was born in 1939 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. In 1961, she self-published "Double Persephone", a collection of poetry. Her novel, "The Handmaid's Tale" (1985) won the first-ever Arthur C. Clarke Award and the Governor General's Award. "Alias Grace" on the Giller Prize, and "Blind Assassin" won the Booker Prize.

The cat reference likely comes from the title of her novel "Cat's Eye" (1988).

Answer: Robertson Davies

William Robertson Davies was born in 1913 in Thamesville, Ontario, Canada. His play "Eros at Breakfast" was named Best Canadian Play of the Year by the 1948 Dominion Drama Festival. In the 1970s, he published the Deptford Trilogy which includes "Fifth Business", "The Manticore" and "World of Wonders" all based on the simple act of a boy throwing a snowball but missing his intended target.

He passes away in 1995. All pictures of Robertson Davies (at least in later life) show him sporting a substantial beard.

Answer: Sri Lankan-Canadian novelist who wrote "The English Patient"

Philip Michael Ondaatje was born in 1943 in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), moved to England in 1954 and relocated to Canada and became a Canadian citizen in 1962. His most famous works include "The English Patient" (1992) about a Canadian nurse and an Hungarian man who was badly burned during World War II, and "In the Skin of a Lion" (1987) about immigrant settlers in Canada and their involvement in the history of Toronto at the turn of the 20th century.

Unfortunately I have not been able to come up with any connection between Michael Ondaatje and salmon mousse. If anyone knows what that song's reference is, please let me know.

Answer: Children's Literature

Doris May Lessing was born in 1919 in Persia to English parents. Her first novel, "The Grass is Singing" (1950) is about the racial politics in Southern Rhodesia in the 1940s. 1944 - 1956 is known as her "Communist phase" when she joined the Communist party and wrote heavily about social and political issues. "The Golden Notebook" is about the struggles of a woman writer and is considered a classic in feminist fiction, having served as an inspiration of the feminism movement in the 1960s and 1970s. "Canopus in Argos: Archives" (1979-1983) is a set of science fiction novels which explores society at different evolutional stages.

She has even ventured into gothic horror with "The Fifth Child" (1987) about the birth of a baby who seems not human. Doris Lessing won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2007.