Canadian writer Rudy Wiebe is the recipient of the 2024 Arnold Dyck Prize for Lifetime Achievement.
The award is presented by Plautdietsche Freunde (Low German Friends), a nonprofit organization based in Detmold, Germany, of Low German speakers who live in locations including Germany, Canada and Paraguay, and Tweeback Verlag, a publishing house in Bonn, Germany.
Wiebe has written about Mennonite life in several books, including Peace Shall Destroy Many, Of This Earth: A Mennonite Boyhood in the Boreal Forest and Sweeter Than All the World.
“Throughout my writing years, I became increasingly aware of the significance of Plautdietsch in my literary work: My first language, the only language I ever spoke with my parents, was fundamental; it formed the basis of my thinking,” he said.
The prize was established in 2020 to recognize people who have contributed to Plautdietsch culture. It is named after Dyck, a Low German writer from Canada, and includes the opportunity to have a book published by Tweeback.
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