Carol Shields was born Carol Ann Warner in Oak Park, Illinois on June 2, 1935. Her family lived at 700 S. Kenilworth in Oak Park. She attended both Hawthorne and Emerson elementary schools and Oak Park River Forest High School from which she graduated in 1953. Shields married and moved to Canada in 1957 and there began her writing career. Her first novel, Small Ceremonies, was published in 1976. Shields was a professor of English at the University of Manitoba from 1990 until her death on July 16, 2003. On June 18, 2004 a tree was planted between the Oak Park Public Library and Scoville Park in honor of Carol Shields.

With the help of a grant provided by the Illinois State Library, the Oak Park Public Library collects materials by Carol Shields and relating to her and her works. Many materials are in the circulating collection. Additional materials in Special Collections may be viewed by appointment.

For more information contact William Jerousek, Local History Librarian, at or call 708-452-3480.

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Carol Shields
profile by Northwest Passages, Canadian Literature Online