Joe Rosenblatt (1933-2019) An obituary by Alan Twigg * “Joe was one of the most generous and kind artists [of any genre] I ever met, a truly lovely person, and a real genius.” — Phyllis Reeve “Poetry provides an environment for people to share their feral fantasies, although very rarely do wild phantasms morph into…
Read more #504 Joe Rosenblatt (1933-2019)
Patrick Lane (1939-2019) An obituary by Alan Twigg * Patrick Lane was born on March 26, 1939 in the Kootenay mountain town of Sheep Creek, near Nelson, and grew up in the B.C. Interior, primarily in Vernon. His father, an ex-miner, had moved to the dry Interior because he was suffering from silicosis. Lane couldn’t…
Read more #502 Patrick Lane (1939-2019)
Edith Iglauer (1917-2019). An obituary by Alan Twigg First published Feb. 14, 2019 * LITERARY LOCATION: 5192 Claydon Road, Garden Bay, Sunshine Coast Having lived for many decades in a waterfront cottage that was built by her second husband, John Daly, about whom she wrote her memoir Fishing With John, the former New Yorker contributor…
Read more #486 Edith Iglauer (1917-2019)
Peter Trower, one B.C.’s most beloved poets, has died at age 87 on November, 10, 2017 at Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver. In 2015, Peter Trower had moved into the Inglewood Care Centre in West Vancouver after living mainly on the Sunshine Coast and in North Vancouver. He had a fall several weeks before…
Read more Peter Trower (1930-2017)
“Never paint from anything but real life whether it is a person or flower.” — Unity Bainbridge [We have only just been informed of the death of author and painter Unity Bainbridgem who live more than one hundred years. – Ed.] Unity Bainbridge of West Vancouver was a distinguished painter and an amateur ethnologist who…
Read more Unity Bainbridge (1916-2017)
“In all my writing, I explore the slipperiness of morality and identity in the face of extreme loss and threat, though the settings and circumstances change with each novel.” — Nancy Richler. All of Nancy Richler’s novels were written in Vancouver. The first of these, Throwaway Angels, was shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis First Novel…
Read more Nancy Richler (1957-2018)
“New York has William Burroughs, Los Angeles has Charles Bukowski and Vancouver has Al Neil.” — John Armstrong “Whatever I’m doing belongs right here in Vancouver, B.C.” — Al Neil “Al Neil gets more pleasure out of walking down the road than other people get from buying a car or skiing down a mountain.” —…
Read more Al Neil (1924-2017)
Born on March 16, 1937 in Nipawin, Saskatchewan, Jim Taylor died on January 7, 2019, at the age of 82. For many years he was B.C.’s most widely-read sports columnist. He was also a successful B.C. author. Taylor began his newspaper career in 1954 as a part-time sports reporter at the Daily Colonist in Victoria…
Read more Jim Taylor (1937-2019)
First published Aug. 27, 2018. Dave Perrin has died on August 6th, 2018, in Calgary, Alberta at the Foothills Medical Center at age 70. A memorial service was held at the Creston and District Community Complex in Creston on August 11th. He had a manuscript soon to be published entitled Better Late than Never. According…
Read more #354 Dave Perrin (1948-2018)
First published June 14, 2018. Stephen Reid has died at age 68 of pulmonary edema and third-degree heart block in the hospital at Masset, B.C., on June 12, 2018. Following Reid’s death, Masset Mayor Andrew Merilees commented, “He was always friendly and pleasant. He was enjoyed by most of the community despite his past failings.”…
Read more #322 Stephen Reid (1950-2018)
First published June 1, 2018. Born in Toronto on August 14, 1931, Doreen Alice Ellen (Hayes) Armitage died at Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver on May 15, 2018. A writer who believed strongly in oral history, Armitage wrote for publications such as Canadian Geographic, Outdoors Canada and Canadian Living before publishing her first book,…
Read more #313 Doreen Armitage (1931-2018)
First published May 17, 2018. “In all my writing, I explore the slipperiness of morality and identity in the face of extreme loss and threat, though the settings and circumstances change with each novel.” — Nancy Richler. All of Nancy Richler’s novels were written in Vancouver. The first of these, Throwaway Angels, was shortlisted for…
Read more #304 Nancy Richler (1957-2018)
First published May 4, 2018. An obituary on this site has already recorded the life and times — and books — of Al Neil. But there’s nothing like a personal reminiscence–or three–to reveal how extraordinary and perplexing and difficult and odd he could be. 1. In…
Read more #298 Three tributes to Al Neil
Alan Fry (1931-2018) An obituary by Alan Twigg First published March 30, 2018 * Whistleblowers are seldom cited as heroes—especially those who can be dismissed as crackpot racists. The importance of Federal Indian Agent Alan Fry’s first novel and second book, How a People Die (Doubleday 1970; Harbour 1994), has therefore gradually been glossed over,…
Read more #276 Alan Fry (1931-2018)
First published November 17th, 2017. “Whatever I’m doing belongs right here in Vancouver.” — Al Neil, author/pianist (The Cellar 1959) “New York has William Burroughs, Los Angeles has Charles Bukowski and Vancouver has Al Neil,” — local author John Armstrong “Al Neil gets more pleasure out of walking down the road than other people get…
Read more #202 Al Neil (1924-2017)
A GATHERING TO REMEMBER AND HONOUR PETER TROWER WILL BE HELD FROM 3 – 6 PM AT THE FORMER LOCATION OF THE RAILWAY CLUB IN VANCOUVER ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25. THE VENUE IS NOW CALLED THE RAILWAY STAGE AND BEER CAFE. IT’S AT 579 DUNSMUIR. Peter Trower, one B.C.’s most beloved poets, has died at…
Read more #201 Peter Trower (1930-2017)
Joan Skogan was one of a kind An obituary by Alan Twigg First published August 20, 2017 * Born in Comox on September 29, 1945, Joan Skogan knew joy and sorrow. An intrepid researcher and a conscientious writer, she will be much missed by those who knew her fascinating, passionate nature. Joan Skogan could be…
Read more #159 Joan Skogan was one of a kind
S.C. Heal (1925-2017) An obituary by Alan Twigg First published August 15, 2017 * “In my opinion there is no finer interpreter of the marine scene in British Columbia.” — John M. MacFarlane, nautical historian As a columnist and contributor to specialty shipping magazines, the writer-turned-publisher S.C. Heal made a major contribution to the maritime…
Read more #155 S.C. Heal (1925-2017)
Jim Wong-Chu (1949-2017) An obituary by Alan Twigg First published Aug. 15, 2017 * Chinese Canadians weren’t granted the federal vote in Canada until 1947 and they first voted provincially in 1949–the year Jim Wong-Chu was born in Hong Kong on January 28th. Jim Wong-Chu was brought to Canada, aged four, in 1953 where he…
Read more #154 Jim Wong-Chu (1949-2017)
David Watmough (1926-2017) An obituary by Alan Twigg First published August 14, 2017 * “I hope my work is myopically ‘westcoast’ and persistently graceful in language.” — David Watmough “That rarest of birds on the literary scene, the natural storyteller.” — Robert Fulford QUICK REFERENCE ENTRY: Homosexuals in British Columbia can now express themselves openly…
Read more #153 David Watmough (1926-2017)