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Miriam Waddington was widely respected as one of most enduring poets of Canada prior to her death in Vancouver at age 86 on March 3, 2004. The feisty scholar, poet and Yiddish translator rose to prominence in the 1940s in Montreal where she was a colleague of the 'first generation' of Canadian poets who were not fundamentally influenced by British styles and attitudes. These included Raymond Souster, Louis Dudek, Eli Mandel and Margaret Avison. In Montreal, Waddington also taught social work at McGill.
Born in Winnipeg on December 23, 1917, Miriam Waddington (neé Dworkin) received her B.A. in English from University of Toronto and an M.A. in Social Work from University of Pennsylvania. In Toronto she worked for North York Family Services and taught English at York University (1964-1983). She was a Canada Council Exchange Poet to Wales in 1980, editor of Poetry Toronto and was accorded the J.J. Segal award in 1972 and 1986, plus two honorary doctorates (from Lakehead University in 1975 and York University in 1985). She wrote a critical study of A.M. Klein and edited a collection of his poetry. She was a Life Member of the League of Canadian Poets. Her only short story collection was Summer at Lonely Beach. Her poems have been incorporated into various works by Canadian and American composers and words from her poem "Jacques Cartier" adorn Canada's new $100 dollar bill.
BOOKS:
Green World (First Statement Press, 1945)
The Second Silence (Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1955)
The Season's Lovers (Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1958)
The Glass Trumpet (Oxford University Press, 1966)
Say Yes. (Oxford University Press, 1969).
A.M. Klein (Copp Clark, 1970). -- criticism
John Sutherland: Essays, Controversies, Poems. (McClelland & Stewart, 1972). -- Editor
The Price of Gold (Oxford University Press, 1976)
Mister Never. (Turnstone Press, 1978).
The Visitants. (Oxford University Press, 1981).
Summer at Lonely Beach (Mosaic Press, 1982). -- fiction
Collected Poems. (Oxford University Press, 1986).
Apartment Seven: Essays Selected and New. (Oxford University Press, 1989). -- essays
Canadian Jewish Short Stories (Oxford University Press, 1990) -- editor
The Last Landscape. (Oxford University Press, 1992).
Canada: Romancing the and; Poetry by Miriam Waddington (Toronto: Key Porter Books, 1996). Edited by Lorraine Monk.
[BCBW 2004] "Poetry" "Jewish"
Born in Winnipeg on December 23, 1917, Miriam Waddington (neé Dworkin) received her B.A. in English from University of Toronto and an M.A. in Social Work from University of Pennsylvania. In Toronto she worked for North York Family Services and taught English at York University (1964-1983). She was a Canada Council Exchange Poet to Wales in 1980, editor of Poetry Toronto and was accorded the J.J. Segal award in 1972 and 1986, plus two honorary doctorates (from Lakehead University in 1975 and York University in 1985). She wrote a critical study of A.M. Klein and edited a collection of his poetry. She was a Life Member of the League of Canadian Poets. Her only short story collection was Summer at Lonely Beach. Her poems have been incorporated into various works by Canadian and American composers and words from her poem "Jacques Cartier" adorn Canada's new $100 dollar bill.
BOOKS:
Green World (First Statement Press, 1945)
The Second Silence (Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1955)
The Season's Lovers (Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1958)
The Glass Trumpet (Oxford University Press, 1966)
Say Yes. (Oxford University Press, 1969).
A.M. Klein (Copp Clark, 1970). -- criticism
John Sutherland: Essays, Controversies, Poems. (McClelland & Stewart, 1972). -- Editor
The Price of Gold (Oxford University Press, 1976)
Mister Never. (Turnstone Press, 1978).
The Visitants. (Oxford University Press, 1981).
Summer at Lonely Beach (Mosaic Press, 1982). -- fiction
Collected Poems. (Oxford University Press, 1986).
Apartment Seven: Essays Selected and New. (Oxford University Press, 1989). -- essays
Canadian Jewish Short Stories (Oxford University Press, 1990) -- editor
The Last Landscape. (Oxford University Press, 1992).
Canada: Romancing the and; Poetry by Miriam Waddington (Toronto: Key Porter Books, 1996). Edited by Lorraine Monk.
[BCBW 2004] "Poetry" "Jewish"
Articles: 1 Article for this author
Info
Born in Winnipeg in 1917, Miriam Waddington was honoured at the Beth Israel synagogue in February of 2001 by speakers Seymour Levitan, Harold Troper and Jonathan Waddington in association with the Isaac Waldman Jewish Public Library, the Jewish Historical Society and the Vancouver Peretz Institute.
[BCBW SPRING 2001]
