Nationality Canadian Resting place Fredericton Role Poet | Name Alden Nowlan Children John (adopted) | |
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Born Alden Albert Nowlan
January 25, 1933
Stanley, Nova Scotia ( 1933-01-25 ) Occupation Journalist, poet, novelist, playwright, author Spouse Claudine Orser (m. 1963; wid. 1983) Died June 27, 1983, Fredericton, Canada Awards Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts, US & Canada, Governor General's Award for English-language poetry or drama Notable awards Governor General's Awards, Guggenheim Fellowship Books What happened when he, Between Tears and Laughter, Alden Nowlan Selected, The wanton troopers, Nine Micmac legends | ||
Alden nowlan the people s poet
Alden Albert Nowlan (January 25, 1933 – June 27, 1983) was a critically acclaimed Canadian poet, novelist, and playwright.
Contents
- Alden nowlan the people s poet
- Nq arbuckle part of a poem by alden nowlan called ypres 1915
- History
- Career and later life
- Awards and recognition
- References
Nq arbuckle part of a poem by alden nowlan called ypres 1915
History
Alden Nowlan was born into rural poverty in Stanley, Nova Scotia, adjacent to Mosherville, and close to the small town of Windsor, Nova Scotia, along a stretch of dirt road that he would later refer to as Desolation Creek. His father, Freeman Lawrence Nowlan, worked sporadically as a manual labourer.
His mother, Grace Reese, was only 14 years of age when Nowlan was born, and she soon left the family, leaving Alden and her younger daughter Harriet to the care of their paternal grandmother. The family discouraged education as a waste of time, and Nowlan left school after only four grades. At the age of 14, he went to work in the village sawmill. At the age of 16, he discovered the new library in Windsor. Often on weekends he would travel eighteen miles to the library to get books, which broadened his already keen reading. "I wrote (as I read) in secret." Nowlan remembered. "My father would as soon have seen me wear lipstick."
Career and later life
At 19, Nowlan's artfully embroidered résumé landed him a job with Observer, a newspaper in Hartland, New Brunswick. While working at the Observer, Nowlan began writing books of poetry, the first of which was published by Fredericton's Fiddlehead Poetry Books.
Nowlan eventually settled permanently in New Brunswick. In 1963, he married Claudine Orser, a typesetter on his former paper, and moved to Saint John with her and her son, John, whom he adopted. He became the night editor for the Saint John Telegraph Journal and continued to write poetry. In 1966, Nowlan was diagnosed with throat cancer. After three surgeries and a subsequent radiation treatment, his health began to improve. He wrote poems about his brush with death. In 1967, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, and his collection Bread, Wine and Salt was awarded the Governor General's Award for Poetry. Soon afterward, the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton offered him the position of Writer-in-Residence. He remained in the position until his death on June 27, 1983 after collapsing at his home with severe emphysema.
Awards and recognition
Nowlan's most notable literary achievements include the Governor General's Award for Bread, Wine and Salt (1967) and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He was Writer-in-Residence at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton from 1968 until his death in 1983. He has a provincial poetry award named in his honour.
Nowlan is one of Canada's most popular 20th-century poets, and his appearance in the anthology Staying Alive (2002) has helped to spread his popularity beyond Canada.
In the 1970s, Nowlan met and became close friends with theatre director Walter Learning. The two collaborated on a number of plays, including A Gift to Last, Frankenstein, The Dollar Woman, and The Incredible Murder of Cardinal Tosca.
Nowlan's Fredericton home is now the residence of the Graduate Student Association at the University of New Brunswick. Dubbed "Windsor Castle" by Nowlan after its location on Windsor Street, the simple building is now officially called the Alden Nowlan House.
Nowlan is buried in the Poets' Corner of the Forest Hill cemetery in Fredericton, New Brunswick.