Name David Helwig | Role Poet | |
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Education University of Liverpool, University of Toronto People also search for Maggie Helwig, Tom Marshall, Michael Ondaatje, Edward A. Lacey Books The stand‑in, The Year One, The time of her life, The Names of Things, Smuggling Donkeys | ||
Canadian poet David Helwig Died at 80
David Helwig (born April 5, 1938) is a Canadian poet, novelist and essayist.
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David Helwig was born in Toronto, Ontario, where he spent his early childhood years. When he was ten years old, his family moved to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, where his father ran a small business repairing and refinishing furniture and buying and selling antiques. He earned a B.A. from the University of Toronto in 1960, and an M.A. from the University of Liverpool in 1962. He subsequently taught at Queen's University from 1962 to 1974. While he was at Queen's University, he also taught writing classes in Collins Bay Penitentiary, and co-wrote A Book about Billie with a former inmate.
He was subsequently a literary manager for CBC Television's drama department from 1974 to 1976, and then returned to Queen's as a part-time instructor, while doing a great deal of freelance work. In 1980, he gave up teaching and became a full-time writer.
He currently lives in Prince Edward Island. On 23 January 2008, he was named as Prince Edward Island's third Poet Laureate, and on 1 July 2009 was named as a Member of the Order of Canada.
His daughter, Maggie Helwig, is also a noted Canadian writer.