Nationality Canadian Role Novelist Name Margaret Gibson | Genre Fiction Period 1976–1998 Movies Outrageous! | |
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Born June 4, 1948
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada ( 1948-06-04 ) Occupation Short story writer, novelist Notable works The Butterfly Ward, Opium Dreams Died February 25, 2006, Toronto, Canada Books The butterfly ward, Considering Her Condition, Desert Thirst, Sweet poison, The fear room and other stories Parents Dane Gibson, Audrey Gibson People also search for Richard Benner, Peter O'Brian, Henk Van der Kolk, William T. Marshall | ||
Margaret Gibson (June 4, 1948 – February 25, 2006) was a Canadian novelist and short story writer who lived in Toronto, Ontario.
Contents
- Early life
- Marriage
- Writing career
- Later years
- Works about Margaret Gibson
- Writing about Margaret Gibson
- References
Early life
Born and raised in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, the middle child of Audrey and Dane Gibson, Margaret Gibson began writing in the early 1970s to document her struggle with mental illness. Biographical references are, however, in conflict as to whether Gibson suffered from schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
Marriage
Gibson was married in the early 1970s to Stuart Gilboord, with whom she had one son, Aaron. Following her divorce from Gilboord, Gibson moved in with her longtime friend, actor Craig Russell.
Writing career
Gibson published her debut short story collection, The Butterfly Ward, in 1976. The book included the story "Making It", based on her experiences living with Russell, which was later made into the feature film Outrageous! by director Richard Benner. Hollis McLaren played "Liza Conners", the fictionalized version of Gibson, in that film. Benner also produced a sequel, Too Outrageous!, ten years later.
"Ada", another story in the collection, was the basis of a CBC Television movie directed by Claude Jutra. It was Jutra's first English-language film production.
The Butterfly Ward was a winner of the City of Toronto Book Award in 1977, shared with Margaret Atwood's novel Lady Oracle.
Gibson published three further collections of short stories before releasing her first novel, Opium Dreams, in 1997. Opium Dreams was a winner of the Books in Canada First Novel Award, and Gibson subsequently published one more book.
Later years
In later years Gibson lived with Juris Rasa, her second husband.
She died in 2006 of breast cancer, aged 57.
Works about Margaret Gibson
Writing about Margaret Gibson
In 2011, Vassar College's Powerhouse Theater produced David Solomon's play, Margaret and Craig, in workshop. The play was based on the writing of Craig Russell and Margaret Gibson.