David Adams Richards CM ONB (born 17 October 1950) is a Canadian writer[2] and member of the Canadian Senate.[3]
David Adams Richards | |
---|---|
Senator from New Brunswick | |
Assumed office 30 August 2017 | |
Nominated by | Justin Trudeau |
Appointed by | David Johnston |
Preceded by | John D. Wallace |
Personal details | |
Born | Newcastle, New Brunswick, Canada | 17 October 1950
Political party | Non-affiliated (2018-2019, 2024-present)[1] |
Other political affiliations | Canadian Senators Group (2019-2024) Independent Senators Group (2016-2017) |
Spouse | Peggy McIntyre |
Profession | Writer |
Awards | Governor General's Award Gemini Award Giller Prize |
Background
editBorn in Newcastle, New Brunswick, Richards left St. Thomas University in Fredericton, three credits shy of completing a BA.[4] After publishing a poetry chapbook in 1972, he won the Norma Epstein Award, a literary prize for unpublished writing by Canadian university students, in 1974 for an excerpt from his novel manuscript The Coming of Winter, and the novel was published later that year as his fiction debut.
Career
editOver his career as a writer, Richards has published novels, stage plays, short stories and non-fiction work. His fiction typically addresses the lives and experiences of poor and working class residents of the Miramichi region of New Brunswick, exploring spiritual and philosophical themes influenced by Richards' Roman Catholic faith.[5]
Richards has been a writer-in-residence at various universities and colleges across Canada, including the University of New Brunswick.
On 30 August 2017, the appointment of Richards to the Senate of Canada on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was announced.[3]
On 25 April 2018, Richards resigned from the Independent Senators Group to sit as a non-caucusing independent senator.[1] Richards stressed that he had not felt pressured by the ISG, saying that he left because he wants a high degree of personal autonomy, citing how he never joined the Writers' Union of Canada or PEN Canada as an author. Richards also said that since Trudeau had appointed him as an independent, he felt it was his duty to be as independent as possible.[6]
On 4 November 2019, he joined the Canadian Senators Group.[7]
Awards
editRichards has received numerous awards including two Gemini Awards for scriptwriting for Small Gifts and For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down, the Alden Nowlan Award for Excellence in the Arts, and the Canadian Authors Association Award for his novel Evening Snow Will Bring Such Peace. Richards is one of only three writers to have won in both the fiction and non-fiction categories of the Governor General's Award. He won the 1988 fiction award for Nights Below Station Street and the 1998 non-fiction award for Lines on the Water: A Fisherman's Life on the Miramichi. He was also a co-winner of the 2000 Giller Prize for Mercy Among the Children. The Writers' Federation of New Brunswick administers an annual David Adams Richards Prize for Fiction.[8]
In 2009, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada "for his contributions to the Canadian literary scene as an essayist, screenwriter and writer of fiction and non-fiction".[9]
In 2011, Richards received the Matt Cohen Prize.[10]
Bibliography
editRichards' papers are currently housed at the University of New Brunswick.[11]
In 2014, Halifax singer-songwriter Dan MacCormack released an album of songs inspired by Richards' novels, called Symphony of Ghosts. The title was taken from a line in Mercy Among the Children.[12]
Novels
edit- The Coming of Winter (1974)
- Blood Ties (1976)
- Lives of Short Duration (1981)
- Road to the Stilt House (1985)
- Nights Below Station Street (1988, winner of the 1988 Governor General's Award for fiction)
- Evening Snow Will Bring Such Peace (1990)
- For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down (1993, nominated for a Governor General's Award, winner of the 1994 Thomas Head Raddall Award)
- Hope in the Desperate Hour (1996)
- The Bay of Love and Sorrows (1998)
- Mercy Among the Children (2000) (co-winner of the Giller Prize)
- River of the Broken-Hearted (2004)
- The Friends of Meager Fortune (2006) (longlisted for the Giller Prize)
- The Lost Highway (2007) (longlisted for the Giller Prize, Nominated Governor General's Awards 2008 Governor General's Award)
- Incidents in the Life of Markus Paul (2011)
- Crimes Against My Brother (2014)
- Principles to Live By (2016)
- Mary Cyr (2018)
Poetry
edit- Small Heroics (1972) (chapbook)
Plays
edit- The Dungarvon Whooper (1975)
- Water Carrier, Bones and Earth (1983)
- Hockey Dreams (2009)
Short stories
edit- Dancers at Night (1978)
- Dane (1978)
The Christmas Tree (2008)
Non-fiction
edit- A Lad From Brantford and Other Essays (1994)
- Hockey Dreams: Memories of a Man Who Couldn't Play (1996)
- Lines on the Water: A Fisherman's Life on the Miramichi (1998, winner of the 1998 Governor General's Award)
- Extraordinary Canadians: Lord Beaverbrook (2008)
- God is. (2009)
- Facing the Hunter: Reflections on a Misunderstood Way of Life (2011)
- Murder and Other Essays (2019)
General
edit- "Non-Judgmental Truth: An Interview with David Adams Richards" by Craig Proctor, Blood & Aphorisms (Winter 1998)
Personal life
editIn 1971, Richards married the former Peggy McIntyre. They have two sons, John Thomas Richards and Anton Richards, and reside in Fredericton as of December 2012[update].[13][14]
References
edit- ^ a b "Trudeau-appointed senator quits group of Independents" CTV News, 25 April 2018.
- ^ "David Adams Richards". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 10 April 2008.
- ^ a b "Trudeau appoints acclaimed writer David Adams Richards to Senate". Toronto Star, 30 August 2017.
- ^ Zenari, Vivian. "David Adams Richards". Athabasca University – Centre for Language and Literature. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
- ^ "Canadian author hides message of hope in bleak landscape". The Catholic Register, 4 December 2016.
- ^ Chase, Steve; Fife, Robert (25 April 2018). "Senator quits Independent Senators Group to be 'totally independent'". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
- ^ "Senators List". Senate of Canada. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
- ^ "24 Years of WFNB Literary Competition Winners!". Writers' Federation of New Brunswick. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
- ^ "Governor General Announces 57 New Appointments to the Order of Canada". Office of the Secretary to the Governor General. 30 December 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
- ^ "New Brunswick author wins big prize". Times & Transcript, 3 November 2011.
- ^ "David Adams Richards fonds". University of New Brunswick. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
- ^ Johns, Stephanie, "Dan MacCormack is book smart", The Coast, 13 November 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ^ "Books: The Friends of Meager Fortune". Random House. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
- ^ "Adams Richards named to Order of Canada". The Daily Gleaner. 31 December 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
External links
edit- Official website
- Richards' item at English-Canadian writers, Aathabasca University, by Vivian Zenari; incl. several hyperlinks