Al Pittman (April 11, 1940 – August 26, 2001) was a Canadian writer and teacher from

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

Life and work

Born in St. Leonard's,

Placentia Bay Placentia Bay (french: Baie de Plaisance) is a body of water on the southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada. It is formed by Burin Peninsula on the west and Avalon Peninsula on the east. Fishing grounds in the bay were used by native people lo ...

, Pittman grew up in

Corner Brook Corner Brook ( 2021 population: 19,333 CA 29,762) is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Corner Brook is the fifth largest settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador. ...

. He moved to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

in 1964 where he began writing poetry and plays, and in 1966 published his first book of poems, ''The Elusive Resurrection''. While in Montreal he was associated with

Raymond Fraser Raymond Fraser (May 8, 1941 – October 22, 2018) was a Canadian biographer, editor, essayist, memoirist, novelist, poet and short story writer. Fraser published fourteen books of fiction, three of non-fiction, and eight poetry collections. Fras ...

and others in editing the literary magazine ''Intercourse: Contemporary Canadian Writing''. From 1968 to 1970, Pittman was a student at St. Thomas University in

Fredericton, New Brunswick Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

, where he befriended fellow poet

Alden Nowlan Alden Albert Nowlan (; January 25, 1933 – June 27, 1983) was a Canadian poet, novelist, and playwright. History Alden Nowlan was born into rural poverty in Stanley, Nova Scotia, adjacent to Mosherville, and close to the small town of Windsor ...

. Pittman moved to St. John's in 1972, where he associated with many of the artists, writers, and musicians active in the city at the time, including

Rufus Guinchard Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin ''rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include: Given name Politicians * Rufus Ada George (born 1940), Nigerian politician * Rufus A ...

and

Gerald Squires Gerald Leopold "Gerry" Squires, (November 17, 1937 – October 3, 2015) was an artist from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Perhaps best known for painting dramatic landscapes in acrylic and oil, Squires also produced major work in sculpture, l ...

. In 1973 he co-founded Newfoundland's first publishing house,

Breakwater Books Breakwater Books Ltd. is a Canadian publishing company based in Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, pr ...

, with Pat Byrne, Dick Buehler,

Tom Dawe Tom Dawe, (born October 24, 1940) is a Canadian writer from Newfoundland and Labrador. Life Born in Long Pond, Newfoundland, Dawe has written poetry and children's literature for many years. He is also a visual artist. His work often draws on ...

, and Clyde Rose. Pittman continued to write throughout his life, producing many other volumes of poetry, plays, books for children, short stories, songs, magazine articles, and essays, as well as writings for radio, television and film. He eventually returned to his childhood home of Corner Brook, where he co-founded the

March Hare The March Hare (called Haigha in ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a character most famous for appearing in the tea party scene in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. The main character, Alice, hypothesizes, : "Th ...

, an annual poetry and music festival. Pittman's poetry and plays often address the sense of loss associated with the rural resettlement policies initiated by Joey Smallwood's provincial government in the 1960s. His best-known play ''West Moon'' is set in a resettled

outport An outport is any port considered secondary to a main port (including a provincial one as opposed to a capital one), and often (especially) a small port built to support the commercial operations of a large port. The Port of Tilbury from the Port ...

, where the ghosts of the dead lament the abandonment of their home. A production of West Moon produced by West Moon Inc. toured Ireland in 2001 following Al Pittman's 2000 visit where he met Poet Irish Paul Durcan in Dublin, read at the Canadian Embassy, stayed and also read at the Tyrone Guthrie Center, Annaghmakerring, County Monaghan. A strong sense of community and a writing style intended for reading aloud have helped to cement Pittman's reputation as one of Newfoundland and Labrador's most cherished contemporary writers. Al Pittman died on August 26, 2001 at the age of sixty-one, after a lengthy illness. His work has been recognized with many awards, including a Borestone Mountain Poetry Award, The

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...

Arts Award, the

Stephen Leacock Stephen P. H. Butler Leacock (30 December 1869 – 28 March 1944) was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humorist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humorist in the world. He is known ...

Centennial Award, and the

Newfoundland and Labrador Book Award The Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards were established in 1997 by the Writer's Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador (WANL), Canada. The awards are administered in partnership with the Literary Arts Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador. The ...

for Poetry. Pittman was the first recipient of the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council's Lydia Campbell Award for Creative Writing in 1985, and was inducted into the Arts Council's Hall of Honour in 1999. Up until his death he was a Writer in Residence at

Sir Wilfred Grenfell College Grenfell Campus, formerly Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, is a campus of the Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN). It is located in the city of Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The campus has approximately 1,300 students enroll ...

in Corner Brook, Newfoundland.

Bibliography

Poetry

* ''The Elusive Resurrection'' (1966) * ''Seaweed and Rosaries'' (1968) * ''Through One More Window'' (1974) * ''Once When I Was Drowning'' (1978) * ''Dancing in Limbo'' (1993) * ''Thirty-for-Sixty'' (1999) * ''An Island in the Sky: Selected Poetry of Al Pittman'' (2003) * ''Al Pittman: Collected Poems'' (2015)

Plays

* ''A Rope Against the Sun'' (first performed in 1970, published 1974) * ''West Moon'' (first performed in 1980, published 1995)

Short stories

* ''The Boughwolfen and Other Stories'' (1984)

Children's literature

* ''Down by Jim Long's Stage: Rhymes for Children and Young Fish'' (1976) * ''One Wonderful Fine Day for a Sculpin Named Sam'' (1983) * ''On a Wing and a Wish: Salt Water Bird Rhymes'' (1992)

References

External links

Patrick Lane's poem "For Al Pittman"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pittman, Al 1940 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Canadian poets Canadian male poets Writers from Newfoundland and Labrador People from Corner Brook 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights St. Thomas University (New Brunswick) alumni Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers