Charles "Red" Lillard (February 26, 1944 – March 27, 1997) was an American-born
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
and historian who spent much of his adult life in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
and became a Canadian citizen in 1967. He wrote extensively about the history and culture of British Columbia,
Southeast Alaska and the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...
.
Early life and education
Lillard was born in
Long Beach
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
and raised in
Ketchikan
Ketchikan ( ; tli, Kichx̱áan) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic District.
With a population at the 20 ...
,
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
. His parents made a living from fishing. Lillard attended the University of British Columbia, earning a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts.
[Charles Lillard's]
entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage.
Available f ...
Career
Lillard published several books of poetry; his work was also included in literary publications and anthologies.
[Allan Brown]
"Some West Coast Words"
''The Antigonish Review''. issue 107 His collection ''Shadow Weather'' was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award.
Lillard wrote extensively, and also collected and published stories, about the history of Canada's west coast. His book ''Seven Shillings a Year: the History of Vancouver Island'' won a BC Book Award in 1986. Lillart also wrote many stories of his travels and experiences in an informal style;
he has been criticized for including names of people in his reminiscences without explaining who they were.
In 1978, 1979,and 1981 Lillard was co-editor (with Robin Skelton) of three themed issues, "The West Coast Renaissance" of the literary magazine ''The Malahat Review''.
In 2016 a foundation was set up in Lillard's name which presents an award each year to an author whose non-fiction work has appeared in ''The Malahat Review''.
He died of cancer, at his home in
Oak Bay, British Columbia
Oak Bay is a municipality incorporated in 1906 that is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of thirteen member municipalities of the Capital Regional District, and is bordere ...
in 1997. He left his wife, writer Rhonda Batchelor Lillard, and two children, Benjamin (b. 1984) and Joanna (b. 1986).
Bibliography
Poetry
*''Cultus Coulee'' - 1971
*''Drunk on Wood'' - 1973
*''Jabble'' - 1975
*''Voice, My Shaman'' - 1976
*''Poems'' - 1979 (with
Doug Beardsley)
*''Circling North'' - 1988
*''Shadow Weather: Poems, Selected and New'' - 1996
Fiction
*''A Coastal Range'' - 1984
(nominated for the
Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize The Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, established in 1985 as one of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes, is awarded annually to the best work of fiction by a resident of British Columbia, Canada.
The award is named after novelist and short story writer Ethel W ...
)
Non-fiction
*''Seven Shillings a Year'' - 1986
*''Fernwood Files'' - 1989 (with J. Ellis)
*''The Brother, XII, B.C. Magus: A Quest for The Brother, XII'' - 1989 (with Ron MacIsaac and Don Clark)
*''Land of Destiny'' - 1991 (with Michael Gregson)
*''Just East of Sundown'' - 1995
*''A Voice Great Within Us: The Story of Chinook'' - 1998 (with
Terry Glavin
Terry Glavin (born 1955) is a Canadian author and journalist.
Career
Born in the United Kingdom to Irish parents, he emigrated to Canada in 1957. Glavin has worked as a journalist and columnist for '' The Daily Columbian'' (reporter, columnist ...
)
"Can We Still Speak Chinook?"
''The Tyee'', Nicholas Klassen, 10 January 2006
Anthologies
*''In the Wake of the War Canoe'' - 1981
*''Dreams of Freedom: Bella Coola, Cape Scott, Sointula'' - 1982
*''Warriors of the North Pacific: Missionary Accounts of the Northwest Coast, The Skeena and Stikine Rivers, and the Klondike, 1829-1900'' - 1984
*''Nootka'' - 1986
*''The Ghostland People'' - 1989
*''The Call of the Coast'' - 1992
References
External links
Charles Lillard
at BC Bookworld
Charles Lillard fonds
at University of Victoria, Special Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lillard, Charles
1944 births
1997 deaths
American expatriate writers in Canada
Historians of Alaska
Historians of British Columbia
Historians of the Pacific Northwest
Writers from Long Beach, California
People from Ketchikan, Alaska
People from the Capital Regional District
Writers from British Columbia
20th-century Canadian poets
Canadian male poets
20th-century American poets
20th-century Canadian historians
20th-century Canadian male writers