Douglas Valentine LePan (25 May 1914 – 27 November 1998) was a Canadian diplomat, poet, novelist and professor of literature.

Life

Born in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, LePan was educated at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

(where he also taught briefly in the late 1930s), and at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was on staff at the Canadian High Commission in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and then served in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

as an artilleryman during the Italian campaign. He joined the Canadian diplomatic service in 1946, and during his years as a diplomat served in London (as special assistant to

Lester Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...

in the late 1940s) and in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, as well as in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. He was formally in the employ of the

Department of External Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

until 1959, though for several years during that time he was seconded by the Department of Finance to serve as Secretary for the Royal Commission on Canada's Economic Prospects (the "Gordon Commission"); his work drafting the multi-volume Report of the commission was widely praised. LePan left the diplomatic service in 1959 to return to academic life; he taught at Queen's University,

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

, and at the

, where he was Principal of

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

(1964–1970) and then University Professor and Senior Fellow at

Massey College Massey College is a graduate residential college at the University of Toronto that was established, built and partially endowed in 1962 by the Massey Foundation and officially opened in 1963, though women were not admitted until 1974. It was mo ...

. LePan's wartime experience with the Canadian Army in Italy inspired much of his poetry and one novel, ''

The Deserter The Deserter or Deserter (s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Deserter'' (1912 film), a silent film by Thomas H. Ince * ''The Deserter'' (1933 film), a film by Vsevolod Pudovkin * ''The Deserter'' (1971 film), a film by Burt Kennedy ...

'' (1964). LePan is one of only a few people (

Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, essayist, novelist, editor, and filmmaker. He is the recipient of multiple literary awards such as the Governor General's Award, the Giller P ...

and

George Bowering George Harry Bowering, (born December 1, 1935) is a prolific Canadian novelist, poet, historian, and biographer. He was the first Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate. He was born in Penticton, British Columbia, and raised in the nearby town o ...

are two others) to have won the

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

both for poetry (1953 for ''The Net and the Sword'') and fiction (1964 for ''The Deserter'', in a highly controversial win over

Margaret Laurence Jean Margaret Laurence (née Wemyss; July 18, 1926 – January 5, 1987) was a Canadian novelist and short story writer, and is one of the major figures in Canadian literature. She was also a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, a non-pr ...

's ''

The Stone Angel ''The Stone Angel'' is a novel by Canadian writer Margaret Laurence. First published in 1964 by McClelland and Stewart, it is perhaps the best-known of Laurence's series of five novels set in the fictitious town of Manawaka, Manitoba. In parall ...

''). In 1982 LePan published his first volume of poetry in almost 30 years (''Something Still to Find''), and in 1990 he created something of a sensation with ''Far Voyages'', a volume largely composed of gay love poetry. LePan had married, in 1948 to the former Sarah Katharine Chambers; the two remained together until 1971, but the marriage was a difficult one, not least of all over issues relating to sexual orientation. The couple had two children; Nicholas Le Pan, the elder of the two, was for many years a senior civil servant in Canada's Department of Finance and served from 2001 to 2006 as Superintendent of Financial Institutions, while the younger,

Don LePan Don LePan (born 1954 in Washington, DC) is widely known as a book publisher; he is the founder and CEO of the academic publishing house Broadview Press. He is also a painter and the author or editor of several books, most notably the dystopian novel ...

, is founder and CEO of academic publishing house

Broadview Press Broadview Press is an independent academic publisher that focuses on the humanities. Founded in 1985 by Don LePan, the company now employs over 30 people, has over 800 titles in print, and publishes approximately 40 titles each year. Broadview's o ...

and the author of several novels. LePan's 1989 book of memoirs ''Bright Glass of Memory'' recounts his involvement with several leading lights of the twentieth century, including

John Maynard Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originally trained in ...

and

T.S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National B ...

. He was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in 1998; among his other awards were a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

(1948), the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

Lorne Pierce Medal The Lorne Pierce Medal is awarded every two years by the Royal Society of Canada to recognize achievement of special significance and conspicuous merit in imaginative or critical literature written in either English or French. The medal was first aw ...

(1976), and several honorary degrees. He remains well known for his war poetry (long poems from the post-war period such as "Tuscan Villa" and "Elegy for the Romagna," as well as shorter, punchier 1980s poems such as "Below Monte Cassino" in which he recalled the events of a generation earlier); for his poems relating to the landscape of

Georgian Bay Georgian Bay (french: Baie Georgienne) is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To ...

in Ontario; for his love poems; and for lyric poems in which the poet's passion for the natural world is infused with the suggestion of homoerotic passion ("Coureurs de Bois," "A Country Without a Mythology"). His work has been included in many anthologies, including ''The Norton Anthology of Poetry'', ''Canadian Literature in English: Texts and Contexts'', ''The Harbrace Anthology of Poetry'', ''The Broadview Anthology of Poetry'', and ''Modern Canadian Poets''.

Selected works

* ''The Wounded Prince'' (1948) * ''The Net and the Sword'' (1953) * ''The Deserter'' (1964) * ''Bright Glass of Memory'' (1979) * ''Something Still To Find'' (1982) * ''Weathering It: Complete Poems 1948-1987'' (1987) * ''Far Voyages'' (1990) * ''Macalister'', or Dying in the Dark'' (1995)

References

* John Barton and Billeh Nickerson, eds. ''Seminal: The Anthology of Canada's Gay Male Poets''. Vancouver:

Arsenal Pulp Press Arsenal Pulp Press is a Canadian independent book publishing company, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company publishes a broad range of titles in both fiction and non-fiction, focusing primarily on underrepresented genres such as und ...

, 2007. . * Eugene Benson and William Toye, eds. ''The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature''. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1997. . * Evan Jones and Todd Swift, eds. ''Modern Canadian Poets: An Anthology of Poems in English''. Manchester:

Carcanet Press Carcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt. In 2000 it was named the '' Sunday Times'' millennium Small Publisher of the Year. History ''Carcanet'' was originally a li ...

, 2010. . * J. M. Kertzer. "The Wounded Eye: The Poetry of Douglas LePan," ''Studies in Canadian Literature'' 6.1, 1981. * James H. Marsh, ed., ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1999. . * Peter Stoicheff. "Douglas LePan," in Jeffrey M. Heath, ed., ''Profiles in Canadian Literature'' VI. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1986, pp. 9–16. Note: Inquiries regarding copyright permission for Douglas LePan's work should be directed to his literary executor: Don LePan, 408 Milton Street, Nanaimo, BC, Canada V9R 2L1.

External links

Douglas Valentine LePan oral history interview
held at th
University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lepan, Douglas 1914 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Canadian poets Canadian male poets University of Toronto alumni University of Toronto faculty Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Harvard University alumni Harvard University faculty Officers of the Order of Canada Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Canadian gay writers Writers from Toronto Gay diplomats Governor General's Award-winning poets Governor General's Award-winning fiction writers Canadian LGBT poets 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century LGBT people