Elspeth MacGregor Cameron (born 10 January 1943) is a Canadian writer best known for her

biographies A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

of noted Canadian literary figures such as

Irving Layton Irving Peter Layton, OC (March 12, 1912 – January 4, 2006) was a Romanian-born Canadian poet. He was known for his "tell it like it is" style which won him a wide following, but also made him enemies. As T. Jacobs notes in his biography (2001) ...

and

Earle Birney Earle Alfred Birney (13 May 1904 – 3 September 1995) was a Canadian poet and novelist, who twice won the Governor General's Award, Canada's top literary honour, for his poetry. Life Born in Calgary, Alberta, and raised on a farm in Eric ...

. She is also noted for her 1997 memoir ''No Previous Experience'', a memoir of her process of self-discovery when, having previously identified as

heterosexual Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...

, she began to develop a sexual and romantic attraction to historian Janice Dickin McGinnis. She has also published a volume of poetry. She lives in St. Catharines,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Cameron has taught at

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

, 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 ...

and

Brock University Brock University is a public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada's Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. The university bear ...

Awards

Her biography of

Hugh MacLennan John Hugh MacLennan (March 20, 1907 – November 9, 1990) was a Canadian writer and professor of English at McGill University. He won five Governor General's Awards and a Royal Bank Award. Family and childhood MacLennan was born in Glace Ba ...

, ''Hugh MacLennan: A Writer's Life'', was nominated for the

Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction The Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a non-fiction book written in English. Since 1987 it is one of fourteen Governor General's Awards for Litera ...

at the

1981 Governor General's Awards Each winner of the 1981 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit was selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts. The 1981 awards were the first time that separate awards were presented for poetry and drama, w ...

. ''No Previous Experience'' won the W. O. Mitchell Literary Prize."Calgarians are on a roll". ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The ...

'', July 18, 1998.

Bibliography

*''Hugh MacLennan: A Writer's Life'' (1981) *''A Spider Danced A Cosy Jig'' (1984) *''Irving Layton: A Portrait'' (1985) *''Robertson Davies: An Appreciation'' (1991) *''Earle Birney: A Life'' (1994) *''Great Dames'' (1997) *''No Previous Experience: A Memoir of Love and Change'' (1997) *''And Beauty Answers: The Life of Frances Loring and Florence Wyle'' (2007) *''Aunt Winnie'' (2013)

External links

References

1943 births Canadian biographers Canadian women non-fiction writers Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian LGBT writers Living people People from St. Catharines Women biographers Writers from Ontario {{Canada-nonfiction-writer-stub