May Ebbitt Cutler (September 4, 1923 – March 3, 2011) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

writer,

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, and

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

. She founded

Tundra Books In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...

in her home in 1967, becoming Canada's first female publisher of

children's books A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

. She served a four-year term as the first female mayor of Westmount, Quebec from 1987 to 1991. As a writer of "literary works" she used the pseudonym Ebbitt Cutler.

Life and career

Early life

May Ebbitt was born in the east end of

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 1923. Her parents, Francis (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Farrelly) and William Henry Ebbitt, a

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

, were

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

immigrants. She had two older brothers, William "Bill" Ebbitt and Jack Ebbitt. In 1953 she married Phil Cutler, a Canadian

labour law Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...

yer and

Quebec Superior Court The Superior Court of Quebec (french: Cour supérieure du Québec) is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Qu ...

judge, who died in 1987. The couple had four sons – Keir, Adam and Michael, who are twins, and Roger. Cutler earned both her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

and her

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degrees from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

in Montreal. She next obtained a second Master of Arts in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York City.

Early career

Cutler worked for the newly formed

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

following her graduation from Columbia University. When she returned to Canada she became a

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (newspaper), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the fo ...

and

reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

for the former ''

Montreal Herald This is a list of defunct newspapers of Quebec. 1770–1799 * ''La Gazette du commerce et littéraire pour la Ville & District de Montréal'', 1778, Montréal, Fleury Mesplet, printer, and Valentin Jautard, editor and journalist * '' La Gazette ...

''. She also wrote

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

articles for the former ''

Montreal Standard The ''Montreal Standard'', later known as ''The Standard'', was a national weekly pictorial newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, founded by Hugh Graham. It operated from 1905 to 1951. History The Standard began publishing in 1905 as a Saturda ...

''. She was the second woman hired by the

Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...

news agency A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and All-news radio, radio and News broadcasting, television Broadcasting, broadcasters. A news agency may ...

. She would later join the faculty of McGill University, where she founded a three-year

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

program for journalism.

Tundra Books

Cutler founded

in 1967, using first-prize money won by her biographical novella ''The Last Noble Savage'' in the Canadian Centennial Commission Publications Assistance Competition. Thus she became the first Canadian woman publisher of

. She owned and operated Tundra Books for more than 28 years. For Tundra she openly sought writers and artists to create children's books. She was the first publisher to release works by Stéphane Poulin, a French-language illustrator and writer; Dayal Kaur Khalsa, author of '' I Want a Dog'' and several other titles; and

William Kurelek William Kurelek, (March 3, 1927 – November 3, 1977) was a Canadian artist and writer. His work was influenced by his childhood on the prairies, his Ukrainian-Canadian roots, his struggles with mental illness, and his conversion to Roman Catho ...

, who released ''A Prairie Boy's Winter'' and ''They Sought a New World'' through Tundra Books. Beside books for children, Cutler also published some by

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Moshe Safdie Moshe Safdie ( he, משה ספדיה; born July 14, 1938) is an architect, urban planner, educator, theorist, and author, with Israeli, Canadian, and American citizenship. He is known for incorporating principles of socially responsible desi ...

and some by

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

Roch Carrier Roch Carrier (born 13 May 1937) is a French Canadian novelist and author of "contes" (a very brief form of the short story). He is among the best known Quebec writers in English Canada. Life He was born in Sainte-Justine, Quebec, and studied at ...

, including ''

The Hockey Sweater ''The Hockey Sweater'' (''Le chandail de hockey'' in the original French) is a short story by Canadian author Roch Carrier and translated to English by Sheila Fischman. It was originally published in 1979 under the title "'" ("An abominable map ...

''. Cutler successfully guided Tundra Books through financial difficulties, as well as the death of her husband in 1987, which coincided with her political campaign for mayor of Westmount. She sold Tundra to the

McClelland & Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. History It was founded ...

publishing firm Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

in 1998. Cutler published some of her own writings, beginning with her 1967 prize-winning novella as by Ebbitt Cutler, ''The Last Noble Savage: A Laurentian Idyll''. She also penned a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

, two theatrical plays and a

biography 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 ...

of Kurelek entitled ''Breaking Free: The Story of William Kurelek''.

Mayor of Westmount

Cutler decided to enter politics in 1987 following several personal and professional disagreements with the local government. The

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

of Westmount had refused her request for a zoning change which would have allowed Tundra Books' headquarters to move to the street-level floor of

Sherbrooke Street Sherbrooke Street (officially in french: rue Sherbrooke) is a major east–west artery and at in length, is the second longest street on the Island of Montreal. The street begins in the town of Montreal West and ends on the extreme tip of t ...

which she had purchased even though the space permitted "professional" use. She announced her candidacy for mayor in 1987, her first political campaign, and defeated the incumbent Brian Gallery, becoming the first female mayor of the city. Gallery later praised Cutler's handling of the transition of power, saying, "She was listening, she asked good questions ... I walked away from our chat thinking she'll be a good friend. The keys to the city will be in very good hands." Montreal city councilman

Marvin Rotrand Marvin Rotrand (born 1951) is a former Canadian politician, last sitting as an independent. He previously served as a member of Montreal City Council, representing the district of Snowdon. Rotrand served on Montreal city council from 1982 until ...

noted that Cutler's election "marked a sea change from the clannish, traditional way that Westmount had always been run." Cutler served one four-year term, declining to run for re-election in 1991 and asking then city councilman

Peter Trent Peter Francis Trent, (born 5 January 1946) is an English-born Canadian businessman and politician. He was mayor of Westmount, Quebec until his retirement in April 2017. He was first elected as councillor in 1983. He served as mayor from 1992 to ...

to run for the office. (Trent was elected that year, served until 2001 when Westmount merged with Montreal, and was elected again in 2009.) Her main accomplishment as mayor launching a campaign to renovate the Westmount Public Library from a rundown building into a state-of-the-art modern library, which was realized shortly after she left office.

Later life

Cutler completed her dream to visit every continent when she traveled to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

in 2010. The six-week trip by boat from Miami and down the west coast of South America took its toll on her health and she returned to Montreal with a heart condition. She died at home in Montreal on March 3, 2011, at the age of 87, after being hospitalized in February. She had suffered from several illnesses. Upon her death, she had asked that her body be donated to McGill University Medicine for medical studies. Cutler was survived by her four sons and six grandchildren. Her oldest grandson, Philip A. Cutler, was elected to the Westmount city council in November 2013; "just turned 25", he became "likely the youngest-ever councillor".

References

External links

Tundra Books

Tundra Books fonds
at Library and Archives Canada * – and for Ebbitt Cutler (pseudonym), see link "WorldCat" below * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cutler, May 1923 births 2011 deaths Academics from Montreal Businesspeople from Montreal Canadian book publishers (people) Canadian newspaper journalists Canadian columnists Canadian biographers Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Canadian women journalists Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni Journalists from Montreal Mayors of Westmount, Quebec McGill University alumni Academic staff of McGill University Politicians from Montreal Pseudonymous women writers Quebec people of Irish descent Women mayors of places in Quebec Women biographers Canadian women columnists Writers from Montreal 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian women writers 20th-century biographers Women book publishers (people) Canadian women non-fiction writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers