Patrick Roscoe is a Canadian

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 ...

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

and

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Early years

Roscoe was born in Trail, British Columbia, Canada and grew up in

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Port Hardy Port Hardy is a district municipality in British Columbia, Canada located on the north-east end of Vancouver Island. Port Hardy has a population of 4,132 as of the last census (2016). It is the gateway to Cape Scott Provincial Park, the North Co ...

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and

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. Roscoe moved from Canada to California in 1981. He later lived in Toronto, Seville, and Madrid.

Career

His first book, ''Beneath the Western Slopes'', was released by

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in 1987. ''Birthmarks'', published in 1990,

Charles Foran Charles William Foran (born August 2 1960) is a Canadian writer in Toronto, Ontario. Life and career Foran was born in August 1960 in Toronto, Ontario to a Franco-Ontarian mother and a father from an Ottawa Irish family. He attended Catholic ...

, "There's more to Roscoe than his unusual line of work". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', February 10, 1990. was noted for its unconventional subject matter, addressing themes of loneliness, desperation and survival among prostitutes, gay men and drug addicts who were living on the margins of conventional society. On the promotional tour for ''Birthmarks'', he received publicity for claims of having previously worked as a

male prostitute Male prostitution is the act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. It is a form of sex work. Although clients can be of any gender, the vast majority are older males looking to fulfill their sexual needs. Male pro ...

. He later disavowed the prostitution claim, telling ''The Globe and Mail'' in 1991, "I thought, if I'm going to do he book tour I'm going to act, I'm going to become one of the characters in the book, I'm not going to tell anything that's the truth because that's none of (the interviewer's) business." He has claimed to have no friends, no hobbies, no spouse, no lovers, no children, and no interests outside writing, regarding isolation as being important to him as a writer. While living in Madrid in 1991, he told ''The Globe and Mail'' that although he wrote in English, he spoke only Spanish in his daily life and told no one that he was a writer, passing instead as a student of Spanish. Despite the uncertainty about Roscoe's own sexual orientation raised by his disavowal of the prostitution claims and the relative lack of similar themes in his later work, the LGBT themes in ''Birthmarks'' have made it an important milestone in the history of

LGBT literature LGBT literature may refer to: * Lesbian literature * Gay literature * Bisexual literature * Transgender literature * Or any other literature featuring the LGBT community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, ...

in Canada; it is the subject of an essay by Andy Quan in the 2010 book '' The Lost Library: Gay Fiction Rediscovered''. In his 1991 novel, ''God's Peculiar Care'', Roscoe imagined a group of misfits obsessed by the tragic life of actress

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. The ''

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'' called Roscoe "a real humdinger of a young writer." The ''

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 ...

'' called him "prodigiously gifted." He released a short story collection, ''Love Is Starving for Itself'', in 1994 and a second novel, ''The Lost Oasis'', in 1995. Another short story collection, ''The Truth About Love'', followed in 2001, and the novel ''The Reincarnation of Linda Lopez'' appeared in 2003. ''The Laboratory of Love'', released in 2013, was his first book in a decade. Stephen Henighan discusses Roscoe as one of a group of writers whose stories "eschew historical participation in favour of a turning inward or a retreat into a kind of eternal present."

Awards

In 1996, he won a Western Magazine Award for his short story "The Last Casanova of Regina", originally published in ''

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''. In 2008, he was one of 10 finalists in the

Okanagan The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part ...

Short Story Contest. He won first place in the short-story division of

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

's literary competition in 1990."Prize keeps wolf from writer's door". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', January 17, 1990.

Bibliography

* ''Beneath the Western Slopes'' (1987, short fiction) * ''Birthmarks'' (1990, short fiction) * ''God's Peculiar Care'' (1991, novel) * ''Love is Starving for Itself'' (1994, short fiction) * ''The Lost Oasis'' (1995, novel) * ''The Truth About Love'' (2001, short fiction) * ''The Reincarnation of Linda Lopez'' (2003, novel) * ''The Laboratory of Love'' (2013, short fiction)

References

External links

Patrick Roscoe Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roscoe, Patrick Living people Canadian male novelists Canadian male short story writers 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists 1967 births 20th-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian short story writers 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers