Richard Murray Vaughan (March 2, 1965 – October 2020) 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 and artist.

Biography

Born in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of Ki ...

, Vaughan graduated from the creative writing program at the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Americ ...

. He was playwright-in-residence at Toronto's

Buddies in Bad Times Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is a Canadian professional theatre company. Based in Toronto, Ontario and founded in 1978 by Matt Walsh, Jerry Ciccoritti, and Sky Gilbert, ''Buddies in Bad Times'' is dedicated to "the promotion of queer theatrical ex ...

from 1994-95, and published numerous works, including poetry, fiction, stage plays and journalism for ''

Utne Reader ''Utne Reader'' (also known as ''Utne'') ( ) is a digital digest that collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment, generally from alternative media sources including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music, and ...

'', ''

Xtra! ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former pr ...

'' and ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

''. He was openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

. His books included the poetry collections ''a selection of dazzling scarves'' (1996), ''Ruined Stars'' (2004), and ''Troubled: A Memoir in Poems'' (2008), the plays ''Camera, Woman'' (2001) and ''The Monster Trilogy'' (2003), and the novels ''A Quilted Heart'' (1998) and ''Spells'' (2003). His 2015 book ''Bright Eyed'' is a

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...

of his struggles with

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

. In October 2020, he was reported missing in

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

, New Brunswick, where he was working as writer in residence at the University of New Brunswick. Vaughan was found dead by Fredericton Police on October 23, 2020. ''Pervatory'', an unfinished novel manuscript, was published in 2023.Christopher DiRaddo
"Posthumous books by Canlit legends Marie-Claire Blais and RM Vaughan"
''

Xtra Magazine ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former pr ...

'', November 13, 2023.

Works

* ''The InCorrupt Tables'' (Wild East/Salamanca Chapbooks, 1992 (reprinted 1995), poetry) * ''William Forrestali's (Muted) Cornucopia'' (Studio 21 Halifax, 1992, art catalogue) * ''Beyond Bad Times'' (Snowapple Press, 1993, anthology) * ''Expressions: Writing About Psychiatric Survival'' (Expressions Press, 1993, anthology) * ''Shout and Speak Out Loud: Atlantic Canadians on Child Sexual Abuse'' (Wild East, 1993, anthology) * ''Semiotext(e) CANADAS'' (Semiotext(e) Publications, 1994, anthology) * ''Plush'' (

Coach House Press Coach House Books is an independent book publishing company located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Coach House publishes experimental poetry, fiction, drama and non-fiction. The press is particularly interested in writing that pushes at the boundar ...

, 1995, anthology) * ''Symbiosis: The Clinic'' (Symbiosis Collective, 1995, art catalogue) * ''The Last Word'' (Insomniac Press, 1995, anthology) * ''a selection of dazzling scarves'' (ECW Press, 1996, poetry) * ''DISCovering Authors: Canadian Series'' (Gale Research, 1996, CD Rom) * ''Carnival: A Scream In High Park Reader'' (

Insomniac Press Insomniac Press is a Canadian independent book publisher. Founded in 1992 and based in London, Ontario, Insomniac began as a publisher of poetry chapbooks. The company has since evolved into a publisher of a wide variety of fiction, poetry and non ...

, 1996, anthology) * ''Painted, Tainted, Sainted by Sky Gilbert'' (PUC Press, 1996, introduction) * ''Blues and True Concussions: 6 New Poets'' (

House of Anansi House of Anansi Press is a Canadian publishing company, founded in 1967 by writers Dennis Lee and Dave Godfrey. The company specializes in finding and developing new Canadian writers of literary fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. History Anansi ...

, 1996, anthology) * ''To Monsieur Desmoulins...'' (Tortoise Shell and Black, 1997, poetry chapbook) * ''Gay Love Poetry'' (Robinson Publishing U.K. 1997, anthology) * ''The Ecstatic Moment: The Best of Libido'' (Dell Books, 1997, anthology) * ''96 Tears (in my jeans)'' (Broken Jaw Press, 1998, poetry chapbook) * ''A Quilted Heart'' (Insomniac Press, 1998, novel) * ''Contra/Dictions: Queer Male Fiction'' (

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 ...

, 1998, anthology). * ''Written in the Skin'' (Insomniac Press, 1998, anthology) * ''Rhubarb-O-Rama!'' (Blizzard Press, 1998, anthology of plays) * ''Restless Requiem: Catherine Hale's Seductive Altars'' (Art Centre, University of New Brunswick Press, 1998, art catalogue) * ''Invisible to Predators'' (ECW Press, 1999, poetry) * ''Camera, Woman'' (2001, drama) * ''Spells'' (2003, novel) * ''The Monster Trilogy'' (2003, drama) * ''Ruined Stars'' (2004, poetry) * ''Troubled: A Memoir in Poems'' (2008, poetry) * ''Compared to Hitler'' (Tightrope Books, 2013, selected essays) * ''Bright Eyed'' (Coach House Press, 2015, memoir) * * * ''Pervatory'' (Coach House Press, 2023, novel, published posthumously)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughan, R. M. 1965 births 2020 deaths 21st-century Canadian memoirists Canadian male novelists Canadian male poets Canadian newspaper journalists Canadian magazine journalists 20th-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian gay writers Canadian LGBT dramatists and playwrights Canadian LGBT poets Canadian LGBT novelists Gay memoirists Chapbook writers Writers from Saint John, New Brunswick Poets from Toronto University of New Brunswick alumni Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Canadian male non-fiction writers Gay poets Gay dramatists and playwrights Gay novelists 21st-century Canadian LGBT people 20th-century Canadian LGBT people Writers from New Brunswick