Roy McDonald (4 June 1937 – 20 February 2018, approximation) was a poet, busker, author, philosopher and "professional conversationalist" in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, Canada. He was well known for singing and reciting poetry in front of Joe Kool's Restaurant and Jim-Bob Ray's Bar on Richmond Street. For many years he stood at the northwest corner of Richmond and Dundas (the old centre of downtown London) and discussed the literary world with passersby. His long, grey beard, plastic bags filled with books and journals, tweed jacket, and habit of striking up friendly conversations with nearly everyone, making him a very recognizable and well-known figure around the city.

Life and career

McDonald grew his beard for decades. He claimed his was the longest at the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair. His clothes often fell into disrepair, and he occasionally mended his pants with

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. He decorated his jacket with

buttons A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole. In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood ...

. He was often referred to as the unofficial Mayor of Richmond Row, a colourful segment of Richmond Street located in downtown London. Contrary to what some believe, McDonald did live in a house, a home on Wellington Road near Whetter Avenue, the same home he grew up in. Roy spent most of his life in London, but he also spent time in Montreal, where he developed a problem with alcohol. He had the will to quit drinking and was completely sober from age 38 until his death. Pocketman (Dorset Publishing 1979) by Don Bell, is a book of comedy loosely based on Roy's time in Montreal. Also there is a song called Pocketman that was written in 1977, two years prior to the book, by Jeff Rogers-Wardle that describes the first encounter Jeff had with Roy.

Death

McDonald was found dead in his home in London, Ontario on 21 February 2018, at the age of 80, after friends had reported to the police that they hadn't seen Roy around in a few weeks, so the exact date of his death is unknown. Even though McDonald had a zest for life, he was known to scoff at his own death. "If I die today," he once said, "I would die fulfilled."

Publishing efforts

Ergo Productions published both of McDonald's books. ''Living: A London Journal'' is a detailed account of a week in McDonald's life, and ''The Answer Questioned'' is one long

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

-poem. They can be found in the London Public Library and the UWO library, and are carried in some bookstores, including the one at UWO.

Publications

* ''The Answer Questioned'' Ergo Books, Chapbook 1970 * ''Living: A London Journal'' Ergo Books, 1978 96 pages

Discography

*''Souwesto Words: 25 poets in Southwestern Ontario'' Ergo Books 2002 ''Poets on the CD:

Penn Kemp Patricia Penn Anne Kemp (born 1944), better known simply as Penn Kemp, is a Canadians, Canadian poet, novelist, playwright, and sound poet who lives in London, Ontario. Kemp has been publishing her writing since 1972 and was London's first poet lau ...

, John Tyndall,

Molly Peacock Molly Peacock (born Buffalo, New York 1947) is an American-Canadian poet, essayist, biographer and speaker, whose multi-genre literary life also includes memoir, short fiction, and a one-woman show. Career Peacock's latest book is Flower Diary ...

, Emily Chung, Paul Langille, Sheila Martindale, Roy McDonald, Sadiqa Khan, Jan Figurski, Jody Trevail, Beryl Baigent, John B. Lee, Cornelia Hoogland,

James Reaney James Crerar Reaney, (September 1, 1926 – June 11, 2008) was a Canadian poet, playwright, librettist, and professor, "whose works transform small-town Ontario life into the realm of dream and symbol." Reaney won Canada's highest literary a ...

, Colleen Thibaudeau, Michael Wilson, Aimee O'Beirn, Jason Dickson, Marianne Micros, Skot Deeming, Victor Elias, David J. Paul, April Bulmer, Julie Berry, Don Gutteridge''. * ''An Evening With Roy & Wayne'' Pete Matthews productions * ''Roy & Wayne Live at Bean There'' Pete Matthews productions *. " Richmond Row Sound System "Featuring Roy McDonald" Available on Bandcamp http://richmondrow.bandcamp.com

Filmography

* ''The Roy Chronicles'', by Grant Cushman (for public access television) * ''Living On the Fringe'', by Anna-Sophie Lunding * ''The Last of the Hippies'', by Rico Medina * ''BEARD: A few moments in the life of Roy McDonald''. A Play by Jason Rip 2000 * ''Portrait of an Artist'', a student film by Ryan Furlong, University of Western Ontario 2003
''Roy'', a student film by Josh Kish, Fanshawe College 2007

Cited sources

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames R ...

Archives * ''the late'' Win Schell, Ergo Books, London {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Roy 1937 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Canadian poets Canadian male poets Writers from London, Ontario 20th-century Canadian male writers Buskers