Alexandra Sandra Fraser Gwyn, (17 May 1935 – 26 May 2000) 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 ...

journalist and writer. She was born in St. John's,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, the daughter of Claude Fraser and Ruth Harley. After her father's death, her mother remarried and the family moved to

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

where Sandra attended Sacred Heart Convent. She graduated from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

in 1955. After graduating, she moved to London where she worked at the Institute of Contemporary Arts. She returned to Ottawa and married

Richard Gwyn Richard Gwyn (ca. 1537 – 15 October 1584), also known by his anglicised name, Richard White, was a Welsh teacher at illegal and underground schools and a Bard who wrote both Christian and satirical poetry in the Welsh language. A Ro ...

in 1958. During the 1970s, she was the

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

editor for '' Saturday Night''. In 2000, she was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

. She died in 2000 after a five-year fight against

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

. Richard Gwyn subsequently launched a literary award, the

Winterset Award The Winterset Award is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council to a work judged to be the best book, regardless of genre, published by a writer from Newfoundland and Labrador.

, in her memory to honour writers from Newfoundland and Labrador."Winter set for N.L.'s top literary prize"
cbc.ca, March 27, 2008.

Selected works

* ''Tapestry of War: A Private View of Canadians in the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

'' (1992) * '' Mary Pratt'' (1989) * ''The Private Capital: Ambition and Love in the Age of Macdonald and Laurier'' (1984), winner of the 1984 Governor General's Awards.

References

External links

Order of Canada Citation

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwyn, Sandra 1935 births 2000 deaths Canadian magazine journalists Officers of the Order of Canada Dalhousie University alumni Journalists from Newfoundland and Labrador Writers from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Governor General's Award-winning non-fiction writers Canadian women journalists 20th-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian historians Canadian women historians