Wayne Tefs (1947 – September 15, 2014) 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 ...

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 ...

, writer, editor,

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...

, and

anthologist In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically catego ...

Career

From 1975 to 1977, Tefs and

David Arnason David Arnason (born 23 May 1940) is a Canadian author and poet of Icelandic heritage from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Life Born in Gimli, Manitoba, Arnason is of Icelandic descent and often writes about the Icelandic community in Canada. He is the son ...

produced the radio program Canadian Writers Symposium, for which they interviewed 45 Canadian writers, including well-known figures such as

Milton Acorn Milton James Rhode Acorn (March 30, 1923 – August 20, 1986), nicknamed ''The People's Poet'' by his peers, was a Canadian poet, writer, and playwright. Early life He was born in Prince Edward Island, and grew up in Charlottetown. He joined the ...

George Bowering George Harry Bowering, (born December 1, 1935) is a prolific Canadian novelist, poet, historian, and biographer. He was the first Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate. He was born in Penticton, British Columbia, and raised in the nearby town o ...

, Patrick Lane,

Daphne Marlatt Daphne Marlatt, born Buckle, CM (born July 11, 1942 in Melbourne, Australia), is a Canadian poet and novelist who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. At a young age her family moved to Malaysia and at age nine they moved to British Columbia, ...

W.O. Mitchell William Ormond Mitchell, (March 13, 1914 – February 25, 1998) was a Canadian writer and broadcaster. His "best-loved" novel is '' Who Has Seen the Wind'' (1947), which portrays life on the Canadian Prairies from the point of view of a smal ...

P.K. Page Patricia Kathleen Page, (23 November 1916 – 14 January 2010) was a British-born Canadian poet,Peter ScowenP.K. Page dies at age 93 ''The Globe and Mail'', 14 January 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2010. though the citation as she was inducted as a ...

Al Purdy Alfred Wellington Purdy (December 30, 1918 – April 21, 2000) was a 20th-century Canadian free verse poet. Purdy's writing career spanned fifty-six years. His works include thirty-nine books of poetry; a novel; two volumes of memoirs and four b ...

, and

Adele Wiseman Adele Wiseman (May 21, 1928 – June 1, 1992) was a Canadian author. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, she received a BA in English literature and psychology from the University of Manitoba in 1949. Her parents were Russian Jews who emigrated from Ukra ...

. He published numerous newspaper and magazine articles, and dozens of critical reviews. In 1976, Tefs co-founded

Turnstone Press Turnstone Press is a Canadian literary publisher founded in 1976 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the oldest in Manitoba and among the most respected independent publishers in Canada. Turnstone was founded in 1976 by academics David Arnason, John Beaver, D ...

, with

and others, and later served as the press's fiction editor from 1995 until close to his death in 2014. He also founded the literary magazine The Sphynx. In 1983, his first novel, ''Figures on a Wharf'', was short-listed for the

Books in Canada First Novel Award The Amazon.ca First Novel Award, formerly the Books in Canada First Novel Award, is a Canadian literary award, co-presented by Amazon.ca and ''The Walrus'' to the best first novel in English published the previous year by a citizen or resident of ...

. It was followed by ''The Cartier Street Contract'' in 1985 and seven more novels in later years, as well as the posthumously published ''Barker''. In 2000, his novel ''Moon Lake'' received the inaugural Margaret Laurence Award for fiction, and in 2007, ''Be Wolf'' received the

McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award The McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award is associated with the Manitoba Book Awards and was established in 1988. It is presented to the Manitoba writer whose adult English language book is judged the best written. The author receives a cash awar ...

. His short story ''Red Rock and After'' received the Canadian Magazine Fiction Gold Medal and was reprinted in ''The Journey Anthology'' (1990). He also edited three anthologies of short fiction, published the collection of short fiction ''Meteor Storm'' in 2010, and wrote the memoirs ''Rollercoaster:A Cancer Journey (2002),'' about living with cancer, and ''On the Fly (2012),'' about sport fandom and his lifelong involvement with hockey. Another memoir about living with cancer, ''Dead Man on a Bike: Riding with Cancer'', was published posthumously in 2016.

Awards and recognition

In 1999, ''Red Rock'' was featured in its entirety on CBC radio's ''Between the Covers''. In 2010 ''Red Rock'' was cited in

T. F. Rigelhof Terrence Frederick "Terry" (T. F.) Rigelhof (born April 24, 1944) is a Canadian writer and academic."Terry Rigelhof changes outlook on life". ''Guelph Mercury'', June 12, 2004. He is best known for ''A Blue Boy in a Black Dress'', his memoir of his ...

's ''Hooked on Canadian Books'' as "one of my first five choices" to be placed on a ''

Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Frenc ...

'' list. In 2010 Red Wing Films released a documentary on Tefs. The posthumously published novel ''Barker'' was long-listed for a 2015 Relit Award.

Personal life

Tefs was a

Woodrow Wilson Fellow The Institute for Citizens & Scholars (formerly known as the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation) is a nonpartisan, non-profit based in Princeton, New Jersey that aims to strengthen American democracy by “cultivating the talent, ideas, ...

and taught at a number of Canadian universities and colleges. From 1978 to 1992, he was Head of English at

St. John's-Ravenscourt School St. John's-Ravenscourt School (commonly referred to as SJR) is an independent, co-educational, university-preparatory school founded in 1820. Located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the school delivers an enriched curriculum from Kindergarten through Grade ...

in Winnipeg. He also taught at the University of Regina, McGill University, and the University of Winnipeg. Tefs lived in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, with his wife, Kristen Wittman, a commercial lawyer and poet. Tefs was born the middle of three children in

St. Boniface, Manitoba ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

(then an independent community east of the old Winnipeg) to Armin and Stella Tefs, and lived in Northwestern Ontario before moving to

Steinbach, Manitoba Steinbach () ( Plautdietsch: /ˈʃte̞nbah/ or /ˈʃte̞nbax/) is a city located about south-east of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Steinbach is the third-largest city in Manitoba, with a population of 17,806, and the largest community in the Eas ...

in the 1960s where he graduated high school at the Steinbach Collegiate Institute and met future poet

Patrick Friesen Patrick Frank Friesen (born 5 July 1946) is a Canadian author born in Steinbach, Manitoba, primarily known for his poetry and stage plays beginning in the 1970s. Life and career Friesen was born into a Mennonite family in Steinbach, Manitoba ...

. He often wrote about the

Canadian Shield The Canadian Shield (french: Bouclier canadien ), also called the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), the anc ...

country of Ontario and the North. In 1994 he was diagnosed with a rare and terminal cancer, which he contended with the aid of biological modification drugs and radio-isotope therapies. He died on September 15, 2014.

Education

In 1971 he graduated from the University of Manitoba and received the gold medal for Arts Honours. He was awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and took his M.A. at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. He was a lecturer at the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

(Regina Campus) from 1972-1974 before completing a PhD at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.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 1981.

Bibliography

* ''Figures on a Wharf'' - 1983 * ''The Cartier Street Contract'' - 1985 * ''The Canasta Players'' - 1990 * ''Dickie'' - 1993 * ''Red Rock'' - 1997 * ''Home Free'' - 1998 * ''Moon Lake'' - 2000 * ''Rollercoaster'', a cancer journey - 2002 * ''4X4'' - 2004 * ''Be Wolf'' – 2007 * ''Meteor Storm'' - 2009 * ''Bandit'' - 2011 * ''On the Fly'' - 2012 * ''Barker'' - 2015

Articles

* ''Our Tour de France,'' ''The Globe and Mail,'' 5 July 2008 * ''Les Rois Tragiques du Ring,'' in ''L'Impossible,'' September 1992 * ''Tragic Lords of the Ring,'' ''The Globe and Mail,'' 22 May 1992 * ''The Last Hurrah,'' ''West,'' August, 2000 * ''Of Ice and Men,'' ''The Globe and Mail,'' 7 October 2001 * ''The Goalie Mask,'' ''West,'' March 1991

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tefs, Wayne 1947 births 2014 deaths Canadian male novelists Canadian literary critics University of Toronto alumni 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists Writers from Ontario Writers from Winnipeg Writers from Steinbach, Manitoba 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Canadian male non-fiction writers