Ian C. Johnston (born September 27, 1938) is a Canadian author and translator, a retired university-college instructor and a professor emeritus at

Vancouver Island University Vancouver Island University (abbreviated as VIU, formerly known as Malaspina University-College and earlier as Malaspina College) is a Canadian public university serving Vancouver Island and coastal British Columbia. Malaspina College began in 196 ...

Early life and education

Johnston was born in

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, to Dorothy and Kenneth Johnston. He attended the University of Toronto Schools during his high school years. At the post-secondary level, he was educated at

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 ...

, Montreal (BSC in Geology and Chemistry 1959); at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

(BA in English and Greek, 1968); and 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 ...

(MA in English, 1969). He holds certificates from

Ontario College of Education The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT) is Canada's only all-graduate institute of teaching, learning and research, located in Toronto, Ontario. It is located directly above the St. George subway sta ...

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

, and the Jarvis School of Welding.

Teaching career

Johnston taught high-school physics and chemistry at

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an elite, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious preparatory school, and has produce ...

, Toronto (1959–60) and high-school

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

, and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Port Perry High School Port Perry High School is located in Port Perry, Ontario within the administrative responsibilities of the Durham District School Board. Port Perry High School is the oldest High School in Durham Region being first established in 1871. The schoo ...

Port Perry Port Perry is a community located in Scugog, Ontario, Canada. The town is located northeast of central Toronto and north of Oshawa and Whitby. Port Perry has a population of 9,453 as of 2016. Port Perry serves as the administrative and commerc ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

(1961-1963). From 1969-70 he taught undergraduate English courses at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

. After that he joined the faculty of the

College of New Caledonia The College of New Caledonia (CNC) is a post-secondary educational institution that serves the residents of the Central Interior of British Columbia. This region has a population of about 145,000, and it encompasses three school districts: #28 ( ...

, Prince George, British Columbia, where he taught undergraduate English and Classics from 1970 to 1975. From 1975-2004 he taught at Malaspina College and

Malaspina University-College Vancouver Island University (abbreviated as VIU, formerly known as Malaspina University-College and earlier as Malaspina College) is a Canadian public university serving Vancouver Island and coastal British Columbia. Malaspina College began in 196 ...

, Nanaimo (now Vancouver Island University).

Publications and other work

Johnston is the author of ''The Ironies of War: An Introduction to Homer's Iliad'' (University Press of America, 1987). He has translated classic works from Greek, Latin, German, and French. Several of these translated works have been published by Broadview Press, including his translation of Kafka's ''The Metamorphosis'', and/or produced as audiobooks by Naxos Audio Books in the UK. A number of his translations have also been issued in book form by Richer Resources Publications. Johnston has posted over 75 essays and lectures on various literary topics on his website, as well as workbooks on essay writing, grammar, statistics, and the history of science. Johnston has also written ''Essays and Arguments: A Handbook for Writing Student Essays'', released by

Broadview Press Broadview Press is an independent academic publisher that focuses on the humanities. Founded in 1985 by Don LePan, the company now employs over 30 people, has over 800 titles in print, and publishes approximately 40 titles each year. Broadview's o ...

in 2015.

Translations by Ian Johnston

* Aeschylus, Oresteia * Aeschylus, Persians * Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound * Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes * Aeschylus, Suppliant Women * Aristophanes, Birds * Aristophanes, Clouds * Aristophanes, Frogs * Aristophanes, Knights * Aristophanes, Lysistrata * Aristophanes, Peace * Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics (Abridged) * Cuvier, On the Revolutionary Upheavals on the Surface of the Earth * Diderot, D’Alembert's Dream * Diderot, Rameau's Nephew * Descartes, Discourse on Method * Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy * Euripides, Bacchae * Euripides, Electra * Euripides, Medea * Euripides, Orestes * Homer, Iliad (complete and abridged) * Homer, Odyssey (complete and abridged) * Homer, The Odyssey: Selections (Broadview Edition 2019) * Kafka, Metamorphosis, Hunger Artist, In the Penal Colony, and Other Stories * Kafka, The Metamorphosis and Other Stories (Broadview Edition 2015) * Kant, On Perpetual Peace * Kant, Universal Natural History and Theory of the Heavens * Lamarck, Zoological Philosophy, Volume I * Lucretius, The Nature of Things * Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil * Nietzsche, Birth of Tragedy * Nietzsche, Genealogy of Morals * Nietzsche, On the Use and Abuse of History for Life * Ovid, Metamorphoses * Rousseau, On the Sciences and the Arts * Rousseau, On the Origin of Inequality * Rousseau, Social Contract * Sophocles, Ajax * Sophocles, Antigone * Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus * Sophocles, Oedipus the King * Sophocles, Philoctetes * Wedekind, Castle Wetterstein (Broadview Edition 2019)

Personal life

Johnson lives in

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada, with his wife, Colleen Johnston.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Ian C. 1938 births Vancouver Island University faculty Canadian non-fiction writers Canadian translators Chilean emigrants to Canada Chilean people of British descent Living people McGill University Faculty of Science alumni People from Valparaíso Chilean non-fiction writers Translators of Homer Translators of Friedrich Nietzsche Male non-fiction writers