Raymond Fraser (May 8, 1941 – October 22, 2018) was a Canadian biographer, editor, essayist, memoirist, novelist, poet and short story writer. Fraser published fourteen books of fiction, three of non-fiction, and eight poetry collections. Fraser's writings were praised by such literary figures as

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Biography

Born in Chatham, New Brunswick, Raymond Fraser attended St. Thomas University where in his freshman year he played on the varsity hockey and football teams, and in his junior year was co-editor with John Brebner of the student literary magazine ''Tom-Tom''. His 20-year correspondence and friendship with the poet Alden Nowlan date from this period. During the sixties Fraser worked as a lab technician, a high school teacher, and as editor and freelance writer for a number of tabloid newspapers. While living in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

in 1966, Fraser and poet Leroy Johnson founded the literary magazine '' Intercourse: Contemporary Canadian Writing''. In 1971 he was one of the founders of the Montreal Story Tellers Fiction Performance Group and the Rank Outsiders Poetry Extravaganza. His first book of fiction, ''The Black Horse Tavern'' (1973), was published in Montreal by Ingluvin Publications. Fraser died in Fredericton, New Brunswick, on October 22, 2018 at the age of 77.

Awards and recognition

His novel, ''The Bannonbridge Musicians'' (Ingluvin Publications) was a finalist for the 1978

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual List of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. Th ...

. In 2009, following publication of his novel ''In Another Life'' (Lion's Head Press), he received the inaugural

Lieutenant-Governor's Award for High Achievement in the Arts The Lieutenant Governor’s Award for High Achievement in the Arts , previously called the Excellence Awards Program, is an award given annually by the New Brunswick Arts Board to recognise outstanding contribution by artists to the arts in New Bru ...

for English Language Literary Arts. Five of Fraser's books were listed in ''Atlantic Canada's 100 Greatest Books'' (Nimbus Publishing, 2009), a distinction shared by only three other authors. In 2012 he was made a member of the

Order of New Brunswick The Order of New Brunswick (french: Ordre du Nouveau Brunswick) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Instituted in 2000 by Lieutenant Governor Marilyn Trenholme Counsell, on the advice of the Cabinet under ...

, the province's highest honour, for his contributions to literature and New Brunswick's cultural life. In May 2016, he received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from his alma mater, St Thomas University. In 2017, he received the Canadian Senate Sesquicentennial Medal in recognition of valuable service to the nation. Over the years he received four Canada Council Grants, six New Brunswick Arts Board Grants, and the Canadian Writers' Trust Woodcock Grant.

Bibliography

Fiction

*''The Black Horse Tavern'' – 1973. Revised definitive edition with an Introduction by the author – 2014 (novella & stories) *''The Struggle Outside'' – 1975. Revised definitive edition with an Afterword by the author – 2013 (novel) *''The Bannonbridge Musicians'' – 1978. Revised definitive edition – 2014 (novel) *''Rum River'' – 1997. Revised definitive edition – 2016 (novel) *''Costa Blanca'' – 2001, 2013 (novella & stories) *''In a Cloud of Dust and Smoke'' – 2003, 2013 (novel) *''The Grumpy Man'' – 2008, 2013 (novella & stories) *''In Another Life'' – 2009, 2013 (novel) *''The Trials Of Brother Bell'' – 2010 (two novels, ''Repentance Vale'' & ''The Struggle Outside'') *''The Madness Of Youth'' – 2011, 2013 (novel) *''Repentance Vale'' – 2011, 2013 (novel) *''Bliss'' – 2013 (stories) *''Seasons of Discontent'' – 2015 (novel) *''Through Sunlight and Shadows'' – 2018 (novel)

Biography

*''The Fighting Fisherman: The Life of Yvon Durelle'' – 1981, 1983, 2005 *''Todd Matchett: Confessions of a Young Criminal'' – 1994

Memoirs and essays

*''When The Earth Was Flat'' – 2007, 2013

Poetry

*''For the Miramichi'' – 1966 *''Waiting for God's Angel'' – 1967 *''I've Laughed and Sung'' – 1969 *''The More I Live'' – 1971 *''Stop The Highway... 4 Montreal Poets: Raymond Fraser, Clifford Gaston, Bob Higgins & Bryan McCarthy'' – 1972 *''Macbride Poems'' – 1992 *''Before You're A Stranger'' – 2000 *''As I See it'' – 2017

eBooks

*''The Black Horse Tavern'' *''Bliss'' *''Costa Blanca'' *''When The Earth Was Flat'' *''The Grumpy Man'' *''Repentance Vale''

Anthology edited

*''East of Canada: An Atlantic Anthology'' – 1977 (Eds.: Raymond Fraser, Clyde Rose and Jim Stewart)

Literary magazines edited

*''Tom-Tom'' (St. Thomas University) Raymond Fraser and John Brebner, eds. 1962. *''Intercourse: Contemporary Canadian Writing'' Raymond Fraser et al., eds. 1966–1971. *''The Pottersfield Portfolio'' Raymond Fraser et al., eds. 1990–1992. *''Lion's Head Magazine'' (online) Raymond Fraser and Bernell MacDonald, eds. 2014– .

References

* J. R. (Tim) Struthers, ed. ''The Montreal Story Tellers''. Montreal: Vehicle Press. 1985. * Margie Williamson. ''Four Maritime Poets: a survey of the works of Alden Nowlan, Fred Cogswell, Raymond Fraser and Al Pittman, as they reflect the spirit and culture of the Maritime people''. Thesis (M.A.), Dalhousie University, 1973 icroform * Stephen Patrick Clare & Trevor J. Adams. ''Atlantic Canada's 100 Greatest Books''. Halifax: Nimbus Publishing Ltd. 2009. * ''Canadian Who's Who''. Toronto: Third Sector Publishing. 2015.

External links

Archival records for Raymond Fraser at the University of New Brunswick

Raymond Fraser's weblog

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Raymond 1941 births 2018 deaths Canadian biographers Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian male novelists Canadian male poets Canadian male short story writers Canadian people of Scottish descent Male biographers Members of the Order of New Brunswick People from Miramichi, New Brunswick People from Northumberland County, New Brunswick St. Thomas University (New Brunswick) alumni 20th-century biographers 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century biographers 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian short story writers Writers from New Brunswick