Rick Salutin
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Rick Salutin (born August 30, 1942) is a Canadian
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 ...
,
playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
,
journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
, and
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 has been writing for more than forty years. Until October 1, 2010, he wrote a regular column in ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
''; on February 11, 2011, he began a weekly column in the ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
''. He currently teaches a half course on Canadian media and culture in University College (CDN221) 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 is a contributing editor of ''This Magazine''. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Near Eastern and
Jewish Studies Jewish studies (or Judaic studies; he, מדעי היהדות, madey ha-yahadut, sciences of Judaism) is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history (esp ...
at
Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...
and got his Master of Arts degree in religion at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. He also studied philosophy at the New School for Social Research in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. He was once a trade union organizer in Toronto and participated in the Artistic Woodwork strike. Salutin is interested in communication and has praised
Harold Innis Harold Adams Innis (November 5, 1894 – November 9, 1952) was a Canadian professor of political economy at the University of Toronto and the author of seminal works on media, communication theory, and Canadian economic history. He helped deve ...
, an economist who taught 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 ...
and conceived of the staples thesis, for his outlook in communications. Salutin has a child with '' The Fifth Estate'' journalist Theresa Burke, whom he has cited as the model for the characters Amy Bert and Antia in ''The Womanizer''.


Journalism

Salutin has written in many magazines, including '' Harpers'', ''
Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...
'', ''
Canadian Business ''Canadian Business'' is the longest-publishing business magazine based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and founded in 1927. The print edition terminated in the end of 2016. Beginning in January 2017, the magazine was published online only. In Octob ...
'', ''
Toronto Life ''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eatin ...
'', '' Weekend'', '' Saturday Night'', '' Quest'', ''
TV Times ''TV Times'' is a British television listings magazine published by Future plc. It was originally published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies. The magazine was acquired by IPC Media in 1989, which ...
'', ''Today'', and ''
This Magazine ''This Magazine'' is an independent alternative Canadian political magazine. History and profile The magazine was launched "by a gang of school activists" in April 1966 as ''This Magazine Is About Schools'', a journal covering political issues ...
''. He wrote "The Culture Vulture" column for many years in ''This Magazine'' and received National Newspaper awards for it. He won the National Newspaper Award for best columnist for a column he wrote in ''The Globe and Mail''. He introduced cartoon strips to ''
This Magazine ''This Magazine'' is an independent alternative Canadian political magazine. History and profile The magazine was launched "by a gang of school activists" in April 1966 as ''This Magazine Is About Schools'', a journal covering political issues ...
'' and convinced
Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...
to regularly collaborate. She made a cartoon strip called "Kanadian Kultchur Komics". In ''Waiting for Democracy: A Citizen's Journal'' (1989), he expresses his thoughts on the federal election in 1989 and writes about interviewing people before the election.


Drama

Salutin has an interest in drama and performing arts. His first play, ''Fanshen'', unpublished, was adapted from William Hinton's book ''
Fanshen ''Fanshen: A Documentary of Revolution in a Chinese Village'' is a 1966 book by William H. Hinton that describes the land-reform campaign during the Chinese Civil War conducted from 1945 to 1948 by the Chinese Communist Party in "Long Bow Villag ...
'' and was produced by Toronto Workshop Productions. ''The Adventures of an Immigrant'' shows that he is concerned about poverty and other hardships in Western society. His unpublished ''Maria'' was a drama on
CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
about a woman fighting to put factory workers in the union. His first published play was ''1837: The Farmers' Revolt'' about the revolt led by
William Lyon Mackenzie William Lyon Mackenzie (March12, 1795 August28, 1861) was a Scottish Canadian-American journalist and politician. He founded newspapers critical of the Family Compact, a term used to identify elite members of Upper Canada. He represented Yor ...
. This play was created at
Theatre Passe Muraille Theatre Passe Muraille is a theatre company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Brief history One of Canada's most influential alternative theatres, Theatre Passe Muraille ("theatre beyond walls") was founded in 1968 by director and playwright Jim Gar ...
and produced on
CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
in 1975. ''1837'' won the Chalmers award for best Canadian play in 1977. His most successful play, ''Les Canadiens'' (1977), written with help from goaltender
Ken Dryden Kenneth Wayne Dryden (born August 8, 1947) is a Canadian politician, lawyer, businessman, author, and former National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was a Liber ...
, won him the Chalmers Outstanding Play award. Salutin helped found the Guild of Canadian Playwrights and in 1978 became chairman. Another play he wrote is ''Joey'' (1981).


Novels

His first novel, ''A Man of Little Faith'', is about a religious man discovering himself in a Jewish community. It received the W.H. Smith Books in Canada First Novel Award. His books ''Marginal Notes: Challenges to the Mainstream'' and ''Living in a Dark Age'' are based on many of his articles from ''This Magazine''. He won the Toronto Arts award for writing and publishing.


Book review

Taken from a book review of ''The Womanizer'': "It's both lively and witty, but not as light as it might seem on first glance."


Published writing


Books

*''Kent Rowley: A Canadian Union Life'' - 1980 *''Marginal Notes: Challenges to the Mainstream'' - 1984 *''Good Buy Canada! - 1975 (with Murray Soupcoff and Gary Dunford) *''A Man of Little Faith'' - 1988 (winner of the 1989
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 o ...
) *''Waiting for Democracy'' - 1989 *''Living in a Dark Age'' - 1991 *''The Age of Improv'' - 1995 *''The Womanizer'' - 2002


Plays

*''1837: The Farmers' Revolt'' - 1976, with Paul Thompson *''Les Canadiens'' - 1977


Literature

*


See also

*
List of Canadian playwrights Playwrights from Canada include: A * Marianne Ackerman * Kawa Ada * Evan Adams * Carmen Aguirre * André Alexis * Hrant Alianak * Martha Allan * Anne-Marie Alonzo * Karim Alrawi * Janet Amos * Debra Anderson * Hugh Abercrombie Anderson * Joh ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salutin, Rick 1942 births Living people Canadian columnists Canadian male novelists Canadian social commentators Journalists from Toronto Writers from Toronto 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists University of Toronto faculty Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Canadian male non-fiction writers Jewish Canadian journalists Amazon.ca First Novel Award winners