David William McFadden (October 11, 1940 – June 6, 2018) was a Canadian poet, fiction writer, and

travel writer The genre of travel literature or travelogue encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. History Early examples of travel literature include the '' Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (generally considered ...

Biography

McFadden was born in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, and began writing poetry while still in high school, publishing in literary magazines, corresponding with

beat writer Beat reporting, also known as specialized reporting, is a genre of journalism focused on a particular issue, sector, organization, or institution over time. Description Beat reporters build up a base of knowledge on and gain familiarity with t ...

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian ...

, and becoming a

proofreader Proofreading is a phase in the process of publishing where galley proofs are compared against the original manuscripts or graphic artworks, to identify transcription errors in the typesetting process. In the past, proofreaders would place co ...

for the ''

Hamilton Spectator ''The Hamilton Spectator'', founded in 1846, is a newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. One of the largest Canadian newspapers by circulation, ''The Hamilton Spectator'' is owned by Torstar. ...

'' newspaper. As he gained success as a poet he quit the newspaper devoting himself full-time to literature in 1976. McFadden served on the editorial board of

Coach House Press Coach House Books is an independent book publishing company located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Coach House publishes experimental poetry, fiction, drama and non-fiction. The press is particularly interested in writing that pushes at the boundar ...

, and as a contributing editor for ''SwiftCurrent'' and ''Canadian Art Magazine''. He was a monthly columnist for ''

Quill and Quire ''Quill & Quire'' is a Canadian magazine about the book and publishing industry. The magazine was launched in 1935 and has an average circulation of 5,000 copies per issue, with a publisher-claimed readership of 25,000. ''Quill & Quire'' reviews ...

'' and ''Hamilton This Month''. He taught at

David Thompson University Centre Notre Dame University College was a private university in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1950 by the Roman Catholic diocese of Nelson and opened with twelve students. In 1951 Notre Dame became affiliated as a junior college ...

for three years and was a member of the production team of the literary journal ''Brick''. McFadden's poetry critiques the commercialism and shallowness of modern society. His work, with its overt humour, reflections on contemporary urban life, and interest in the mistakes of the imagination is influenced by

Frank O'Hara Francis Russell "Frank" O'Hara (March 27, 1926 – July 25, 1966) was an American writer, poet, and art critic. A curator at the Museum of Modern Art, O'Hara became prominent in New York City's art world. O'Hara is regarded as a leading figure i ...

John Ashbery John Lawrence Ashbery (July 28, 1927 – September 3, 2017) was an American poet and art critic. Ashbery is considered the most influential American poet of his time. Oxford University literary critic John Bayley wrote that Ashbery "sounded, in ...

and the New York School of the 1950s, as well as the

Beat Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...

writers of the 1960s such as

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

and

Lawrence Ferlinghetti Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti (March 24, 1919 – February 22, 2021) was an American poet, painter, social activist, and co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. An author of poetry, translations, fiction, theatre, art criticism, and ...

. His work focuses on Canadian subjects, settings and personalities. His book of 100

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-inspired prose poems, ''Gypsy Guitar'', was called "everyone's favourite book of poems" by

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. McFadden is a founding member of GOSH (Gentlemen of Sensible Height), and a former member of

International PEN PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internati ...

, the Writer's Union of Canada, the

League of Canadian Poets The League of Canadian Poets (LCP), founded in 1966, is a national non-profit arts service organization based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The organization acts as the national association of professional and aspiring poets in Canada. The League co ...

, and the Last Minute Club. In 2012, McFadden was diagnosed with logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia, a type of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

that affects a person's memory of words, and shortly thereafter he became one of the first participants in a study of the effects of aerobic exercise on people already affected by dementia.

Works

Poetry

*''The Poem Poem'' – 1967 *''Letters from the Earth to the Earth'' – 1968 *''Poems Worth Knowing'' – 1971 *''Intense Pleasure'' – 1972 *''The Ova Yogas'' – 1972 *''The Poet's Progress'' – 1977 *''The Saladmaker'' – 1977 *''I Don't Know'' – 1978 *''A Knight in Dried Plums'' – 1978 *''On the Road Again'' – 1978 *''A New Romance'' – 1979 *''My Body Was Eaten By Dogs'' – 1981 *''Country of the Open Heart'' – 1982 *''Three Stories and Ten Poems'' – 1982 *''A Pair of Baby Lambs'' – 1983 *''The Art of Darkness'' – 1984 (nominated for a

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

) *''Gypsy Guitar'' – 1987 (nominated for a

) *''Anonymity Suite'' – 1992 *''There'll Be Another'' – 1995 *''Five Star Planet'' – 2002 *''Why Are You So Sad? Selected Poems of David W. McFadden'' – 2007 (shortlisted for the 2008 Canadian

Griffin Poetry Prize The Griffin Poetry Prize is a Canadian poetry award. It was founded in 2000 by businessman and philanthropist Scott Griffin. Before 2022, two separate awards went to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language. I ...

) *''Be Calm, Honey'' – 2008 (shortlisted for the 2009 Governor General's Award in Poetry) *''Why Are You So Long & Sweet? Collected Long Poems of David W. McFadden'' – 2009 *''What's the Score?'' – 2012 (winner of the 2013 Canadian

)

Fiction

*''The Great Canadian Sonnet'' – 1974 *''Animal Spirits'' – 1983 *''Canadian Sunset'' – 1986

Travel

*''A Trip Around Lake Huron'' – 1980 *''A Trip Around Lake Erie'' – 1980 *''A Trip Around Lake Ontario'' – 1988 *''An Innocent in Ireland'' – 1995 *''Great Lakes Suite'' – 1997 *''An Innocent in Scotland'' – 1999 *''An Innocent in Newfoundland'' – 2003 *''An Innocent in Cuba'' – 2003

References

External links

Griffin Poetry Prize biography

Griffin Poetry Prize reading, including video clip

Seeing our city through the eyes of a poet
in the ''Hamilton Spectator''
Man of verse finds spotlight a curse
in the ''Toronto Star''
David McFadden entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia

– Biography and six poems (Eight Medical Students, Xavier Simpático and His Old Church, Havana All Night Long, One-Legged Man in Shorts, Dreamland Cuba, The Death of Greg Curnoe, Nuclear Physicist Seeks New Home) * {{DEFAULTSORT:McFadden, David 1940 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male poets Writers from Hamilton, Ontario Poets from Ontario