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 received positive comments from literary figures

Farley Mowat Farley McGill Mowat, (May 12, 1921 – May 6, 2014) was a Canadian writer and environmentalist. His works were translated into 52 languages, and he sold more than 17 million books. He achieved fame with the publication of his books on the Ca ...

Irving Layton Irving Peter Layton, OC (March 12, 1912 – January 4, 2006) was a Romanian-born Canadian poet. He was known for his "tell it like it is" style which won him a wide following but also made him enemies. As T. Jacobs notes in his biography (2001 ...

Louis Dudek Louis Dudek, (February 6, 1918 – March 23, 2001) was a Canadian poet, academic, and publisher known for his role in defining Modernism in poetry, and for his literary criticism. He was the author of over two dozen books. In ''A Digital Hist ...

Alden Nowlan Alden Albert Nowlan (; January 25, 1933 – June 27, 1983) was a Canadian poet, novelist, and playwright. History Alden Nowlan was born into rural poverty in Stanley, Nova Scotia, adjacent to Mosherville, and close to the small town of Windso ...

, Sheila Watson,

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

, Hugh Garner, and Michael Cook.

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 served as co-editor with John Brebner of the student literary magazine ''Tom-Tom'' in his junior year. His 20-year correspondence and friendship with the poet

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 is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in 1966, Fraser and poet Leroy Johnson founded the literary magazine '' Intercourse: Contemporary Canadian Writing''. In 1971 he cofounded 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 Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River, ...

, 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 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 ...

. In 2009, following publication of his novel ''In Another Life'' (Lion's Head Press), Fraser received the inaugural Lieutenant-Governor's Award for High Achievement in the Arts for English Language Literary Arts. Five of Fraser's books were listed in ''Atlantic Canada's 100 Greatest Books'' (Nimbus Publishing, 2009), a title also shared by three other authors. In 2012. he was made a member of the Order of New Brunswick, 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

In-text citations

Bibliography

* * * *

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 male novelists Canadian male poets Canadian male short story writers Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian 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 Canadian biographers 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian biographers 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian short story writers Poets from New Brunswick Novelists from New Brunswick