Arthur Reginald Scammell, CM (February 12, 1913 – August 28, 1995) was a

Newfoundlander Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland and the continent ...

and

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

writer.

Early life and education

Scammell was born in

Change Islands Change Islands is an Newfoundland outport, outport community in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The community spans two small islands of the same name which lie off the northeast coast of ...

, where he grew up and received his early education. He was a schoolteacher in several

Newfoundland outport An outport is the term given for a small coastal community in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Originally, the term was used for coastal communities on the island of Newfoundland, but the term has now been adopted for tho ...

s during the 1930s. He left to attend

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

and did not live full-time in Newfoundland again until 1970, after his retirement from teaching.

Works

Scammell is perhaps best known for his songwriting, most notably, " Squid-Jiggin' Ground", which he wrote while still in

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, and ''The Six-Horsepower Coaker''. However, he also produced a significant body of work that was originally published in the magazine ''Atlantic Guardian'', of which he was also a co-founder. Through essays and stories, Scammell attempted to convey some of the positive aspects of life in Newfoundland outports, which, despite their disadvantages, he saw as providing a sense of community and personal satisfaction that larger centres lacked. A collection of Scammell's work was published as ''My Newfoundland'' in 1966. In 1987, he became a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. In 1977, he received his Honorary Doctor of Laws from

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, or MUN (), is a Public university, public research university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook ...

and, in 2011, he was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (for "Squid-Jiggin' Ground"). In 1985, the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council established an annual award for writers in his honour.

Bibliography

* ''From Boat to Blackboard'' (1987)

References

* O'Flaherty, Patrick, ''The Rock Observed'', University of Toronto Press, 1979. {{DEFAULTSORT:Scammell, Arthur Members of the Order of Canada Writers from Newfoundland and Labrador 1913 births 1995 deaths McGill University alumni

Early life and education

Works

See also

Bibliography

References