Charles William Gordon (born 1940) is a Canadian writer and retired journalist, best known as a longtime columnist for the ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

''."Charles Gordon: Incisive, Funny, Retired". ''

'', June 11, 2005.

Background

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

while his father J. King Gordon was working in publishing there,"Cottage Industry". ''

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Free Press'' (or FP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press''; previously known as the ''Winnipeg Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, natio ...

'', August 3, 2006. Gordon grew up in several cities around the world during his father's diplomatic career with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. He is also the brother of writer Alison Gordon and the grandson of novelist Ralph Connor. He studied

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

at Queen's University.

Career

While completing his master's degree in political science, Gordon was hired as an editor with the ''

Brandon Sun ''The Brandon Sun'' is a Monday through Saturday newspaper printed in Brandon, Manitoba. It is the primary newspaper of record for western Manitoba and includes substantial political, crime, business and sports news. ''The Brandon Sun'' also pub ...

'' in 1964, remaining with the paper until joining the ''Citizen'' in 1974. With the ''Citizen'', he held a variety of roles – including writing editorials, editing the local news and books sections, and writing his daily column – until retiring from the paper in 2005. He took a leave of absence from the paper in 2002 to serve for several months as

writer-in-residence Artist-in-residence (also Writer-in-residence), or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs that involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs that pr ...

at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

. Gordon's columns were noted for their wry and sometimes

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

humour. He published several books, both fiction and non-fiction. His first book, ''The Governor General's Bunny Hop'', was adapted by

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

into the short-lived sitcom ''

Not My Department ''Not My Department'' is a Television in Canada, Canadian television sitcom, which aired on CBC Television in 1987.

''."Shelley Peterson Says New Sitcom Won't Embarrass Hubby David". '' The Gazette'', September 26, 1987. He also wrote the afterword for the

New Canadian Library The New Canadian Library is a publishing imprint of the Canadian company McClelland and Stewart. The series aims to present classic works of Canadian literature in paperback. Each work published in the series includes a short essay by another not ...

edition of Paul Hiebert's influential humour novel '' Sarah Binks''.

Awards and honours

He was a three-time nominee for the

Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, also known as the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour or just the Leacock Medal, is an annual Canadian literary award presented for the best book of humour written in English by a Canadian writer, publis ...

, garnering nods in 1986 for ''The Governor General's Bunny Hop'',"Star's Slinger Up for Humor Prize". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', April 11, 1986. in 1994 for ''How Not to Be Too Bad''"Richardson Wins Leacock Prize". ''

'', April 26, 1994. and in 2002 for ''The Grim Pig''. He was granted an honorary doctorate from

Brandon University Brandon University is a university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, with an enrolment of approximately 3,375 (2020) full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, ...

in 1994. He was appointed as 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 2023. He lives in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Works

*''The Governor General's Bunny Hop'' (1985, ) *''At the Cottage: An Affectionate Look at Canada's Summer Obsession'' (1989, ) *''How to Be Not Too Bad: A Canadian Guide to Superior Behaviour'' (1993, ) *''The Canada Trip'' (1997, ) *''The Grim Pig'' (2001, ) *''Still at the Cottage: Or the Cabin, the Shack, the Lake, the Beach, or Camp'' (2006, )

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Charles 1940 births Canadian columnists Canadian humorists Canadian male novelists 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists Ottawa Citizen people Queen's University at Kingston alumni Living people Canadian travel writers Canadian male essayists 20th-century Canadian essayists 21st-century Canadian essayists 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Journalists from New York City American emigrants to Canada Members of the Order of Canada Novelists from Ottawa