Eugene Benson (born 1928) is a Canadian professor of English and a prolific writer, novelist, playwright and

librettist A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major ...

Early life

Born in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, Benson obtained a bachelor's degree from the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

, a master's degree from the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

and his PhD from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

Career

Benson is the librettist of six operatic works: ''Heloise and Abelard'' (1973, performed by the Canadian Opera Company, music by Charles Wilson); ''Everyman'' (1974, performed by the Stratford Festival, music by Charles Wilson); ''Psycho Red'' (1978, presented by The Guelph Spring Festival, music by Charles Wilson); ''Ernest, the Importance of Being'' (2008, performed by Toronto Operetta Theatre, music by Victor Davies); ''The Auction: A Folk Opera'' (2012, premiered by Westben Arts Festival Theatre, music by John Burge); ''A Tale of Two Cities'' (2016, premiered by Opera in Concert, Toronto, music by Victor Davies). ''Everyman'' and ''Psycho Red'' were broadcast by the CBC (

Canadian Broadcast Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its English-language and F ...

). Benson wrote two novels, ''The Bulls of Ronda'' (1976) and the political satire ''Power Game'' (1980). He has written four plays broadcast on the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

and, with his wife, Renate Benson, has translated plays from Quebec French. In 2003, he and Bill Fraser adapted ''Powergame'' as a TV movie, ''North of America''. His plays include ''The Ram'' (1967, broadcast by McGill Radio), ''Joan of Arc’s Violin'' (broadcast by CBC in 1970 and published and staged in 1972), ''The Gunner’s Rope'', (broadcast by CBC in 1970 and published and staged in 1972), and ''The Doctors’ Wife'' (broadcast by the CBC in 1973). With his wife, Renate Benson, Eugene has translated a number of French Canadian plays. He edited the periodical ''Canadian Drama''. He has written four plays broadcast on the

and, with his wife, Renate Benson, has translated plays from Quebec French. He edited the periodical ''Canadian Drama''. In 2003 he and Bill Fraser adapted his political satire ''Powergame'' (1980) into the TV movie ''North of America''. Benson's scholarly publications include ''J.M. Synge'' (1982), ''English-Canadian Theatre'' (1987), ''The Oxford Companion to Canadian Theatre'' (1987), ''The Routledge Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English'' (1994, 2nd ed. 2005) — the last three co-edited with L.W. Conolly — and ''The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature'' (1997, second edition, with William Toye). He edited the anthology ''Encounter: Canadian Drama in Four Media'' (1973) and the scholarly journal ''Canadian Drama/L’Art dramatique canadien'' (1980–90). Benson was president, administrative director and Budget Officer of the Guelph Spring Festival for many years, and is a former Chair of the

Writers' Union of Canada The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) is the national organization of professionally published writers. TWUC was founded in 1973 to work with governments, publishers, booksellers, and readers to improve the conditions of Canadian writers. TWUC adv ...

(1983–84). He was Founding co-president, with

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...

, of the Canadian Centre of International PEN (1984–85), and served as its vice-president (1985–90). He was President of

PEN Canada PEN Canada is one of the 148 centres of PEN International. Founded in 1926, it has a membership of over 1,000 writers and supporters who campaign on behalf of writers around the world who are persecuted, imprisoned and exiled for exercising their r ...

in 1984. In 2019, he published a memoir, ''The Symmetry of the Tyger'', an account of his involvement in Canadian culture.

Personal life

He married Renate Niklaus, a languages and literature professor at

University of Guelph The University of Guelph (abbreviated U of G) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), the MacDonald I ...

, in 1968. Together they have two sons: Ormonde, a lawyer, and

Shaun Shaun is an Anglicized spelling of the Irish name Seán. Alternative spellings include Shawn, Sean, and Shawne. Along with spelling variants Shawn and Shaun, the name was among the top 1,000 names for American boys by 1950 and, with all spelli ...

, an actor. Renate Benson is the author of ''German Expressionist Drama'' (1984) and other books. He is also the great-uncle of

Robb Armstrong Robb Armstrong (born March 4, 1962) is an African American cartoonist, best known for creating the comic strip '' Jump Start''. ''Jump Start'' is the most widely syndicated daily strip written by an African American. Early life and education Arm ...

, artist of the comic Jump Start.

Works

Works edited

*''The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature'', co-edited with William Toye (1983, 2nd ed. 2006) * ''The Oxford Companion to Canadian Theatre'', co-edited with L.W Connolly (1989) * ''Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English'', co-edited with L.W. Connolly (1994, reissued 2005)

Works written

* ''Encounter: Canadian Drama in Four Media'' (1973) * ''Bulls of Ronda'', a novel (1976) * ''J.M. Synge'', a biography (1980) * ''Power Game: The Making of a Prime Minister'', a novel (1980) * ''English Canadian Theatre '', co-written with L.W. Connolly (1987)

Libretti for operas

* ''Héloise & Abélard'' (1973) * ''Psycho Red'', with music by Charles Wilson (1978)) * ''Earnest, The Importance of Being'', with music by Victor Davies (2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Eugene 1928 births Living people Canadian literary critics Emigrants from Northern Ireland to Canada University of Western Ontario alumni University of Toronto alumni