J. Jill Robinson
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Jacqueline Jill Robinson (born June 16, 1955) is a
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 and editor. She is the author of a novel and four collections of short stories. Her
fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...
and
creative nonfiction Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction, narrative nonfiction, literary journalism or verfabula) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contrasts ...
have appeared in a wide variety of magazines and literary journals including ''
Geist ''Geist'' () is a German noun with a significant degree of importance in German philosophy. ''Geist'' can be roughly translated into three English meanings: ghost (as in the supernatural entity), spirit (as in the Holy Spirit), and mind or int ...
'', the ''Antigonish Review'', ''Event'', '' Prairie Fire'' and the '' Windsor Review''. Her novel, ''More In Anger'', published in 2012, tells the stories of three generations of mothers and daughters who bear the emotional scars of loveless marriages, corrosive anger and
misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...
.Volmers, Eric. "J. Jill Robinson explores dark inheritances in new novel: More in Anger," ''Calgary Herald'', June 1, 2012. Robinson has won numerous literary competitions including two
Western Magazine Awards Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...
, two
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
Book Awards, two prizes for creative nonfiction from ''Event'' magazine, the
PRISM international ''Prism International'' (styled ''PRISM international'') is a magazine published quarterly in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1959, it is Western Canada's senior literary magazine. The magazine was started with name ''Prism'' ...
fiction contest and the Howard O'Hagan award for short fiction from the Writers' Guild of Alberta. Her novel and stories have also won critical acclaim for their vivid characters, spare writing and tragic themes that nevertheless convey humour and hope.Clemence, Verne. "Happy endings can't be guaranteed," ''The StarPhoenix'' (Saskatoon), October 25, 2003, p. E13. Robinson was appointed writer-in-residence at the Regina Public Library for 2020–2021. She was the 24th writer-in-residence at the
Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
Public Library during 2004–2005. From 1995 to 1999, she was editor of the literary magazine ''Grain'', published quarterly by the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild. She has taught English literature and creative writing at the Universities of
Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
and
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
, at St. Peter's College in
Muenster, Saskatchewan Muenster ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of St. Peter No. 369 and Census Division No. 15. It is located east of Humboldt on Highway 5. History Muenster incorpo ...
and at the
First Nations University of Canada The First Nations University of Canada (abbreviated as FNUniv) is a post-secondary institution and federated college of the University of Regina, based in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. FNUniv operates three campuses within the province, ...
. Robinson was married to the poet Steven Ross Smith (1999 to 2022) and is the mother of a son, Emmett H Robinson Smith, born in 1995. She lives on
Galiano Island Galiano Island ( Hul'qumi'num: ''Swiikw'') is one of the Southern Gulf Islands located between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Located on the west side of the Strait of Georgia, the island is bordered by Mayne ...
in the Canadian province of
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
.


Making of a writer

J. Jill Robinson was born in Langley, British Columbia in 1955, but she also had family ties to Alberta. Her mother grew up in
Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
while her father, a doctor, was from Banff. In 1979, she moved to Calgary where she earned a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree in drama and English literature as well as a
Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
in 19th century American literature at the
University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...
. Her Master's thesis was entitled, ''The circumferential vision: love and death in the poetry of
Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...
''.McGoogan, Ken. "NON-FICTION BOUNDARIES BLUR," ''Calgary Herald'', April 3, 1993, p. D13. In 1987, while attending the
Banff Centre for the Arts Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (formerly Banff Centre) is an arts and culture educational institution in Banff, Alberta. It offers arts programs in the performing and fine arts, as well as leadership training. It was established in 193 ...
, where she encountered writers from across the country, Robinson realized that she wanted to be a writer herself. From 1988 to 1991, she studied creative writing at the
University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-, National Sea Grant College Program, sea-, and National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, space-grant research university in ...
, with among others,
Frank Soos Frank Soos (1950 – August 18, 2021) was an American short story writer. Life Soos grew up in Pocahontas, Virginia. He graduated from Davidson College in 1972 and the University of Arkansas. He taught at University of Alaska Fairbanks. His work ...
and Peggy Shumaker, earning a
Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...
degree. "I was the only Canadian in a graduate program with just 12 students in it...and it was great," she told a reporter in 2004. She added that the program provided her with "a toolbox of skills and techniques" while giving her a chance to read a wide variety of American writers.Paulson, Joanne. "Robinson natural writer," ''The StarPhoenix'' (Saskatoon), October 20, 2004, p. D1.


Short story collections


Saltwater Trees

Robinson earned a
Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...
degree from the University of Alaska in 1990. Her MFA thesis consisted of writings that later became the basis for ''Saltwater Trees'', her first collection of short stories published in 1991 when she was 36. The Writers' Guild of Alberta awarded ''Saltwater Trees'' its Howard O'Hagan prize for short fiction."Library Arts Writer In Residence named," ''The Saskatoon Sun'', p. 7. Reviewer Mary Walters Riskin noted the book was a fine beginning to Robinson's career. "One of the most refreshing aspects of this collection is that so many of the 13 stories in ''Saltwater Trees'' rise out of the insanities, the batterings and the drudgeries of real life to end on notes of hope," Riskin wrote.Riskin, Mary Walters. "Alberta writer's off to good start with first book," ''Calgary Herald'', October 5, 1991, p. E5.


Lovely In Her Bones

In 1993, J. Jill Robinson published ''Lovely In Her Bones'', a collection of 11 stories including "Finding Linette," co-winner of ''Event'' magazine's 1992 prize for creative nonfiction. Calgary journalist and author
Ken McGoogan Kenneth McGoogan (born 1947). is the Canadian author of fifteen books, including ''Flight of the Highlanders'', ''Dead Reckoning'', ''50 Canadians Who Changed the World'', ''How the Scots Invented Canada'', and four biographical narratives focusing ...
, who interviewed Robinson about the new book, described "Finding Linette" as a "technically sophisticated" story that "intercuts the straight-ahead tale of a family's Christmas gathering with memories—and conflicting versions—of the long-ago death of a child." Robinson warned, however, that although the story was based on "family mythology" and other stories in the book came from her own experience, they should not be read too literally. "People are using a more liberal definition of nonfiction," she said. "There's a lot more freedom of structure and angle. A lot more room for imagination." ''Lovely In Her Bones'' received favourable reviews. ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'' critic John Doyle wrote that the stories were ones of "quiet self absorption" adding: "Fortunately, they are written in a clear, lucid prose and often attain a rhythm that saves them from static
solipsism Solipsism ( ; ) is the philosophical idea that only one's mind is sure to exist. As an epistemological position, solipsism holds that knowledge of anything outside one's own mind is unsure; the external world and other minds cannot be known ...
." He summed up the collection as "a mosaic of sharply observed events and incidents" calling it the "best type of short story collection" and adding: "At the close of the collection the mosaic has taken shape and stands as a radiant insight into the power of painful memories." The ''Globe's'' book editors listed ''Lovely In Her Bones'' as "among the books we couldn't put down in 1993."''The Globe and Mail'', January 1, 1994, p. C15. In the ''Edmonton Journal'', reviewer Valerie Compton pointed to Robinson's passage that begins, "I am always alone. Always thinking..." as evidence of both the strengths and weaknesses of ''Lovely In Her Bones''. She called the stories "so pared down, so reduced to wistful contemplation that it is almost enervating. Almost, but not quite, because these stories depend for their effects on insights we might not achieve without spending a good long time inside a character's head."


Eggplant Wife

J. Jill Robinson moved from Calgary to Saskatoon in 1993 to join the writer, Steven Ross Smith whom she would later marry. In 1995, she published ''Eggplant Wife'', a novella and short stories. The collection was shortlisted for the 1996 Saskatchewan Book Award. A review in the ''Edmonton Journal'' noted Robinson's "flair for domestic drama and detail. The plotting is almost incidental to the emotional states of the characters." The novella tells the story of a young couple who leave Vancouver to move into his parents' prairie farmhouse. Mitch had paid for his parents' trip to Hawaii where they were swept away by a wave. The eggplant of the title refers to a bowl of ceramic fruits and vegetables in the farmhouse kitchen. In 1995, Robinson gave birth to her son Emmett. During her years in Saskatchewan, she also taught creative writing at St. Peter's College in Muenster as well as at the First Nations University of Canada. Robinson served for four years, from 1995 to 1999, as editor of the quarterly literary magazine ''Grain: the journal of eclectic writing'' dividing her time between her own writing in the mornings and editing in the afternoons.


Residual Desire

In 2003, Robinson published ''Residual Desire'', her fourth collection of short stories. The book captured two Saskatchewan Book Awards and earned praise from critics such as Verne Clemence. "The stories in this excellent collection are character-driven," he wrote. "The prose is spare and well crafted. The stories are edgy as befits the dark themes that drive them, but there is hope too, and more than one rueful laugh at those delightful foibles that mark us all as human." A review in ''ForeWord'' magazine noted that ''Residual Desire'' is an "unsentimental examination" of women's lives. "Robinson's stories are dramatic and heart wrenching, but, impressively, there's nothing heavy-handed or unbelievable in her delivery," the review added. "Her characters probe the most vulnerable underbellies of their lives—lost loves, aging fathers, jealous sisterhoods—and push the reader to do the same." During an interview about ''Residual Desire'', Robinson agreed that her work could be described as unsentimental and heart wrenching. "One of the things that gets me writing is sadness," she said. "When you're happy and joyful, you don't need so much to pick up a pen to try to fathom or understand life...If a story of mine helps somebody see that there's another way through a really difficult, or seemingly impossible situation, I feel good," she added. "That's one of the reasons I write." She told another journalist she was pleased with ''Residual Desire''. "I'm happy with all of the stories," she said. "Each one of them is the best that I can make it."Miliokas, Nick. "J. Jill Robinson a master of the short story," ''Canwest News Service'', October 20, 2003. ''Residual Desire'' includes "Deja Vu" a story commissioned by
CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
on the recommendation of
Guy Vanderhaeghe Guy Clarence Vanderhaeghe (born April 5, 1951) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer, best known for his Western novel trilogy, '' The Englishman's Boy'', '' The Last Crossing'', and ''A Good Man'' set in the 19th-century American and Ca ...
, winner of two
Governor General's Literary Awards The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual List of awards presented by the governor general of Canada, awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. Th ...
. "It's about a woman who's on her way to the Coast stops in Calgary and on a whim, decides to visit her ex-husband," Robinson told a journalist. "It's about how memory works, and yearning for and re-visiting the things that have played an important part in your life."Morash, Gordon. "New western writers get their chance on CBC readings," ''Edmonton Journal'', May 3, 1998, p. F7. From September 1, 2004, to May 31, 2005, Robinson served as the 24th writer-in-residence at the Saskatoon Public Library. In 2009, she and her family moved from Saskatoon to Banff, Alberta where she now lives.


Debut novel

Robinson authored ''More In Anger'', a novel published in 2012. It tells the stories of three women from an unhappy family beset by the corrosive anger passed on from one generation to the next. The novel is divided into three sections named after the unlucky Opal, her emotionally cold daughter Pearl and her troubled granddaughter Vivien. It opens in 1915 with Opal's marriage to a misogynistic lawyer whose coldness and cruelty toward his wife and daughters reverberates through succeeding generations in loveless marriages and broken relationships. The novel ends as Vivien struggles to break free from her family's legacy of anger so that her own daughter can escape its destructive cycle.Robinson, J. Jill. (2012) ''More In Anger''. Toronto: Thomas Allen Publishers. The idea for the novel came, Robinson says, after her son was born in 1995, the year she turned 40. "The combination of being 40 and then his being born made me start thinking about mortality and generations and legacies," she told a journalist. She added that along with physical traits such as red hair, families pass on less pleasant characteristics such as a tendency toward anger. "I wanted to explore what happens when a negative legacy is passed through generations and how it affects, not only the angry person, but the person around her or him: the children, the spouse. Although you can't do much about red hair, if that's what's running in your family, there is something you can do about emotional inheritance." Robinson says she struggled with the novel for 10 years and found it frustrating trying to find "a sense of structure, or narrative thrust, to make it work." She adds that she found the novel much harder than writing short stories. "I'm a fairly organic writer, so I don't construct my stories. That works fine for short stories. But when you have hundreds of pages of material, it's really way harder to be organic about it." In 2003, she told another journalist that she preferred writing short stories. "I like the smaller, more intense, more narrow focus," she said. "I like to know where the edges are. You can move the boundaries by making the story longer or shorter, but you know where they are. Which isn't the case with the novel." Initial critical reaction to Robinson's novel was mixed. A reviewer for ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'' observed: "Countless novels have been written about family dysfunction, but few so precisely capture verbal abuse and its long-lasting psychological effects...Character and the overt ways in which ridicule and mistreatment shape the psyche are where Robinson overwhelmingly succeeds." The''
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. ...
'', however, called the novel "relentlessly depressing" adding that Robinson "provides nothing uplifting or enlightening for her readers." A reviewer for the ''
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 ...
'' described ''More in Anger'' as a "compassionate" book "sombre yet gripping" adding that even though readers know from the beginning things won't turn out well, they "remain steadfastly horrified, fascinated and curious, all at the same time." While a reviewer for the ''
Times Colonist The ''Times Colonist'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific ...
'' called the novel's pacing "enjoyably swift," he felt two of the main characters were not fully drawn and that Robinson had not solved all of the technical problems in her transition from short story to novel writing. On the other hand, an online reviewer wrote that the strength of the novel lay in its "three-dimensional" characters adding that "Robinson writes about families and the love that both binds them together and tears them apart with a psychological insight that can make you cringe with recognition." Robinson herself acknowledges that her novel is "bleak and dark and painful and unhappy." She adds that as a reader, she's more intrigued by stories like that than by ones about happiness. "I find it much more engaging to read about the struggle of the human condition. The search for love and search for fulfilment and search for meaning in life. All that is not lighthearted material."


Influences

Robinson once explained that her artistic inspiration came from the American writer
William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for William Faulkner bibliography, his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in fo ...
who believed that matters of the heart are the only things worth writing about. She has also said that she loves the intensity of short stories adding that
Raymond Carver Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. (May 25, 1938 – August 2, 1988) was an American short story writer and poet. He published his first collection of stories, '' Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?'', in 1976. His breakout collection, '' What We Talk About ...
was one of her main influences. "I like the way Carver writes dialogue, the spareness, so that when he's writing about something painful, it can make you wince at how naked it is," Robinson told an interviewer. "There's no padding."Mandel, Charles. "From OZ to naked painful truths," ''Edmonton Journal'', January 21, 1996, p. E4. Master short story writer,
Alice Munro Alice Ann Munro ( ; ; 10 July 1931 – 13 May 2024) was a Canadian short story writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Her work tends to move forward and backward in time, with integrated short story cycles. Munro's ...
was another strong influence. "If I could write anything like Munro," she once said, "I would fall to my knees and praise the sky." Robinson explains that her stories are based on personal experience, her own or someone she knows. "They begin with the truth," she says, "but as it changes into fiction, truth itself changes in order that it can do what is necessary for the story."


Awards and honours

J. Jill Robinson's work has won a variety of awards including the ''PRISM international'' fiction contest; ''Event'' magazine's creative nonfiction contest (twice); two Gold Western Magazine awards; two Saskatchewan Book awards and the Howard O'Hagan Prize for short fiction. She won an Honourable Mention in the
National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...
s for "The Letter," a piece of personal journalism. Her short story collection ''Lovely In Her Bones'' was on the ''Globe and Mail's'' top 100 books list for 1993. ''Residual Desire'' won a silver medal in ''ForeWord'' magazine's Book of the Year Awards in 2004. And, CBC Radio commissioned the story ''Deja Vu'' for broadcast in 1998.


References


Bibliography

*Robinson, J. Jill. (1991) ''Saltwater Trees''. Vancouver:
Arsenal Pulp Press Arsenal Pulp Press is a Canadian independent book publishing company, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company publishes a broad range of titles in both fiction and non-fiction, focusing primarily on underrepresented genres such as und ...
. *Robinson, J. Jill. (1993) ''Lovely In Her Bones''. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press. *Robinson, J. Jill. (1995) ''Eggplant Wife''. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press. *Robinson, J. Jill. (2003) ''Residual Desire''. Regina:
Coteau Books Coteau Books was a small, non-profit literary press based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. It was established in 1975 by Bob Currie, Gary Hyland, Barbara Sapergia and Geoffrey Ursell when they realized that there was little opportunity for Sask ...
. *Robinson, J. Jill. (2012) ''More in Anger''. Toronto: Thomas Allen Publishers. {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, J 1955 births Living people University of Calgary alumni University of Alaska Fairbanks alumni 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian non-fiction writers Canadian women novelists Canadian magazine editors People from Langley, British Columbia (city) Canadian women short story writers 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian short story writers Canadian women non-fiction writers Canadian women magazine editors Novelists from British Columbia