John Robert Colombo, CM (born March 24, 1936) is a Canadian writer, editor, and poet. He has published over 200 titles, including major anthologies and reference works.

Early life

Colombo was born in Kitchener, Ontario, in 1936. He attended 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 ...

, where he began organizing literary events in the late 1950s. He started writing and publishing poetry in the early 1960s; his first book of poetry ''Lines for the Last Days'' was illustrated by William Kurelek.Morley, Patricia. Kurelek, A Biography, Macmillan of Canada, 1986, p. 151. Through his imprint, Hawkshead Press, he published

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 ...

's first collection of poetry in 1963. He also facilitated the appearance of first books of fiction written by Hugh Hood and

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 ...

, as well as the first mass-market publication of a science-fiction story by Robert J. Sawyer. He served as literary manager of the old Bohemian Embassy in Toronto, writing poetry and pioneering "found poetry" in Canada. He later moved into editorial positions with prominent Toronto's publishing houses, including

McClelland and Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. History It was founded ...

and Hurtig. During this period, he edited George Grant's '' Lament for a Nation'', and served as managing editor of the '' Tamarack Review'', then the leading literary quarterly.

Writing career

In the early 1970s, Colombo began working on the first of many anthologies, a collection of quotations from prominent Canadians titled ''Colombo's Canadian Quotations''. Following the success of the quotations collection, Colombo went on to publish dozens of collections, ranging from bibliographies of Canadian reference works to collections of folk tales, stories of the

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

, and UFO sightings. As of 2014, Colombo has published over 200 titles, making him the second-most prolific author in Canadian literary history. His anthology writing earned him the nickname "the Master Gatherer" among Canadian writers and literary critics. He was dubbed "Canada's Mr. Mystery" for his compilations of the paranormal. In the 1990s, Colombo began publishing his writing through his own imprint, Colombo and Company.

Works

Recognition

*Harbourfront International Literary Award *Honorary doctorate in literature by

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

*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 ...

*The Centennial Medal *The Order of Cyril and Methodius (first class) *Esteemed Knight of

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

*A Fellow, Northrop Frye Centre, Victoria College, University of Toronto.

References

External links