Kildare Robert Eric Dobbs (10 October 1923 – 1 April 2013) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

and

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. Born in

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capi ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

, he was educated in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and later spent 5 years in the Royal Navy during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. After the war he worked in the British Colonial Service in

Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania M ...

. Dobbs came to Canada in 1952 and became a teacher, editor for Macmillan of Canada, managing editor of ''

Saturday Night Saturday Night may refer to: Film, television and theatre Film * ''Saturday Night'' (1922 film), a 1922 film directed by Cecil B. DeMille * ''Saturday Nights'' (film), a 1933 Swedish film directed by Schamyl Bauman * ''Saturday Night'' (1950 fil ...

'', and book editor of ''The Toronto Star Weekly''. In 2000, he was awarded the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is adm ...

. Dobbs lived in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

with his wife, Linda Kooluris Dobbs, a noted portrait artist, painter and photographer. In 2013, shortly before his death at age 89 following a period of ill health, Dobbs received the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the c ...

from the Right Honourable David Johnston, at his home in Toronto.Dobbs received Order of Canada
/ref> He was cremated and his remains interred in the family grave in St Mary's (Church of Ireland) churchyard in Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny, Ireland.

Bibliography

*''Running to Paradise'' – 1962 (winner of the 1962 Governor General's Award for Fiction) *''Reading the Time'' – 1968 *''Canada'' 1964 1965 *''The Great Fur Opera'' – 1970 (Dobson/McClelland and Stewart, ) *''Pride and Fall: A Novella and Six Stories'' – 1981 (Clarke, Irwin, ) *''Historic Canada'' – 1984 (Methuen, ) *''Coastal Canada'' – 1985 *''Anatolian Suite: Travels and Discursions in Turkey'' – 1989 (Little, Brown & Co., ) *''Ribbon of Highway: By Bus Along the Trans-Canada'' – 1991 (Little, Brown & Co., ) *''Smiles and Chukkers & Other Vanities'' – 1994 (Little, Brown & Co., ) *''The Eleventh Hour: Poems for the Third Millennium'' – 1997 (Mosaic, ) *''Casablanca: The Poem'' – 1999 (Ekstasis Editions, ) *''Running the Rapids:A Writer's Life'' – 2005 (Dundurn, ) *"Casanova in Venice: A Raunchy Rhyme" with nine original wood engravings by Wesley W. Bates- 2010 (Porcupine's Quill, )

References

* W. H. New, ed. ''Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002. 1923 births 2013 deaths Canadian male short story writers Members of the Order of Canada Members of the Order of Ontario Governor General's Award-winning fiction writers Place of death missing 20th-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian short story writers 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers British people in colonial India British emigrants to Canada British expatriates in Tanganyika Royal Navy personnel of World War II {{Canada-writer-stub