Edward Morley Callaghan (February 22, 1903 – August 25, 1990) was a Canadian novelist, short story writer, playwright, and TV and radio personality.

Biography

Of Canadian/English-immigrant parentage,Clara Thomas, ''Canadian Novelists 1920-1945'', Longmans, Green and Company, Toronto, 1946 p. 17-18 Callaghan was born and raised 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 ...

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. He was educated at Withrow PS, Riverdale Collegiate Institute, the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...

and

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall Law ...

. He articled and was called to the Bar, but did not practice law. During the 1920s he worked at the ''

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'' where he became friends with a fellow reporter

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

, formerly of ''

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''. Callaghan began writing stories that were well received and soon were recognized as one of the best short story writers of the day. In 1929 he spent some months in Paris, where he was part of the great gathering of writers in Montparnasse that included

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works includ ...

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West (Pittsburgh), Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, Calif ...

, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the Modernism, modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important ...

. He recalled this time in his 1963

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobio ...

, ''That Summer in Paris''. In the book, he discusses the famous

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

match between himself and Hemingway wherein Callaghan took up Hemingway's challenge to a bout. While in Paris, the pair had been regular sparring partners at the American Club of Paris. Being a better boxer, Callaghan knocked Hemingway to the mat. The blame was centered on referee F. Scott Fitzgerald's lack of attention on the stopwatch as he let the boxing round go past its regulation three minutes. An infuriated Hemingway was angry at Fitzgerald; Hemingway and Fitzgerald had an often caustic relationship and Hemingway was convinced that Fitzgerald let the round go longer than normal to see Hemingway humiliated by Callaghan. Both principals involved confirm the match took place, but there is a disagreement between them as to how badly Hemingway was beaten. See ''That Summer in Paris'', and ''Hemingway's Letters: To Max Perkins, 28 Aug 1929; to Fitzgerald, 12 Dec 1929; and to Mizener, 04 Jan 1951''. This boxing match could not have taken place at the American Club of Paris; since its founding in 1904, the American Club of Paris has never had a clubhouse, so it would have been impossible for the fight to have taken place there. It could have been at Pershing Hall on the rue Pierre Charron, also known at the time as the American Soldiers and Sailors Club. A more likely candidate, however, is the basement of the United States Students' and Artists' Club on the boulevard Raspail in the Montparnasse area, much closer to where both Callaghan and Hemingway lived. Callaghan's novels and short stories are marked by undertones of Roman Catholicism, often focusing on individuals whose essential characteristic is a strong but often weakened sense of self. His first novel was ''Strange Fugitive'' (1928); several short stories, novellas, and novels followed. Callaghan published little between 1937 and 1950 - an artistically dry period. However, during these years, many non-fiction articles were written in various periodicals such as ''New World'' (Toronto), and ''National Home Monthly''. ''Luke Baldwin's Vow'', a slim novel about a boy and his dog, was originally published in a 1947 edition of ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

'' and soon became a juvenile classic read in school rooms around the world. ''The Loved and the Lost'' (1951) won the Governor General's Award. Callaghan's later works include, among others, ''The Many Colored Coat'' (1960), ''A Passion in Rome'' (1961), ''A Fine and Private Place'' (1975), ''A Time for Judas'' (1983), ''Our Lady of the Snows'' (1985). His last novel was ''A Wild Old Man Down the Road'' (1988). Publications of short stories have appeared in ''The Lost and Found Stories of Morley Callaghan'' (1985) and in ''The New Yorker Stories'' (2001). The four-volume ''The Complete Stories'' (2003) collects for the first time 90 of his stories. Callaghan was also a contributor to ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issue ...

'', '' Harper's Bazaar'', ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian persp ...

'', ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'', '' Cosmopolitan'', ''

'', '' Yale Review'', ''

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

'', '' Performing Arts in Canada'', and '' Twentieth Century Literature''. Callaghan married Loretto Dee, with whom he had two sons: Michael (born November 1931) and

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

(born 1937), a poet and author in his own right. Barry Callaghan's memoir ''Barrelhouse Kings'' (1998), examines his career and that of his father. After outliving most of his contemporaries, Callaghan died after a brief illness in Toronto at the age of 87. He was interred in Mount Hope Catholic Cemetery in Ontario.

Recognition

Callaghan was awarded the Royal Society of Canada's Lorne Pierce Medal in 1960. In 1982 he was made a Companion of 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 ...

. Morley Callaghan is the subject of a

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

'' Life and Times'' episode, and the CBC mini-series, ''Hemingway Vs. Callaghan'', which first aired in March 2003. From 1951 until he died in 1990, the author had lived in the Rosedale, Toronto area, at 20 Dale Avenue. A historic plaque at the nearby Glen Road footbridge summarizes Callaghan's noteworthy writing career and the most significant of his literary contemporaries, including

and F Scott Fitzgerald.

Commemorative postage stamp

On September 8, 2003, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the

National Library of Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is ...

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation that functions as the primary Postal administration, postal operator in Canada ...

released a special commemorative series, "The Writers of Canada", with a design by Katalina Kovats, featuring two English-Canadian and two French-Canadian stamps. Three million stamps were issued. Callaghan was chosen for one of the English-Canadian stamps.

Bibliography

Novels

* '' Strange Fugitive'' - 1928 * ''

It's Never Over English auxiliary verbs are a small set of English verbs, which include the English modal verbs and a few others. Although definitions vary, as generally conceived an auxiliary lacks inherent semantic meaning but instead modifies the meaning of ...

'' - 1930 * ''

A Broken Journey A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''ae ...

'' - 1932 * ''

Such Is My Beloved ''Such Is My Beloved'' is a novel by Canadian writer Morley Callaghan. It was first published in 1934 by Charles Scribner's Sons in New York City and Macmillan of Canada in Toronto. Plot ''Such Is My Beloved'' takes place in a city experiencing ...

'' - 1934 * '' They Shall Inherit the Earth'' - 1935 * '' More Joy in Heaven'' - 1937 * ''

The Loved and the Lost ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' - 1951 * ''

The Many Colored Coat ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' - 1960 (reissued as ''The Man with the Coat'', 1988) * ''

A Passion in Rome A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''ae ...

'' - 1961 * '' A Fine and Private Place'' - 1975 * ''

A Time for Judas ''A Time for Judas'' is a historiographic metafiction novel by Canadian author Morley Callaghan, published by Macmillan of Canada in 1983. The novel tells the story of a man in modern times who discovers tablets written by a scribe named Philo ...

'' - 1983 * ''

Our Lady of the Snows Saint Mary of the Snows, also Our Lady of the Snows and Saint Mary Major, may refer to: Dedication * Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major, a liturgical feast day previously known in Latin as ''Dedicatio Sanctæ Mariæ ad Nives'', transla ...

'' - 1985 (based on his novella The Enchanted Pimp) * ''

A Wild Old Man on the Road A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''ae ...

'' - 1988

Novellas

* '' No Man's Meat'' - 1931 * '' Luke Baldwin's Vow'' - 1948 (reissued as ''The Vow'', 2006) * ''

The Varsity Story ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' - 1948 * '' An Autumn Penitent'' - 1973 (and ''In His Own Country'') * ''

Close to the Sun Again Close may refer to: Music * ''Close'' (Kim Wilde album), 1988 * ''Close'' (Marvin Sapp album), 2017 * ''Close'' (Sean Bonniwell album), 1969 * "Close" (Sub Focus song), 2014 * "Close" (Nick Jonas song), 2016 * "Close" (Rae Sremmurd song), 201 ...

'' - 1977 * '' No Man's Meat and The Enchanted Pimp'' - 1978

Short fiction

* '' A Native Argosy'' - 1929 * '' Now That April's Here and Other Stories'' - 1936 * ''

Morley Callaghan's Stories Morley may refer to: Places England * Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish * Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish * Morley, Cheshire, a village * Morley, County Durham, a village * Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish * ...

'' - 1959 * ''

Stories Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British ...

'' - 1967 * ''

The Lost and Found Stories of Morley Callaghan ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' - 1985 * '' The Morley Callaghan Reader'' - 1997 * '' The New Yorker Stories'' - 2001 * ''The Complete Stories'' (four volumes) - 2003 * ''

Ancient Lineage and Other Stories Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history c ...

'' - 2012 * The Snob * The Sentimentalists

Non-fiction

* ''That Summer in Paris: Memories of Tangled Friendships with Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Some Others'' - 1963 * ''Winter'' - 1974

Plays

* '' Turn Again Home'' (based on the novel ''They Shall Inherit the Earth'', produced in New York City in 1940, and produced under the title ''Going Home'' in Toronto in 1950) * '' Just Ask George'' (produced in Toronto, 1940) * '' To Tell the Truth'' (produced in Toronto, 1949) * '' Season of the Witch'' - 1976

Film adaptations

*''

Now That April's Here ''Now That April’s Here'' is a 1958 English-Canadian feature from William Davidson and Norman Knelman based on short stories by Morley Callaghan. Synopsis An early English-Canadian movie shot on the streets of Toronto, Ontario in 1957 and one ...

'' (1958) *''

The Cap ''The Cap'' is a 1985 Canadian short film directed and written by Robert A. Duncan. The film is based on a short story by Morley Callaghan. The film was produced by Michael MacMillan, Seaton McLean, Janice Platt Andy Thomson. The production agenc ...

'' (1984)

References

External links

Morley Callaghan archives
held at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is t ...

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, Ontario {{DEFAULTSORT:Callaghan, Morley 1903 births 1990 deaths 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Canadian male novelists Canadian Roman Catholics Canadian male short story writers Companions of the Order of Canada Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Governor General's Award-winning fiction writers Members of the Order of Ontario Canadian people of Irish descent Lawyers in Ontario Writers from Toronto University of Toronto alumni Toronto Star people 20th-century Canadian novelists Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian short story writers Osgoode Hall Law School alumni 20th-century Canadian male writers