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 ...
poet and former professor of
English Literature
English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...
Memorial University
Memorial University of Newfoundland, or MUN (), is a Public university, public research university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook ...
, in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. He is one of the organizers and now artistic director of the March Hare, the largest literary festival in
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (), is the list of regions of Canada, region of Eastern Canada comprising four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landma ...
.Arts Hamilton (September 21, 2008 Randall Maggs The Lit Live Reading Series. Retrieved on: 2011-09-19.
Early life
Maggs was born in
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
. The son of a
Royal Canadian Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...
officer, his family lived on bases in Western Canada while he was growing up. He later joined the forces himself as a pilot. He left to travel through Europe and North Africa and then return to university to do graduate work at Dalhousie and the
University of New Brunswick
The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English language, English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universiti ...
.
Academic and writing career
Since the late 1970s, he has lived on the west coast of Newfoundland, where he taught Literature and Creative Writing at Memorial University's Grenfell College.
Maggs' poetry has appeared in the 1994 collection, ''Timely Departures'' (Breakwater) and in several reviews and anthologies, such as ''Poetry Ireland Review'', ''Coastlines: The Poetry of Atlantic Canada'' and Stephen Brunt's ''The Way It Looks from Here: Contemporary Canadian Writing on Sport'' and the ''March Hare Anthology'' (Breakwater, 2007). He has co-edited two anthologies of Irish and Newfoundland & Labrador poetry: ''However Blow the Winds'' (WIT & Scop, 2004) and ''The Echoing Years'', published in 2007.
A collection of poems, entitled ''Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems'', was launched in early 2008 at Toronto's
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...
and included in the Globe and Mail’s “Top 100 Books” for that year.Winterset in Summer, Literary Festival 2011 - Randall Maggs - writer bio Retrieved on: 2011-09-19. A short film was produced with Randall Maggs, based on his book. Titled "Night Work: A Sawchuk Poem" the 4-minute film was premiered at the launch of the book, screened at the Atlantic Film Festival, and toured nationally with Moving Stories Film Festival. The short is directed by Justin Simms, with a screenplay by Greg Spottiswood, co-produced with Judith Keenan of BookShorts Literacy Program. In 2009, ''Night Work'' won the Winterset Award and E.J. Pratt Poetry Prize, and in 2010, the Kobzar Literary Award.
Maggs' close connection with Ireland was recognized in the Spring of 2007 when he was awarded a Coracle Fellowship to work in that country. An accomplished woodworker, he took part in the 2001 Ireland/Newfoundland exhibition, ''Wood: A Sculptual Investigation.'' The Black Rod used in
Senate of Canada
The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...
ceremonies is one of his pieces.
His daughter
Adriana Maggs
Adriana Maggs is a Canadians, Canadian film and television actress, writer and director, best known for her debut feature film ''Grown Up Movie Star''.Grown Up Movie Star''. His brother is former hockey star Darryl Maggs.