Robert Harlow (born November 19, 1923) is a Canadian writer and former academic, best known for his 1972 novel ''Scann''."Robert Harlow"
''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

'', April 2, 2008.

Background

Harlow was born in

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 ( O.S.) 7 December 1619 (N.S.)– 29 November 1682 (O.S.) December 1682 (N.S) was an English-German army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first rose to ...

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 ...

, but raised primarily in Prince George. He served in the military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a bomber pilot, and then attended the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

and the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

. He worked for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

from 1951 to 1965, much of that time as the director of radio operations for British Columbia. He joined the faculty of the University of British Columbia in 1965 as head of its creative writing program. He married Margaret Latremouille, and was stepfather to broadcaster and actor Fred Latremouille, Margaret's son from her prior marriage.

Writing

His debut novel ''Royal Murdoch'' (1962) was the first of what is called his Linden Trilogy, set in the fictional small British Columbia town of Linden. The other two novels in the trilogy were ''A Gift of Echoes'' (1965) and ''Scann''. His later novels were ''Making Arrangements'' (1978), ''Paul Nolan'' (1983), ''Felice: A Travelogue'' (1985), ''The Saxophone Winter'' (1988) and ''Necessary Dark'' (2002). He was also the writer of the screenplay for Larry Kent's 1965 film '' When Tomorrow Dies''. In 2001, he was presented with a lifetime achievement award by the

Vancouver Public Library Vancouver Public Library (VPL) is the public library system for the city of Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2023, VPL had more than 4.6 million visits with patrons borrowing nearly 10.4 million items including: books, ebooks, CDs, DVDs, video gam ...

and ''BC Bookworld''."Kudos". ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...

'', September 4, 2001. In the 2000s, with all of his novels out of print, he republished them all through

Xlibris Xlibris is a self-publishing and on-demand printing services provider, founded in 1997 and based in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. In 2000, ''The New York Times'' stated it to be the foremost on-demand publisher. The current president i ...

References

External links

* * Archives of Robert Harlo
(Robert Harlow fonds, R11745)
are held at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

1923 births Living people 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian male novelists Canadian military personnel from British Columbia Canadian historical novelists University of British Columbia alumni University of Iowa alumni Academic staff of the University of British Columbia People from Prince Rupert, British Columbia People from Prince George, British Columbia Screenwriters from British Columbia Canadian Broadcasting Corporation people 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Canadian expatriates in the United States Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II Canadian World War II pilots 20th-century Canadian screenwriters Canadian male screenwriters Novelists from British Columbia {{Canada-writer-stub