Rona Jean Murray (February 10, 1924,

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

– July 9, 2003,

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, Canada) was a Canadian poet.

Life

Murray spent her early childhood in India, where her father commanded a

Gurkha The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with the endonym Gorkhali ( Nepali: गोर्खाली ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of North India. The Gurkha units consist of Nepali and ...

regiment. When she was eight years old her family immigrated to Canada in 1932. Rona attended

Queen Margaret's School Queen Margaret's School is a Canadian school in Duncan, British Columbia, in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. It has over 525 students in its ECE, Junior and Senior School. It also features a unique equestrian marquee program—the only ...

from 1932 to 1941. She studied at

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, California is part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was relocated to Oakland in ...

, and later graduated from 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 Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

, where she earned a Ph.D. She taught at

Douglas College Douglas College is the largest college in British Columbia, Canada with 7,958 full-time equivalent students in 2023-24. Douglas College offers bachelor's degrees and general university arts and science courses, as well as career programs in h ...

Selkirk College Selkirk College is a public college founded in 1966 with its main campus in Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada. The college has student housing at its Castlegar and Nelson campuses. Students frequently struggle to find accommodation. The col ...

, Castlegar,

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

, and

. In 1944 Murray married Gerry Haddon and had three children; they divorced. She later married ceramics artist Walter Dexter. They lived on

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

. Her papers are held at

Awards

Rona Murray has been granted the following awards, * 1984 Ethel Wilson B.C. Fiction Award, Shortlisted, for ''The Indigo Dress and Other Stories'' * 1982

Pat Lowther Award The Pat Lowther Memorial Award is an annual Canadian literary award presented by the League of Canadian Poets to the year's best book of poetry by a Canadian woman. The award was established in 1980 to honour poet Pat Lowther, who was murdered by ...

for ''Journey'' * 1965 Norma Epstein National Award for Creative Writing, for ''The Enchanted Adder'' * 1964 Macmillan of Canada Creative Writing Award, for ''The Enchanted Adder'' * 1958 B.C. Centennial One-Act Play Award, for ''Blue Duck's Feather and Eagledown''

Works

Poetry

* ''The Enchanted Adder'' (1965) * * * * *

Plays

* ''Blue Duck's Feather and Eagledown'' was performed in the 1958 Centennial celebrations of British Columbia,

Anthologies

Editor

* * *

Non fiction

* ''The Art of Earth'', Rona Murray and Walter Dexter.

References

External links

Biographical Note
Alan Twigg, ''ABC Bookworld'' 1924 births 2003 deaths Canadian women poets University of British Columbia alumni Academic staff of the University of Victoria Academic staff of the University of British Columbia Alumni of the University of Kent 20th-century Canadian poets English emigrants to Canada 20th-century Canadian women writers Poets from British Columbia {{Canada-poet-stub