An Inventory of His Records at the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections
Table of Contents
Scope and Contents of the Collection
Detailed Description of the Collection
Diaries and Journals, 1962-1986
Published Works and Manuscripts. 1965-1986
Foreign Anthologies and Periodicals, 183, 1985
Periodicals and Journals, 1966-1986
Manuscripts Edited by Newlove, 1969-1985
Manuscripts Sent to John Newlove for Comments and Advice, 1971-1986
Correspondence with Family and Friends, 1962-1987
General Correspondence, 1964-1985
Correspondence Relating to Institutions, 1963-1986
Correspondence: Readings, Employment, Publishers, 1965-1986
Financial and Housekeeping Records, 1974-1985
Works Written on Newlove, 1969-1985
331 Elizabeth Dafoe Library, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2
John Newlove was born in Regina on June 13, 1938. His father, Thomas Harold Newlove, was a lawyer and his mother, Mary Constant (Monteith) Newlove, was a teacher. John Newlove grew up in a number of small towns in Saskatchewan, including Ituna, Yellowgrass, Lloydminster, Grenfell, Veregin, and from 1949 to 1956, in Kamsack. He graduated from the Kamsack Collegiate Institute in 1956and spent the following year at the University of Saskatchewan.
While enrolled at university John Newlove began writing poetry and he continued his writing while employed at a variety of jobs. He worked as a high school teacher in Birtle, Manitoba, a social worker in Yorkton and in radio in Weyburn, Regina, and Swift Current. He also held numerous jobs in BritishColumbia and on the Prairies.
From 1960 to 1967 he lived in Vancouver from which he made many hitch-hiking trips to the prairies, Toronto, Montreal, and Chicago. He was married in 1966 to Susan Mary Phillips and had two step-children, Jeremy and Tamsin. He spent most of 1967 in eastern California and Portugese Cove, Halifax, and Wolfville, Nova Scotia. He lived in Prince George and Terrace, British Columbia, until 1970, when he moved to Toronto. The following years were spent in Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan in writer-in-residence appointments. In 1982 he moved to Nelson, British Columbia, and taught at the David Thompson University Centre. He lived in Ottawa in his lateryears.
John Newlove was the senior trade editor for McClelland and Stewart from 1970 to 1974, where he was involved in editing, budget, design and production control. He edited a variety of books, including verse, fiction, non-fiction, picture books and calendars. Books of verse by Ralph Gustafson and F.R. Scott and a novel by Rudy Weibeedited by John Newlove received Governor General Awards.
He has also consulted and/or edited on a freelance basis for McClelland and Stewart, Jonathon Jones Books, Hurtig Publishers, Thistledown Press, the Governor General's Awards Committee, the Canada Council, the Manitoba Arts Council and theSaskatchewan Arts Board.
He was the writer-in-residence at Loyola College, Montreal (1974-1975), where he consulted with students and taught two credit classes in Creative Writing. In the summer of 1975 he worked as a writer in the Communications Branch of the Office of the Prime Minister. He was the writer-in-residence at the University of Western Ontario (1975-1976), Massey College, University of Toronto, (1976-1977) and the Regina Public Library (1979-1980). All of these residencies included personal consultations, seminars, workshops, public andprivate readings and lectures.
From 1982-1983 he was an instructor at the David Thompson University Centre giving creative writing workshops for first, second and third year students. John Newlove also read and lectured at many universities, and literary societies throughout North America.As a freelance editor, writer, researcher in Ottawa, he did extensive work for the Office of the Commissioners of Official Languages and contracted with the Complaints Commission of the RCMP, the National Library and the Debates Branch of the Senate.
John Newlove received a Koerner Foundation Grant (1964), several Canada Council grants, the Governor General's Award (1972), The Founder's Award of the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild in1984, the Literary Press Group Award (1988) and the Archibald Lampman Award (1993).
His poems have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Chile, England, France, Belgium, Germany,Romania, India, Australia, Italy, the former Yugoslavia and Hungary.
John Newlove had thirteen chapbooks and published books: Grave Sirs (Vancouver: Robert Reid and Takao Tanabe, 1962); Elephants, Mothers & Others (Vancouver: Periwinkle Press, 1963. 31 pp.); Moving in Alone (Toronto: Contact, 1965. 83 pp.) 2nd edition (Lantzvelle, British Columbia: Oolichan Books, 1977. 88 pp.); Notebook Pages (Portfolio, Toronto: Charles Pachter, 1966); What They Say (Kitchener: Weed/Flower, 1967. 23 pp.) 2nd printing, 1968; Black Night Window (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1968. 112 pp.); The Cave (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1970. 85 pp.); 7 Disaster, 3 Theses, and Welcome Home, Click . (Vancouver: Very Stone House, 1971); Lies (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1973. 96 pp.); The Fat Man: Selected Poems, 1962-1972 (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1971. 127 pp.); Canadian Poetry: The Modern Era (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1977). editor & contributor; The Green Plain (Lantzville, British Columbia: Oolichan Books, 1981); and The Night the Dog Smiled (Toronto: ECWPress, 1986. 78 pp.)
Newlove's poetry was most popular in the 1960s and 1970s when he and Eli Mandel were considered to be among the dominant voices of Canadian prairie poetry. John Newlove died suddenly in Ottawa on December 23,2003. He was 65.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
This fonds includes manuscripts of several of John Newlove's poetry books and short stories. Of his twelve publications, this fonds contains literary manuscripts of nine of them along with the related correspondence. Typescripts of publications included are Grave Sirs (1962), Moving in Alone (1965), The Cave (1968), Lies (1972), and The Night the Dog Smiled (1986). An unpublished manuscript is also included. Most of the collection is comprised ofjournals, correspondence, manuscripts and notes from the mid-1960s to 1986.
There is a large amount of correspondence, both private and business. The private correspondence includes letters to and from Newlove's family, friends and writers. The correspondence includes substantial communications between Newlove and other writers such as Earle Birney, Irving Layton, Al Purdy, John Metcalf, Alden Nowlan, Bernie Childs, Patrick Lane, and others. The business correspondence deals with publishers, universities, various magazines and organizations. The correspondence is essential in understanding how theCanadian literary and publishing scenes "work".
John Newlove's literary essays are also included as are a number of others about Newlove. Also included are John Newlove's opinions and reports and manuscripts and theirauthors which he edited or was asked to advise on.
Most of this fonds deals with the literary and personal development of John Newlove as reflected in the journals, manuscripts, edited revisions, reviews, reports, essays andcorrespondence.
This collection is arranged into sixteen series: Diaries and Journals; Poetry; Published Works and Manuscripts; Foreign Anthologies and Periodicals; Foreign Periodicals; Periodicals and Journals; Manuscripts Edited by Newlove; Manuscripts Sent to John Newlove for Comments and Advice; Correspondence with Family and Friends; General Correspondence; Correspondence Relating to Institutions; Correspondence: Reading, Employment, Publishers; Financial and Housekeeping Records; Works Written on Newlove; Photograph Collection (PC81); and Tape Collection (TC 51)
The fonds is open to all users. Copyright must be respected and permission to publish any findings must be granted by the University of Manitoba Archives & SpecialCollections.
Unprocessed material (A.86-27, A.98-68). The Thomas Fisher Library of the University of Toronto acquired a portion of Newlove's earlier works several years ago. These holdings include drafts of poems; typescripts and proofs of Grave Sirs , Moving in Alone , Elephants, Mothers & Others , and Black Night Window ; and correspondence with publishers and other Canadian authors. There is a box of materials at the University of Texas, Humanities Research Center. These holdings include page proofs, etc., for Newlove's contributions to el caorno emplumado/the plumed horn (Mexico City), No. 13 (January 1965), No. 17 (January 1966), and No. 19 (July 1966), and eleven letters from Newlove to el caorno emplumado/the plumed horn (MexicoCity) dated 1964-1965.
The material in this fonds was donated to Archives & SpecialCollections in nine different accessions between 1986 and 1988.
Detailed Description of the Collection
The diaries and journals are in a variety of forms, from index cards to bound calendars. The cover the years from 1962 to 1984. The most complete entries are from 1962 to 1965 and 1969 to 1970. Entries for the remaining years were not done on a regular basis. Also included isautobiographical and biographical material.
The majority of Newlove's literary output is poetry, with some short fiction. Most of the manuscripts are typed and collected in notebooks. Working copies of his poems are also included and are arranged alphabetically by title. Handwritten notes and ideas for his writing completethis part of the collection.
The published works and manuscripts are listed in the next section. Several of John Newlove's books are included as are anthologies and literary journals with Newlove contributions. There is also one unpublished manuscript of selected poems. Any correspondence and review pertaining to the books are also included. The books and anthologies are arrangedchronologically.
- Purdy, Al, ed., The New Romans: Candid Canadian Opinions of the U.S. Edmonton: M.G. Hurtig Ltd., 1968 (pp. 135)
- Wainwright, Andy, ed., Notes for a Native Land. Toronto: Oberon Press, 1969 (pp. 64-71)
- Featherling, Doug, ed., Thumbprints. Toronto: Peter Martin Assoc. Ltd., 1969 (pp. 15-28)
- Geddes, Gary, ed., 15 Canadian Poets. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1970 (pp. 199-216)
- Woollatt, Richard, ed., Generation Now. Toronto: Longman Canada Ltd., 1970 (p. 135)
- Weaver, Robert, ed., Poems for Voices. Toronto: CBC, 1970 (pp. 29-39)
- Gibbons, Maurice, ed., Reaching Out. Vancouver: Resource Publications, 1970
- Newlove, John, ed., Book Cellar's Choice. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Ltd., 1971
- Gill, John, ed., New American and Canadian Poetry. Boston: Beacon Press, 1971 (pp. 179-185)
- David, Jack, ed., Brave New Wave. Windsor: Black Moss Press, 1978 (p. 196)
- Peck, Edward, ed., Transitions III: Poetry. Vancouver: CommCept Publishing Ltd., 1978 (pp. 96, 106, 142, 157)
- Bowering, George, ed., Fiction of Contemporary Canada. Toronto: Coach House Press, 1980. (p. 33)
- Regina Book Festival Committee. 40 Saskatchewan Poets. National Book Festival, 1980. (p. 27)
- Pacey, Desmond, ed., Our Literary Heritage. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., 1982. (pp. 584-585)
- Ursell, Geoffrey, ed., Saskatchewan Gold. Moose Jaw: Thunder Creek Publishing Co-op Ltd., 1982. (pp. 96-101)
- Landy, Alice, ed., The Heath Introduction to Literature, Canada. Toronto: D.C. Heath Canada Ltd., 1982. (pp. 889, 905)
- Bennett, Donna, ed., An Anthology of Canadian Literature in English, Vol. II. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1983. (pp. 427-440)
- Brennan, Peter, ed., Echoes I. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1983. (p. 136)
- Daniel, Lorne, ed., Ride off any Horizon. Edmonton: NeWest Press, 1983. (pp. 9-12)
- Paustian, Shirley, ed., Through the Open Window. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1983. (p. 157)
- Bowering, George, ed., The Contemporary Canadian Poem Anthology. Toronto: The Coach House Press, 1984. (pp. 230-248)
- Ireland, Robert J., ed., The Poet's Craft. Don Mills: Academic Press Canada, 1984. (p. 73)
- Amabile, George, ed., No Feather, No Ink. Saskatoon: Thistledown Press, 1985. (pp. 64, 71)
- Dyck, E.F., ed., Essays on Saskatchewan Writing. Regina: Saskatchewan Writers' Guild, 1986. (p. 193)
- Geddes, Gary, ed., Vancouver: Soul of a City. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1986. (pp. 34, 56, 317)
- Taggart, John, ed., Poems for John Coltrane. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, n.d. (p. 41)
- The Fiddlehead. March & April 1969, University of New Brunswick.
- The Tamarack Review. No. 49, 1969, Toronto.
- Fall Book Supplement. December 1970.
- The Far Point. No. 5, Winter 1970, Winnipeg.
- Imago 16. 1971, Montreal.
- Gnosis. Vol. 3, No. 1, March 1977, University of Waterloo.
- The Headless Angel. Spring 1977, Toronto.
- The Headless Angel 2. Spring 1978, Toronto.
- Essays on Canadian Writing. Summer/Fall 1980, York.
- Essays on Canadian Writing. Spring 1982, York.
- Grain. Vol. 10, No. 3, August 1982, Saskatchewan Writers' Guild.
- Zest. November 1983, Nelson, British Columbia.
- Writing 8. Winter 1984, David Thompson University Centre.
- Contemporary Verse 2. Vol. 9, No. 1, Summer 1985, University of Manitoba.
- Quarry. Vol. 34, No. 3, Summer 1985, Kingston.
- Event. Vol. 14, No. 2, 1985, New Westminster.
- The Malahat Review. No. 73, January 1986, University of Victoria.
The following material is made up of the manuscripts which John Newlove edited and reported on. Also includes a historical manuscript John Newlove prepared. Correspondence related to eachmanuscript is included in the file.
The following correspondence relates to institutions,such as arts councils and various writers' associations.
The following material deals with readings, employment, publishers and general correspondence with various magazines and publishinghouses.
- Judy Ackerman (1974)
- Colin MacLean (1977) "The Dance of Words"
- Margaret Atwood. "How do I get out of here ... The Poetry of John Newlove," 1973
- Douglas Barbour. "The Search for Roots: A Meditative Sermon of Sorts," 1972
- Jan Bartley. "Something in Which to Believe for Once: The Poetry of John Newlove," 1978
- Donald Clement. "A Dance of Mind and Sound: The Poetry of John Newlove," 1979
- Yvette Crane. "John Newlove," n.d.
- Mary Rebecca Gould. The Several Masks of John Newlove, 1975 (MA thesis, Queen's)
- H.J.C. Hill. "No Pleasure: John Newlove's Craftsmanship," 1975
- Susan Wood. "Participation in the Past: John Newlove and the Pride," 1980
- #1 - 1965 or 1966
- #2 - 1967 - with Barney Childs
- #3 - 1968
- #4 - ca. 1968
- #1 - 1973
- #2 - ca. 1974
- #3 - ca. 1974
- #4 - ca. 1974
- #5 - ca. 1974
- #6 - ca. 1974
- #7 - ca. 1974
- #8 - ca. 1974
- #9 - ca. 1974
- #10 - ca. 1974
- #11 - 1978
- #1 - ca. 1980
- #2 - ca. 1981
- #3 - 1981
- #4 - 1981
- #5 - ca. 1983
- #6 - ca. 1984
- #7 - ca. 1984
- #8 - ca. 1984
- #1 - 1984
- #2 - 1984
- #3 - 1984
- #4 - 1984
- #5 - 1984
- #6 - 1984
- #7 - 1984
- #1 - 1985
- #2 - 1985
- #3 - 1985
- #4 - 1985
- #5 - 1985
- #6 - 1985
- #7 - n.d.
- #1 - 1954
- #2 - 1954
- #3 - 1985
- #4 - 1985
- #5 - 1985
- #6 - 1985
- #1 - 1983
- #2 - 1985
- #3 - n.d.
- #1 - n.d.
- #2 - ca. 1970
- #3 - 1979
- #4 - n.d.
- #5 - 1981
- #1 - 1980
- #2 - 1981
- #1 - 1985
- #2 - 1985
- #3 - 1985
- #4 - 1985
- #5 - 1985
- #6 - 1985
- #1 - 1985
- #2 - ca. 1985
- #3 - ca. 1985
- #1 - John Newlove Poetry Readings: May 4, 1968
- #2 - John Newlove Poetry Readings: Vancouver Poetry Festival, 1969
- #3 - John Newlove Poetry Readings: November 24, 1971
- #4 - John Newlove Poetry Readings: April 18, 1985
- #5 - John Newlove Poetry Readings: n.d.
- #6 - John Newlove Poetry Readings: n.d.
- #7 - John Newlove Poetry Readings: n.d.
- #8 - Music Collaboration with Barney Childs: Lynn Valley - April 3, 1968
- #9 - Music Collaboration with Barney Childs: Lynn Valley - May 23, 1968
- #10 - Interviews: John Newlove going over his papers with Dr. Richard Bennett, Head of Archives & Special Collections, University of Manitoba, October 29, 1986
- #11 - Interviews: George Bowering, January 20, 1986
- #12 - Video: Poetry Reading by John Newlove, November 20, 1985