Keith Harrison

For the British Olympic cyclist, see Keith Harrison (cyclist).
For the musician, see Dazz Band#Past members.

Keith Harrison (born 1945) is a Canadian novelist. He has published five novels.

Early life and education

Harrison was born in Vancouver. His education included an English degree from the University of British Columbia in 1967, a Master of Arts from University of California, Berkeley in 1968, and a Ph.D. from McGill University in 1972, in which he focused on the literature of Malcolm Lowry.[1]

Writing and teaching career

Harrison has taught in the English department at Dawson College in Montreal,[2] and was chair of the creative writing department at Malaspina University-College in Nanaimo.[3] He continues to teach at the same institution, which is now known as Vancouver Island University.

His novels include Eyemouth (1990), a story of four characters from a Scottish fishing village around the turn of the 19th century.[4][5] Told entirely in the form of letters, the novel was a finalist for the QSPELL literary awards, which recognize books written by English-speaking Quebec residents.[6] Furry Creek, his 1999 "true-life novel", recounts the story of the murder of British Columbia poet Pat Lowther. In a generally positive review, writer Mark Anthony Jarman said, "The best parts of Furry Creek ... are fascinating and evocative ... Lowther's troubled shadow looms behind the text ... This is a kind of magic trick on the part of Keith Harrison, a labour of love, a monument to a writer's memory ..."[7] It was nominated for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize.[8]

He edited the 2001 anthology Islands West, a compilation of short stories authored by writers from the west coast of Canada.[3]

Harrison lives on Hornby Island with his wife, JoAnn, whom he has known since elementary school.[1]

Novels

References

  1. 1 2 "Harrison, Keith", ABC BookWorld. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  2. ↑ Abley, Mark (September 14, 1991). "A cautionary tale about a book that failed to fly", The Gazette, p. K3.
  3. 1 2 Moreau, Vivian (January 6, 2002). "Keith Harrison: Records the voices of sea and rainforest", Times Colonist, p. D8.
  4. ↑ Inniss, S. L. (April 13, 1991). "Author's ambition exceeds his grasp of historical drama", Ottawa Citizen, p. I5.
  5. ↑ Abley, Mark (November 24, 1990). "Keith Harrison and the aftermath of revolution", The Gazette, p. K1.
  6. ↑ Abley, Mark (October 10, 1991). "CEGEP profs top veterans in QSPELL nominations", The Gazette, p. D10.
  7. ↑ Jarman, Mark Anthony (January 29, 2000). "Lowther 'novel' a labour of love", The Globe and Mail, p. D10.
  8. ↑ (April 8, 2000). "The lists are in: Prizes, prizes and more prizes", The Vancouver Sun, p. E8.
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