Robert Harlow (writer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert Harlow (born November 19, 1923) is a Canadian writer and former academic,[1] best known for his 1972 novel Scann.[2]

Background[edit]

Harlow was born in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, but raised primarily in Prince George.

He served in the military during World War II as a bomber pilot,[2] and then attended the University of British Columbia and the University of Iowa.[2] He worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation from 1951 to 1965, much of that time as the director of radio operations for British Columbia.[2] He joined the faculty of the University of British Columbia in 1965 as head of its creative writing program.[2] He married Margaret Latremouille, and was stepfather to broadcaster and actor Fred Latremouille, Margaret's son from her prior marriage.[3]

Writing[edit]

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.[4] The other two novels in the trilogy were A Gift of Echoes (1965)[5] and Scann. His later novels were Making Arrangements (1978),[6] Paul Nolan (1983),[7] Felice: A Travelogue (1985),[8] The Saxophone Winter (1988)[9] and Necessary Dark (2002).[10]

He was also the writer of the screenplay for Larry Kent's 1965 film When Tomorrow Dies.[11]

In 2001, he was presented with a lifetime achievement award by the Vancouver Public Library and BC Bookworld.[12]

In the 2000s, with all of his novels out of print, he republished them all through Xlibris.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Blunt words from the West Coast". The Globe and Mail, June 9, 1973.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Robert Harlow". The Canadian Encyclopedia, April 2, 2008.
  3. ^ "Radio host a staple of Vancouver airwaves: Disc jockey and TV personality was a standout for his cool insouciance as he rubbed elbows with rock royalty and politicians". The Globe and Mail, March 21, 2015.
  4. ^ "Novel Illuminates National Tensions". The Globe and Mail, December 29, 1962.
  5. ^ "A problem of acoustics". The Globe and Mail, December 4, 1965.
  6. ^ "Making Arrangements". The Globe and Mail, October 7, 1978.
  7. ^ "Good points outweigh bad in tale of Paul Nolan". The Globe and Mail, September 22, 1978.
  8. ^ "Travelling marriage". The Globe and Mail, February 8, 1986.
  9. ^ "Book's musical motif sounds a poignant note". The Globe and Mail, May 12, 1988.
  10. ^ "Summer passages: In the Strait of Georgia, where island time means lots of time for reading, here's what some islanders will be digging in to". Vancouver Sun, June 15, 2002.
  11. ^ Jack Moore, "Maybe he IS a genius". The Province, August 14, 1965.
  12. ^ "Kudos". Vancouver Sun, September 4, 2001.

External links[edit]