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Gwendolyn MacEwen Wikipedia

Gwendolyn MacEwen (September 1, 1941-November 29, 1987) was a Canada|Canadian novelist and poet. During her lifetime. she wrote 26 books.

MacEwen was born in Toronto, Ontario. Her first poem was published in The Canadian Forum when she was only 17, and she left school at 18 to pursue a writing career. She married poet Milton Acorn in 1962, although they divorced two years later.

MacEwen won the Governor General's Award in 1969 for her poetry collection The Shadow Maker. She won her second Governor General's Award in 1987 for Afterworlds.

MacEwen was regarded as one of Canada's greatest poets, whose work was visionary, witty and drew readily on themes and images of magic (paranormal)|magic and mythology.

She served as Writer in Residence at the University of Western Ontario in 1985, and the University of Toronto in 1986 and 1987.

MacEwen died in 1987, at the age of 46, of health problems related to alcoholism. Rosemary Sullivan published a biography of MacEwen, Shadow Maker, in 1998. As well, http://www.gwenpark.org a park in Toronto has been named in her honour.

Last Modified:   2005-12-19