If I Could Turn and Meet Myself (Paperback)

Patrick Toner

ISBN 10: 0864922655 / ISBN 13: 9780864922656

Published by Goose Lane Editions, Fredricton, 2000

About this Item

Paperback. At his death in 1985, Alden Nowlan stood in the first rank of Canadian writers. Today, his poetry is beloved by Maritimers and popular across Canada and in the US as well. If I Could Turn and Meet Myself tells his life story, from his birth to a 14-year-old mother in 1933 through his impoverished childhood, his disturbed adolescence, his newspaper career, his struggle with cancer, and his tenure as writer-in-residence at the University of New Brunswick. Nowlan founded his success and peace of mind on his belief that he was a composite of many selves. In 12 books of poetry, two novels, a book of stories, and 15 years of weekly columns for the Saint John Telegraph Journal, he fictionalized his own life. At the same time, he hid some of the most significant facts about his background from everyone, including those closest to him. His overall personal honesty ensured that even today people accept his "authorized version" as the full and only story. In If I Could Turn and Meet Myself, Patrick Toner portrays a more complex and more richly humane Nowlan than any previous commentator, including Nowlan himself. At his death in 1983, Alden Nowlan stood in the first rank of North American poets. Today, his poetry, his fiction and his plays are still loved and admired. If I Could Turn and See Myself, the only full-length book about the life and work of this sensitive yet bearish man, tells about his birth to a 14-year-old mother in 1933, his impoverished childhood and disturbed adolescence, his newspaper career, his struggle with cancer, and his 15 years as a literary lion. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780864922656

Bibliographic Details

• Title: If I Could Turn and Meet Myself (Paperback)
• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions, Fredricton
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0864922655
• ISBN 13: 9780864922656
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

At his death in 1985, Alden Nowlan stood in the first rank of Canadian writers. Today, his poetry is beloved by Maritimers and popular across Canada and in the US as well. If I Could Turn and Meet Myself tells his life story, from his birth to a 14-year-old mother in 1933 through his impoverished childhood, his disturbed adolescence, his newspaper career, his struggle with cancer, and his tenure as writer-in-residence at the University of New Brunswick.

Nowlan founded his success and peace of mind on his belief that he was a composite of many selves. In 12 books of poetry, two novels, a book of stories, and 15 years of weekly columns for the Saint John Telegraph Journal, he fictionalized his own life. At the same time, he hid some of the most significant facts about his background from everyone, including those closest to him. His overall personal honesty ensured that even today people accept his "authorized version" as the full and only story.

In If I Could Turn and Meet Myself, Patrick Toner portrays a more complex and more richly humane Nowlan than any previous commentator, including Nowlan himself.

About the Author

Patrick Toner received his BA in English from St Thomas University in 1991 and his MA in English from Carleton University in 1993. He is currently a teacher and administrator in the ESL program at the University of New Brunswick, Saint John. Toner's interest in Alden Nowlan began in high school. For his MA thesis he chose to write on the religious and supernatural beliefs in Nowlan's poetry. While working on what he thought would be simple thematic criticism, he discovered the true complexity of Nowlan's life and works. His research and interviews became the inspiration for If I Could Turn and Meet Myself: The Life of Alden Nowlan. Through published materials, the Nowlan letters and papers at the University of Calgary, interviews with Nowlan's family (some of whom have never before been approachable), and conversations with a legion of Nowlan's friends and acquaintances, he has probed the life of this unusual man with understanding, insight, and Nowlan's own love of a good story.