Graeme Gibson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Graeme Gibson
CM FRCGS
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| Born | Thomas Graeme Cameron Gibson 9 August 1934 London, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | 18 September 2019 (aged 85) London, England |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Language | English |
| Alma mater | University of Western Ontario |
| Genres | |
| Notable works | Perpetual Motion (1982) |
| Spouse | Shirley Gibson (div. c. 1973) |
| Partner | Margaret Atwood (1973–2019; his death) |
Thomas Graeme Cameron Gibson (born August 9, 1934 – died September 18, 2019) was a Canadian writer. He was known for writing novels and non-fiction books. He was also a very important person in Canada's writing community.
Graeme Gibson helped start several groups that support writers. He was a founder of the Writers' Union of Canada and the Writers' Trust of Canada. These groups help Canadian authors and encourage new writing. He was also made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1992, which is a high honor for Canadians.
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Graeme Gibson's Writing Career
Graeme Gibson wrote both novels and non-fiction books. His first novel, Five Legs, came out in 1969. It was seen as a very new and exciting type of Canadian literature.
Other novels he wrote include Communion (1971), Perpetual Motion (1982), and Gentleman Death (1993). He also wrote non-fiction books. These included Eleven Canadian Novelists (1973), which was about other Canadian writers. Later, he wrote The Bedside Book of Birds (2005) and The Bedside Book of Beasts (2009). These books showed his love for animals.
Awards and Recognition
Graeme Gibson received several awards for his work. In 1990, he was given the Toronto Arts Award. He also won the Harbourfront Festival prize in 1993. As mentioned, he became a Member of the Order of Canada.
The Writers' Union of Canada created an award in his honor in 1991. This award recognized his big contributions to the writing community. After his death, the Writers' Trust of Canada renamed its main fiction award to the Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. This was done to remember his legacy.
Advocacy and Environmental Work
Beyond writing, Gibson was a strong supporter of the arts, the environment, and social justice. He helped create PEN Canada, an organization that defends freedom of expression. He was also its president for a time.
Gibson had a deep love for birds, which led to much of his environmental work. He helped start the Pelee Island Bird Observatory. He also served on the Council of the World Wide Fund for Nature. With his partner, Margaret Atwood, he co-chaired the Rare Bird Club for Birdlife International. In 2015, he received a Gold Medal from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
Graeme Gibson's Personal Life
Graeme Gibson was married to Shirley Gibson in the early 1970s. They had two sons named Matt and Grae.
In 1973, he started a relationship with the famous novelist and poet Margaret Atwood. They moved to a farm near Alliston, Ontario. There, they tried farming and continued their writing careers. Their daughter, Eleanor Jess Atwood Gibson, was born in 1976. The family later moved back to Toronto in 1980. Graeme Gibson and Margaret Atwood stayed together until his death in 2019.
Later Years
In 2017, Graeme Gibson was diagnosed with early signs of vascular dementia. This condition affects memory and thinking. Even though he had written a book about birds, he found it hard to remember their names. He passed away on September 18, 2019, in London, England.
