Lorne Pierce Medal
Encyclopedia
The Lorne Pierce Medal is awarded every two years by the Royal Society of Canada
to recognize achievement of special significance and conspicuous merit in imaginative or critical literature
written in either English
or French
. The medal was first awarded in 1926.
The award itself consists of a gold
-plated silver
medal and is awarded every two years if there is a suitable candidate.
The award bears the name of Lorne Pierce
, FRSC (1890–1961), who was editor of Ryerson Press for forty years, contributing greatly to the development and appreciation of Canadian literature
, and who originally established the award.
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
to recognize achievement of special significance and conspicuous merit in imaginative or critical literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
written in either English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
or French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. The medal was first awarded in 1926.
The award itself consists of a gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
-plated silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
medal and is awarded every two years if there is a suitable candidate.
The award bears the name of Lorne Pierce
Lorne Pierce
Lorne Albert Pierce was a Canadian publisher, editor, and literary critic who published and promoted Canadian literature for more than forty years during his tenure as editor of Toronto's Ryerson Press...
, FRSC (1890–1961), who was editor of Ryerson Press for forty years, contributing greatly to the development and appreciation of Canadian literature
Canadian literature
Canadian literature is literature originating from Canada. Collectively it is often called CanLit. Some criticism of Canadian literature has focused on nationalistic and regional themes, although this is only a small portion of Canadian Literary criticism...
, and who originally established the award.
Recipients
- 1926: Charles G.D. RobertsCharles G.D. RobertsSir Charles George Douglas Roberts, was a Canadian poet and prose writer who is known as the Father of Canadian Poetry. He was "almost the first Canadian author to obtain worldwide reputation and influence; he was also a tireless promoter and encourager of Canadian literature......
- 1927: Duncan Campbell ScottDuncan Campbell ScottDuncan Campbell Scott was a Canadian poet and prose writer. With Charles G.D. Roberts, Bliss Carman, and Archibald Lampman, he is classed as one of Canada's Confederation Poets....
, FRSC - 1928: Bliss CarmanBliss CarmanBliss Carman FRSC was a Canadian poet who lived most of his life in the United States, where he achieved international fame. He was acclaimed as Canada's poet laureate during his later years....
- 1929: Camille RoyCamille Roy (literary critic)Camille Roy was a Canadian priest and literary critic.Born in Berthier-en-Bas , Quebec, Roy studied at the Petit Séminaire of Quebec and the Grand Séminaire de Québec and was ordained a priest in 1896.He was rector of Université Laval for four terms: 1922 to 1924, 1929, 1932 to 1938, and 1940 to...
, FRSC - 1930: Sir Andrew MacphailAndrew MacphailJohn Andrew Macphail, Kt, MD, MRCS was a Canadian physician, author, professor of medicine, and soldier. "A prolific and versatile writer, Sir Andrew Macphail was one of the most influential Canadian intellectuals of his time."-Life and Work:Macphail was born in Orwell, Prince Edward Island, on...
, FRSC - 1932: Archibald MacMechanArchibald MacMechanArchibald McKellar MacMechan FRSC was a Canadian academic at Dalhousie University and writer. His works deal mainly with Nova Scotia and its history. The Halifax Disaster was an official history of the Halifax Explosion.Born in Kitchener, Ontario, he is credited with reviving Hermann Melville's...
, FRSC - 1934: Frederick Philip GroveFrederick Philip GroveFrederick Philip Grove was born Felix Paul Greve in Radomno, West Prussia, German Empire . He was best known as a prolific translator before he left Berlin for start a new life in North America in late July 1909...
- 1935: Édouard MontpetitÉdouard Montpetit-Biography:Called to the bar in 1904, Montpetit worked as a lawyer and taught political economy before he obtained a scholarship in 1907, which made him the first holder of such a scholarship to be officially sent by the province of Quebec to Paris. In Paris he studied political and social science,...
, MSRC - 1936: Pelham Edgar, FRSC
- 1937: Stephen LeacockStephen LeacockStephen Butler Leacock, FRSC was an English-born Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humorist...
, FRSC - 1938: Mazo de la RocheMazo de la RocheMazo de la Roche , born Mazo Louise Roche in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, was the author of the Jalna novels, one of the most popular series of books of her time.-Early life:...
- 1939: Wilfrid Bovey, FRSC
- 1940: E. J. PrattE. J. PrattEdwin John Dove Pratt, FRSC , who published as E. J. Pratt, was "the leading Canadian poet of his time." He was a Canadian poet originally from Newfoundland who lived most of his life in Toronto, Ontario...
, FRSC - 1941: Léon GérinLéon GérinLéon Gérin was a Canadian lawyer, civil servant, and sociologist.Born in Quebec City, Canada East, the son of Antoine Gérin-Lajoie, Gérin studied at the Séminaire de Nicolet before receiving a law degree from Université Laval in 1884. In 1886, he went to Paris for a few months and became...
, MSRC - 1942: Watson KirkconnellWatson KirkconnellWatson Kirkconnell, was a Canadian scholar, university administrator and translator. He is well known in Iceland, Eastern and Central Europe and among Canadians of different origins for his translations of their national poetry, particularly the Hungarians, Ukrainians, Russians, Serbians,...
, FRSC - 1943: George H. Clarke, FRSC
- 1944: Audrey Alexandra BrownAudrey Alexandra BrownAudrey Alexandra Brown was a Canadian poet.Brown was born in Nanaimo, British Columbia.In 1944, she was the first female poet awarded the Royal Society of Canada's Lorne Pierce Medal. In 1967, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada "for her contributions to Canadian poetry"...
- 1945: Félix-Antoine SavardFélix-Antoine SavardFélix-Antoine Savard, OC was a Canadian priest, academic, poet, novelist and folklorist.Born in Quebec City, he grew up in Chicoutimi, Quebec...
, MSRC - 1946: Charles N. Cochrane, FRSC
- 1947: Dorothy LivesayDorothy LivesayDorothy Kathleen May Livesay, was a Canadian poet who twice won the Governor General`s Award in the 1940s, and was "senior woman writer in Canada" during the 1970s and 1980s.-Life:...
- 1948: Gabrielle RoyGabrielle RoyGabrielle Roy, CC, FRSC was a French Canadian author.- Biography :Born in Saint Boniface , Manitoba, Roy was educated at Saint Joseph's Academy...
, MSRC - 1949: John Murray GibbonJohn Murray GibbonJohn Murray Gibbon was a Scottish Canadian writer and cultural promoter. He was born in Ceylon and educated at Aberdeen, Oxford and Göttingen universities. Gibbon emigrated to Canada in 1913 to work for the Canadian Pacific Railway...
, FRSC - 1950: Marius BarbeauMarius BarbeauCharles Marius Barbeau, , also known as C. Marius Barbeau, or more commonly simply Marius Barbeau, was a Canadian ethnographer and folklorist who is today considered a founder of Canadian anthropology...
, FRSC - 1951: E. K. BrownE. K. BrownEdward Killoran Brown , who wrote as E.K. Brown, was a Canadian professor and literary critic. He "influenced Canadian literature primarily through his award-winning book On Canadian Poetry ," which "established the standards of excellence and many of the subsequent directions of Canadian...
- 1952: Hugh MacLennanHugh MacLennanJohn Hugh MacLennan, CC, CQ was a Canadian author and professor of English at McGill University. He won five Governor General's Awards and a Royal Bank Award.-Family and childhood:...
, MSRC - 1953: Earle BirneyEarle BirneyEarle Alfred Birney, OC, FRSC was a distinguished Canadian poet and novelist, who twice won the Governor General's Award, Canada's top literary honor, for his poetry.-Life:...
, FRSC - 1954: Alain GrandboisAlain GrandboisAlain Grandbois, was a Canadian Quebecer poet, considered the first great modern one.Traveling around the world in 1918-1939 and sharing the hopes and problems of contemporary man, his work combined the themes of exploring the secrets of the world and studying human destiny, the writing and...
- 1955: Bruce HutchisonBruce HutchisonWilliam Bruce Hutchison, was a Canadian author and journalist.Born in Prescott, Ontario, Hutchison was educated in public schools in Victoria, British Columbia. He married Dorothy Kidd McDiarmid in 1925, around the same time that he began his journalism career as a political reporter in Ottawa...
, FRSC - 1956: Thomas H. Raddall, FRSC
- 1957: A. M. KleinA. M. KleinAbraham Moses Klein was a Canadian poet, journalist, novelist, short story writer, and lawyer. He has been called "One of Canada's greatest poets and a leading figure in Jewish-Canadian culture."...
- 1958: Northrop FryeNorthrop FryeHerman Northrop Frye, was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of the 20th century....
- 1959: Philippe PannetonPhilippe PannetonPhilippe Panneton was a Canadian physician, academic, diplomat and writer....
- 1960: Morley CallaghanMorley CallaghanMorley Callaghan, was a Canadian novelist, short story writer, playwright, TV and radio personality.-Biography:...
- 1961: Robertson DaviesRobertson DaviesWilliam Robertson Davies, CC, OOnt, FRSC, FRSL was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best-known and most popular authors, and one of its most distinguished "men of letters", a term Davies is variously said to have gladly accepted for himself...
, FRSC - 1962: F. R. Scott, FRSC
- 1963: Léo-Paul DesrosiersLéo-Paul DesrosiersLéo-Paul Desrosiers was a Québécois writer and journalist well-known for his historical novels. He was influenced by the nationalism of Henri Bourassa and Lionel-Adolphe Groulx....
, MSRC - 1964: Ethel WilsonEthel WilsonEthel Davis Wilson, OC was a Canadian writer of short stories and novels.Born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, she moved to England in 1890 following the death of her mother. In 1898, after the death of her father, she was taken to live with her maternal grandmother in Vancouver, British Columbia...
- 1966: Arthur James Marshall Smith
- 1968: Robert Duer Clayton Finch, FRSC
- 1970: Roy DaniellsRoy DaniellsRoy Daniells, was a Canadian poetry professor. He helped build the University of British Columbia's creative writing department and fostered the careers of several major Canadian writers.-Education and career:...
, FRSC - 1972: Desmond Pacey
- 1974: Rina LasnierRina LasnierRina Lasnier, was a Canadian, Québécoise poet. Born in St-Grégoire d'Iberville=Mont-Saint-Grégoire, Quebec, she attended Collège Marguerite Bourgeoys and the Université de Montréal...
, MSRC - 1976: Douglas LePanDouglas LePanDouglas Valentine LePan, OC, FRSC was a Canadian diplomat, poet, novelist and professor of literature.Born in Toronto, Ontario, LePan was educated at the University of Toronto, at Harvard , and at Merton College, Oxford University...
, FRSC - 1978: Carl F. Klinck, FRSC
- 1980: Antonine MailletAntonine MailletAntonine Maillet, is an Acadian novelist, playwright, and scholar. She was born in Bouctouche, New Brunswick and lives in Montreal, Quebec....
, MSRC - 1982: Malcolm M. RossMalcolm Ross (literary critic)Malcolm Mackenzie Ross, OC, FRSC, was a notable Canadian literary critic.-Education:Born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, the son of Cora Elizabeth Hewitson and Charles Duff Ross, Ross attended Fredericton High School before receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Philosophy from the...
, FRSC - 1984: Sheila Watson
- 1986: Rudy WiebeRudy WiebeRudy Henry Wiebe, OC is a Canadian author and professor emeritus in the department of English at the University of Alberta since 1992.-Life:...
- 1989: Maurice Lemire, MSRC
- 1991: Gilles Marcotte
- 1993: Alice MunroAlice MunroAlice Ann Munro is a Canadian short-story writer, the winner of the 2009 Man Booker International Prize for her lifetime body of work, a three-time winner of Canada's Governor General's Award for fiction, and a perennial contender for the Nobel Prize...
- 1996: Clément Moisan, FRSC
- 1998: David StainesDavid StainesDavid McKenzie Staines, is a Canadian literary critic, university professor, writer, and editor.Staines was born in Toronto, Ontario, and studied at the University of Toronto, where he obtained a BA in 1967, and at Harvard University, where he obtained an MA in 1968 and a PhD in 1973.After a...
- 2000: Jean-Louis Major, MSRC
- 2002: Sandra DjwaSandra DjwaSandra Djwa, FRSC, is a Canadian writer, critic and cultural biographer.Originally from Newfoundland, she moved to British Columbia where she obtained her PhD from the University of British Columbia in 1968. In 1999, she was honored to deliver the Garnett Sedgewick Memorial Lecture in honor of...
, FRSC - 2004: W. H. NewW. H. NewWilliam Herbert New, OC, FRSC is a Canadian poet and literary critic. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, he was educated at the University of British Columbia and the University of Leeds. He taught English literature at the former from 1965 to 2003...
, FRSC