Robert Weaver was an influential Canadian editor and broadcaster.

Born in Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls

The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...

 and educated at the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

, Weaver served in the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian Armed Forces during World War II. From 1948 to 1985, Robert Weaver *worked at the CBC

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

 where he created a series of shows that identified and featured then unknown Canadian writers such as Alice Munro

Alice Munro

Alice 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...

, Mordecai Richler

Mordecai Richler

Mordecai Richler, CC was a Canadian Jewish author, screenwriter and essayist. A leading critic called him "the great shining star of his Canadian literary generation" and a pivotal figure in the country's history. His best known works are The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Barney's Version,...

, Timothy Findley

Timothy Findley

Timothy Irving Frederick Findley, OC, O.Ont was a Canadian novelist and playwright. He was also informally known by the nickname Tiff or Tiffy, an acronym of his initials.-Biography:...

, Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood

Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...

, and Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen

Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...

.

In 1956 Weaver founded the Tamarack Review

Tamarack Review

The Tamarack Review was a Canadian literary magazine, published from 1956 to 1982. Established and edited by Robert Weaver, other figures associated with the magazine's editorial staff included Anne Wilkinson, William Toye and John Robert Colombo....

, a Canadian literary magazine. Over the course of his career at the CBC, Weaver edited more than a dozen anthologies and initiated the annual CBC Literary Awards in 1979.

In order to maintain his direct contact with writers, Weaver turned down his promotions at the CBC. He declined the Order of Canada

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

, stating he was critical of the "three-tier" nature of the award.

Works

• Canadian short stories. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1952. (with Helen James)
• Canadian short stories. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1960.
• The first five years : a selection from the Tamarack review. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1962.
• Canadian short stories, second series. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1968.
• The Oxford anthology of Canadian literature. Toronto : Oxford University Press, 1973.(with William Toye)
• Canadian short stories, third series. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1978.
• Small wonders : new stories by 12 distinguished Canadian authors. Toronto : CBC, 1982.
• The Oxford book of Canadian short stories in English. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1983. (with Margaret Atwood)
• The Anthology anthology: a selection from thirty years of CBC-Radio's "Anthology". Toronto : Macmillan of Canada, 1984.
• Canadian short stories, fourth series. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1985.
• Canadian short stories, fifth series. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1991.
• The New Oxford book of Canadian short stories in English (. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1995. with Margaret Atwood)
• Emergent voices: CBC Canadian Literary Awards stories, 1979-1999. Fredericton: Goose Lane, c1999.