Sheila Watson
Encyclopedia
Sheila Martin Watson was a Canadian novelist, critic
and teacher
. She "is best known for her modernist novel, The Double Hook
." The Canadian Encyclopedia
declares that: "Publication of Watson's novel The Double Hook (1959) marks the start of contemporary writing in Canada
."
. She grew up on the grounds of the provincial mental hospital
where her father, Dr. Charles Edward Doherty, was the superintendent until his death in 1922.
After studying at Vancouver's Convent of the Sacred Heart, Sheila Doherty finished her university studies at the University of British Columbia
, where she received her B.A.
in 1931 and M.A.
in 1933. She then worked as an elementary and high school teacher throughout British Columbia
– including two years in Dog Creek
(1935–1937), which served as a basis for her first novel, Deep Hollow Creek. She married Canadian poet
Wilfred Watson
in 1941.
Sheila Watson taught at Moulton Ladies College in Toronto between 1946 and 1948. From 1948 to 1950 she was a sessional lecturer at the University of British Columbia
.
Watson wrote The Double Hook between 1952 and 1954 in Calgary and revised it during a year-long stay in Paris, from 1955 to 1956.
She was unable to find a publisher. "T.S. Eliot at Faber & Faber, C. Day Lewis at Chatto & Windus, and Rupert Hart-Davis
all turned it down."
In 1957 Watson began doctoral studies at the University of Toronto
, writing her thesis on Wyndham Lewis
under the direction of Marshall McLuhan
. Her doctoral dissertation, Wyndham Lewis and Expressionism was finally completed in 1965. By then, though, Watson was already well-known in Canadian academe.
In 1959 The Double Hook was published, and instantly recognized as a modern classic. "All 3,000 copies of the initial print run were sold. Supporters such as ... McLuhan, as well as Yale
formalist Cleanth Brooks
, saw it as a literary landmark ushering the Canadian novel out of its regional confines. Professor Fred Salter ... called it 'the most brilliant piece of fiction ever written in Canada'."
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
approached Watson to option the film rights to The Double Hook. However, because they would not give her veto rights over the script, she turned them down.
In 1961, Watson was hired as a professor of English at the University of Alberta
. "In Edmonton
the Watsons became part of an active circle of writers and established the literary magazine,The White Pelican in 1970 along with Douglas Barbour, Stephen Scobie
, John Orrell
, Dorothy Livesay
, and artist Norman Yates." Watson remained the founding editor of the White Pelican for its brief existence (1971–1975). White Pelican Publicatons published Lions at her Face, the first book by Miriam Mandel
, which won the Governor General's Award in 1973
.
In 1984 Watson edited the Collected Poems of Miriam Mandel.
Watson retired in 1975. In 1976, she and her husband moved to Nanaimo, where they died in 1998.
The Double Hook (1959), which is considered "a seminal work in the development of contemporary Canadian literature
." "The Double Hook
presents in concise, symbolic terms a drama of social disintegration and redemption
, set in an isolated BC community.... These themes are presented in a style which itself balances on a "double hook": it is simultaneously local and universal, realistic and symbolic."
Watson has said the "double hook" of her title refers to the idea “that when you fish for the glory you catch the darkness too. That if you hook twice the glory you hook twice the fear.” She explained that her novel is "about how people are driven, how if they have no art, how if they have no tradition, how if they have no ritual, they are driven in one of 2 ways, either towards violence or towards insensibility - if they have no mediating rituals which manifest themselves in what I suppose we call art forms."
In 1992 Watson published a novel, Deep Hollow Creek, which she had written in the 1930s. It was shortlisted that year for the Governor General's Award
. "Deep Hollow Creek treats many of the same themes" as The Double Hook "in a manner which is more direct and conventional, but no less elliptical and challenging. It is fascinating to imagine the ways in which Canadian fiction might have been transformed if this startling and brilliant novel had been published at the time of its first composition."
In the 1950s Watson published three interlinked stories, and a fourth in 1970, dealing with the family of Sophocles
' Oedipus
in a contemporary, realistic setting. The most critically discussed of these is "Antigone", a setting of the story of Creon
and Antigone
in the wilds of British Columbia.
's Lorne Pierce Medal
in 1984.
The third epigraph of Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood
's 2000 novel The Blind Assassin
reads:
According to Nathalie Cooke, this is from Deep Hollow Creek, and it announces Atwood's third dominant theme, the power of the word itself.
A biography, Always Someone to Kill the Doves: A Life of Sheila Watson by F.T. Flahiff was published in 2005.
The University of St. Michael’s College
held a two-day event, "Celebrating Sheila," on October 24 and 25, 2009, to mark the 100th anniversary of Watson’s birth and the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Double Hook.
Sheila Watson is mentioned in about 1,800 books.
at the University of Toronto
.
Except where noted, bibliographic information courtesty Athabasca University
.
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
and teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
. She "is best known for her modernist novel, The Double Hook
The Double Hook
The Double Hook is a novel written by Sheila Watson, which is considered "a seminal work in the development of contemporary Canadian literature."Published in 1959, The Double Hook is written in a style more like prose poetry than fiction...
." The Canadian Encyclopedia
The Canadian Encyclopedia
The Canadian Encyclopedia is a source of information on Canada. It is available online, at no cost. The Canadian Encyclopedia is available in both English and French and includes some 14,000 articles in each language on a wide variety of subjects including history, popular culture, events, people,...
declares that: "Publication of Watson's novel The Double Hook (1959) marks the start of contemporary writing in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
."
Life
She was born Sheila Martin Doherty at New Westminster, British ColumbiaNew Westminster, British Columbia
New Westminster is an historically important city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and is a member municipality of the Greater Vancouver Regional District. It was founded as the capital of the Colony of British Columbia ....
. She grew up on the grounds of the provincial mental hospital
Mental Hospital
Mental hospital may refer to:*Psychiatric hospital*hospital in Nepal named Mental Hospital...
where her father, Dr. Charles Edward Doherty, was the superintendent until his death in 1922.
After studying at Vancouver's Convent of the Sacred Heart, Sheila Doherty finished her university studies at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
, where she received her B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1931 and M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in 1933. She then worked as an elementary and high school teacher throughout British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
– including two years in Dog Creek
Dog Creek, British Columbia
Dog Creek is an unincorporated ranching settlement, located on the Fraser River, in the Cariboo region of British Columbia, Canada. Located on the northeast side of the Fraser's confluence with Dog Creek, it is opposite Gang Ranch on the west side of the river, which is connected by an old...
(1935–1937), which served as a basis for her first novel, Deep Hollow Creek. She married Canadian poet
Canadian poetry
- Beginnings:The earliest works of poetry, mainly written by visitors, described the new territories in optimistic terms, mainly targeted at a European audience...
Wilfred Watson
Wilfred Watson
Wilfred Watson was professor emeritus of English at Canada's University of Alberta for many years. He was also an experimental Canadian poet and dramatist, whose innovative plays had a considerable influence in the 1960s...
in 1941.
Sheila Watson taught at Moulton Ladies College in Toronto between 1946 and 1948. From 1948 to 1950 she was a sessional lecturer at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
.
Watson wrote The Double Hook between 1952 and 1954 in Calgary and revised it during a year-long stay in Paris, from 1955 to 1956.
She was unable to find a publisher. "T.S. Eliot at Faber & Faber, C. Day Lewis at Chatto & Windus, and Rupert Hart-Davis
Rupert Hart-Davis
Sir Rupert Charles Hart-Davis was an English publisher, editor and man of letters. He founded the publishing company Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd...
all turned it down."
In 1957 Watson began doctoral studies 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...
, writing her thesis on Wyndham Lewis
Wyndham Lewis
Percy Wyndham Lewis was an English painter and author . He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art, and edited the literary magazine of the Vorticists, BLAST...
under the direction of Marshall McLuhan
Marshall McLuhan
Herbert Marshall McLuhan, CC was a Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar—a professor of English literature, a literary critic, a rhetorician, and a communication theorist...
. Her doctoral dissertation, Wyndham Lewis and Expressionism was finally completed in 1965. By then, though, Watson was already well-known in Canadian academe.
In 1959 The Double Hook was published, and instantly recognized as a modern classic. "All 3,000 copies of the initial print run were sold. Supporters such as ... McLuhan, as well as Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
formalist Cleanth Brooks
Cleanth Brooks
Cleanth Brooks was an influential American literary critic and professor. He is best known for his contributions to New Criticism in the mid-twentieth century and for revolutionizing the teaching of poetry in American higher education...
, saw it as a literary landmark ushering the Canadian novel out of its regional confines. Professor Fred Salter ... called it 'the most brilliant piece of fiction ever written in Canada'."
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
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...
approached Watson to option the film rights to The Double Hook. However, because they would not give her veto rights over the script, she turned them down.
In 1961, Watson was hired as a professor of English at the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
. "In Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
the Watsons became part of an active circle of writers and established the literary magazine,The White Pelican in 1970 along with Douglas Barbour, Stephen Scobie
Stephen Scobie
Stephen Scobie is a Canadian poet, critic, and scholar.Born in Carnoustie, Scotland, Scobie relocated to Canada in 1965...
, John Orrell
John Orrell
John Orrell was an author, theatre historian, and English professor at the University of Alberta. The New York Times described him as the “historian whose intellectual detective work laid the groundwork for the 1997 re-creation of Shakespeare’s original Globe Theater.”-Life and work:Orrell was...
, Dorothy Livesay
Dorothy Livesay
Dorothy 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:...
, and artist Norman Yates." Watson remained the founding editor of the White Pelican for its brief existence (1971–1975). White Pelican Publicatons published Lions at her Face, the first book by Miriam Mandel
Miriam Mandel
Miriam Mandel was a Canadian poet who won Canada's Governor General's Award.-Life:Miriam Mandel was born in Rockglen, Saskatchewan....
, which won the Governor General's Award in 1973
1973 Governor General's Awards
Each winner of the 1973 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit was selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.-English Language:*Fiction: Rudy Wiebe, The Temptations of Big Bear....
.
In 1984 Watson edited the Collected Poems of Miriam Mandel.
Watson retired in 1975. In 1976, she and her husband moved to Nanaimo, where they died in 1998.
Writing
Watson is best known for her modernist novelNovel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
The Double Hook (1959), which is considered "a seminal work in the development of contemporary 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...
." "The Double Hook
The Double Hook
The Double Hook is a novel written by Sheila Watson, which is considered "a seminal work in the development of contemporary Canadian literature."Published in 1959, The Double Hook is written in a style more like prose poetry than fiction...
presents in concise, symbolic terms a drama of social disintegration and redemption
Redemption
- Religion :* Redemption , an element of salvation to express deliverance from sin* Redemption, absolution for the past sins and/or protection from damnation* Pidyon haben, redemption of the firstborn son in Judaism...
, set in an isolated BC community.... These themes are presented in a style which itself balances on a "double hook": it is simultaneously local and universal, realistic and symbolic."
Watson has said the "double hook" of her title refers to the idea “that when you fish for the glory you catch the darkness too. That if you hook twice the glory you hook twice the fear.” She explained that her novel is "about how people are driven, how if they have no art, how if they have no tradition, how if they have no ritual, they are driven in one of 2 ways, either towards violence or towards insensibility - if they have no mediating rituals which manifest themselves in what I suppose we call art forms."
In 1992 Watson published a novel, Deep Hollow Creek, which she had written in the 1930s. It was shortlisted that year for the Governor General's Award
Governor General's Award
The Governor General's Awards are a collection of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, marking distinction in a number of academic, artistic and social fields. The first was conceived in 1937 by Lord Tweedsmuir, a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction who created the Governor...
. "Deep Hollow Creek treats many of the same themes" as The Double Hook "in a manner which is more direct and conventional, but no less elliptical and challenging. It is fascinating to imagine the ways in which Canadian fiction might have been transformed if this startling and brilliant novel had been published at the time of its first composition."
In the 1950s Watson published three interlinked stories, and a fourth in 1970, dealing with the family of Sophocles
Sophocles
Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides...
' Oedipus
Oedipus
Oedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family...
in a contemporary, realistic setting. The most critically discussed of these is "Antigone", a setting of the story of Creon
Creon
Creon is a figure in Greek mythology best known as the ruler of Thebes in the legend of Oedipus. He had two children with his wife, Eurydice: Megareus and Haemon...
and Antigone
Antigone
In Greek mythology, Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, Oedipus' mother. The name may be taken to mean "unbending", coming from "anti-" and "-gon / -gony" , but has also been suggested to mean "opposed to motherhood", "in place of a mother", or "anti-generative", based from the root...
in the wilds of British Columbia.
Recognition
Watson was awarded the Royal Society of CanadaRoyal 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...
's Lorne Pierce Medal
Lorne Pierce Medal
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...
in 1984.
The third epigraph of Canadian novelist 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...
's 2000 novel The Blind Assassin
The Blind Assassin
The Blind Assassin is an award-winning, bestselling novel by the Canadian author Margaret Atwood. It was first published by McClelland and Stewart in 2000. Set in Canada, it is narrated from the present day, referring back to events that span the twentieth century.The work was awarded the Man...
reads:
According to Nathalie Cooke, this is from Deep Hollow Creek, and it announces Atwood's third dominant theme, the power of the word itself.
A biography, Always Someone to Kill the Doves: A Life of Sheila Watson by F.T. Flahiff was published in 2005.
The University of St. Michael’s College
University of St. Michael's College
The University of St. Michael's College is a college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1852 by the Congregation of St. Basil of Annonay, France. While mainly an undergraduate college for liberal arts and sciences, St. Michael's retains its Roman Catholic affiliation through its postgraduate...
held a two-day event, "Celebrating Sheila," on October 24 and 25, 2009, to mark the 100th anniversary of Watson’s birth and the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Double Hook.
Sheila Watson is mentioned in about 1,800 books.
Novels
- The Double HookThe Double HookThe Double Hook is a novel written by Sheila Watson, which is considered "a seminal work in the development of contemporary Canadian literature."Published in 1959, The Double Hook is written in a style more like prose poetry than fiction...
. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, New Canadian Library, 1959. ISBN 0771099983 ISBN 9780771099984 - Sous l’oeil de coyote. (trans. of The Double Hook by Arlette Francière). Montreal: Editions La Presse, 1976.
- Deep Hollow Creek. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, New Canadian Library, 1992. ISBN 0771094660 ISBN 9780771094664
Stories
- "Brother Oedipus." Queen’s Quarterly (Summer 1954).
- "The Black Farm." Queen’s Quarterly (Summer 1956).
- "Antigone." The Tamarack Review (Spring 1959).
- Sheila Watson: A Collection. Toronto: Coach House P, 1974.
- "The Rumble Seat." Open Letter 3.1 (1975)
- Four Stories. Toronto: Coach House P, 1979.
- And the Four Animals Toronto: Coach House P, 1980.
- Five Stories. Toronto: Coach House P, 1984.
- A Father's Kingdom: The Complete Short Fiction. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, New Canadian Library, 2004. ISBN 0771034881 ISBN 978-0771034886
Essays
- "A Question of Portraiture." The Tamarack Review (Autumn 1963).
- "The Great War: Wyndham Lewis and the Underground Press." arts/canada (Winter 1965).
- "Canada and Wyndham Lewis the Artist." Canadian Literature (Winter 1968).
- "Artist Ape as Crowd-master." in Explorations Ed. Marshall McLuhan, sup. The Varsity Graduate (May 1964).
- "Myth and Counter-myth." White Pelican (Winter 1974).
- "Swift and Ovid: The Development of Metasatire." The Humanities Association Bulletin (Spring 1967).
- "Power: Nude or Naked." in Explorations Ed. Marshall McLuhan, sup. The Varsity Graduate (December 1965).
- "Michael Ondaatje: The Mechanization of Death." White Pelican (Fall 1972).
- "Gertrude Stein: The Style is the Machine." White Pelican (Autumn 1973).
- "What I'm Going to Do." Open Letter 3.1 (1975).
Edited
- Habits and Hangups (Study Guide for Modern Consciousness course). Edmonton: Athabasca University, 1979. Written and edited with Mary Hamilton.
- The Collected Poems of Miriam Mandel. Edmonton: Longspoon Press, 1984.
Fonds
The archives of Sheila Watson are currently preserved at the University of St. Michael's CollegeUniversity of St. Michael's College
The University of St. Michael's College is a college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1852 by the Congregation of St. Basil of Annonay, France. While mainly an undergraduate college for liberal arts and sciences, St. Michael's retains its Roman Catholic affiliation through its postgraduate...
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...
.
Except where noted, bibliographic information courtesty Athabasca University
Athabasca University
Athabasca University is a Canadian university in Athabasca, Alberta. It is an accredited research institution which also offers distance education courses and programs. Courses are offered primarily in English with some French offerings. Each year, 32,000 students attend the university. It offers...
.
External links
- "Antigone" by Sheila Watson
- Sheila Watson entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia