Sheldon Oberman
Encyclopedia
Sheldon Oberman was an award-winning Canadian
children's writer who lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba
.
Born in Winnipeg, Oberman (known to friends as Obie) grew up in the city's North End. After graduating from St. Johns High School, he studied literature first at the University of Winnipeg
and then at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Oberman lived and travelled through Canada, Europe
and the Middle East
before he returned to Winnipeg in 1973, where he received his teaching degree. In 1975, he started working as an English and Drama teacher at Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate, a job he held for nearly 30 years.
Oberman started writing in the mid-seventies, inspired by bedtime stories he told his children. An important development in his career as a writer was the summer he spent at the Banff School of Fine Arts where he studied under W.O. Mitchell. Oberman published twelve books, including the award-winning Always Prayer Shawl (1999), The Shaman's Nephew (1999; short-listed for the Governor General's Award), The Island of the Minotaur, and "Solomon and the Ant and other Jewish Folktales" (2006), (published posthumously).
Oberman acted and directed in both film and stage plays, and toured North America
as a professional storyteller
. He wrote columns and freelance articles for the Winnipeg Free Press
and published children's songs, stories and poems in a number of magazines, journals and anthologies.
He died of stomach cancer
on March 26, 2004.
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...
children's writer who lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
.
Born in Winnipeg, Oberman (known to friends as Obie) grew up in the city's North End. After graduating from St. Johns High School, he studied literature first at the University of Winnipeg
University of Winnipeg
The University of Winnipeg is a public university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and theology as well as graduate programs. The U of W's founding colleges were Manitoba College and Wesley College, which merged...
and then at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Oberman lived and travelled through Canada, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
before he returned to Winnipeg in 1973, where he received his teaching degree. In 1975, he started working as an English and Drama teacher at Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate, a job he held for nearly 30 years.
Oberman started writing in the mid-seventies, inspired by bedtime stories he told his children. An important development in his career as a writer was the summer he spent at the Banff School of Fine Arts where he studied under W.O. Mitchell. Oberman published twelve books, including the award-winning Always Prayer Shawl (1999), The Shaman's Nephew (1999; short-listed for the Governor General's Award), The Island of the Minotaur, and "Solomon and the Ant and other Jewish Folktales" (2006), (published posthumously).
Oberman acted and directed in both film and stage plays, and toured North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
as a professional storyteller
Storytelling
Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values...
. He wrote columns and freelance articles for the Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg Free Press
The Winnipeg Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1872, as the Manitoba Free Press, it is the oldest newspaper in western Canada. It is the newspaper with the largest readership in the province....
and published children's songs, stories and poems in a number of magazines, journals and anthologies.
He died of stomach cancer
Stomach cancer
Gastric cancer, commonly referred to as stomach cancer, can develop in any part of the stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and to other organs; particularly the esophagus, lungs, lymph nodes, and the liver...
on March 26, 2004.
Selected bibliography
- A Mirror of a People: Canadian Jewish Experience in Poetry and Prose (1985)
- TV Sal and the Game Show from Outer Space (1993)
- The Business with Elijah (1993)
- The White Stone in the Castle Wall (1994)
- The Always Prayer Shawl (1999)
- By the Hanukkah Light (1997)
- The Shaman's Nephew (1999)
- The Wisdom Bird: A Tale of Solomon and Sheba (2000)
- Island of the Minotaur: Greek Myths of Ancient Crete (2003)
- Solomon and the Ant and other Jewish Folktales (2006)