Philip Stratford
Philip Stratford | |
---|---|
Born | October 13, 1927 |
Died | April 23, 1999 |
Nationality | Canada |
Occupation(s) | translator, professor and poet |
Philip Stratford (October 13, 1927 – April 23, 1999)[1][2] was a Canadian translator, professor and poet.[3] Winner of the 1988 Governor General’s Award,[4] Stratford was also well recognized for his translations of works by Antoine Maillet, René Lévesque and Robert Melaçon[5] and published articles on English and French-Canadian literature and translation.[2][6] He has been collected by libraries.[7]
Born in Chatham, Ontario, he completed an Honours Bachelor in English at the University of Western Ontario in 1950 and later completed a doctorate at Sorbonne in Paris.[1]
Stratford’s career as an educator began in France where he taught English between 1950 and 1952.[1] After his return to Canada, he lectured at the Assumption University of Windsor, and afterwards worked for the English Department of the University of Western Ontario.[1] Finally, in 1969, he became Department chair for the English Department at the Université of Montréal and held that role until 1975.[6] As Department chair, he founded the comparative literature program.[6] Stratford retired in 1992.[6]
Works
As a literary translator, Stratford's translated a variety of genres including fiction, memoirs and poetry from French to English,[8] such as Pélagie by Antoine Maillet, Memoirs by René Lévesque and Blind Painting by Robert Melançon[5] for which he received national critical acclaim.[5] In addition to these, he also translated the works of Diane Hébert, Félix Leclerc, Claire Martin and Marie-Claire Blais.[8]
Not only was he a translator, he also published original works including a bilingual edition of a children’s book 1976,[2] his own memoir in 1999,[2] and a collection of poems he wrote after he retired.[9] Stratford also wrote a number of scholarly articles.[2]
Works | Genre | Role |
---|---|---|
Pélagie: The Return to a Homeland (Antoine Maillet) | fiction | Translator |
Memoirs (René Lévesque) | memoir | Translator |
Blind Painting (Robert Melaçon) | poetry | Translator |
Second Chance (Diane Hébert) | non-fiction | Translator |
In an Iron Glove (Claire Martin) | Translator | |
The Kite and the Island (Félix Leclerc) | fiction | Translator |
The Madman (Félix Leclerc) | fiction | Translator |
The Devil is Loose! (Antoine Maillet) | fiction | Translator |
Pierre (Marie-Claire Blais) | fiction | Co-translator with David Lobdell |
Olive: A dog - Un chien | children's book | Author |
Hawthorn House | autobiography | Author |
The Range of Space: Poems | poetry | Author |
Verse Portraits | poetry | Author |
All The Polarities: Comparative Studies in Contemporary Canadian Novels in English and French | article | Writer |
Canada's Two Literatures: A Search for Emblems | article | Writer |
French-Canadian Literature in Translation | article | Writer |
Bibliography of Canadian Books in Translation: French to English and English to French | reference | Writer |
Professional Roles
Stratford, apart from translating, writing and teaching, took on various roles as part of the academic community . He co-founded the Literary Translators' Association of Canada in 1975 and served as its secretary for 2 years.[6] He was also president of the Canadian Association of Comparative Literature between 1974 and 1976[10] and initiated the first issue devoted to comparative essays on Canadian topics in the Canadian Review of Comparative Literature,[6] a journal sponsored by this association[11]
Between 1974 and 1976, Stratford was part of the board of directors of the Humanities Research Council of Canada, and was a member of the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences’ Translation Committee between 1976 and 1977.[5] The Humanities Research Council of Canada was originally a non-governmental institution but is now part of the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences.[12]
Honours and Citations
Stratford won the 1988 Governor General’s award for his translation of Second Chance by Diane Hébert.[2] At the awards, he announced that he would donate $5,000 to the Diane Herbert Foundation.[4] He had been nominated twice before, once in 1986 for his translation of Peinture aveugle by Robert Melançon and once in 1987 for his translation of Crache à pic, by Antonine Maillet.[13] He also won the Gabrielle Roy Prize for his article All the Polarities: Comparative Studies in Contemporary Canadian Novels in French and English (1986).[6]
In addition to these awards, the bilingual conference Aux Canadas was held in 1993 in Stratford’s honour.[14]
References
- ^ a b c d Whitfield, Agnes (2006). Writing between the Lines. Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. pp. 77.
- ^ a b c d e f Whitfield, Agnes (2006). Writing between the Lines. Toronto: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. pp. 79.
- ^ Whitfield, Agnes (2006). Writing between the Lines. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. pp. 75.
- ^ a b Kirchhoff, H.J. (7 March 1989). "BOOK NOTES Congratulations and mispronunciations at Governor-General's awards". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ a b c d Whitfield, Agnes (2006). Writing between the Lines. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. pp. 76.
- ^ a b c d e f g Whitfield, Agnes (2006). Writing between the Lines. Wilfrid Laurier University Press. pp. 78.
- ^ "Stratford, Philip". worldcat.org. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
- ^ a b Fischman, Sheila (26 May 1999). "Translator brought Quebec writers to wider audience PHILIP STRATFORD". The Globe and Mail. Toronto – via ProQuest.
- ^ Rothman, Claire (1 May 1993). "Columbus gets to defend himself; Book presents explorer as meditative old man: [FINAL Edition]". The Gazette. Montreal – via Proquest.
- ^ "comité exécutif 1974-76 – CCLA | ACLC". complit.ca. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
- ^ "Journal Sponsorship". ejournals.library.ualberta.ca. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
- ^ "History | Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences". www.ideas-idees.ca. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
- ^ "UdeM:Forum/Divers". www.forum.umontreal.ca. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
- ^ Naves, Elaine Kalman. "U de M displays its English face; Authors will attend bilingual literature conference: [FINAL Edition]". The Gazette. Montreal.
- Canadian male poets
- 1927 births
- 1999 deaths
- People from Chatham-Kent
- 20th-century Canadian poets
- University of Western Ontario alumni
- University of Western Ontario faculty
- University of Windsor faculty
- Université de Montréal faculty
- Governor General's Award-winning translators
- Canadian translators
- 20th-century Canadian male writers
- Canadian male non-fiction writers
- 20th-century translators