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Geoffrey Ursell

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Geoffrey Ursell
BornMarch 14, 1943
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Occupationplaywright, novelist, poet
NationalityCanadian
Years active1970s-present
Notable worksPerdue, or How the West Was Lost, Saskatoon Pie
SpouseBarbara Sapergia

Geoffrey Ursell (born March 14, 1943 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan)[1] is a Canadian writer, who won the Books in Canada First Novel Award in 1985 for his novel Perdue, or How the West Was Lost.[2]

Career

Predominantly known as a playwright, Ursell's stage and musical plays have included The Running of the Deer (1981), Saskatoon Pie (1982),[3] The Willowbunch Giant (1983), The Secret Life of Railroaders (1986),[4] The Rum Runners of Rainbow Ravine (1990), The Park (1994), Deer Bring the Sun (1998),[5] Gold on Ice (2003),[6] Winning the Prairie Gamble (2005),[7] The Walnut Tree (2010)[8] and Dead Midnight (2011).[9] He has also adapted The Rum Runners of Rainbow Ravine as a CBC Radio drama, and wrote the teleplay Distant Battles for CBC Television.[1]

With his wife Barbara Sapergia and colleagues Bob Currie and Gary Hyland, Ursell was a cofounder of Coteau Books in the 1970s.[1] In 1987, Ursell and Sapergia pitched a series to CBC Television called Midnight in Moose Jaw, a sitcom-variety hybrid set in a Prohibition-era speakeasy which would centre around live performances by real comedians and musicians,[10] with Jenny Jones and Colin James as the guest performers in the pilot.[10] The series was not picked up by the CBC.

His other published books have included the poetry collections Trap Lines (1982), The Look-Out Tower (1989) and Jumbo Gumbo: Songs, Poems, and Stories for Children (1990),[1] and the short story collection Way Out West (1990).[11]

He has served as president of the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild and the Saskatchewan Playwrights' Centre, has been writer-in-residence for the Saskatoon Public Library[12] and the Winnipeg Public Library, was an editor of the literary magazine Grain,[13] and has taught literature and creative writing at the University of Regina.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Ursell, Geoffrey (1943–)". Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan.
  2. ^ "Writer from Regina wins book award". The Globe and Mail, March 29, 1985.
  3. ^ "Ursell's 'Pie' cooling on windowsill". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, July 9, 1999.
  4. ^ "Three win playwriting competition". Ottawa Citizen, May 13, 1986.
  5. ^ "Baby plays nurtured at festival". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, May 15, 1998.
  6. ^ "Curtain rises on dream season: There's something for everyone in this year's theatre lineup". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, September 13, 2002.
  7. ^ "WDM launches play". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, July 6, 2005.
  8. ^ "Persephone plays in a bigger sandbox; Theatre announces 2009-10 season lineup". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, April 7, 2009.
  9. ^ "Dead Midnight thrills and chills". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, September 15, 2011.
  10. ^ a b "Moose Jaw TV series pondered by CBC". Vancouver Sun, July 17, 1987.
  11. ^ "Stories bare male violence". Ottawa Citizen, April 7, 1990.
  12. ^ "Writers' reunion planned for public library". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, May 4, 1996.
  13. ^ "Local writers in Grain bumper crop". Edmonton Journal, May 3, 1992.
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