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Draft:Ralph D. Witten

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Ralph D. Witten
Born
Ralph Douglas Witten

1962[1]
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
CitizenshipCanadian
Dutch
Alma materUniversity of Alberta
FamilyStanley Witten (brother)
Ronald Kuipers (brother-in-law)
AwardsEdmonton Journal Literary Award (1987)

Ralph D. Witten is a Dutch-Canadian writer of short stories, poetry, and creative non-fiction.

Background

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Ralph D. Witten was born to Dutch immigrant parents in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 1962.[2][3] In 1985, Witten began studying under Canadian writer Rudy Wiebe.[4] Witten received his Masters of Arts (MA) in creative writing at the University of Alberta in 1987.[5] In 1989, Witten published a biographical study and interview with Rudy Wiebe.[6]

Writing

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Witten received first prize at The Edmonton Journal's 1987 Literary Awards for his short story “Cats Night.”[5] In 1988, Witten published River Through the Badlands, a collection of nine short stories set in Alberta.[7] Although Witten's short story “You Could Win” was included in River Through the Badlands, it was originally published in Edges Literary Magazine in 1987.[8]

Multiple Ralph Witten stories have been produced for CBC Radio. In 1988, Witten's short story "Cats Night" was produced for CBC Radio and read by Fred Keating.[9] Witten described the story as "an exaggeration of childhood memories; it's an attempt to convey Leo's growing awareness of the gulf between his religious community and the world beyond that community."[9] In 1989, Witten's short story "Batoche" was produced for CBC Radio and read by Wendell Smith.[10] The CBC explained that Witten was inspired to write the story after visiting Batoche, Saskatchewan and witnessing the site of the historic Battle of Batoche of the Northwest Rebellion of 1885.[10]

Hendrika Ruger has written extensively on the influence of Dutch immigration on Canadian literature, and The Edmonton Journal stated that although Ralph Witten is "a native Edmontonian, Witten was raised by his Dutch immigrant parents in the Beverly area" of east Edmonton.[11]

In 2021, Witten published the poems "New Moon" and "Astotin Lake" in Canadian literary journal The Trumpeter.[12][13][14] In 2022, Witten published the poems "On a Whim" and "Time in the Mountains" in Canadian literary magazine The Goose.[15]

Other work

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In 2012, it was reported that Witten was employed as the Associate Chair of the Liberal Arts department at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT).[16][17] Ralph Witten is the brother of Canadian coin engraver Stanley Witten, and the brother-in-law of Canadian philosopher Ronald A. Kuipers.[a][19] When Kuipers' monograph Richard Rorty: Contemporary American Thinkers was published in 2012, Kuipers wrote "I would especially like to thank my brother-in-law Ralph Witten for reading the manuscript in its entirety and offering timely comments and stimulating conversation. This interaction helped make the book a joy to write."[20]

Bibliography

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Per OCLC WorldCat unless cited otherwise.[21]

Fiction

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  • You Could Win (1987)
  • River Through the Badlands (1988)
  • Batoche (1989)

Poetry

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  • Snake In The House (2008)
  • New Moon (2021)
  • Astotin Lake (2021)

Non-Fiction

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  • Running With Vision (2005)[22]
  • How Does English Square with Technology? (2018)

Notes

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  1. ^ The obituary of Martin Witten states that Stanley Witten and Ralph Witten are siblings.[18]

References

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  1. ^ "Witten, Ralph D. (Ralph Douglas), 1962-". Virtual International Authority File. May 14, 2014.
  2. ^ "Ralph D. Witten". Virtual Internet Authority File.
  3. ^ "Fred Keating Reads Ralph D. Witten's "Cats Night" on CBC". CBC Radio. 1988.
  4. ^ Thompson, Andrew (February 1987). "Notes on Contributors". Edges Literary Magazine. 2 (1). Ledges Publishing Society: 40. ISSN 0833-0077.
  5. ^ a b Kellogg, Alan (June 13, 1987). "The Journal's 1987 Literary Awards". The Edmonton Journal. p. D1.
  6. ^ Witten, Ralph (December 5, 1989). "Rudy Wiebe Faces North and Encounters Unique Canadian Mysteries". The Gateway. pp. 10–11.
  7. ^ "River Through the Badlands". bac-lac.on.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  8. ^ Witten, Ralph (February 1987). Thompson, Andrew (ed.). "You Could Win". Edges Literary Magazine. 2 (1): 25–34. ISSN 0833-0077.
  9. ^ a b Keating, Fred (1988). "Fred Keating Reads Ralph D. Witten's 'Cats Night'". CBC Radio: Alberta Anthology.
  10. ^ a b Smith, Wendell (1989). "Wendell Smith Reads Ralph D. Witten's 'Batoche'". CBC Radio: Alberta Anthology.
  11. ^ Kellogg, Alan (June 13, 1987). "Night Out for Co-Winner". The Edmonton Jouranl. p. 35.
  12. ^ Kowalsky, Nathan (2020). "The Trumpeter: Vol 36, No 1". The Trumpeter: Journal of Ecosophy. Archived from the original on September 18, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  13. ^ Witten, Ralph D. (2020). "New Moon". The Trumpeter. 36 (1): 82. doi:10.7202/1075887ar. S2CID 233673649. ProQuest 2525727136 – via ProQuest.
  14. ^ Witten, Ralph D. (2020). "Astotin Lake". The Trumpeter. 36 (1): 83–84. ProQuest 2525728098 – via ProQuest.
  15. ^ Witten, Ralph (2022-10-31). "Two Poems". The Goose. 19 (2). ISSN 2291-0948.
  16. ^ Kuipers, Ronald A. (2012). "Acknowledgements". Richard Rorty. Bloomsbury. pp. x.
  17. ^ "Bachelor of Technology Teaching Schedule for 2012-2013" (PDF). Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. August 22, 2012.
  18. ^ "In Loving Memory of Martin Witten". Foster & McGarvey. October 4, 2021. Archived from the original on November 7, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  19. ^ Kuipers, Ronald A. (2002). Critical Faith: Toward a Renewed Understanding of Religious Life and Its Public Accountability. Amsterdam: Rodopi. pp. vi. ISBN 9789042008533.
  20. ^ Kuipers, Ronald A. (2012). "Acknowledgements". Richard Rorty. Bloomsbury. pp. x.
  21. ^ "Most widely held works by Ralph D. Witten". WorldCat.
  22. ^ Witten, Ralph (November–December 2005). "Running with Vision". The Running Room Magazine: 32.
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Category:Living people Category:1962 births Category:20th-century Canadian male writers Category:20th-century Canadian short story writers Category:21st-century Canadian male writers Category:21st-century Canadian short story writers Category:21st-century Canadian poets Category:Canadian male poets Category:Canadian male short story writers Category:Canadian non-fiction writer stubs Category:Canadian people of Dutch descent Category:Canadian poet stubs Category:People from Edmonton Category:University of Alberta alumni Category:Writers from Edmonton

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