Keywords Born in 1926 Playwrights

In 1960 James Reaney moved from Winnipeg, where he had been teaching English at the University of Manitoba, to London, Ont, to join Western's English department. In a shift of emphasis from poetry to the public and communal form of drama, he followed up The Killdeer with Colours in the Dark (1969), Listen to the Wind (1972), Masks of Childhood (1972) and plays for children. Juvenile fiction included The Boy with an R in his Hand (1965) and Take the Big Picture. In such plays as Wacousta (1979), King Whistle (1980) and his landmark trilogy The Donnellys, comprised of Sticks and Stones (1975), The St Nicholas Hotel (1976) and Handcuffs (1977), James Reaney combined archival research, poetry, elements of romance and melodrama, mime and myth to tell the central stories and legends of Ontario. Other dramatic work includes Alice Through the Looking Glass (1994), staged at Stratford in 2004 and 2006, and Scripts: Librettos for Operas and other Musical Works (2004), edited by John Beckwith.

Honours include honorary degrees from Carleton (D Litt 1975), McMaster (D Litt 1979), Brock (Doctor of Laws 1991) and Western (D Litt 1992). He became on officer of the ORDER OF CANADA in 1976 and was elected to the Royal Society of Canada in 1978. The University of Western Ontario holds the James Reaney fonds, including records illustrating Reaney's academic, literary and theatrical activities.

James Reaney was married to Colleen THIBAUDEAU, also a distinguished Canadian poet.

Reaney, James
Celebrated poet, playwright, children's writer James Reaney (photo courtesy Jeff Culbert).

Author CATHERINE ROSS

Links to Other Sites
The Donnellys: Sticks & Stones
An in-depth look at the play based on the ill-fated Donnelly family in 19th century Ontario. From the National Arts Centre.

CANADIAN HISTORICAL DRAMA: PLAYWRIGHTS IN SEARCH OF A MYTH
A comparative analysis of landmark Canadian historical drama. From the journal "Studies in Canadian Literature/Études en littérature canadienne," University of New Brunswick.