Raymond Fraser

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Born in Chatham New Brunswick, Fraser attended St Thomas University where in his freshman year he played on the varsity hockey and football teams, and in his junior year was co-editor with John Brebner of the student literary magazine "Tom-Tom". His 20-year correspondence and friendship with the poet Alden Nowlan date from this period.

While living in Montreal, Quebec in 1966, Fraser and poet Leroy Johnson founded the literary magazine "Intercourse: Contemporary Canadian Writing". In 1971 he was one of the founders of the Montreal Story Tellers Fiction Performance Group and the Rank Outsiders Poetry Extravaganza. His first book of fiction, "The Black Horse Tavern" (1973), was published in Montreal by Ingluvin Publications.

In his essay "In the End, a Beginning: The Montreal Story Tellers", critic Keith Garebian writes: "Raymond Fraser's booming Maritime vigour and directness seem, with subtle undertows of psychological configuration, like a roaring tide battering the literary shore. [...] Fraser's narrative ancestors are not only the old salts of every Maritime tavern or watering-hole, but also the more commemorated figures of Mark Twain and Hugh Garner."

Fraser’s writings have been praised by such literary figures as Farley Mowat, Irving Layton, Louis Dudek, Alden Nowlan, Sheila Watson, Leonard Cohen, Hugh Garner, Michael Cook and William French.

Besides Montreal he has lived in Dublin, Paris and various parts of Spain and New Brunswick. He currently resides in Fredericton, New Brunswick. [http://www.lib.unb.ca/archives/Fraser/bio.html]

Bibliography

Fiction

*"The Black Horse Tavern" - 1973
*"The Struggle Outside" - 1975
*"The Bannonbridge Musicians" - 1978
*"Rum River" - 1997
*"Costa Blanca" - 2001
*"In a Cloud of Dust and Smoke" - 2003

Biography

*"The Fighting Fisherman: The Life of Yvon Durelle" - 1981, 1983, 2005
*"Todd Matchett: Confessions of a Young Criminal" - 1994

Memoirs and essays

*"When The Earth Was Flat" - 2007

Poetry

*"For the Miramichi" - 1966
*"Waiting for God's Angel" - 1967
*"I've Laughed and Sung" - 1969
*"The More I Live" - 1971
*"Stop The Highway... 4 Montreal Poets: Raymond Fraser, Clifford Gaston, Bob Higgins & Bryan McCarthy" - 1972
*"Macbride Poems" - 1992
*"Before You're A Stranger" - 2000

Anthology edited

*"East of Canada: An Atlantic Anthology" - 1977 (Eds.: Raymond Fraser, Clyde Rose and Jim Stewart)

Literary magazines edited

*"Tom-Tom" (St. Thomas University) 1962-1963.
*"Intercourse: Contemporary Canadian Writing" Raymond Fraser et al, eds. 1966-1971.
*"The Pottersfield Portfolio" Raymond Fraser et al, eds. 1990-1992.

References

* J. R. (Tim) Struthers, ed. "The Montreal Story Tellers". Montreal: Vehicule, 1985. 191.
* Williamson, Margie. "Four Maritime Poets: a survey of the works of Alden Nowlan, Fred Cogswell, Raymond Fraser and Al Pittman, as they reflect the spirit and culture of the Maritime people". Thesis (M.A.), Dalhousie University, 1973 [microform] .

External links

* http://www.hil.unb.ca/archives/finding/Fraser/bio.html Archival records for Raymond Fraser at the University of New Brunswick
* [http://raymondfraser.blogspot.com Raymond Fraser's weblog]