David Day (Canadian writer)

David Day (b. 14 October 1947 in Sooke, British Columbia) is a Canadian author most notably known for his biographies about J. R. R. Tolkien and his works.^[1]

Biography

After finishing school in Victoria, British Columbia, Day worked as a logger for five years on Vancouver Island. Subsequently he travelled to Europe, in particular to Greece where he wrote a first book of poems called The Cowichan. He has also lived in London.^[1]

Day's main focus has been the life and work of Tolkien. His books on this subject include The Tolkien Bestiary (1978), The Tolkien Companion (1993), Tolkien's Ring (1994), The Hobbit Companion (2000), Tolkien: The Illustrated Encyclopedia (2000) and The World of Tolkien (2003).

Day has also written several children's books and nonfiction works about ecology, extinct and endangered species. In The Doomsday Book of Animals (1981) Day described several hundred extinct species; many of them were illustrated in color for the first time. This book became the basis for the 100 part animated-short TV series "Lost Animals of the 20th Century" in 1995/1996. His book Eco Wars (1989) is about animal activists such as Dian Fossey and Chico Mendes, who lost their lives in the fight to preserve the environment. His book The Whale War became the basis for a ITV documentary.^[2]

Works^[2]

Poetry

• The Cowichan (1975)
• Many Voices: An Anthology of Contemporary Canadian Indian Poetry (co-editor) (1977) ISBN 0-888-94134-X
• The Scarlet Coat Serial (1981) ISBN 0-888-78135-0
• The Animals Within (1984)
• Gothic (1986)
• The Visions and Revelations of St. Louis the Metis (1997) ISBN 1-895-44964-2
• Just Say 'No' to Family Values (1997) ISBN 1-550-96162-4

Natural history and ecology

• The Doomsday Book of Animals (1981) ISBN 0-670-27987-0
• The Whale War (1987) ISBN 0-871-56775-X
• The Eco Wars: True Tales of Environmental Madness (1989) ISBN 0-312-04418-6
• The Encyclopedia of Vanished Species (1989) (Revised edition of The Doomsday Book of Animals) ISBN 0-947-88930-2
• Noah's Choice (1990)
• Green Penguin Book Guide (1992)
• The Complete Rhinoceros (1994)

Fantasy and mythology

• The Burroughs Bestiary (1978) ISBN 0-450-03442-9
• A Tolkien Bestiary (1978) ISBN 0-345-28283-3
• Castles (1984) ISBN 0-070-37280-2
• Tolkien: The Illustrated Encyclopedia (1992) ISBN 0-025-33431-X
• A to Z of Tolkien (1993) aka The Tolkien Companion, aka Guide to Tolkien ISBN 1-571-45878-6
• Tolkien's Ring (1994) ISBN 0-261-10298-2
• The Quest for King Arthur (1996) ISBN 0-816-03370-6
• The Hobbit Companion (1997) ISBN 1-570-36391-9
• Tolkien's World (2002) ISBN 0-517-22317-1
• The Search for King Arthur (1995) ISBN 0-8160-3370-6

History

• History and Literature: Sound Heritage Anthology Series (editor) (1975)
• Myth and the Mountains: Sound Heritage Anthology Series (editor) (1976)
• Men of the Forest: Sound Heritage Anthology Series (editor) (1977)

Children's fiction and poetry

• The Emperor's Panda (1986) ISBN 0-396-09036-2
• The Swan Children (1989) ISBN 0-824-98461-7
• The Sleeper (1990) ISBN 0-824-98456-0
• Aska's Animals (1991) ISBN 0-385-25315-X
• The Big Lie (1991) aka The Walking Catfish ISBN 0-027-26360-6
• Aska's Birds (1992) ISBN 0-385-25388-5
• The Wolf Children (1991)
• The King of the Woods (1993) ISBN 0-027-26361-4
• Tippu (1993) ISBN 0-812-06498-4
• Aska's Sea Creatures (1994) ISBN 0-385-32107-4

Television, radio, film and theatre

• The Scarlet Coat - Theatre (1984)
• The Lost - Radio (1984)
• Gothic - Theatre (1988/2003)
• The Emperor's Panda - Theatre (1988)
• First Step - Film
• Noah's Choice - Television (1990)
• Still Life at the Penguin Cafe - Ballet (1993)
• The Whale War - Television (1993)
• Lost Animals of the 20th Century – 100 part television series (1995/1996)
• Just Say 'No' to Family Values - Poetry and jazz (1998)
• Arthur I & Arthur II – Ballets (2000)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Biography at ABC Book World
2. ^ ^{a b} Works

External links

• David Day's official website with details of all his works and projects
• David Day biography

Persondata
Name	Day, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1947
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death