Writer, editor and literary critic Stan Dragland, who helped create one of Canada's few poetry-only publishers, has died. Brick Books publisher Alayna Munce says the co-founder of the Ontario-based press died on Aug. 2 of sudden cardiac arrest in Trinity, N.L. He was 79. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Brian Pirie/Phil Hall **MANDATORY CREDIT**
Republished August 08, 2022 - 1:53 PM
Original Publication Date August 08, 2022 - 1:01 PM
Writer, editor and literary critic Stan Dragland is being remembered as a champion of independent publishing whose love of Canadian letters extended well beyond the page.
Dragland's own bibliography blurred the lines between genres, and he co-founded one of Canada's few poetry-only publishers, Brick Books, in 1975. He also served as the Ontario-based press's publisher, and was the founding editor of the literary magazine Brick.
Dragland died on Aug. 2 of sudden cardiac arrest in Trinity, N.L., said Alayna Munce, the current publisher of Brick Books. He was 79.
Munce described Dragland as an "editor extraordinaire" whose sharp eye and magnanimous spirit will leave a lasting mark on Canada's literary scene.
"I've spoken in the last few days to so many poets and writers who felt first seen by Stan," Munce said by phone Monday.
"(He) was an effortless but also relentless mentor to so many writers. And in his criticism, he took up the writing of people with a profound dedication to reading deeply and with love."
The Alberta-born, Newfoundland-based writer penned works of poetry, fiction, non-fiction and literary criticism, or often, some combination of these literary forms.
Among Dragland's titles were the 1979 novel, "Peckertracks: A Chronicle;" his 2005 book of prose poems, "Stormy Weather: Foursomes;" and 2013's multimedia examination of masculinity, "Deep Too."
Dragland also worked with some of Canada's top wordsmiths as the poetry editor at McClelland & Stewart in the mid-1990s.
He also enjoyed a distinguished career as an English professor, teaching at institutions including Western University and the Banff Centre.
In 2020, Dragland was appointed to the Order of Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2022.
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