Gustafson, Ralph, 1909-1995

Ralph Barker Gustafson was born on August 16, 1909, in Lime Ridge, Estrie Region, Quebec.

He was a Canadian poet and professor. He was educated at Bishop's University (B.A., 1929; M.A., 1930) and Kebble College, Oxford (B.A., 1933; M.A., 1963). After a short teaching position in Canada, he returned to England (1933-1939), where he published his first two collections of poetry. During the war, he worked for the British Information Services in New York (1942-1946). From 1963 he lived in North Hatley, Quebec, where he worked as Professor and Poet-In-Residence at Bishop's (1963–1979), a music critic for CBC radio since 1960, and a freelance writer and anthologist editing various editions of the Penguin Book of Canadian Verse. He wrote over twenty volumes of poetry, e.g., "The Golden Chalice (1935), "Lyrics Unromantic" (1942), "Sift in an Hourglass" (1966), "Configurations at Midnight" (1992), and two books of stories, "The Brazen Tower" (1974) and "The Vivid Air" (1980). "The Collected Poems of Ralph Gustafson" were published in three volumes between 1987 and 1994. His last book, published posthumously, was "Visions Fugitive" (1996). He was awarded honorary degrees from Mount Allison University (D.Litt, 1973), Bishop's University (D.C.L., 1977), and York University (D.Litt., 1991). Gustafson won the 1974 Governor General's Award for "Fire on Stone" and was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1992.

In 1958, he married Elizabeth Renninger (1920-2009). He died on May 29, 1995, in North Hatley, Estrie Region, Quebec.