John Duffie (writer)
John Duffie | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Wilson Duffie May 15, 1913 Saint-Lambert, Quebec, Canada |
| Died | February 9, 1989 (aged 75) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Occupation | Writer, humor columnist |
| Notable works | Duffie's Unimportance of Being Earnest (1982) |
John Wilson Duffie (May 15, 1913 - February 9, 1989) was a Canadian writer.[1] A longtime humor columnist for the arts and entertainment publication Monday Magazine in Victoria, British Columbia,[2] he was most noted for his 1982 book Duffie's Unimportance of Being Earnest, a collection of his magazine writing which was shortlisted for the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour in 1983.[3]
Born in Saint-Lambert, Quebec,[1] Duffie spent much of his working life as a property tax manager for Marathon Realty in Toronto, Ontario, until retiring from that job around age 60.[2] He and his wife Edith then moved to Victoria in 1973,[2] where he began writing "Overset", his Monday Magazine column, just a few weeks after the publication launched in 1975.[4] His writing also appeared in Edmonton magazine and Wildlife Review,[2] whose editor once praised Duffie as the only writer in his publication who could write funny stuff about animals.[5]
In the late 1980s, after his wife's death, he moved to Vancouver to be closer to his daughters and grandchildren, but continued writing his column until his death in 1989.[4] Following his death, the Victoria Public Library set up a memorial endowment fund in his memory.[6]
References
- ^ a b "Duffie, John". ABC Bookworkd, 1989.
- ^ a b c d Rebecca Wigod, "The time of their lives: John Duffie". Victoria Times-Colonist, February 4, 1982.
- ^ "Torgov wins 1983 Leacock Medal". The Globe and Mail, April 29, 1983.
- ^ a b "Duffie had 'grace, style' in his writing". Victoria Times-Colonist, February 12, 1989.
- ^ David Berry, "About 'earnest'". Victoria Times-Colonist, February 11, 1982.
- ^ Gorde Hunter, "One man's opinion". Victoria Times-Colonist, May 2, 1989.