Ray Smith, born James Raymond Smith, (1941–2019) was a Canadian novelist and short story writer. He was born on 12 December 1941 in Cape Breton (Inverness, Nova Scotia) and educated at Dalhousie University, Halifax (B.A. 1963), and at Concordia University, Montreal (M.A. 1985). He worked as an instructor in English at Dawson College, Montreal, until his retirement in 2007.[1][2] In the early 1970s, he joined with authors Clark Blaise, Raymond Fraser, Hugh Hood, and John Metcalf to form the celebrated Montreal Story Tellers Fiction Performance Group.
Smith's works include the novels Lord Nelson Tavern (McClelland & Stewart, 1974),[3] A Night at the Opera (Porcupine's Quill, 1992), which won the 1992 QSPELL Hugh MacLennan Award for Best Novel,[4] and The Man Who Loved Jane Austen[5] (Porcupine's Quill, 1999). He has also published the short story collections Cape Breton Is the Thought Control Centre of Canada[6] (Anansi Press, 1969) and Century[7] His short fiction has also appeared in numerous anthologies.
In 2007, he published The Flush of Victory: Jack Bottomly Among the Virgins.[8]
In August 2010, literary critics Alex Good and Stephen W. Beattie included Smith in their list of the ten most underrated writers in Canada, published on the National Post's website.[9]
References
edit- ↑ "Thirsty: A Biblioasis Miscellany: Ray Smith: Back in the Thought Control Centre of Cape Breton". Thirsty. 2009-02-22. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ↑ "Montreal Writers: A Gallery of Montreal Writers - Ray Smith". www.vehiculepress.com. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ↑ "Lord Nelson Tavern : a novel / by Ray Smith - Catalogue | National Library of Australia". catalogue.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ↑ "Previous QWF Awards Winners". www.qwf.org. Archived from the original on 2014-10-31. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
- ↑ Smith, Ray (1999). The Man who Loved Jane Austen. The Porcupine's Quill. ISBN 978-0-88984-202-1.
- ↑ "Cape Breton is the Thought-Control Centre of Canada". www.biblioasis.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-10. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
- ↑ "Biblioasis Catalogue:: Biblioasis :: FRESH LIT (Not Canned) :: The Best in IndieLit". www.biblioasis.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
- ↑ "The Flush of Victory: Jack Bottomly Among the Virgins". Biblioasis. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ↑ Alex Good and Stephen W. Beattie, "Flying Under the Radar: 10 Underrated Canadian Authors", National Post, August 2010
- ↑ "Ray Smith | Obituaries |". www.thechronicleherald.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-06-25. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
External links
edit- Archives of Ray Smith (Ray Smith fonds, R11807) are held at Library and Archives Canada