William Herbert NewOCFRSC (born March 28, 1938) is a
Canadianpoet and
literary critic. Born in
Vancouver,
British Columbia, he was educated at
John Oliver Secondary School, where he received one of the top matriculation exam scores in British Columbia in 1956,[1] the
University of British Columbia, and the
University of Leeds.[2] He taught English literature at the University of British Columbia from 1965 to 2003, where he was also the Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies from 1975–1977, and an acting head of the English Department.[2] He also was an associate in 1971 at Cambridge University's Clare Hall.[2][3] On October 5, 2006, he was appointed an Officer of the
Order of Canada and was invested October 26, 2007.[4][5]
For 29 years, he held editorial positions at Canadian Literature and, in 2004, was made Editor Emeritus.[2]
He is the son of John New and Edith (Littlejohn). On July 6, 1967, William married Margaret Elizabeth Francis Ebbs-Canavan.[6][7]
Critical Writings on Commonwealth Literatures: A Bibliography — 1975
Modern Stories in English — 1975 (with H.J. Rosengarten)
Modern Canadian Essays — 1976
Margaret Laurence: The Writer and Her Critics — 1977
A Political Art: Essays and Images in Honour of George Woodcock — 1978
Active Voice — 1980 (with W.E. Messenger)
The Active Stylist — 1981 (with W.E. Messenger)
A 20th Century Anthology — 1984
Canadian Short Fiction — 1986
Canadian Writers Since 1960 — 1986
Canadian Writers Since 1960, 2nd series — 1987
Canadian Writers 1920-1959 — 1988
Canadian Writers 1920-1959, 2nd series — 1989
Native Writers and Canadian Writing — 1990
Canadian Writers Before 1890 — 1990
Canadian Writers 1890-1920 — 1990
Inside the Poem — 1992
Literature in English — 1993 (with W.E. Messenger)
Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada — 2002
Tropes and Territories: Short Fiction, Postcolonial Readings, Canadian Writings in Context — 2007 (with Marta Dvorak)
From a Speaking Place: Writings from the First Fifty Years of Canadian Literature — 2009 (with Réjean Beaudoin, Susan Fisher, Iain Higgins, Eva-Marie Kröller and Laurie Ricou)
Honors and awards
Killam Research and Teaching Prize — 1988, 1996 [8]