Ronald Hambleton

SS undefined

Ronald Hambleton (b. 1917) is a Canadian poet and freelance writer. He is best known in Canadian poetry circles for editing the 1944 anthology Unit of Five, which was the first publication in book form for Louis Dudek, P.K. Page, and Raymond Souster.

Life
Hambleton was born in Preston, Lancashire, England. His family came to Canada when he was seven years old and settled in Vancouver.

During the Great Depression, Hambleton had to leave school in his mid-teens to help support his family. He worked as an office boy in a law firm, then as a shipper for a wholesale clothing jobber, and then as a Customs & Excise messenger.

In his spare time Hambleton became involved in a Little Theatre group, and began to write. His first published poem was in the "Daily Poem" feature of the Vancouver Sun.

In 1944 Hambleton edited the anthology of modernist poetry, Unit of Five, where his poems appeared alongside poetry by Dudek, Page, Souster, and James Wreford.

Hambleton was one of the first Canadian writers to travel to Europe after World War II to interview noted authors and musicians.

Hambleton has published eleven books, ranging from novels to verse to biography, and from true crime to classical legend. He has published reportage and fiction in newspapers and magazines in both Canada and the United Kingdom. He was a columnist for Marketing magazine for five years, and music reviewer for the Toronto Star for thirty years.

In the broadcast media, Hambleton's work includes radio scripts, TV plays and documentaries. He created 14 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) series, including a 13-week series to mark the CBC's 25th anniversary. His documentaries include a television special celebrating Igor Stravinsky's 80th birthday).

Poetry

 * Unit of Five: Louis Dudek, Ronald Hambleton, P.K. Page, Raymond Souster, James Wreford. . Ronald Hambleton ed. Ryerson P, 1944.
 * Object & Event. Ryerson P, 1953. poems by Ronald Hambleton
 * verse of all sorts, light dark & wry. Toronto: Green Bushell, 1995.

Fiction

 * Every Man is an Island. London: Hutchinson, 1959. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1959. novel
 * There Goes McGill. London: Hutchinson, 1962. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1962. novel
 * The Love & Death of Orpheus. Green Bushell, Toronto, 1979. legend as fiction.
 * The Masque of Orpheus. unpublished novel.
 * The Veiled Murderess. unpublished novel.

Non-fiction

 * Mazo de la Roche of Jalna. New York: Hawthorn Press Inc., 1966. Toronto: General Publishing, 1966. critical biography
 * How I Earned $250K as a free lance writer even if it did take 30 years! Toronto: Green Bushell, 1977
 * The Secret of Jalna. Toronto: General Publishing, 1972. pictorial biography
 * A Master Killing. Toronto: Green Bushell, 1978. true Canadian Crime
 * The Branding of America. Camden, ME: Yankee Books, 1987. short biographies.
 * Under the same title: 12 excerpts published by Tokyo: Kaibunsha Ltd.

Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy The EngSoc Project.