Desmond Pacey

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William Cyril Desmond Pacey (May 1, 1917 - July 4, 1975) was a Canadian professor and literary critic.

Life
William Cyril Desmond Pacey was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, the son of William and Mary Pacey. His father was killed in World War I. Pacey and his mother emigrated to England, where he received his early education. In 1931, Pacey and his mother immigrated to Canada, where his mother remarried and they settled in Glanford Station, Ontario.

Pacey was educated at the University of Toronto and University of Cambridge. In 1939 he married Mary E. Carson of Ottawa, who would bear him 7 children.

Pacey taught English at the University of Manitoba from 1940 to 1944, and then at the University of New Brunswick where he remained until his death.

Pacey served as faculty Secretary from 1952 to 1969, and as Dean of Graduate Studies from 1960 to 1970. In 1970, he became Vice President Academic, and in 1972-1973 he also served as Acting President of the university.

An authority on Frederick Philip Grove, Pacey wrote a book on Grove, and produced editions of Grove's stories in 1971 and his letters in 1976. He is also known for his criticism of Frances Brooke, Leonard Cohen, and Ethel Wilson.

Pacey was an accomplished short story writer himself, and edited an anthology of short stories in 1947. He wrote approximately thirty short stories, plus scholarly journal articles and book, film, and play reviews, and contributed articles to several encyclopedias.

The Canadian Encyclopedia considers Creative Writing in Canada (1952) and Ten Canadian Poets (1958) to contain Pacey's finest work. It adds that "Pacey's balanced judgements have generally endured and his close studies of individual works have been influential."

Criticism

 * Frederick Philip Grove (1945)
 * ''Creative Writing in Canada: A Short History of English-Canadian Literature (1952, 1961, 1966)
 * ''Ten Canadian Poets: A Group of Biographical and Critical Essays (1958, 1966)
 * Ethel Wilson. (1968)
 * Essays in Canadian Criticism. 1969.

Fiction

 * Waken, Lords and Ladies Gay: The Selected Short Stories of Desmond Pacey, 1974.

Children's books

 * The Cow with the Musical Moo, and Other Verses for Children. (1952)
 * Hippity Hobo and the Bee, and Other Verses for Children. (1952)
 * The Cat, the Cow, and the Kangaroo: The Collected Children's Verse of Desmond Pacey. (1967).

Edited

 * A Book of Canadian Stories. (1947, 1950, 1961, 1967)
 * The Selected Poems of Sir Charles G.D. Roberts, 1860-1943. 1956.
 * Literary History of Canada. (1965).
 * Our Literary Heritage: An Anthology of Literature in English. (1966)
 * Frederick Philip Grove: Critical Views of Canadian Writers. (1970)
 * Selections from Major Canadian Writers (1974)
 * Selected Poems of Sir Charles G.D. Roberts. 1974.

Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy of University of New Brunswick.