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Matt Cohen

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Matt cohen (1)

Matt Cohen (1942-1999). Courtesy Canadian Books and Authors.

Matthew Cohen (December 30, 1942 - December 2, 1999), was a Canadian poet and writer of fiction. He also wrote children's literature under the pseudonym Teddy Jam.[1]

Life[]

Cohen was born in Kingston, Ontario,[1] and grew up in Ottawa.[2]

He studied political economy at the University of Toronto, and taught political philosophy and religion at McMaster University in the late 1960s before publishing his debut novel, Korsoniloff, in 1969.[1]

Matt Cohen

Matt Cohen (1942-1999). Photo courtesy the Writers' Trust of Canada and Wikimedia Commons.

A founding member of the Writers' Union of Canada,[3] he served on the executive board for many years and as president in 1986. During his presidency the Writer's Union was finally able to persuade the government of Canada to form a commission and establish a Public Lending Right program. He also served on the Toronto Arts Council as chair of the Literary Division and was able to obtain increased funding for writers.

He also published a number of children's books under the pseudonym Teddy Jam. Cohen's authorship of the Teddy Jam books was not revealed until after his death.[1]

He was married 3 times: to Arden Ford, then to Susan Bricker and finally to Patsy Aldana.[4]

Cohen died after a battle with lung cancer.[5]

Recognition[]

Cohen's final novel, Elizabeth and After, won the 1999 Governor General's Award for English-language Fiction just a few weeks before his death.[5] He had been nominated twice previously, in 1979 for The Sweet Second Summer of Kitty Malone and in 1997 for Last Seen. His children's book The Fishing Summer was also nominated for a Governor General's Award for children's literature in 1997, putting Cohen among of the few writers ever to be nominated for Governor General's Awards in 2 different categories in the same year.

In recognition of his work on behalf of writers, Cohen was awarded a Toronto Arts Award and the Harbourfront Prize.

The Matt Cohen Award was established in 2001 by the Writers' Trust of Canada and a group of anonymous donors.[3] The $20,000 prize is awarded annually, at the Writers’ Trust Awards event, to recognize a lifetime of distinguished work by a Canadian writer, working in either poetry or prose in either French or English.[6]

Emotional_Arithmetic_(2007)_Official_Trailer_1

Emotional Arithmetic (2007) Official Trailer 1

He is commemorated by Matt Cohen Park, a parkette at Bloor St. W. and Spadina Ave. in Toronto.[7]

In popular culture[]

A film adaptation of his 1990 novel Emotional Arithmetic has been produced by Triptych films, starring Max von Sydow, Christopher Plummer, Gabriel Byrne and Susan Sarandon. It was the closing Gala at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2007.[8]

Publications[]

Poetry[]

  • Peach Melba. Toronto: Coach House, 1974.
  • In Search of Leonardo. Toronto: Coach House, 1985.
  • Rhythms in Panic: Selection of poems of Matt Cohen. Downsview, ON: AMA Graphics, 1986.

Novels[]

  • Korsoniloff. Toronto: Anansi, 1969.
  • Johnny Crackle Sings. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1971.
  • The Disinherited. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1974.
  • Wooden Hunters. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1975.
  • The Colours of War. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1977.
  • The Sweet Second Summer of Kitty Malone. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1979.
  • Flowers of Darkness. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1981.
  • The Spanish Doctor. New York: Beaufort Books, 1984.
  • Nadine. Markham, ON: Viking Press, 1987; New York: Crown, 1987.
  • Emotional Arithmetic. Toronto: Lester & Orpen Dennys, 1990; New York: St. Martin's, 1990.
  • Freud: The Paris notebooks. Kingston, ON, & Clayton, NY: Quarry Press, 1991.
  • The Bookseller. Toronto: Vintage, 1993; New York: St. Martin's, 1993.
  • Last Seen: A novel. Toronto: Knopf Canada, 1997.
  • Elizabeth and After. Toronto: Knopf Canada, 1999; New York: Picador, 1999.

Short fiction[]

  • Columbus and the Fat Lady, and other stories. Toronto: Anansi, 1972.
  • Too Bad Galahad. Toronto: Coach House, 1972.
  • Night Flights: Stories, new and selected. Toronto & Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1978.
  • The Expatriate: Collected short stories. Toronto: General, 1982.
  • Café le Dog: Stories. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1983.
  • Life on This Planet, and other stories. New York: Beaufort Books, 1985.
  • Living on Water. Markham, ON, & New York: Viking, 1988.
  • Lives of the Mind Slaves: Selected stories. Erin, ON: Porcupine's Quill, 1994.
  • Getting Lucky: Stories. Toronto: Knopf Canada, 2001.
  • Trotsky's First Confessions (1994)

Non-fiction[]

  • Typing: A life in 26 keys. Toronto: Random House Canada, 2000.

Juvenile[]

  • The Leaves of Louise (illustrated by Rikki). Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1978.
as "Teddy Jam" [9]
  • Night Cars (illustrated by Eric Beddows). Toronto, ON: Groundwood, 1987; New York: Orchard, 1988.
  • Doctor Kiss Says Yes (illustrated by Joanne Fitzgerald). Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, 1991.
  • The Year of Fire (illustrated by Ian Wallace). Toronto: Groundwood, 1992; New York: M.K. McElderry, 1992.
  • The Charlotte Stories (illustrated by Harvey Chan). Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, 1994.
  • Jacob's Best Sisters (illlustrated by Joanne Fitzgerald). Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, 1996.
  • The Fishing Summer (illustrated by Ange Zhang). Toronto & Buffalo, NY: Douglas & McIntyre, 1997.
  • The Stoneboat (illustrated by Ange Zhang). Toronto & Buffalo, NY: Douglas & McIntyre, 1999.
  • ttuM. Toronto & Buffalo, NY: Douglas & McIntyre, 1999)
  • The Kid Line. Toronto & Buffalo, NY: Douglas & McIntyre, 2001.
  • This New Baby (board book; illustrated by Virginia Johnson). Toronto: Groundwood / Anansi, 2011.

Edited[]

  • The Dream Class Anthology: Writings from Toronto high schools (edited with David Young). Toronto: Coach House, 1983.
  • Intimate Strangers: New stories from Quebec (edited with Wayne Grady. Markham, ON, & New York: Penguin Books, 1986.
  • The Quebec Anthology (edited with Wayne Grady). Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 1996.


Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.[10]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 William H. New, Encyclopedia of literature in Canada (University of Toronto Press, 2002 ISBN=0-8020-0761-9), 219, Google Books, Web, Jan. 2, 2012.
  2. ↑ Michael Ondaatje, From Ink Lake: Canadian stories (Random House of Canada, 1995, ISBN=0-394-28138-1), 704, Google Books, Web, Jan. 2, 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Matt Cohen Prize, online guide to writing in canada, Web, Jun. 2, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Matt Cohen fonds". McMaster University. http://library.mcmaster.ca/archives/findaids/fonds/c/cohen-m.htm. Retrieved 2012-01-02. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 John Bemrose, Matt Cohen (Obituary), Maclean's Dec. 13, 1999, Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Institute, Web, Jun. 2, 2012.
  6. ↑ Matt Cohen Award: In Celebration of a Writing Life, Literary Awards, Writers' Trust of Canada, Web, Jun. 2, 2012.
  7. ↑ Megan Easton, Honouring Matt Cohen, U of T Magazine, Autumn 2002, University of Toronto. Web, Apr. 2, 2017.
  8. ↑ Rocchi, James (2007-09-15). "TIFF Review: Emotional Arithmetic". Cinematical.com. http://www.cinematical.com/2007/09/15/tiff-review-emotional-arithmetic/. Retrieved 2012-01-02. 
  9. ↑ Search results = au:Teddy Jam, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, June 7, 2014.
  10. ↑ Search results = au:Matt Cohen, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, June 7, 2014.

External links[]

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