Arthur Scammell

{{Short description|Canadian writer (1913–1995)}}

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| birth_place = Change Islands, Newfoundland

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| death_place = St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

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| notable_works = Squid-Jiggin' Ground

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Arthur Reginald Scammell, CM (February 12, 1913 – August 28, 1995) was a Newfoundlander and Canadian writer.

Early life and education

Scammell was born in Change Islands, where he grew up and received his early education. He was a schoolteacher in several Newfoundland outports during the 1930s. He left to attend McGill University and did not live full-time in Newfoundland again until 1970, after his retirement from teaching.{{cite web |title=Arthur Scammell |author1=Betty Nygaard King |author2=Richard Green |author3=James G.G. Moore |authorlink=

|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/arthur-scammell-emc/

|website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |date=22 July 2015 |publisher=Historica Canada |accessdate=28 March 2017}}

Works

Scammell is perhaps best known for his songwriting, most notably, "Squid-Jiggin' Ground", which he wrote while still in high school, and The Six-Horsepower Coaker. However, he also produced a significant body of work that was originally published in the magazine Atlantic Guardian, of which he was also a co-founder. Through essays and stories, Scammell attempted to convey some of the positive aspects of life in Newfoundland outports, which, despite their disadvantages, he saw as providing a sense of community and personal satisfaction that larger centres lacked.

A collection of Scammell's work was published as My Newfoundland in 1966. In 1987, he became a Member of the Order of Canada.{{cite web |title=Order of Canada: Arthur Reginald Scammell |website=The Governor General of Canada

|url=http://www.gg.ca/honour.aspx?id=2431&t=12 |access-date=28 March 2017}} In 1977, he received his Honorary Doctor of Laws from Memorial University of Newfoundland and, in 2011, he was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (for "Squid-Jiggin' Ground"). In 1985, the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council established an annual award for writers in his honour.{{Cite web|url=https://www.changeislands.ca/popups/pop_scammell.htm|title=Arthur Reginald Scammell|website=www.changeislands.ca|access-date=2018-08-14}}

See also

Bibliography

  • From Boat to Blackboard (1987)

References

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Category:Members of the Order of Canada

Category:Writers from Newfoundland and Labrador

Category:1913 births

Category:1995 deaths

Category:McGill University alumni