Margaret Gibson (writer)
{{Short description|Canadian novelist and short story writer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox writer
|name = Margaret Gibson
|image = Gibson-M.jpg
|imagesize = 150px
|caption =
|birth_place = Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
|birth_date = {{Birth date|mf=yes|1948|6|4}}
|death_date = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|2006|2|25|1948|6|4}}
|death_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada
|occupation = Short story writer, novelist
|period = 1976–1998
|genre = Fiction
|notableworks = The Butterfly Ward, Opium Dreams
}}
Margaret Gibson (June 4, 1948 – February 25, 2006) was a Canadian novelist and short story writer who lived in Toronto, Ontario.
Early life
Born and raised in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, the middle child of Audrey and Dane Gibson, Margaret Gibson began writing in the early 1970s to document her struggle with mental illness."Demons drove gifted writer's career; Toronto author Margaret Gibson, 57 Burst on scene with The Butterfly Ward", Toronto Star, April 10, 2006. Initially diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, she learned only during her divorce from her first husband that she had been misdiagnosed and was in fact bipolar."Author's `tortured life' turned into two-hour TV special". Ottawa Citizen, February 24, 1994.
She was married in the early 1970s to Stuart Gilboord, with whom she had one son, Aaron. Following her divorce from Gilboord, Gibson moved in with her longtime friend, actor and drag performer Craig Russell. Gibson and Gilboord's custody battle for Aaron was portrayed in the 1994 television film For the Love of Aaron, in which Gibson was portrayed by actress Meredith Baxter.
Writing career
Gibson published The Butterfly Ward, her debut short story collection, in 1976.[https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/margaret-gibson-2/the-butterfly-ward/ "The Butterfly Ward by Margaret Gibson"]. Kirkus Reviews, March 3, 1980. The book included the story "Making It", based on her experiences living with Russell, which was later made into the feature film Outrageous! by director Richard Benner."Richard Benner picks his own labels". The Globe and Mail, June 18, 1979. Hollis McLaren played Liza Conners, the fictionalized version of Gibson, in that film. Benner also wrote and directed the sequel Too Outrageous! 10 years later. "Ada", another story in the collection, was the basis of a CBC Television movie directed by Claude Jutra for the drama anthology series For the Record."Jutra brings warmth, humanity to mental hospital drama". The Globe and Mail, February 5, 1977. It was Jutra's first English-language film production. The Butterfly Ward was a winner of the City of Toronto Book Award in 1977, shared with Margaret Atwood's novel Lady Oracle."Archeologist, nurse, hockey player among winners of merit awards". The Globe and Mail, March 5, 1977.
Gibson's other short story collections include Considering Her Condition (1978),"Gibson's territory is out beyond the jagged edges of life a step away from the abyss where reality and fantasy are indistinguishable". The Globe and Mail, September 30, 1978. Sweet Poison (1993)"Haunting stories reflect writer's own mental illness". Ottawa Citizen, November 6, 1993. and The Fear Room and Other Stories (1996).Jane Urquhart, "Brilliant fictions for the stout-hearted: Margaret Gibson's joyous and celebratory love of children and animals shines through the darker, more excruciating regions of her luminous first novel". The Globe and Mail, April 26, 1997. She published releasing her first and only novel Opium Dreams in 1997. Opium Dreams was a winner of the Books in Canada First Novel Award,"Opium Dreams wins award". Ottawa Citizen, April 25, 1998. and Gibson published her final short story collection Desert Thirst in 1998."A pitiless, ruthless story collection". Edmonton Journal, July 5, 1998.
Later years
Works about Margaret Gibson
Her friends, Stephen Jon Postal and his wife Guia Dino Postal, chronicled Gibson's teenage life in the novel Of Margaret and Madness: A Novel Inspired by True Events ({{ISBN|9781434332752}}).
In 2011, Vassar College's Powerhouse Theater produced David Solomon's play Margaret and Craig in workshop. The play was based on the writing of Craig Russell and Margaret Gibson.
Bibliography
- The Butterfly Ward, 1976
- Considering Her Condition, 1978
- Sweet Poison,1993
- The Fear Room and Other Stories, 1996
- Opium Dreams, 1997
- Desert Thirst, 1998
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0318316}}
{{Amazon.ca First Novel Award}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Margaret}}
Category:Canadian women novelists
Category:Canadian women short story writers
Category:Writers from Scarborough, Ontario
Category:Deaths from cancer in Ontario
Category:Deaths from breast cancer in Canada
Category:People with bipolar disorder
Category:20th-century Canadian novelists
Category:20th-century Canadian women writers