Charles Gordon

CM
Born1940 (age 83–84)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation
  • Novelist
  • humorist
  • journalist
NationalityCanadian
Alma materQueen's University
Period1970s–2000s
Notable works
  • The Governor General's Bunny Hop (1985)
  • The Canada Trip (1997)
ParentsJ. King Gordon

Charles William Gordon CM (born 1940) is a Canadian writer and retired journalist, best known as a longtime columnist for the Ottawa Citizen.[1]

Background

Born in New York City while his father J. King Gordon was working in publishing there,[2] Gordon grew up in several cities around the world during his father's diplomatic career with the United Nations.[2] He is also the brother of writer Alison Gordon and the grandson of novelist Ralph Connor.[2] He studied political science at Queen's University.[2]

Career

While completing his master's degree in political science, Gordon was hired as an editor with the Brandon Sun in 1964,[2] remaining with the paper until joining the Citizen in 1974.[2] With the Citizen, he held a variety of roles – including writing editorials, editing the local news and books sections, and writing his daily column[2] – until retiring from the paper in 2005.[1] He took a leave of absence from the paper in 2002 to serve for several months as writer-in-residence at the University of Ottawa.[3] Gordon's columns were noted for their wry and sometimes satirical humour.[2]

He published several books, both fiction and non-fiction. His first book, The Governor General's Bunny Hop, was adapted by CBC Television into the short-lived sitcom Not My Department.[4] He also wrote the afterword for the New Canadian Library edition of Paul Hiebert's influential humour novel Sarah Binks.

Awards and honours

He was a three-time nominee for the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, garnering nods in 1986 for The Governor General's Bunny Hop,[5] in 1994 for How Not to Be Too Bad[6] and in 2002 for The Grim Pig.[7]

He was granted an honorary doctorate from Brandon University in 1994.[8]

He was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada in 2023. He lives in Ottawa.[9]

Works

  • The Governor General's Bunny Hop (1985, ISBN 077159688X)
  • At the Cottage: An Affectionate Look at Canada's Summer Obsession (1989, ISBN 0771033931)
  • How to Be Not Too Bad: A Canadian Guide to Superior Behaviour (1993, ISBN 0771033923)
  • The Canada Trip (1997, ISBN 0771033893)
  • The Grim Pig (2001, ISBN 0771033974)
  • Still at the Cottage: Or the Cabin, the Shack, the Lake, the Beach, or Camp (2006, ISBN 978-0771034145)

References

  1. 1 2 "Charles Gordon: Incisive, Funny, Retired". Ottawa Citizen, June 11, 2005.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Cottage Industry". Winnipeg Free Press, August 3, 2006.
  3. ↑ "Charles Gordon Named U of O Writer in Residence". Ottawa Citizen, April 16, 2002.
  4. ↑ "Shelley Peterson Says New Sitcom Won't Embarrass Hubby David". The Gazette, September 26, 1987.
  5. ↑ "Star's Slinger Up for Humor Prize". Toronto Star, April 11, 1986.
  6. ↑ "Richardson Wins Leacock Prize". Ottawa Citizen, April 26, 1994.
  7. ↑ "Charles Gordon Nominated for Leacock". Ottawa Citizen, March 20, 2002.
  8. ↑ "Not bad! Citizen Book Editor Given Honorary Doctorate". Ottawa Citizen, May 29, 1994.
  9. ↑ "Order of Canada appointees – June 2023". 22 June 2023.

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