Biography
Editor, poet, critic, travel writer, historian, philosopher, essayist, biographer, autobiographer, political activist, university lecturer, librettist, humanitarian, gardener…George Woodcock seemed entitled to wear almost as many hats as there are works to his credit—which stand at somewhere between 120 and 150, not including the radio and TV plays, documentaries and speeches.
Worldwide, he is most well known for his books on the philosophy of anarchism and its history, and for his well-received biography,The Crystal Spirit, on his friend George Orwell. From a national perspective, he was a literary champion, founding the journal Canadian Literature in 1959, finally passing on its editorship eighteen years later. The journal was the first of its kind, and it provided a much-needed place for the exploration and celebration of the works of Canadian literary authors.
George Woodcock was first and foremost a Canadian, born May 8th, 1912, in Winnipeg. He didn’t remain in Canada for long: his parents—unable to scrape up a decent living in the colonies—returned with him to England, where he was to spend the next 3 and a half decades. As a child, he lived scarcely above the poverty line, and attended grammar school; he brought his formal education to a halt when he declined to go to Oxford on a partial scholarship, on the grounds that he would have to join the clergy.
He entered the workforce, obtaining a job as a clerk for the Great Western Railway, where he eagerly began to educate himself—and to write. In London, George socialized with many of the writers and intellectuals of the day, including Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, Herbert Read and T.S. Eliot, to name a few. He became interested in anarchism, and leftist politics in general, devoting much of his work to those subjects.
With the advent of World War II, G.W. resisted enlistment on the basis of his belief that violence was intrinsically wrong, and spent the duration of the war doing farmwork. George married his wife, Ingeborg, in Germany. In 1949, they immigrated to Canada, first residing in Sooke, on Vancouver Island, where they were unsuccessful in making a living as market gardeners. Friends helped them to relocate to Vancouver, where they remained—eventually purchasing a house in Kerrisdale. Around this time, George was writing for the CBC, and had penned the first of a number of travel books, Ravens and Prophets (1952).
In 1955, G.W. became involved with the University of British Columbia, lecturing in the English Department beginning in 1956, and teaching a course on the European Novel in Translation. At this point in his life, he was producing several books a year, as well as many articles and monographs. In 1966, he received the Governor General’s Award for The Crystal Spirit. He taught at the university into the 1970s, and was awarded an honourary DLitt by UBC in 1977 (he received 5 other honourary degrees from other universities). He refused many awards, including the prestigious Order of Canada, choosing to accept only those given by his colleagues and peers.
As well as writing extensively on Canada and British Columbia, George Woodcock focused much of his attention on what was going on in the rest of the world. After the Chinese takeover of Tibet, he became interested in the plight of the Tibetans. Travelling to India, he and his wife studied Buddhism and established a friendship with the Dalai Lama. Together, George and Ingeborg founded the Tibetan Refugee Aid Society; later came the Canada India Village Aid Society. But the couple’s generosity didn’t stop there: they created—out of their life savings—an emergency fund to assist Canadian writers in need.
Despite his deteriorating health, G.W. continued to pursue his writing career in the 80s and into the 90s, though not producing to the same degree as he did in the decades before. He published the third installment of his autobiography, and The Cherry Tree on Cherry Street and Other Poems, which was to be his last book of poetry (1994). In 1994, Vancouver’s mayor declared May 7th as George Woodcock Day, and awarded G.W. the Freedom of the City. Although George accepted this honour, he was unable to attend the festivities, which included the largest gathering of authors in Western Canada (Margaret Atwood read out his speech), a gallery showing of new art created in his honour, and a 2-day symposium to celebrate his lifetime work at Simon Fraser University’s downtown campus. Less than a year later, George Woodcock died at his home, at age 82, on January 28th, 1995.
E-book
George Woodcock: Collected editorials from Canadian Literature
Canadian Literature proudly presents our first ebook: George Woodcock: Collected editorials from Canadian Literature.
Compiled and edited by Canadian Literature’s Glenn Deer (Associate Editor) and Matthew Gruman (Marketing and Communications), this collection contains all the editorials George Woodcock wrote during his tenure as editor and Balancing the Yin and the Yang,
written as a guest editorial in 1992.
Also included are Alan Twigg’s In Praise of an Omnivorous Intelligence
and Glenn Deer’s Alive to Unfashionable Possibilities: Reading Woodcock’s Collected Editorials
—two tributes written specifically for this edition.
George Woodcock: Collected editorials from Canadian Literature is available in the EPUB (list of supported devices) and PDF formats.
“Canadian Literature wishes to establish no clan, little or large. It will not adopt a narrowly academic approach, nor will it try to restrict its pages to any school of criticism or any class of writers. It is published by a university, but many of its present and future contributors live and work outside academic circles, and long may they continue to do so, for the independent men and women of letters are the solid core of any mature literature. Good writing, writing that says something fresh and valuable on literature in Canada is what we seek, no matter where it originates. It can be in English or in French, and it need not necessarily be by Canadians, since we intend to publish the views of writers from south of the border or east of the Atlantic, who can observe what is being produced here from an external and detached viewpoint.”
—George Woodcock,First Issue of Canadian Literature(1959).
Download George Woodcock: Collected editorials from Canadian Literature from the iBookstore
Download GEORGEWOODCOCK.pdf directly
Table of Contents
In Praise of an Omnivorous Intelligence
by Alan TwiggAlive to Unfashionable Possibilities: Reading Woodcock’s Collected Editorials
by Glenn DeerFirst Issue of Canadian Literature.
Canadian Literature #1, Summer 1959Aeropagitica re-written.
Canadian Literature #2, Autumn 1959A Time of Projects.
Canadian Literature #3, Winter 1960On the Cultivation of Laurels.
Canadian Literature #4, Spring 1960Summer Thought.
Canadian Literature #5, Summer 1960Honours and Awards.
Canadian Literature #6, Autumn 1960A Record Writ in Air.
Canadian Literature #7, Winter 1961Under Seymour Mountain.
Canadian Literature #8, Spring 1961Shoots from an Old Tree.
Canadian Literature #9, Summer 1961The Muse of Politics.
Canadian Literature #10, Autumn 1961Remote Reflections.
Canadian Literature #11, Winter 1962Reflections in the Chartroom.
Canadian Literature #12, Spring 1962Celebrations of Harvest.
Canadian Literature #13, Summer 1962Cautious Inevitability.
Canadian Literature #14, Autumn 1962Smith’s Hundred.
Canadian Literature #15, Winter 1963Salt and Savour.
Canadian Literature #16, Spring 1963A Spectre is Haunting Canada.
Canadian Literature #17, Summer 1963A Commonwealth of Literatures.
Canadian Literature #18, Autumn 1963Titanic, but Not Olympian.
Canadian Literature #19, Winter 1964Problems of Equilibrium.
Canadian Literature #20, Spring 1964On the Divide.
Canadian Literature #21, Summer 1964Uncommercial Voices.
Canadian Literature #22, Autumn 1964Surveyors and Natural Historians.
Canadian Literature #23, Winter 1965Canadian Biography.
Canadian Literature #24, Spring 1965Trans-Pacific Greetings: Meanjin‘s 100th Issue.
Canadian Literature #25, Summer 1965Biographical First Fruits.
Canadian Literature #28, Spring 1966Paperbacks and Respectable Pickpockets.
Canadian Literature #29, Summer 1966George Kuthan.
Canadian Literature #30, Autumn 1966Canadian Literature and the Centennial.
Canadian Literature #31, Winter 1967To Other Editors.
Canadian Literature #32, Spring 1967Preface to a Symposium.
Canadian Literature #33, Summer 1967Expanding Vistas.
Canadian Literature #34, Autumn 1967About Biographies.
Canadian Literature #36, Spring 1968Awards and Initiatives.
Canadian Literature #37, Summer 1968World in Microcosm.
Canadian Literature #38, Autumn 1968Momaco Revisited.
Canadian Literature #35, Winter 1968Centrifugal Publishing.
Canadian Literature #39, Winter 1969Sparrows and Eagles.
Canadian Literature #40, Spring 1969Getting away with Survival.
Canadian Literature #41, Summer 1969An Absence of Utopias.
Canadian Literature #42, Autumn 1969Arts in the Politician’s Eye.
Canadian Literature #43, Winter 1970The Absorption of Echoes.
Canadian Literature #44, Spring 1970Permutations of Politics.
Canadian Literature #45, Summer 1970The Frontiers of Literature.
Canadian Literature #46, Autumn 1970New Directions in Publishing.
Canadian Literature #47, Winter 1971New Trends in Publishing (2).
Canadian Literature #48, Spring 1971Criticism and Other Arts.
Canadian Literature #49, Summer 1971Swarming of Poets.
Canadian Literature #50, Autumn 1971The Craft of History.
Canadian Literature #51, Winter 1972Give The Corporation a Compass!.
Canadian Literature #52, Spring 1972Or Every Bellows Burst…
Canadian Literature #53, Summer 1972Limits of Taste and Tolerance.
Canadian Literature #54, Autumn 1972Horizon of Survival.
Canadian Literature #55, Winter 1973Periodical Precariousness.
Canadian Literature #56, Spring 1973Publishing Present.
Canadian Literature #57, Summer 1973New-Old Critics.
Canadian Literature #58, Autumn 1973Trapping the Bird of Love.
Canadian Literature #59, Winter 1974How a Land Grows Old.
Canadian Literature #60, Spring 1974When Did it All Begin?.
Canadian Literature #61, Summer 1974Premonitions of Mrs. Porter.
Canadian Literature #62, Autumn 1974Changing Patrons.
Canadian Literature #63, Winter 1975Tasting the Castalian Waters.
Canadian Literature #64, Spring 1975Victories and Farewells.
Canadian Literature #65, Summer 1975Valedictions.
Canadian Literature #66, Autumn 1975Manners of Criticism.
Canadian Literature #67, Winter 1976Maritime Cadences.
Canadian Literature #68-69, Spring/Summer 1976Historians and Biographers.
Canadian Literature #70, Autumn 1976Pride of Place and Past.
Canadian Literature #71, Winter 1976Playing Favorites.
Canadian Literature #72, Spring 1977Massey’s Harvest.
Canadian Literature #73, Summer 1977Balancing the Yin and the Yang.
Canadian Literature #133, Summer 1992
George Woodcock’s Editorials
- “Balancing the Yin and the Yang” from Canadian Literature #133 (George Woodcock: An 80th Birthday Collection), Summer 1992
- “Massey’s Harvest” from Canadian Literature #73 (Exiles and Expatriates), Summer 1977
- “Playing Favorites” from Canadian Literature #72 (The Psychology of Literature), Spring 1977
- “Pride of Place and Past” from Canadian Literature #71 (Remembering Roderick Haig-Brown), Winter 1976
- “Historians and Biographers” from Canadian Literature #70 (Themes and Variations in Criticism), Autumn 1976
- “Manners of Criticism” from Canadian Literature #67 (Manners of Criticism), Winter 1976
- “Valedictions: Pacey and Crawley” from Canadian Literature #66 (Jalna Revisited), Autumn 1975
- “Victories and Farewells” from Canadian Literature #65 (Links with the Great Tradition), Summer 1975
- “Tasting the Castalian Waters” from Canadian Literature #64 (Ultramarine – Hail and Farewell), Spring 1975
- “Changing Patrons” from Canadian Literature #63 (Wilderness and Utopia), Winter 1975
- “Premonitions of Mrs. Porter” from Canadian Literature #62 (Canadians – Conscious or Self-Conscious?), Autumn 1974
- “When Did it All Begin?” from Canadian Literature #61 (Fifteenth Anniversary Issue), Summer 1974
- “How a Land Grows Old” from Canadian Literature #60 (Contemporary Canadian Poets), Spring 1974
- “Trapping the Bird of Love” from Canadian Literature #59 (Lovers and Losers), Winter 1974
- “New-Old Critics” from Canadian Literature #58 (A Forest of Symbols), Autumn 1973
- “Publishing Present” from Canadian Literature #57 (Publish Canadian), Summer 1973
- “Periodical Precariousness” from Canadian Literature #56 (Poets Past and Future), Spring 1973
- “Horizon of Survival” from Canadian Literature #55 (Discoveries and Rediscoveries), Winter 1973
- “Limits of Taste and Tolerance” from Canadian Literature #54 (Poetic Occasions), Autumn 1972
- “Or Every Bellows Burst . . .” from Canadian Literature #53 (Of Heavenly Hounds and Earthly Men), Summer 1972
- “Give The Corporation a Compass!” from Canadian Literature #52 (National Origins), Spring 1972
- “The Craft of History” from Canadian Literature #51 (Anna, Susanna, and Catharine), Winter 1972
- “Swarming of Poets: An Editorial Reportage” from Canadian Literature #50 (Poetry of P. K. Page), Autumn 1971
- “Criticism and Other Arts” from Canadian Literature #49 (Views of Novelists), Summer 1971
- “New Trends in Publishing (2)” from Canadian Literature #48 (Aspects of Layton), Spring 1971
- “New Directions in Publishing (1)” from Canadian Literature #47 (Dorothy Livesay – Poetry of Politics and Love), Winter 1971
- “The Frontiers of Literature” from Canadian Literature #46 (The Frontiers of Literature), Autumn 1970
- “Permutations of Politics” from Canadian Literature #45 (Confrontations, Correspondences, Comparisons), Summer 1970
- “The Absorption of Echoes” from Canadian Literature #44 (Lowry’s Reading), Spring 1970
- “Arts in the Politician’s Eye” from Canadian Literature #43 (Arts in the Politician’s Eye), Winter 1970
- “An Absence of Utopias” from Canadian Literature #42 (The Living Mosaic), Autumn 1969
- “Getting Away with Survival” from Canadian Literature #41 (Tenth Anniversary Issue), Summer 1969
- “Sparrows and Eagles” from Canadian Literature #40 (Colonialism and Post-Colonialism), Spring 1969
- “Centrifugal Publishing” from Canadian Literature #39 (The Relevance of Humour), Winter 1969
- “World in Microcosm” from Canadian Literature #38 (Explorers and Poets), Autumn 1968
- “Awards and Initiatives” from Canadian Literature #37 (Federation of Letters), Summer 1968
- “About Biographies” from Canadian Literature #36 (Books of the Year), Spring 1968
- “Momaco Revisited” from Canadian Literature #35 (Wyndham Lewis in Canada), Winter 1968
- “Expanding Vistas” from Canadian Literature #34 (Views of Leonard Cohen), Autumn 1967
- “Preface to a Symposium” from Canadian Literature #33 (Publishing in Canada), Summer 1967
- “To Other Editors” from Canadian Literature #32 (New Wave in Canadian Poetry), Spring 1967
- “Canadian Literature and the Centennial” from Canadian Literature #31 (A Salute to F. R. Scott), Winter 1967
- “George Kuthan” from Canadian Literature #30 (A Salute to Earle Birney), Autumn 1966
- “Paperbacks and Respectable Pickpockets” from Canadian Literature #29 (Apprenticeships in Discovery), Summer 1966
- “Biographical First Fruits” from Canadian Literature #28 (Poets Past and Present), Spring 1966
- “Trans-Pacific Greetings: Meanjin’s 100th Issue” from Canadian Literature #25 (A Symposium on A. M. Klein), Summer 1965
- “Canadian Biography” from Canadian Literature #24 (Literary History in Canada), Spring 1965
- “Surveyors and Natural Historians” from Canadian Literature #23 (Modern Canadian Poets), Winter 1965
- “Uncommercial Voices” from Canadian Literature #22 (Louis Dudek as Man of Letters), Autumn 1964
- “On the Divide” from Canadian Literature #21 (Recollections of E. J. Pratt), Summer 1964
- “Problems of Equilibrium” from Canadian Literature #20 (The Critic’s Task), Spring 1964
- “Titanic, but Not Olympian” from Canadian Literature #19 (Salute to E. J. Pratt), Winter 1964
- “A Commonwealth of Literatures” from Canadian Literature #18 (The Writer’s World), Autumn 1963
- “A Spectre is Haunting Canada” from Canadian Literature #17 (Writers on the Prairies), Summer 1963
- “Salt and Savour” from Canadian Literature #16 (Plays and Folk Songs), Spring 1963
- “Smith’s Hundred” from Canadian Literature #15 (Salute to A.J. Smith), Winter 1963
- “Cautious Inevitability” from Canadian Literature #14 (Jacobean Poets in Newfoundland), Autumn 1962
- “Celebrations of Harvest” from Canadian Literature #13 (The Year in French Canada), Summer 1962
- “Reflections in the Chartroom” from Canadian Literature #12 (Poetry Off the Page), Spring 1962
- “Remote Reflections” from Canadian Literature #11, Winter 1962
- “The Muse of Politics” from Canadian Literature #10, Autumn 1961
- “Shoots from an Old Tree” from Canadian Literature #9, Summer 1961
- “Under Seymour Mountain” from Canadian Literature #8 (A Special Malcolm Lowry Issue), Spring 1961
- “A Record Writ in Air” from Canadian Literature #7, Winter 1961
- “Honours and Awards” from Canadian Literature #6, Autumn 1960
- “Summer Thoughts: Instead of an Editorial” from Canadian Literature #5, Summer 1960
- “On the Cultivation of Laurels” from Canadian Literature #4, Spring 1960
- “A Time of Projects” from Canadian Literature #3, Winter 1960
- “Aeropagitica re-written” from Canadian Literature #2, Autumn 1959
- “First Issue of Canadian Literature” from Canadian Literature #1, Summer 1959