Joan Finnigan (1925-2007). Courtesy Penumbra Press.
Joan Helen Finnigan (November 23, 1925 - August 12, 2007) was a Canadian poet and prose writer. She wrote over 30 books, many of them oral histories of the Ottawa Valley.
Life[]
Finnigan was born and raised in Ottawa. She was the daughter of Frank Finnigan, an Ottawa Senators' hockey legend, and mother Maye (Horner), and the sister of Frank Jr, Norma, and Ross Finnigan.[1]
She was educated at Lisgar Collegiate, Carleton University and Queen’s University.
Together with her husband, Grant Mackenzie, whom she married in 1949, Finnigan had 3 children, Jonathan, Roderick and Martha Mackenzie. MacKenzie died in 1965 and Finnigan raised the children as a single mother, while supporting the family through her writing. Her daughter Martha recalls as a child falling asleep to the sound of the typewriter at night.[2]
Finnigan died in Ottawa on August 12, 2007 at the age of 81. She was survived by her 3 children and 7 grandchildren.
Writing[]
After graduating from university, Finnigan began her career as a teacher and reporter for the Ottawa Journal.
She published over 30 books during her career, half of them inspired by her native Ottawa Valley, including her ground-breaking, best-selling oral histories such as Some of the Stories I Told You Were True, It Was Warm and Sunny When We Set Out, Legacies, Legends & Lies, Tell Me Another Story and Tallying the Tales of the Old-Timers. She also authored 14 collections of poetry, plus many radio scripts and newspaper and magazine articles.[3]
Her final oral history, Life along the Opeongo Line, was published in 2004. She published her 14th collection of poetry in 2007, Looking for a Turnout.[3]
Recognition[]
Finnigan won the Canadian Genie Award for Best Screenplay in 1969 for the 1968 film The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar, which starred Margot Kidder. The film also won the Canadian Film Award for Film of the Year.[4]
Her oral histories have won several prestigious regional awards, while her poetry compendia, The Watershed Collection and Wintering Over, were respectively shortlisted for the Pat Lowther Award and the Trillium Award.
She was honored in Ottawa with the declaration of April 16, 2005, as "Joan Finnigan Day" by Ottawa's mayor.[3]
Publications[]
Poetry[]
- Through the Glass, Darkly. Toronto: Ryerson, 1957.
- A Dream of Lilies. Fredericton, NB: Fiddlehead, 1965.
- Entrance to the Greenhouse. Toronto: Ryerson, 1968.
- It Was Warm and Sunny when We Set Out. Toronto: Ryerson, 1970.
- Living Together. Fredericton, NB: Fiddlehead, 1976.
- A Reminder of Familiar Faces. Toronto: NC Books, 1978.
- This Series Has Been discontinued. Fredericton, NB: Fiddlehead, 1981.
- The Watershed Collection (edited by Robert Weaver). Kingston, ON: Quarry Press, 1988.
- Wintering Over. Kingston, ON: Quarry Press, 1992.
- Second Wind, Second Sight. Windsor, ON: Black Moss, 1998.
- Looking for a Turnout: Poems, new and revisited. Manotick, ON: Penumbra Press, 2006.
Short fiction[]
- Command Performance. Fredericton, NB: Fiddlehead, 1970.
- Dancing at the Crossroads: Stories. Kingston, ON: Quarry Press, 1995.
Non-fiction[]
- In the Brown Cottage on Loughborough Lake. (photos by Erik Christensen). Toronto: Herzig Somerville, for CBC Learning Systems, 1970.
- "I Come from the Valley'' (with photos by Erik Christensen). Toronto: NC Press, 1976.
- Canadian Colonial Cooking: Tested recipes from Ontario's pioneer villages and historical sites. Toronto: NC Press, 1976.
- Kingston: Celebrate this city (with watercolors by Frank C. Johnston). Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1976.
- Laughing All the Way Home. Ottawa: Deneau, 1984.
- Legacies, Legends, and Lies. Toronto: Deneau, 1985.
- Finnigan's Guide to the Ottawa Valley: A cultural & historical companion. Kingston, ON: Quarry Press, 1988.
- Old Scores, New Goals: The story of the Ottawa Senators. Kingston, ON: Quarry Press, 1992.
- Lisgar Collegiate Institute, 1843-1993. Ottawa: Lisgar Collegiate Institute, 1993.
- Witches, Ghosts, and Loup-Garous: Scary tales from Canada's Ottawa Valley. Kingston, ON: Quarry Press, 1994.
- Down the Unmarked Roads. Burnstown, ON: General Store, 1997. (limited preview)
- Telling the Tales of the Old-Timers. Burnstown, ON: General Store, 1998.
- Life along the Opeongo Line: The story of a Canadian colonization road. Manotick, ON: Penumbra Press, 2004.
Juvenile[]
- The Dog Who Wouldn't be Left Behind (illustrated by Steve Beinecke). Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1989.
- Giants of Canada's Ottawa Valley. Burnstown, ON: General Store, 1981.
- Look! The Land is Growing Giants: A very Canadian legend. Montreal & Plattsburgh, NY: Tundra Books, 1983.
- Tell Me Another Story. Toronto: McGraw Hill-Ryerson, 1988.
Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.[5]
See also[]
References[]
Notes[]
- ↑ "Finnigan dead at 91". The Ottawa Citizen: p. H1. 1991-12-26.
- ↑ Lofaro, Tony (2007-08-15). "She loved to tell tales of the Valley". The Ottawa Citizen: p. C2.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Shanahan, Noreen (2007-09-05). "Chronicler of the Ottawa Valley sought 'not from books but from life'". The Globe and Mail: p. S8.
- ↑ "The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar". Collection. National Film Board of Canada. 1968. http://www.onf-nfb.gc.ca/eng/collection/film/?id=10925. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
- ↑ Search results = au:Joan Finnigan, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Aug. 10,2014.
External links[]
- Books
- Joan Finnigan at Amazon.com
- About
- Joan Finnigan at Penumbra Press
- "Chronicler of the Ottawa Valley sought 'not from books but from life'" obituary, Ottawa Citizen
- Helen Joan Finnigan" at Federation Genealogie
- Joan Finnigan at IMDb
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