Biography of Timothy Findley essays

Biography of Timothy Findley essays Timothy Findley was a Canadian novelist and playwright, who was one of Canadas most famous writers. He was born in 1930 Toronto and was raised in the Rosedale district. He self educated himself after grade 10, after which he pursued a career in the arts, studying dance and acting despite his parents aversion to them. He was a very accomplished actor before he turned to writing. While performing in the London cast of The Matchmaker he met the actress Ruth Gordon and the writer Thornton Wilder. Both remained lifelong friends with Findley, and eventually influenced him that his true career lay in writing. His first two novels, The Last of the Crazy People and The Butterfly Plague, were rejected by Canadian publishers but were eventually published in Britain. Findley's third novel The Wars won the Governor Generals Award for fiction and was eventually made into a movie in 1981. His writing was greatly influenced by Jungian psychology. However mental illness, gender and sexuality were frequent recurring themes in his work. His characters often carried dark personal secrets, and were often conflicted usually to the point of psychosis by these burdens, such as his character Robert Ross from his book The Wars. The Wars remains Findleys best-written book. Partly based on the wartime correspondence of his uncle, Thomas Irving Findley, he wrote the novel in guise of a researcher trying to reconstruct the story of Robert Ross, a soldier of the Great War. The book explores many of the obsessions that are expressed in all of his writing: violence, loneliness, a concern for animal rights, and the survival of the individual in a world of madness. Findley helped found the Writers' Union of Canada and served as its chairperson. Findley also was President of the Canadian chapter of P.E.N. International. He was also active in Artists Against Racism. He has won numerous awards including the Canadian Authors Association ...