Born in Chatham, New Brunswick, Raymond Fraser attended St. Thomas University where in his freshman year he played on the varsity hockey and football teams, and served as co-editor with John Brebner of the student literary magazine Tom-Tom in his junior year. His 20-year correspondence and friendship with the poet Alden Nowlan date from this period.[citation needed]
During the sixties Fraser worked as a lab technician, a high school teacher, and as editor and freelance writer for a number of tabloid newspapers.[citation needed]
While living in Montreal in 1966, Fraser and poet Leroy Johnson founded the literary magazine Intercourse: Contemporary Canadian Writing.[citation needed] In 1971 he cofounded Montreal Story Tellers Fiction Performance Group and the Rank Outsiders Poetry Extravaganza.[citation needed] His first book of fiction, The Black Horse Tavern (1973), was published in Montreal by Ingluvin Publications.
Fraser died in Fredericton, New Brunswick, on October 22, 2018, at the age of 77.
Awards and recognition
His novel, The Bannonbridge Musicians (Ingluvin Publications) was a finalist for the 1978 Governor General's Award.
Five of Fraser's books were listed in Atlantic Canada's 100 Greatest Books (Nimbus Publishing, 2009), a title also shared by three other authors.[citation needed]
In 2012, he was made a member of the Order of New Brunswick, the province's highest honour, for his contributions to literature and New Brunswick's cultural life.[citation needed]
In May 2016, he received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from his alma mater, St Thomas University.[citation needed] In 2017, he received the Canadian Senate Sesquicentennial Medal in recognition of valuable service to the nation.[citation needed]
Over the years he received four Canada Council Grants, six New Brunswick Arts Board Grants, and the Canadian Writers' Trust Woodcock Grant.[citation needed]
Bibliography
Fiction
The Black Horse Tavern – 1973. Revised definitive edition with an Introduction by the author – 2014 (novella & stories)
The Struggle Outside – 1975. Revised definitive edition with an Afterword by the author – 2013 (novel)
Struthers, J. R. (Tim) (1985). The Montreal Story Tellers. Montreal: Vehicle Press.
Williamson, Margie (1973). Four Maritime Poets: A Survey of the Works of Alden Nowlan, Fred Cogswell, Raymond Fraser and Al Pittman, as They Reflect the Spirit and Culture of the Maritime People (Master's thesis). Dalhousie University.
