Mark Abley is a non-fiction writer, journalist, travel writer, and poet. He was born in Leamington, England, on May 13, 1955, and grew up in Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. He now lives in Montreal.
Abley studied literature at the University of Saskatchewan, obtaining a BA in 1975. He continued his studies as Rhodes scholar at Oxford University, where he completed a second BA with first-class honours in 1978 and a Master’s degree in 1983, both in literature.
After his studies, Mark Abley and his wife Ann moved to Montreal, where he began to work as a freelance writer. His first book, Beyond Forget : Rediscovering the Prairies, was published in 1986.
With the birth of his first child in 1987, Abley joined the Montreal Gazette, where he worked as a feature writer, book-review editor and literary columnist for the following sixteen years.
During his career at the Montreal Gazette, Abley won the National Newspaper Award for critical writing (1996) and was nominated for a National Newspaper Award for international reporting. In 1995, he received a “Dateline Hong Kong” fellowship sponsored by the Canadian Association of Journalists. In 1997, he received a Maclean-Hunter Fellowship in arts journalism from the Banff Centre for the Arts.
Mark Abley left The Gazette and returned to freelance writing in 2003 with the publication of Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Language. In 2005, Abley was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, which he used to write The Prodigal Tongue: Dispatches From the Future of English, published in 2008, as the second of three books about language. Abley also wrote a memoir of his father, The Organist : Fugues, Fatherhood, and a Fragile Mind, and a book about Indigenous and colonial history, Conversations with a Dead Man : The Legacy of Duncan Campbell Scott. In his book Strange Bewildering Time: Istanbul to Kathmandu in the Last Year of the Hippie Trail, published in 2023, Abley is reflecting back on his travels through Asia as a young man, in spring 1978. Abley also wrote the text of a children’s picture book, Ghost Cat.
In 2022 Mark Abley received an honorary doctorate from the University of Saskatchewan for his contributions to the literary community.
Abley was a participating member of poets’ workshops during his time in Oxford and later in Montreal. He has published three books of poetry, Blue Sand, Blue Moon (1988), Glasburyon (1994), and The Silver Palace Restaurant (2005), as well as the chapbook Dissolving Bedrock (2001). He received the QSPELL awards for poetry in 1989 and 1995.
Mark Abley has taught writing and literature at various writers’ workshops, at the Banff Centre for the Arts, at the English Department of Concordia University, and he has guest lectured in Concordia’s Journalism program. Abley has also served on juries for the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts et des letters du Québec, and the Quebec Writers Federation, of which he is a member. He is also a member of the Writers’ Union of Canada, the Canadian Association of Rhodes Scholars, and PEN Canada.
Published
Title based on the content of the fonds.
Copyright belongs to the creator(s).
The fonds documents Mark Abley’s career as a writer from 1972 to 2015 and his contribution to the Canadian literary culture. It reflects his work as journalist, especially for La Gazette, and his freelance writing in the fields of journalism, poetry, children’s books, editing, and non-fiction books. Furthermore, the fonds illustrates Abley’s various ways to give on his passion, be it through lectures, workshops, conferences, school visits or even religious services.
Finally, the fonds gives an insight into English literature from Quebec, especially poetry, dating from the 1970s to 2014, mainly through a collection of chapbooks and monographies, which are all signed by the authors. This collection is completed by several literary magazines and issues of Ogmios, the Journal of the Foundation for Endangered Languages.
The subjects of endangered languages and English as part of Quebec’s language culture have been repeatedly treated by Abley and can be found throughout the fonds.
The fonds also includes interviews that Abley conducted within the scope of his research with several English-speaking writers, such as Jane Goodall, Henry Kissinger, and others.
The fonds contains published as much as unpublished materials.
The fonds is organized into the following series:
P182/A Journalistic career
P182/B Freelance writer
P182/C Awards and scholarships
P182/D Outreach
P182/E Contacts with fellow writers
P182/F Literary publications by other authors
The fonds contains, but is not limited to, correspondence, drafts, drawings, photographs, invitations, articles, notes, literary texts, posters, chapbooks, publications, reports, sound recordings, ID-cards, comments, contracts, a grant application, research material, reviews, agreements, mock-up covers, publicity material, proposals, a score, proofs, a class paper, programs, brochures, handouts, agendas, an address book, CVs, biographies, outlines, interviews, lectures, policies, speeches, a video, a multi-media production, and a seed package.
Documents are arranged in the order of receipt. Posters and audio-visual materials are stored separately.
The material was initially donated to the Concordia University Archives by Mark Abley in 2003. Another deposit was made in 2005. One donation was made to Concordia University Library’s Special Collections in August 2015.
Further accruals are expected.
The fonds was transferred from Concordia University's Records Management and Archives Department to Concordia University Libraries' Special Collections April 20-21, 2016 and June 15, 2016.
Revised custodial history 2016-04-22; 2016-06-15
Access restricted to confidential information.
In most cases, reproductions are allowed for the purpose of research and private study. Use of material in a publication may only be done with written consent of the copyright owner(s).
Box listings are available.
Published
The series illustrates Mark Abley’s career as journalist, especially for The Gazette, but also as a freelancer. The series gives an insight into Abley’s interests and viewpoints through his journalistic work on a variety of subjects, such as the Armenian genocide and developing countries.
The series also includes interviews that Abley conducted within his research with writers, politicians, and other personalities such as Jane Goodall, Henry Kissinger, and more.
The series is organized into the following subseries:
P182/A1 Research material
P182/A2 Articles
P182/A3 Work at La Gazette
The series contains, but is not limited to, business cards, essays, notes, articles, correspondence, publications, photographs, a press kit, reports, archival material (photocopies), sound recordings, book reviews, drafts, ID-cards, a proposal, a schedule, a staff policy manual, a memorandum of Agreement, and a seed package.
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The sub-series provides information on a variety of subjects researched by Mark Abley during his work as a journalist. Recurring research topic are humanitarian and economical issues in developing countries, Human rights, minorities, animal protection, and English-Canadian Writers. The sub-series contains several documents related to the Armenian genocide and interviews that Abley conducted with writers, politicians, and other personalities such as Jane Goodall, Henry Kissinger, and more.
The sub-series contains, but s not limited to, business cards, essays, notes, newspaper articles, correspondence, publications, photographs, a press kit, reports, archival material (photocopies), sound recordings, and a seed package.
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Interview with Margaret Atwood
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Interview with John Ralston Saul
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Interview with Jane Goodall
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Interview with Henry Kissinger
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Interview with political scientist Philip Resnick
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Interview with writer Myrna Kostash
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Interview with Irish poet Seamus Heaney (1939-2013), Nobel Prize winner in Literature in 1995.
Poor sound quality
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Interview with Michael Ignatieff
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The sub-series provides information on a variety of subjects, such as racism, bilingualism, poverty, and English literature and writers, illustrating his career as journalist, especially for The Gazette, where he wrote, among others, the Watchword column.
The sub-series contains, but is not limited to, newspaper articles by Mark Abley and other writers, book reviews, drafts, and various publications.
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The sub-series provides information on Ableys work at The Gazette, including documentation on a trip to Hong Kong.
The sub-series contains ID-cards, articles, correspondence, a magazine, photographs, a proposal, a schedule, a staff policy manual, a style guide, and a memorandum of Agreement.
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The series provides information on Abley’s work as a freelance writer from 1979 to 2015. It includes poetry, editorial work, children books, as well as non-fiction books. The series contains published and unpublished materials.
The series is organized into the following subseries:
P182/B1 Poetry
P182/B2 Non-fiction
P182/B3 Young Audiences
P182/B4 Editorial Work
The series contains, but is not limited to, drafts, comments, contracts, correspondence, a grant application, manuscripts, notes, poems, research material, reviews, book excerpts, business cards, agreements, mock-up covers, a directory, essays, an invitation, publicity material, newspaper articles, periodicals, permissions, proposals, reports, a score, a speech, biographies, an awards program, an outline, proofs, a style guide, a work plan, and a class paper.
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The sub-series provides information on Abley’s poetry writings from his early days as a student in Oxford, to 2015. It includes unpublished works by Mark Abley, material about or by other Canadian poets, as well as material related to Abley’s published poetry collections, Blue Sand, Blue Moon, Glasburyon, The Silver Palace Restaurant, and The Tongues of Earth. The series also covers the poetry workshop groups that Abley was part of.
The sub-series contains a class paper, drafts, comments, contracts, correspondence, a grant application, magazines, manuscripts, newspapers, notes, poems, research material, reviews, and a report.
Published
The sub-series provides information on non fiction books written by Mark Abley from 1986 to 2014, starting with Abley’s first book, Beyond Forget : Rediscovering the Prairies, which was published in 1986. Other books are Spoken Here : Travels Among Threatened Languages (2003), The Prodigal Tongue, published in 2008, and Conversations with a Dead Man: The Legacy of Duncan Campbell Scott (2013). The sub-series also includes material related to essays published in anthologies and draft proposals of unpublished books.
The sub-series includes a biography, book excerpts, business cards, agreements, mock-up covers, comments, a directory, drafts, essays, an invitation, publicity material, newspaper articles, notes, correspondence, periodicals, permissions, a poem, proposals, research material, reviews, sales reports, a score, a speech, and a work plan.
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The sub-series provides information on children's books written by Mark Abley between 2000 and 2011, as there is Ghost Cat and Camp Fossil Eyes. It also includes an unpublished novel, Time’s Necklace. The Ghost Cat, for which Abley received the Torgi Literary Award, was presented by Abley during reading at schools in Montreal and surroundings.
The sub-series contains, without limitations, an awards program, a contract, comments, correspondence, a draft, notes, an outline, proposals, proof prints, reviews, a newspaper article, a style guide, and a critique.
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The sub-series provides information on Ableys work as editor from 1999 to 2012. During this time, he edited several books, starting with "Stories From the Ice Storm" in 1999.
He was faculty editor at the Banff Centre for Arts in 2000, and contributing editor for the 75th anniversary issue of Canadian Geographic, “Canada : Global Citizen”, in 2004.
As literary executor of poet Anne Szumigalski, Abley assembled and edited three posthumous books of her work from 2006 to 2012.
Within his writer’s residency at the Point-Claire Public Library in 2011, Abley edited a collection of writings by local residents, "The City We Share = La Ville que nous partageons".
In 2007 Abley was 'guest creative editor’ of a special Canadian issue of "Review".
The sub-series contains biographies, a contract, correspondence, drafts, essays, newspaper articles, magazines, poems, and reviews.
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The series provides information on awards and scholarships obtained by Mark Abley between 1977 and 2011, such as the Rhodes Scholarship, the LiberPress Prize, the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Torgi Literary Award, and the Alumni of Influence Award of the University of Saskatchewan. The series also includes documents related to the funding organizations, and to Abley's studies in English as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford in the 1970s.
The series contains, but is not limited to, a book, programs, correspondence, brochures, notes, essays, handouts, a pamphlet, a photograph, press clippings, a proposal, a report, and a video.
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During his career as an author and journalist, Mark Abley has reached out to readers and the literary community as a teacher, lecturer, speaker, panelist, and more. He participated in conferences and festivals, visited schools, and was involved with various organisations, such as the Quebec Writers' Federation and the Writer’s Union of Canada.
An important aspect of Ableys work consists of the promotion of English language as part of Quebec culture as well as raising awareness for endangered languages. In this context, Abley took part in the Quanglos tour to promote Quebec English-language writers in 1995. In 2013, Abley participated in the production of a DVD produced by the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network (QAHN).
Abley has taught in many institutions, including Concordia, Oxford, Cambridge, and Ohio State Universities. He has led several non-fiction workshops, among others for the Quebec Writers’ Federation and at the Banff Centre for the Arts, where he also got involved as a writer, editor, and guest lecturer in the Creative Nonfiction program.
Abley also reached out to young audiences, for example through school visits to promote his book Ghost Cat.
In 2011, Abley was writer in residence at the Pointe-Claire Public library, and in March 2016 at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.
As a member of the Unitarian Church of Montreal, Abley has led several religious services, which are also documented in this series.
Finally, Abley served as literary executor of the poet Anne Szumigalski.
The series is completed with interviews with Mark Abley, and his CVs.
The series contains, but is not limited to, agendas, an address book, CVs, policies, biographies, correspondence, course outlines, brochures, drafts, essays, posters, handbooks, handouts, interviews, invitations, notes, lectures, lists, photographs, newspaper articles, poems, periodicals, programs, reviews, speeches, a will, a festival schedule, pamphlets, a sound recording, and a multi-media production.
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The series illustrates Abley’s position within the literary community through his contacts to fellow writers and feedback from his readers. The series also includes literary works by other writers and a portrait of Abley.
The series contains, but is not limited to, a critique, a CV, correspondence, drafts, drawings, a leaflet, a chapbook, journals, photographs, invitations, newspaper articles, notes, poems, novels, and a poster.
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The series gives an insight into English literature from Quebec, especially poetry, in, dating from the 1970s to 2014. Marc Abley was in contact with many fellow writers, including Emily Cran, Gary Geddes, Eric Wesselow, and many others. As a result, he gathered a small collection of chapbooks and monographies signed by the authors. He also collected some literary magazines and several issues of Ogmios, published by the Foundation for Endangered Languages. Finally, the series includes some pages from old newspapers that Abley preserved.
The series contains, but is not limited to, journals, leaflets, magazines, monographs, newspapers, newspaper articles, notes, a poster, chapbooks, and a bookmark.