Sarah Binks

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First edition (publ. Oxford University Press) SarahBinks.jpg
First edition
(publ. Oxford University Press)

Sarah Binks is a novel published in 1947 by University of Manitoba professor Paul Hiebert. The novel is a faux biography of "Sarah Binks", the "Sweet Songstress of Saskatchewan". [1] It satirizes literary pretensions — both of the critic and of the poet — by presenting a poet and critic (the author) whose productions are awash with misreadings and sentimental clap-trap. [2]

Novel narrative text, normally of a substantial length and in the form of prose describing a fictional and sequential story

A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, normally written in prose form, and which is typically published as a book.

The University of Manitoba is a public research university in Manitoba, Canada. Its main campus is located in the Fort Garry neighbourhood of southern Winnipeg with other campuses throughout the city. Founded in 1877, it is Western Canada's first university. The university maintains a reputation as a top research-intensive post-secondary educational institution and conducts more research annually than any other university in the region.

Paul Gerhardt Hiebert was a Canadian writer and humorist best known for his book Sarah Binks (1947), which was awarded the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour in 1948. A sequel, Willows Revisited was published in 1967.

Contents

Peter Gzowski made Hiebert a frequent guest on his CBC Radio program Morningside and Hiebert thereby became well-known across Canada. [3] Now considered a Canadian classic, Sarah Binks has never been out of print [3] since its original publication in 1947. [1] Its New Canadian Library edition featured an afterword by Charles Gordon.

Peter Gzowski Canadian broadcaster, writer and reporter

Peter John Gzowski, known colloquially as "Mr. Canada", or "Captain Canada", was a Canadian broadcaster, writer and reporter, most famous for his work on the CBC radio shows This Country in the Morning and then Morningside. His first biographer argued that Gzowski's contribution to Canadian media must be considered in the context of efforts by a generation of Canadian nationalists to understand and express Canada's cultural identity. Gzowski wrote books, hosted television shows, and worked at a number of newspapers and at Maclean's magazine. Gzowski was known for a friendly and warm interviewing style.

CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.

Morningside was a nationally broadcast Canadian radio program, which aired on CBC Radio from September 20, 1976 to May 30, 1997. It was broadcast from 9 a.m. to noon, Monday to Friday. The series replaced a series of short-lived morning radio programs that aired in this slot after This Country in the Morning ended in 1974.

In 1967, Hiebert produced a sequel Willows Revisited, which, although well-received, did not receive the same level of acclaim as the original novel. The title refers to Willows, the fictional Saskatchewan birthplace of Binks. [2]

Although Hiebert's gentle brand of humour is recognizable to some in Canada, it is not uncommon for Americans to believe Sarah Binks to have been a real person and to excoriate her translations of Heinrich Heine. Some reviewers have suggested models for Sarah, including Canadian poet E. Pauline Johnson. Hiebert said that his character was not based on any single person. [4]

Heinrich Heine German poet, journalist, essayist, and literary critic

Christian Johann Heinrich Heine was a German-Jewish poet, journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside of Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Robert Schumann and Franz Schubert. Heine's later verse and prose are distinguished by their satirical wit and irony. He is considered part of the Young Germany movement. His radical political views led to many of his works being banned by German authorities, which however only added to his fame. Heine spent the last 25 years of his life as an expatriate in Paris.

A small town poet in The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny is compared to Binks. [5]

<i>The Cruelest Month</i> book by Louise Penny

The Cruelest Month, by Louise Penny, is the third novel in the Three Pines Mysteries series, which feature Inspector Armand Gamache.

Louise Penny Canadian writer

Louise Penny is a Canadian author of mystery novels set in the Canadian province of Quebec centred on the work of francophone Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec. Penny's first career was as a radio broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. After she turned to writing, she won numerous awards for her work, including the Agatha Award for best mystery novel of the year five times, including four consecutive years (2007–2010), and the Anthony Award for best novel of the year five times, including four consecutive years (2010–2013). Her novels have been published in 23 languages.

Awards and recognition

The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour is an annual literary award presented for the best book of humour written in English by a Canadian writer, published or self-published in the previous year. The silver medal, designed by sculptor Emanuel Hahn, is a tribute to well-known Canadian humorist Stephen Leacock (1869–1944) and is accompanied by a cash prize of $15,000 (CAD). It is presented each year in July during a banquet ceremony in or near Leacock’s hometown of Orillia, Ontario.

<i>Canada Reads</i> book contest

Canada Reads is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired annually in two distinct editions, the English-language Canada Reads on CBC Radio One, and the French-language Le Combat des livres on Première Chaîne. The English edition has aired annually since 2002, while the French edition aired annually from 2004 to 2014, and was then discontinued until being revived in 2018.

An author is the creator or originator of any written work such as a book or play, and is thus also a writer. More broadly defined, an author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility for what was created.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Sarah Binks". The Canadian Encyclopedia .
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Sarah Binks". Paul Hiebert Digital Fonds. University of Saskatchewan.
  3. 1 2 3 "Sarah Binks". Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan.
  4. ↑ Bourgeois-Doyle, Dick, What’s So Funny?: Lessons from Canada’s Leacock Medal for Humour Writing. General Store Publishing House, 2015. ISBN   978-1-77123-342-2. p. 14
  5. ↑ Penny, Louise (2011). The Cruellest Month. ISBN   0748129642.
  6. ↑ "Sarah Binks". CBC Books. CBC.
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