John Higgins (born 27 June 1942), known as sean o huigin /ˈʃɔːn oʊ ˈhɪɡiːn/, is a Canadian poet and writer. o huigin began teaching poetry in the early 1960s before beginning to write in the late 1970s. From the 1980s to 1990s, o huigin primarily wrote children's poetry for Black Moss Press. Of his publications, The Ghost Horse of the Mounties won the 1983 Canada Council Children's Literature Prize in English literature and became the first book of poetry to win this award. In 1986, his poem "Acid Rain" was made into a short film by the National Film Board of Canada.

Biography

John Higgins was born in Brampton, Ontario on 27 June 1942.[1] He renamed himself "sean o huigin", the Irish language version of his name in all lowercase letters, as a tribute to Padraig O Broin.[2] In the early 1960s, o huigin began using sound poetry while teaching schoolchildren in North America and Great Britain.[3] After he began writing in the late 1970s, o huigin primarily wrote children's poems for Black Moss Press during the 1980s and 1990s.[4] Of his works, o huigin won the 1983 Canada Council Children's Literature Prize in English literature for The Ghost Horse of the Mounties.[5] Upon winning the award, o huigin was the first person to win the Canada Council Children's Literature Prize with a book of poetry.[6]

His poem "Acid Rain" appeared in Scary Poems for Rotten Kids before it was made into a National Film Board of Canada short film in 1986.[7][8] Scary Poems for Rotten Kids was later republished in 1988 with illustrations by Scott Hughes and John Fraser.[9] The following year, o huigin released a ten poem collection, Monsters He Mumbled, which included two of his previous works from the mid 1980s.[10] His works during the 1990s included King of the Birds in 1992 and A Dozen Million Spills and Other Disasters in 1993.[6]

Writing styles and themes

In his children's works, o huigin uses short lines of poetry on scary subject matters while sparsely using capital letters and punctuation.[10] With Blink: A Strange Book for Children, o huigin divided his prose into two separate vertical columns to fit with the poem's theme of seeing separate things with each individual eye.[4] Other writing styles that o huigin used were a pourquoi story for King of the Birds and didacticism for Atmosfear.[11] For The Ghost House of the Mounties, o huigin based the story on the frightened horses owned by the North-West Mounted Police during a 1874 Manitoba storm.[5] He also wrote two books about a real-life stray dog called Pickles who lived in Windsor, Ontario.[12][13]

References

  1. ↑ Jones, Raymond E.; Stott, Jon C. (2000). "Sean O Huigin". Canadian Children's Books: A critical guide to authors and illustrators. Oxford University Press: Oxford and New York. p. 370. ISBN 0195412222.
  2. ↑ Bainbridge, Joyce; Pantaleo, Sylvia (1999). Learning with Literature in the Canadian Elementary Classroom. University of Alberta Press. p. 68. ISBN 0888643306. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  3. ↑ Chamberlain, Art (29 October 1982). "'Be careful where you step at night the body's waiting out of sight'". Vancouver Sun. p. L28.
  4. 1 2 Peacock, Scot, ed. (2003). "o huigin, sean 1942-". Something About the Author. Vol. 138. Detroit and Munich: Thomson Gale. pp. 177–78. ISBN 0787652105.
  5. 1 2 "Jurors make difficult decisions on children's literature prizes". Ottawa Citizen. 6 October 1984. p. F16.
  6. 1 2 Peacock, Scot, ed. (2003). "o huigin, sean 1942-". Contemporary Authors. Vol. 208. Detroit and Munich: Thomson Gale. p. 258. ISBN 0787652016.
  7. ↑ "Acid Rain" (PDF). National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  8. ↑ Bidd, Donald W., ed. (1998). "Acid Rain". The NFB film guide : the productions of the National Film Board of Canada from 1939 to 1989. Montreal: National Film Board of Canada. p. 6. ISBN 0660139871.
  9. ↑ Burnside, Scott (31 October 1988). "They're scared rotten and loving it". Windsor Star. p. A5.
  10. 1 2 Blanchard, Rebecca J., ed. (2002). "sean o huigin 1942-". Children's Literature Review. Vol. 75. Detroit and Munich: Gale Group. p. 215. ISBN 0787645818.
  11. ↑ Jones & Stott 2000, p. 272
  12. ↑ Belanger, Joe (30 October 1985). "End of road for Pickles". Windsor Star. p. A3.
  13. ↑ Tribe, Lahring (December 13, 1986). "Santa's sack bulges with kids' books". Windsor Star. p. C13.
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