Michael O. Nowlan
1937-2021

Michael O'Keeffe Nowlan (teacher, poet, editor, columnist, and reviewer) was born in Chatham, New Brunswick on 1 September 1937. He graduated from St. Thomas College (HS, 1955) and St. Thomas University (BA, 1959). He entereed the teaching profession in 1961 and spending most of his career at Oromocto High School (1964-1988). He received education degrees from UNB in 1964 (BEd) and 1986 (MEd). He won many awards for his teaching including the Merron Chorny Award for Lifetime Achievement for the teaching of English in Canada. In 1988, he was seconded to the New Brunswick Department of Education as a Consultant for English Language Arts, and then served as assistant director in the Curriculum Development Branch from 1989 until his retirement in 1994. He was a founding member of the Writers in Schools Project and the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick.  He has edited for publication no less than fourteen collections, including the collection Stubborn Strength: A New Brunswick Anthology. He has published two children’s books, six books of poetry, and two collections of stories. He is a literary reviewer in the pages of many Canadian newspapers and journals. For fifteen years he was the books columnist for The Atlantic Advocate, and in 2010 he celebrated thirty-five years as the “reviewer emeritus” for The Daily Gleaner (Fredericton). In 2010, St. Thomas University conferred an honorary doctorate on him. Nowlan died in Fredericton on 17 February 2021.

Source

Tremblay, Tony. "Michael O. Nowlan." New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia, Summer 2010. Accessed 26 May 2023.

Predominant New Brunswick Residences:

Oromocto, Fredericton, Chatham

Archival Material

  • Location
    University of New Brunswick Archives & Special Collections
    Retrieval Number
    MG L 34
    Date Range of Material
    1966-1992
    Extent

    1.8 m textual records
    ca. 20 photographs

    Scope and Content Note

    This fonds documents the writing career of Michael O. Nowlan, as well as much of his work as a teacher of English and advocate of Canadian literature. The fonds consists largely of correspondence to and from Nowlan, and drafts and notes for articles and books. Also included are committee minutes, newspaper clippings, and a few photographs. Despite the existence of separate "Correspondence" files, almost every file in the fonds contains correspondence, usually associated with the material in the file.

Headshot of Michael Nowlan
Picture Caption

Michael O. Nowlan

Credit

"Michael Nowlan." Oromocto Funeral Home, 17 February 2021. Accessed 26 May 2023.

See the New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia entry.

Bibliography Items

Displaying 1 - 5 of 5
Nowlan, Michael O. "Acorn to Oak: A Great Experiment." The Atlantic Advocate, vol. 68, no. 3, 1977, 15-20. [ journal article ]
Collection(s): Architecture

Nowlan, Michael O. Yellow Boots for Bobby. Fredericton, NB: Brunswick Press, 1984, 11 pp. [ book ]

Nowlan, Michael O. Ole Larsen's Miramichi: A Photographic Odyssey. Halifax: Nimbus, 1999, xii, 100 pp. [ book ]
Collection(s): Architecture

Nowlan, Michael O. The Knights of Columbus in New Brunswick : A Century of Service. Moncton, NB: Faye Editions, 2004, 518 pp. [ book ]

Nowlan, Michael O. Les Chevaliers de Colomb au Nouveau-Brunswick: un siècle de bénévolat. Moncton, NB: Éditions de la Francophonie, 2004, 562 pp. [ book ]
Collection(s): Religion