R. M. Vaughan

1965-2020

Richard Murray ("R.M.") Vaughan (poet, playwright, journalist, and video artist) was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1965. Vaughan attended Quispamsis Elementary, St. Martins Elementary, Harry Miller Junior High, and Kennebecasis Valley High. He then attended the University of New Brunswick in Saint John, where he studied English and creative writing, graduating in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. After graduation, Vaughan lived in Montreal and Ottawa. He attended the University of Ottawa for a short period of time before returning to New Brunswick to pursue a Master of Arts degree at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton.  Vaughan’s first published piece of poetry appeared in The Cormorant, a literary quarterly based at UNBSJ. Vaughan contributed poetry, essays, and fiction to numerous anthologies and over one hundred periodicals. His first collection of poetry, A Selection of Dazzling Scarves, was published in 1996 by ECW Press. A Quilted Heart, published in 1998 with Insomniac Press, was Vaughan’s first novel. His next publications included Invisible Predators (1999) and Troubled (2008). His first play, Gentleman Caller, was performed in 1992 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto. Vaughan was also the 1994-1995 playwright-in-residence at Buddies in Bad Times. Vaughan was a frequent contributor to CBC’s National Commentary series and wrote about art and culture for newspapers such as The Globe and Mail and the National Post.  He was the arts editor for This Magazine (Toronto). Vaughan was also a visual artist, his paintings having been displayed in both solo and group exhibitions in Atlantic Canada and Toronto, where he was a member of the Symbiosis art collective. Vaughan produced short films, many of which are based on his poetry. Of the sixteen recognized short films, seven were circulated through the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre. Vaughan died in Fredericton on 23 October 2020.

Predominant New Brunswick Residences:

Saint John

Archival Material

• R.M. Vaughan fonds
  ⌄
  Location

  The Arquives, Toronto

  Website/Catalogue Record

  View Archival Record

  Retrieval Number

  Photograph Collection Box 54

  Date Range of Material

  [199-?], 2002

  Extent

  11 photographs

  Scope and Content Note

  Photographs of R.M. Vaughan.